1971-1972 Chevrolet Blazer

The Chevrolet Blazer was introduced in 1969 as a variation of Chevrolet's full-size pickups, which had been redesigned in 1967. An early sport-utility vehicle designed to compete with the Jeep CJ series, the International-Harvester Scout, and the Ford Bronco, the Blazer was larger than its competition, despite riding on a 104-inch wheelbase, shorter than any of Chevrolet's full-size pickups. Though introduced as a four-wheel-drive-only model in 1969, a two-wheel-drive version was introduced in 1970. The Blazer also featured a removable hardtop that covered the cab and bed; this one is shown with the hardtop removed. The Blazer had the same styling as Chevrolet's full-size trucks; the "eggcrate" grill on this example indicates it is from 1971 or 1972, the last two years of the Blazer's first generation. Originally, this Blazer would have been powered by either a 250-cubic-inch or 292-cubic-inch in-line 6-cylinder engine, or a 307-cubic-inch or 350-cubic-inch "small block" V8 engine, with the choice of a three-speed Hydromatic automatic transmission or a three-speed or four-speed manual transmission. The vanity license plate on this customized Blazer at the 1999 Eagles car show in Rainier, Oregon, indicates that is it now powered by a 427-cubic-inch "big block" V8 engine.

1972-1973 Mercedes-Benz SL

In 1971, Mercedes-Benz introduced an all-new 350SL roadster and 350SLC coupe in Europe, and were powered by a 200-horsepower, 3.5-liter overhead-cam V8 with Bosch fuel injection. The 350SL and 350SLC models were introduced in North America in 1972, but the 3.5-liter V8 could not make adequate power while meeting American emissions standards, so the North American cars were equipped with a 4.5-liter overhead-cam V8 engines with low compression that met American emissions requirements. The North American versions also had four round sealed-beam headlights, as the composite headlights used in Europe were not legal in the United States. In 1973, the North American models were renamed 450SL and 450SLC, reflecting the true size of their V8 engines, and in 1974, they received protruding 5-mile-per-hour bumpers. This roadster with the optional removable hardtop, pictured at the 1999 Eagles car show in Rainier, Oregon, has the original bumpers, making it either a 1972 350SL or a 1973 450SL.

1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe Sport Coupe

1952 was the last year for Chevrolet's 1949 redesign, which had seen only minor changes after 1950. As in the previous two years, 1953 Chevrolets were powered by a standard 92-horsepower 216-cubic-inch in-line six-cylinder engine with a 3-speed Synchro-Mesh manual transmission, or an optional 105-horsepower 235-cubic-inch in-line six-cylinder engine with the two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. The Styleline Deluxe Sport Coupe, as shown here at the 1999 Eagles Car Show in Rainier, Oregon, has always been outshined by the more exciting, but also more expensive, Styleline Deluxe Bel Air hardtop coupe. The Sport Coupe, however, was over 100 pounds lighter than the Bel Air, and looked almost identical below the bottom of the windows. Style was king in the 1950s, though, and the stylish Bel Air outsold the more conservative Deluxe Sport Coupe more than two to one in 1952. Even today, it seems one is far more likely to see a Bel Air than a Sport Coupe at a car show, which makes this Sport Coupe that much more special.

1970 Ford Thunderbird Laudau Coupe

Parked in Rainier, Oregon, during the 1999 Eagles Car Show, this 1970 Ford Thunderbird Landau Coupe represents a Thunderbird era that is often overlooked in favor of the better-known earlier models. The Ford Thunderbird was introduced in 1955 as a sporty 2-seat convertible, essentially creating the personal luxury car market segment. Over the years, the Thunderbird grew, gaining a rear seat and a fixed hardtop coupe to go with the convertible, but still maintaining its sporty image. Then the Ford Mustang was introduced in 1964, and its incredible success as a more affordable sports car forced the Thunderbird to find a new place in the market. In 1967, Ford redesigned the Thunderbird from a sporty 2+2 coupe or convertible to a large luxury hardtop coupe or a landau with either two or four doors. These were the largest and heaviest Thunderbirds yet, but with Ford's 360-horsepower 429-cubic-inch wedge-head 385 V8 engine, they were also among the fastest, allowing the Thunderbird to retain a bit of sports-car performance. Initially, this generation of Thunderbird featured a blunt nose with the headlights hidden behind a large recessed grille, but in 1970 it was redesigned as shown here, with a beak-like pointed nose and uncovered headlights. This look would only last through 1971, as the Thunderbird was redesigned for 1972, becoming even bigger and heavier, with engines more encumbered by restrictive emissions equipment. Any trace of sportiness vanished, and it would take until 1983 for the Thunderbird to begin to reclaim any semblance of a performance image again.

1974-1976 Mercedes-Benz 280C

Mercedes-Benz introduced its "New Generation" series of sedans and coupes in 1968, and continued to produce them under a variety of model numbers until 1976. Though the exterior changed very little from year to year, this hardtop coupe at the 1999 Eagles Car Show in Rainier, Oregon, can be narrowed down by the protruding 5-mile-per-hour bumpers that were mandated in the United States beginning in 1974. With that in mind, this coupe would be a 280C from between 1974 and 1976, powered by a 145-horsepower 2,746-cubic-centimeter (almost 2.8 liter) M110 inline 6-cylinder engine.

1937 LaSalle Coupe

Pictured here at the 1999 Eagles Car Show in Rainier, Oregon, is a 1937 LaSalle Coupe, representing the peak year for a short-lived General Motors marque. The story of LaSalle is an interesting one. It begins in the mid-1920s, when General Motors consisted of five automobile brands: Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. There were significant gaps between the price ranges of the five brands. In an attempt to fill these price gaps, General Motors created four "companion" makes, each built by an existing brand division. Pontiac was created by Oakland in 1926 to fill the gap between it and Chevrolet. The large gap between Oldsmobile and Buick was filled in 1929 by Oldsmobile's Viking and Buick's Marquette. LaSalle was introduced by Cadillac in 1927 to fill the gap between it and Buick. The companion make program didn't go quite as General Motors expected, though. Marquette and Viking promptly failed in 1930 and 1931 respectively, while Pontiac was so successful that its parent Oakland was discontinued in 1931, leaving LaSalle as the only companion make standing alongside its parent brand. LaSalle's cars were stylish and powerful, but were smaller than Cadillac's and had lower price tags. LaSalle sales helped support Cadillac through the Great Depression, and in 1934 LaSalle cut costs by using shorter wheelbases and engines from Oldsmobile instead of Cadillac, but LaSalle soon faced competition from other smaller luxury cars like the Packard One-Twenty and the Lincoln-Zephyr. In 1937, LaSalle returned to its Cadillac roots, with longer wheelbases and Cadillac's 322-cubic-inch monobloc V8 engine, and sales spiked to a peak of 32,000, more than double the previous year's figure, but that was a good as it would ever get for LaSalle. The success of the junior Packard One-Twenty and Lincoln-Zephyr showed that there was no reason not to have a junior Cadillac as well. Cadillac introduced its own entry-level model, the Series 60, in 1936, and LaSalle was quickly squeezed out of the entry-level luxury market it created by its own parent brand. LaSalle was discontinued in 1940, but not before some designs were developed for potential 1941 LaSalle models. One of these proposals was adapted for Cadillac to become the 1941 Cadillac Series 63.