This is a 1960 Pontiac Bonneville, wide- track, 4 dr hardtop. Base price that year was $3,476 US. There was a long list of available options: bucket seats, power steering and brakes, Circ-L-Aire air conditioning, Magi-Cruise speed control, power windows, a removable Sportable AM transistor radio, power front seat, and a Safeguard speedometer with excess speed buzzer and warning lamp. Seat belts were also an option.
The US models only looked the same as the Canadian ones, but mechanically they were a whole lot different. The Canadian Pontiac was built on a Chevy chassis and if you took one to the States they would say that you were driving a Chev.
1960 marked the end of the big car era (this car was almost 20 ft long and 7 ft wide); the era of the compact car was about to begin.

3-shot handheld HDR; f/8; ISO 200

Tags:   cars antiques rusty decay HDR Chevy Pontiac rusting cars decaying cars

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"Well if I had money, I tell you what I'd do,
I'd go downtown, buy a Mercury or two,
I'm crazy 'bout a Mercury,
Crazy 'bout a Mercury.
I'm gonna' buy me a Mercury and cruise it up and down the road."
-Alan Jackson.

This is a 1955 Monarch Richelieu, introduced and built for the Canadian market by Ford in 1946. It sold that year for between $1,462.00 and $1,775.00. This was sold in Canada as the Monarch, and in the US, sold as a Mercury. Its hood ornament was a leaping lion. Note the radio cavity, and that massive dashboard. The ignition key is still in place also.

3-shot handheld HDR

Tags:   cars Ford Monarch Mercury rust decay HDR

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Continuing with my series on decaying, abandoned cars.
This is a 1962 Mercury Comet, a car produced by the Mercury division of the Ford Motor Company from 1960–1969 and 1971-1977 — variously as either a compact or an intermediate car.
The Comet was based on the compact Ford Falcon and later the Ford Maverick. As a Mercury, early Comets received better grade interior trim than its relative, the Ford Falcon, and a slightly longer wheelbase.

Note all those protruding surfaces and edges: the hand brake, the door handle / window crank, the vent pulls and that oversized steering wheel - all sources of serious injury in a crash.

The Comet was originally planned as a Ford Edsel model. It was reassigned to Mercury dealerships after the demise of the Edsel brand.

3-shot handheld HDR; CS3, Photomatix Pro 4.1.

Tags:   HDR cars decay abandoned Edsel Ford Mercury Comet

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This is a 1963 Ford Fairlane.

Many thanks to my friend and Mississauga Camera Club colleague Fred Dixon for all the information on these old cars.

Last of this series.

3-shot handheld HDR; CS3 and Photomatix Pro 4.1

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Owen Sound, Ontario recently held its Open Doors Weekend. The following series of shots was taken in and around town. These car shots were part of a private collection of old, abandoned cars, some of which were sinking into the ground on which they sat.

This 1956 Dodge Custom Royale was a very upscale car, very different from the regular '56 Dodge.
The convertible version of this car sold for $2,900 US, produced 218 horsepower and featured a 2-speed automatic push buttom transmission.

Tags:   cars HDR antiques rust abandoned decay stunningphotogpin

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