The Chevrolet Camaro was introduced as a 1967 model, which I consider was as a consequence of two aspects: Ralph Nader's book “Unsafe at Any Speed” and the big success of the Ford Mustang, introduced in late 1964.

It took Chevrolet about two years to bring the Camaro to market, which is pretty quick within the automobile business. Chevrolet management held a big press conference to announce the brand new automobile on June 28, 1966, and announced that the brand new automobile can be called Camaro, as is common with model names starting with the letter C. An Automotive Press author asked, “What is a Camaro?” The answer was “a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs.”

In the 1967 model yr, Chevrolet sold 220,906 Camaros, a pleasant increase over the past Corvair model yr, 1965, when only about 6,000 units were sold. Of course, Chevrolet wanted to advertise its exciting latest automobile, and one approach to do this is to make it the official pace automobile for the Indianapolis 500 race, held yearly on Memorial Day weekend. This race attracts thousands and thousands of spectators world wide and between 200,000 and 250,000 people participate on this very loud event.

Since the track opened in 1911, there has at all times been an American pace automobile as a Stoddard-Dayton led the assembled starting grid across the track. Other pace cars used through the years with great reputations and names that may now only be present in history books included Stutz, Marmon 6, Duesenberg, Cole V8, Rickenbacker 8, Studebaker President, Hudson, Nash and just about all three major brands . I believe that the manufacturers are exchanging some serious type of compensation with Indianapolis 500 management to designate their automobile because the official pace automobile.

Manufacturers typically produce 2,000 to three,000 Pace Car replicas which might be sold through their dealers. That's the case with our feature automobile today. Bill O'Connor of Danville has owned this edition's replica 1969 Chevrolet Camaro convertible for about 14 years. “I found the car online in San Jose and it had just come out of an estate sale. It was almost done. There were only small things that needed to be fixed, for example the electric top didn’t work.”

O'Connor claims he isn't really mechanically inclined, but I consider he has greater than only a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in his toolbox. Over the years he has worked on 30 collector cars and currently owns half a dozen. O'Connor's has had several brands but has a penchant for Camaros. The first Camaro was purchased shortly after his marriage in 1979, when he found one with only 60,000 miles within the College of San Mateo parking zone and acquired it for $1,500. “That got me desirous about Camaros. Then I purchased a '67 Rally Sport Camaro, then we bought a '67 Camaro Convertible, then a '68 Camaro Convertible, then this one got here up and I assumed the value was right.”

The proud owner paid $40,000 for the car and estimates its current market value at $60,000 to $70,000. And he takes good care of this car. “I drive the car often in the summer and not much in the winter months. It has never seen water since I've owned it. I clean it with detailer and leave it waxed. The car is really reliable and suitable for highway driving.”

O'Connor's car features a 350 cubic inch V8 with a 4-speed manual transmission with power brakes and power steering. It is beautifully upholstered in orange and white to match the exterior colors. The owner estimates this car would have sold for around $3,000 when new.

The car was repainted and O'Connor added “OFFICIAL PACE CAR” stickers to the doors. He took me with him; The automobile is quiet, tight and fast, and likewise has the gorgeous sound of a Chevy V8 engine that’s music to most automobile lovers' ears.

Originally published: September 30, 2024 at 4:59 am

The first two Buick automobiles were in-built 1899 and 1900 not by David Buick, the founding father of the Buick Motor Co., but by an engineer named Walter Marr on the Buick Auto-Vim and Power Co.

The first Buick on the market was a 1904 model with a two-cylinder engine. The early success of Buick Motor is usually attributed to the overhead valve engine. Billy Durant became Buick's general manager and an important promoter, and Buick became the most important U.S. automobile manufacturer. Along with Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland (later Pontiac), Buick became the brand that ranked just under Cadillac in price and standing structure.

Buick has built some beautiful and great models throughout its long history. From the Thirties through the Nineteen Fifties and beyond, Buick was a real status automobile. When buyers had (or claimed to have) significant wealth, they were more more likely to buy Cadillacs; but when buyers had significant wealth but didn't want to point out it off, they were more more likely to buy Buicks.

In 2009, GM discontinued Pontiac and Oldsmobile resulting from financial reasons. Many have wondered why they selected these two as a substitute of Buick. I feel it's protected to say it's all in regards to the dollar. Buick is extremely popular in China. For example, in 2020, Buick sold 926,532 Buicks in China and 162,749 in America.

Our automobile today dates from the Thirties to the Nineteen Fifties and is a phenomenal 1940 Buick Special two-door convertible. The owner, mechanically gifted Bob Coates of Danville, bought this automobile in 1959. It was in poor condition and sitting at a gas station in East Oakland. He says he liked the design, which brought back memories of shopping for a brand new 1940 Buick coupe along with his father.

The gas station owner offered to sell the automobile for $25, $10 greater than the junkyard would pay for it. Coates, then a university student, bought the automobile after borrowing $20 from his father. The automobile ran, but needed a variety of work. The body, nevertheless, was in good condition, with only just a few minor dents and no rust.

“In 1959-1960, I went into the Army and left the car at a body shop in Hayward. I told them, 'Fix the car. Take your time, because I'm gone.' When I came back, the car was done, but then I had to get a top. I got a white cloth top and some plain black seat covers, and it was 'a pretty sexy car.'”

Coates is a patient man, and time marched on. He rebuilt the engine nearly 10 years ago and acquired all the inside parts latest for about $2,000. Around 2002-04, Coates put a period-correct interior and roof within the automobile. He also redid the dash and gauges. This Buick runs great with a rebuilt 248 cubic-inch inline-eight engine that makes 107 horsepower.

It contains a column-mounted three-speed manual transmission and switch signals as standard equipment, as Buick was the primary company to put in them as such. The very distinctive turn signals were mounted on the trunk lid with arrows flashing left or right. Front turn signals were added later.

Coates says that in 1940, 3,564 Buick Special convertibles were sold for $1,077, which is about $24,197 today. That's a bargain at today's prices, but a few of the extras were very expensive for that 12 months. A heater cost $33 ($741 today's equivalent), a radio $63 ($1,415), a clock $22 ($494), and a side-mounted spare tire $47 ($1,056).

In any case, this beautifully restored automobile looks prefer it just got here off the showroom floor. Coates' investment is kind of modest, as he did many of the restoration work himself. He estimates the present market value of this automobile to be around $65,000 – not bad for a $25 initial investment.