Random car trivia to kill time

We at The ClassicCars.com The Journal is currently bringing you highlights from the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Fall Auction, as well as our usual AutoHunter and ClassicCars.com articles. So, at this moment, how about we listen to some random car trivia? You can surprise your friends, or post it on social media and see if anyone gets surprised and angry – yes, that seems to be an unfortunate byproduct of discussing cars online.

Hubcaps and wheel covers
I used to use these two interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.

If you think about it, it’s simple: a wheel cap covers the entire wheel, whereas a hubcap may only cover the hub. A “poverty cap” is a hubcap, but a full wheel disc (pictured above) is a wheel cover.

Both may or may not have trim rings, which are chrome (or similar) clips that fit at the tips between the wheel and tire. Despite the use of mag wheels, the GTO Judge has no trim rings, unlike the regular GTO.

Embrace Orange, Monaco Orange, Fiesta Red, Carousel Red and Rally Red
In 1969, Chevrolet introduced a color called “Hugger Orange” for the Camaro. Over the years, it has become an iconic color, although it is absent from many models. However, for the Chevelle and Corvette, it’s called Monaco Orange. Carousel Red was the 1969 Firebird color that would become the signature color of the 1969 GTO Judge, identical to, but different from, the similar Fiesta Red color introduced in mid-1968.

In 1970, Oldsmobile introduced Rally Red as one of four extra-cost colors for its Model A bodies. Although it looks like the color above, it’s actually a different paint formula.

Do you have to order a bench?
Arguments over the first muscle car aside, we agree that the 1964 Pontiac GTO started a market trend. If you check out most of the high-performance cars that came on the market after the GTO, you’ll see that they all follow the same formula: a top-of-the-line model with high-performance equipment. That means most are based on higher-spec models with standard bucket seats.

If you want three seats, most of the time you’ll need to specify that as an option. In the performance market, this continued until 1967, before the Plymouth Road Runner came to prominence in 1968 – a model (and imitators) that clearly carried a benchmark standard.

Cousins, but not kisses
In 1970, the Ford Mustang launched the 428 Cobra Jet. The VIN will show a Q in the fifth character if you want basic CJ or an R if you want ram air.

However, Mercury did things slightly differently in 1970. A Cougar equipped with the 428 Cobra Jet is a Q code whether it has ram air or not.

The same goes for the 429 Cobra Jet. For a 1970 Torino or other midsize Ford, if you want a base CJ, the VIN will show C in 5^th Features; VIN will read J if you want ram air. However, for the 1970 Mercury Cyclone series, all 429 Cobra jets were C-code, whether they had ram air or not.

Interestingly, in 1971, the engine code systems for the Ford and Mercury 429 Cobra Jet were identical. Most of the time, Ford and Mercury used the same system, but occasionally there were anomalies, like in 1970.

Cousins, but not kisses (Part 2)
Mopar’s VIN system follows the following pattern:

• Role 1: Series
• Feature 2: Price Tiers (more about hierarchy than cost)
• Character 3: Number of doors
• Personality four: body shape

Let’s look at the 1970 Plymouth Barracuda: There were three models, the Barracuda, Gran Coupe and ‘Cuda:

• B is for Barracuda
• H stands for high price (Barracuda), S stands for special (‘Cuda), and P stands for premium (Gran Coupe).
• 2 is the number of doors
• 3 for hardtop, 7 for convertible

However, Dodge is doing things a little differently with the Challenger:

• J is for challenger
• H stands for high price (Challenger), S stands for special (Challenger R/T)
• 2 is the number of doors
• 3 for hardtop, 7 for convertible, 9 for special hardtop (SE)

You can see that while Plymouth and Dodge offer similar structures, including a base pony car, a high-performance pony car, and a luxury pony car, they approach their model architecture differently—the difference with the Barracuda Gran Coupe goes down to its price class, while the Challenger SE and R/T SE fall within its body style (29).

The 29 body style is used to specify formal roofs like the SE (note that it has a smaller rear window than the regular Challenger), but is also used to specify special models like the Charger because it has a different roof than the mainstream Coronet.