Old Cars Canada

1970 Volvo

2012-02-06T20:25:00.002-05:00

The rear of a 1970 Volvo 145 was carpeted and offered up 70 cubic feet of cargo space.. If there was ever a European passenger car ideally suited to our harsh climatic conditions, it would have to be Volvo. Unlike automobiles that can trace their origins back to carriage makers or bicycle manufacturers, the Swedish auto draws its heritage from a ball bearing company. The automobile

1971-1972 Ford Cortina

2012-02-06T18:39:00.002-05:00

The 1971 Ford Cortina GT carried a special Canada-only blackout grille, styled steel wheels and special bucket seats with headrests moulded into the seat backs. Ford dealers throughout the Dominion began selling the British Ford Model Y in 1933. Sales were modest--only eight were delivered that year-- but they continued to grow. The cars were small, sturdy and thrifty; just what the doctor

1983 Toyota Camry

2012-01-30T20:36:00.001-05:00

Bowing as a mid-year model, the 1983 Toyota Camry replaced the venerable Corona. Only the liftback was available in Canada. Domestic passenger car sales rebounded in 1983, accounting for 74 percent of sales across Canada. The pattern was different in every region of the country. In British Columbia imports captured 41.4 percent of all new cars. This figure was significantly higher than the

1964 Chrysler Turbine

2012-01-03T18:01:00.001-05:00

Photographed in Dieppe Park, in Windsor, Ontario with the Detroit skyline as its backdrop, this 1964 Chrysler Turbine was one of fifty built. Engineers at Chrysler Corporation launched studies into turbine engines as a power source for their product lines well before World War Two. Early research showed promise and before long, they had the American government interested, too. A department

1931 Ford Model A

2011-11-29T21:36:00.001-05:00

The 1931 Ford Tudor Sedan weighed in at 1 116 kilos (2,462 pounds) and rode a 2 616-millimetre (103-inch) wheelbase. It promised to give “unusual riding comfort.” After months of open speculation by the press as to what the Model T’s replacement might be, Ford’s long awaited Model A was finally unveiled throughout the Dominion on December 2, 1927. Eager to be part of automotive history, tens

1966 Pontiac

2011-11-24T21:40:00.001-05:00

The 1966 Pontiac Grand Parisienne Sport Sedan weighed in at 1 791 kilos (3,950 pounds) and listed for $3,789 f.o.b. Oshawa, Ontario before taxes. Canadians had made Pontiac the number one darling of the driveway since 1962 as its full-sized offerings outsold stable mate Chevrolet. Even though the two vehicles shared the same chassis and drivetrain, Pontiac was perceived as the value-laden

1961 Vauxhall

2011-11-22T19:55:00.000-05:00

The 1961 Vauxhall Velox was popular with Canadians. Weighing in at 1 296 kilos (2,858 pounds), GM's six-cylinder econo-champ sold for $2,517, f.o.b. Oshawa. Since 1948 Vauxhall had been GM Canada’s captive import, sourced from the United Kingdom. The British-built passenger car took on the task of satisfying consumers in the domestic market who wanted a car European in look and more economical

1954 Nash

2011-11-16T21:55:00.004-05:00

The luxurious 1954 Nash Ambassador Country Club hardtop promised “all the fun of a convertible in a weather-snug cabin.” Nash Motors of Canada, Limited was organized in 1939 as the sales and service arm of Nash-Kelvinator. The new Canadian headquarters was located in Windsor, Ontario, just a stone's throw away from the company's world headquarters in Motor City but on the south side of the

1965 Dodge

2011-11-13T17:31:00.001-05:00

The Dodge Monaco hardtop's base price was $$3,446 and $3,588 when equipped with the optional 5.2-litre (318-cubic inch) V-8 engine. A total of 2,068 of the posh Dodge flagships were built during the 1965 model year. Long popular with Canadians, Dodge entered its 51st year with a fresh-from-the-ground-up model line. The Windsor-based Dodge Division of Chrysler Canada fielded thirteen

1956 Ford Thunderbird

2011-11-10T11:50:00.001-05:00

The 1956 Ford Thunderbird weighed in at 1 400 kilos (3,088 pounds) with the optional hardtop and sold for $4,344 f.o.b. Oakville, Ontario. North Americans' post-war fling with the two-seater, European-style sports car was pretty much over by 1955—well the manufacturers were ready to wash their hands, anyway. It was a niche that was simply too small to justify. 1954 Nash-Healey. Nash had

1963 Chevrolet Chevy II

2011-11-08T11:21:00.001-05:00

Two convertibles were available in the Chevy II family in 1963. The 300 series ragtop carried a $2,896 price tag f.o.b. Oshawa when powered by the four-cylinder engine. In the beginning, there was Corvair. It was because of the Chevrolet Corvair that there was a Chevy II. Chevrolet launched its Corvair compact with great fanfare in the fall of 1959 as a 1960 model. Featuring an

1955 Austin Cambridge

2011-11-06T14:59:00.002-05:00

The 1955 Austin Cambridge four-door sedan weighed in at 1 016 kilos (2,240 pounds) and had a front tread of 1 231.9 millimetres ( 48.5 inches). The Austin Cambridge generated plenty of excitement when it was introduced in September of 1954 but the automotive offerings from Longbridge, England were already highly popular with folks across Canada. Among the first wave of post-war British

1937 Packard Six

2011-11-01T16:50:00.003-04:00

Stepping up to the scales at 1 501 kilos (3,310 pounds), the 1937 Packard Six Touring Sedan for five passengers cost $1,430 f.o.b. Windsor, Ontario. Packard got its start in 1899 after an incident in which unhappy Winton owner James Ward Packard spoke personally to Mr. Alexander Winton and proposed improvements to the Winton automobile. The rather arrogant creator told Packard his creation

1964 Valiant

2011-10-31T21:18:00.000-04:00

The 1964 Valiant Signet hardtop was as elegant as it was economical. Weighing in at 2,640 pounds, it cost $2,690. Valiant was the little star that twinkled brightly in Chrysler Canada’s five-star corporate lineup. The smart Euro-styled compact replaced the deleted mid-priced DeSoto brand for the 1960 selling season. Valiant shone most brightly for the Windsor,

1961 Ford

2011-10-24T18:06:00.004-04:00

The full-sized Ford was advertised as “the carefree car” in 1961. The 1960 model year had not been a good one for passenger car sales at the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. Only 30,687 new full-sized Fords had sold when the figures were tallied up. That figured into an 8.6 percent decline in the sale of North-American type automobiles from 1959. Few Canadians bought anything in 1960,

1950 Vauxhall

2011-10-20T20:28:00.003-04:00

General Motors of Canada began importing Vauxhalls from its British subsidiary in the 1948 selling season. A 1950 model is seen here. The first Vauxhall appeared on Britain’s streets in 1903. The fledgling automotive company quickly earned accolades for its racing prowess and that added up to impressive sales. In 1925 the firm was welcomed into the worldwide General Motors family and grew to

1976 Datsun

2011-10-18T10:07:00.002-04:00

1960 Datsun found only 17 buyers Canada-wide. By the time the first 17 Datsuns were being registered in this country in 1960, imported automobiles accounted for an unprecedented 26.6 percent of all new car sales throughout the Dominion. Ford brought in its entire range of British products from Dagenham to bolster sagging domestic sales. GM fielded the venerable Vauxhall through Pontiac-Buick

1926 Hudson in the US Market

2011-10-17T15:48:00.001-04:00

The massive 1926 Hudson Seven-passenger Sedan weighed 1 375 kilos (3685 lbs.), rode a 3 225.8 millimetre (127-inch) wheelbase and sold for USD$1,825 f.o.b. Detroit. Many a car company got its start with brothers behind the corporate wheel. Hudson was different; it had a trio of midwives present for its birth. Roy D. Chapin believed in the concept, Howard E. Coffin was the engineer behind

1975 Plymouth Gran Fury

2011-10-14T14:50:00.000-04:00

The 1975 Plymouth Gran Fury Brougham two-door hardtop listed for $5,959 f.o.b. Windsor, Ontario. The posh pillarless Plymouth model was imported from the US. The Plymouth Division of Chrysler Canada traditionally took a large part of the domestic market, because Plymouth represented real value to consumers. As imports and domestic compacts crowded the highways in the 1970s

1965 Meteor

2011-10-05T19:38:00.000-04:00

The 1965 Meteor was the fifth most popular selling brand of automobile in the Dominion of Canada. Since 1949, Meteor had been offered by Mercury-Lincoln dealers throughout Canada as a mid-priced model, comfortably positioned between Ford and Mercury. It was highly popular brand, taking nearly 11 percent of sales in its first year on the market. Meteor joined the Ford

1950 Chevrolet in the US Market

2011-10-04T14:27:00.001-04:00

It wasn’t Chevrolet's styling that caught Americans' attention in 1950; those graceful lines had been served up just the year before. Style changes were so modest that even a die-hard fan would have to look twice in order to distinguish the subtle differences between a 1949 and 1950 model, Consumers were fearful that the Cold War was about to heat up. The USSR, China and the USA squared off

1976 Audi Fox

2011-10-03T19:56:00.000-04:00

The four rings in the Audi emblem represent the four founding manufacturers: Horch, Audi, Wanderer and DKW. August Horch opened up shop to build automobiles in 1902 but he was forced out of his own company four years later. He moved down the street and started building cars there, once again under his own name. The already existing Horch company sued but the courts ruled in favour of the

1948 Hudson

2011-09-29T10:26:00.000-04:00

The 1948 Hudson Commodore 6 Four-Door Sedan sold for $3,025 and the Commodore 8 had a list price of $3,240. Prices for Canadians were f.o.b. Tilbury, Ontario. Few automobiles have ever generated the excitement that Hudson did with its sensational Step Down models. When introduced in the fall of 1947, they were absolutely radical in comparison to last year’s offerings.

1959 Plymouth

2011-09-27T12:55:00.000-04:00

With seating for nine passengers, 1959 Plymouth Custom Suburban four-door wagon sold for $3,775 f.o.b. Windsor and weighed in at 3,805 pounds. It was imported from the United States. The boys at Chrysler Canada were ecstatic as the 1957 model season drew to a close. The “Forward Look” cars from Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler and Imperial had been a huge hit with the public. Production for

1973 Ford Torino

2011-09-26T15:47:00.000-04:00

The 1973 Ford Gran Torino Brougham was perfectly capable of hauling a good-sized trailer from St. John's to Victoria and lots of places in between. The four-door sedan carried a sticker price of $3,768 when fitted with the V-8 engine. Torino was Ford’s intermediate offering in 1973. Since the average consumer was focused on smaller than full-size rides, Ford bragged that