The year is 1967 and all American automobile manufacturers had at least one convertible model. Some of them had one in each segment of their line. This was also the heyday of the American Muscle Car, most of which also appeared in convertible form.

Drop-tops, or drophead-coupes as the Brits say, were popular. There was no safety organization that proclaimed the canvas-topped vehicles as unsafe, as happened in later model years. The fuel embargo ended the muscle car era in the seventies and the safety police, the naysayers ended the convertible about the same time. In recent years, both have returned in force.

Attend any Classic Car Auction; Barrett-Jackson, Kruse or RM, and you will be amazed at the prices brought by 1967 big engined models of Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Malibu SS, Buick GS 400, Oldsmobile Cutlass 442, Dodge Polara 500, Ford Fairlane 500 and other muscle cars. The 'pony-car' class is also highly prized, represented by: Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird, Plymouth Barracuda/Dodge Challenger, Mercury Cougar. Bigger convertibles still have value, but not like the two previous classifications. Buick made an Electra 225 convertible, Ford had the Galaxie 500, Chevrolet the Impala, Lincoln and Chrysler had their versions, too.

Value is determined by popularity and desirability. The most popular and desireable 1967 convertibles are the muscle-cars . . . and the most popular of these is the Pontic GTO, with it's smooth lines, big engine choices, manual or automatic transmissions, limited-slip differential and a few luxury options, like air-conditioning. Buick, Oldsmobile and Chevrolet had their versions of the same Fisher-bodied car, and they have appreciated in value as well, but the King of the Hill is the GTO.

Ford Motor Company produced a muscle car convertible in 1967, the Fairlane 500 with several hot engine offerings, but the Ford model that has appreciated the greatest is the Mustang, bringing huge dollars for pristine examples. Their Mercury division had the Cougar, based on the same platform, but with more luxury options, but not nearly as popular as the originator of the pony-car class.

Classic Cars Will Cruise In to Port Angeles on July 9th
This Year Marks the 14th Annual “Ruddell Cruise In” Car Show for the Olympic Peninsula.

Looking After Classic Cars
To maintain a classic car in tip-top condition so that it looks great and holds its value, the owner has to lavish a lot of care on it. Keeping the engine in good condition is equally important as maintaining the bodywork and the interior. If you settle into a routine and regularly polish the paintwork and interior trim, add to that regular engine checks and make small adjustments to tyre pressure, oil pressure and the timing as required, you can not only keep your classic car in top driving condition but also looking like new and slowing the effects of car depreciation down, perhaps even adding value to your motor over time.

AutoTrader Classics Fuels Classic Car Enthusiasts' 'Lost Weekend' in First Ever National Television Ad Campaign Launching May 22
ATLANTA, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader Classics, the nation's leading online and print resource for car collectors and classic car enthusiasts, is launching a multi-media advertising campaign on Saturday, May 22, that highlights AutoTrader Classic's vast number of classic car listings and top-notch editorial features – a depth and breadth of information a user can get lost in for an hour, a day or longer.

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