A 1960 Ford Thunderbird   

at the Promenade on the Peninsula

Coffee & Cars show 

On Saturday June 16 Pelican Parts hosted a Coffee & Cars show on the top deck of the parking garage at the Promenade on the Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates, California. This gorgeous restored 1960 Ford Thunderbird "square bird" convertible stood  out in the sea of Porsches. 

The first generation of Ford Thunderbirds were two-seaters and though the first year of the Thunderbird in 1955 outsold the Chevrolet Corvette by a massive margin (over 20 to 1), Ford executives believed that the two-seat convertible  body style held back sales, so for the second generation which debuted in 1958, the Thunderbird came a four-seat design available in both a coupe and convertible body style. The executives were proved correct, a Thunderbird sales exploded from over 21,000 units in 1957 to nearly 93,000 in 1960.  

The example on display in Rolling Hills Estates represents  the final year of the second generation production and can be identified as a 1960 model instantly via its triple-row rear taillights. This one was one of nearly 12,000 convertibles sold in the 1960 model year.   

Notice the generous dimensions of the sumptuous interior with a large console separating the front bucket seats.   

Photos by the author

Racing Porsches on display 

On Saturday June 16 Pelican Parts hosted a Coffee & Cars show on the top deck of the parking garage at the Promenade on the Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates, California. There were several interesting Porsche 911 racing or racing themed cars on display that caught the author's eye. 

All photos by the author

Chrysler Hemi-powered Volkswagen  

On Saturday June 16 Pelican Parts hosted a Coffee & Cars show on the top deck of the parking garage at the Promenade on the Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates, California.   This Chrysler "Hemi" powered Volkswagen Type 1 "beetle" was far and away the most unusual car at the show and attracted lots of attention from the spectators.  The car exhibited very high build standards although the graphics package is a bit outdated.

Photos by the author 

A giant 1966 Mercury stands out

at the Promenade on the Peninsula

Coffee & Cars show 

On Saturday June 16, Pelican Parts hosted a Coffee & Cars show on the top deck of the parking garage at the Promenade on the Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates, California.


At over 18 feet long, the beautiful unrestored 1966 Mercury Park Lane Marauder 2-door fast back hardtop was one of the few domestic cars and easily the largest car at   the show.

Ford first introduced the "Parklane" nameplate as a two-door station wagon in 1956, and although it outsold the Chevrolet Nomad two-to-one, Ford discontinued the name plate after just one year.

In 1958, the "Park Lane" nameplate re-emerged as the premium model in the  Mercury line as a two or four-door hardtop or a two-door convertible, but once again the nameplate was killed off after the 1960 model year.

The "Park Lane" model designation came to life for the third time in 1964, again as the highest Mercury brand trim level. The entire Mercury line was redesigned in 1965 with the signature wide, flat front grille and quad headlights  as seen on this example which emphasizes the width of the car- over 6-1/2 feet.   

Sadly the "Park Lane" nameplate was killed off  yet again at the end of the 1968 model year, but even out of production, a black 1968 four-door Park Lane Brougham hardtop served as Detective Captain Steve McGarrett's car on the classic CBS television crime show Hawaii Five-O for the first seven seasons. 

This 1966 two- door fastback hardtop has a curb weight of over two tons but thanks to its 410-cubic inch 330-horsepower engine and the Merc-o-matic automatic transmission, when new this car could accelerate from a standing start to 60 miles per hour in 8.2 seconds.  

This beautiful unrestored car one of less than 8,500 built in 1966 with worn paint appeared stock aside from its unusual "kidney bean" aftermarket wheels which have "Avanti" center caps.

Photos by the author.