Hayward Street Sighting - 1966 Pontiac Ventura

It's no secret by now that I love vintage Pontiacs. The 1965 and '66 lineups are some of my favorites. This one is a '66 Ventura sedan. The Ventura name was usually a trim upgrade on the full-sized Catalina during the 1960s but it was a model series in its own right from 1966 to 1969.

Hayward Street Sighting - 1973 Buick Electra 225 Limited

The word "Limited" connotes a variety of different things. Limited production indicates exclusivity, limited options indicates few available extras or choices, limited capability indicates that something is not very good at what it does, limited top speed means governed so it cannot go any faster. In every case, there is a limit which keeps there from being too much or too many of something. It makes the term popular for use on the most luxurious trim level of an automobile whose intent is to at least make you think your neighbors won't all have one.

Hayward Street Sighting - 1955 Dodge Royal

It almost seems like some kind of miracle that Chrysler has survived this long. The auto bailout of 2009 is still fresh in everyone's minds and now Chrysler is primarily owned by Fiat. But that wasn't the first time they nearly went bankrupt. Chrysler Corporation needed a government loan back in 1979 after a decade of mostly terrible, forgettable products. And before that, in 1954 Chrysler needed a $250 million private loan to keep itself afloat. That's roughly $2.1 billion in today's dollars. That loan allowed them to employ the talents of designer Virgil Exner and finally banish the upside-down-bathtub look that had fallen out of favor as the 1950s wore on.