The 1965 platform got a minor touch up for ’66, and LTDs gained “7-Litre” companions powered by the Thunderbird’s big 345-bhp 428 engine. Arriving at midyear in 1965 were the poshest big Fords ever, the $3300 Galaxie 500 LTD hardtop coupe and sedan, claimed to be “quiet as a Rolls-Royce.” The times were indeed a-changin’. Arriving just below $2000 and backed by an aggressive but light-hearted ad campaign, this import-fighter scored an impressive 579,000 model-year sales, contributing greatly to Ford’s production ­victory over Chevy. Ford’s biggest cars of the 1960s were variously offered as Custom/Custom 500, Fairlane/Fairlane 500 (pre-’62), Galaxie/ Galaxie 500, and station wagon. The Torino Cobra returned as Ford’s “budget muscle car” with standard 360/375-bhp 429 V-8. One magazine was actually disappointed when its Cobra ran 0-60 mph in 7.2 seconds and the quarter-mile in 15 seconds at 98.3 miles per hour! Even a relatively mild 390 XL could scale 0-60 mph in 9.3 seconds; a 427 reduced that to just over 7 seconds. If anything, Ford was even more successful login gocengqq here than it was with cars. Of course, there was little here to interest enthusiasts. If you’re a little bit hoarse after a group ride, it’s probably a good sign.

The ’60s were much longer, lower, wider, and sleeker than the boxy ’59s, and even mimicked Chevy’s batfins a little, but they looked good with their chrome-edged beltlines and bigger glass areas. A new bodyshell arrived for ’69 with a two-inch longer wheelbase, a “tunneled backlight” for newly named “SportsRoof” fastbacks, and ventless door glass on hardtops and convertibles. It was a blistering performer and its new hardtop body with concave backlight was distinctive, but hot-car demand was fast-waning everywhere, and only 7675 were built for the model year. Ford kept pace with Chevrolet in the ’60s production race, and actually beat it for model years 1961 and ’66. Ford enjoyed its first two-­million-car year in 1965, though that was a great year for all domestic automakers. The Concours coupe also was the first Chevrolet coupe with a fold-down front center armrest. Underneath was a stronger chassis with a completely new front suspension evolved from NASCAR experience. Other Cook-designed projects in Austin include the Pease Mansion (6 Niles Rd), built in 1853 and features a front portico and two-story icon columns over the front door, and the Neill-Cochran House (2310 San Gabriel St), which was made of Austin limestone and Bastrop pine in 1855 and designed in a Greek-Revival style with two-story Doric columns across the wide front veranda.

From barbeque to Mexican fare and everything in between, Austin is a foodie’s heaven. Before you head out of town, make a stop at the Austin Nature and Science Center (301 Nature Center Dr), a “living nature museum” in Zilker Park that opened in 1960. There’s the “Eco-Detective Trail,” wildlife exhibits and the incredibly cool Dino Pit exhibit, and an outdoor, hands-on exhibit with six different areas for discovery and exploration. The earliest golfers made a living by betting against their opponents. First introduced in 1939, the Studebaker Champion was a full-size car for its first three generations, and then a mid-size car beginning in 1953. Available as a sedan, coupe, station wagon or convertible, the Champion was designed to be affordable and was also made to be light (“weight is the enemy” was the mantra of its designers). Still, Dearborn was the last of the big Three to abandon traditional full-size cars — and the first to suffer for it.

This page introduces the 1970 Chrysler compact cars. Leading the 1970 line were modestly facelifted full-size Fords with “poke-through” center grille sections on LTDs and XLs, plus revamped rear ends on all models. Starliner bowed out after 1961, when standards were face­lifted via a full-width concave grille (with ’59-style insert) and a return to round taillights capped by discreet blades. The Skyliner was gone, but there was a new fixed-roof Starliner hardtop coupe with sleek semifastback profile. Reflecting the buckets-and-console craze then sweeping Detroit were the midseason 500 XL Victoria hardtop coupe and Sunliner convertible. The following year brought new outer sheetmetal with more flowing lines and “faster” rooflines on hardtop coupes. Luxury was further emphasized with a new LTD Brougham hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan, and four-door sedan. With base and luxury coupe, EXP eased below 26,000 for ’87, then was abandoned in 1988 as a bad bet, though this did free up assembly-line space for regular Escorts. After an Australian woman posted a selfie on Facebook holding a winning ticket from a horse race bet, one of her Facebook friends used the picture to duplicate the ticket and its barcode and claim her $825 in winnings.