Personal luxury car

Personal Luxury Cars is an outdated, especially in the U.S. long common, if imprecise classification of certain car models. This should be understood as a rule, two-door, coupe -like vehicles ( less frequently convertible ) with four to six seats and a modern design that stands out as clearly as possible from the other models of the manufacturer. It began by front individual seats with center console features. The term is usually applied for U.S. vehicles, fits in principle but also on a number of European and Japanese automobiles.

Personal Luxury Cars can be set up not assign a certain price range and are technically closely based on the solid models in order to save production and development costs, respectively existing resources such as motors, doors and other components (sometimes even entire floor assemblies ) or slices to better use. Personal Luxury Cars often had a shorter wheelbase and larger overhang at slightly shorter overall length.

Staff to suggest that these vehicles are particularly adapted to the " personal " needs and desires of the owner here - where the manufacturer had each quite distinct conceptions of what the customer wanted. Most of the distribution found the Personal Luxury Cars in the second half of the 1960s to the late 1970s.

Origin

Unlike, for example the concept of Gran Turismo or sports coupe stood at Personal Luxury Cars more luxurious facilities compared to the sportiness in the foreground even though choosing the appropriate options the vehicle quite made ​​for Muscle Car.

Even before the advent of this designation, there were individualized vehicles according to a similar concept. Examples are among the many custom bodies of specialized companies about the first Lincoln Continental (1940-1948) or the Convertible Victoria by Darrin available in the Packard Series 120 and 180 all appeared in the sale catalogs of the manufacturers. Likewise, the quartet of Dream Cars of 1953 Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Skylark, Oldsmobile Fiesta and Packard Caribbean fulfilled the conditions which are commonly found in this category. During Fiesta and Skylark disappeared after a short period remained Caribbean and Eldorado some time in the program. Both were later coupe, the Eldorado has been expanded into its own series. His new edition 1967 is, however, a typical Personal Luxury Car.

Chrysler brought in 1955 the C-300 out of the sporty enough but failed to pass as one of the few U.S. Gran Turismo can. Ford double the following year with the grandiose Continental Mark II after, for even specifically a brand was created. The Studebaker Hawk is an example of the versatile application of the personal idea, he was according to the customer request an elegant everyday car, a sporty coupe for the wife or a brute muscle car. Examples of early, smaller Personal Luxury Cars are the Hudson Italia or the Nash Palm Beach. However, these vehicles were hardly referred to her time as a Personal Luxury Car.

Development

In usage, the term Personal Luxury Car came after the introduction of the Ford Thunderbird in 1954 (Ford referred to the two-seater as Personal Car, since it does not actually represented a sports car with the comfort-oriented features and the soft suspension after the then ideas ), but especially by the presentation of the four-seater Thunderbird model year 1958. Whether the closed variant each a convertible ( " Convertible Coupe ") was set aside was primarily a marketing decision.

The Personal Luxury Cars of the 1950s and 1960s

During this time, the term Personal Luxury Car came on gradually. Inform the style were the mentioned Ford Thunderbird 2nd generation and the Chrysler 300B - L. Both were both coupe and as a convertible. Other representatives were

Due also fits the Mercury Cougar this was settled between Pony Car and Personal Luxury Car. A special position comes to the Chrysler Turbine Car: The design meets all requirements of a Personal Luxury Cars and he was undoubtedly an important idea carrier. But his real object was the exploration of the turbine technology in a field experiment; The design took into account the public interest and the resulting press presence.

The Personal Luxury Cars of the 1970s and 1980s

The big time this vehicle category were the 1970s and early 1980s. Virtually every manufacturer had a Personal Luxury Car on offer. At Chrysler, the Plymouth brand did not, strangely, Oldsmobile went the opposite way and put his conventional Cutlass coupe on the K platform of Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Grand Prix. Other way around AMC: As for the Matador decency a facelift coupe was completely self- formed, but it did not get its own name.

General Motors

  • Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • Pontiac Grand Prix ( to 1987 )
  • Oldsmobile Toronado
  • Buick Riviera
  • Cadillac Eldorado ( 1967 )

Ford Motor Company

  • Ford Thunderbird
  • Ford Elite
  • Ford Thunderbird
  • Mercury Cougar (1973-1976)
  • Continental Mark III -VI

Chrysler Corporation

American Motors Corporation

Other (USA)

  • Stutz Blackhawk
  • Accommodation Cordoba

Technology support

The year-on volume models optics limited in favor of the benefit of these vehicles resulted in relatively small numbers. Therefore, it made ​​sense to the audience to make new technological solutions and exclusive extras only in Personal Luxury Cars accessible in case of success and expand to other model series. These included partly also world premieres:

  • Anti -lock braking system ( ABS; 1969 in Lincoln, Ford, Cadillac )
  • Front-wheel drive ( with 7,0 l - V8)
  • Climate
  • Air suspension
  • Airbag ( Oldsmobile, early 70s )
  • Turbine ( Chrysler, 1962-1964 )

One of the most far-reaching changes, the front-wheel drive for large vehicles, introduced in the Nachkriegsproktion 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado and the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado for the sister model, however, could not enforce. Only the compact structures of Europe and Japan also led such vehicles to well-known quantities.

Initially had personnel Luxury Cars consistently a stronger base engine than the comparable volume models. Until the early 1970s, large V8 engines were the norm, with over 5.8 liters. Higher fuel costs, skyrocketing insurance premiums and the introduction of the fleet consumption gradually led to smaller engines. Accordingly, it was the late 1970s, many manufacturers already the norm to offer as a base motor a comparatively small six-cylinder engine.

Stragglers and further developments

The concept had largely survived in the 1980s. With the fuel crisis disappeared the large vehicles, which had provided the basis of the typical Personal Luxury Cars and the manufacturers were other priorities. More and more approaching the U.S. manufacturers in their vehicle concepts which, in Europe and elsewhere to ordinary. The Cadillac XLR such could well be classified as Personal Luxury Car, but is classified itself as a roadster from the manufacturer.

Most Personal Luxury Cars disappeared from the market or have been, such as the Pontiac Grand Prix from 1988, re-launched as a model series for family car. The actual follow-up occurred in the U.S., the large SUVs and minivans to which also displaced the typical station wagon. However, some series were still available, such as

  • Ford Thunderbird
  • Continental Mark VII & VIII
  • Cadillac Eldorado
  • Oldsmobile Toronado
  • Buick Riviera

In addition, some vehicles that fit more or less into the grid of the previous Personal Luxury Cars emerged. They were based on the trends designed more open and offered two to five people.

This category includes approximately

  • Cadillac Allanté (1987-1993)
  • Chrysler TC by Maserati (1989-1991)
  • Buick Reatta (1988-1991)
  • Cadillac Eldorado

Even the Cadillac XLR could well be classified as Personal Luxury Car, but is classified itself as a roadster from the manufacturer.

Examples of European Personal Luxury Cars

In the European versions was often also the sportsmanship in the foreground. Therefore be prepared according to definition a number of these models to classify both as Personal Luxury Car or the equally vague concept of Gran Turismo. Early examples of this are the few built vehicles with special bodies such as some versions of the Delahaye 135 and 235, Talbot -Lago, the Bugatti 101 or Bentley R- Type Continental and Bentley S- Type Continental or the big Facel -Vega V8 ( coupes and convertibles ). However, they are typically listed as GT.

Most likely can be classified Category Citroën SM, the Jaguar XJ -S, the S-Class Coupé from Mercedes or the BMW 6 Series and BMW 8 Series in the Personal Luxury Car.

Footnotes

Packard One-Twenty Packard 180 Studebaker Silver Hawk Dodge Charger (B-body) Engine displacement Roadster (automobile) Mini MPV Bentley S1 Jaguar XJS BMW 8 Series (E31)
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