Meet the 'Normcars' That America ForgotTodd LassaMillennials, Gen Z enthusiasts, and maybe aliens from outer space visiting your average auto museum would be excused coming away with the impression that kids of the 1960s and '70s took family road trips in the back seats of Pontiac GTOs or the jump seats of Porsche 911s.They'll see some full-size Chevrolets and Cadillacs, Fords and Lincolns, Plymouths and Imperials at these museums, sure, but even a '62 Bel Air preserved or restored for show is more likely to have a 409 and four-on-the-floor than, say, the more common Stovebolt six with Powerglide.What about the cars middle-America grew up with from the Kennedy through Reagan years? What about the "middle brands" that parents of boomers and Gen X aspired to buy, and often could, for an extra $25 per month?AdvertisementAdvertisementLet's call them "normcars."Adam Wade calls them his collection."I like to drive things that, let's just say are quirky, and others don't have," Adam says.He gives walkarounds of his four-dozen-plus cars, one at a time, on his popular YouTube series Rare Classic Cars and Automotive History. There are a few Chevrolets, Fords, Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Imperials in Adam's collection, but the majority are from those mostly extinct "middle-priced" brands. The former finance executive for a Detroit Three automaker found most of his cars on eBay or from local sales around the middle of the country. Many came with less than 10,000 miles.AdvertisementAdvertisementHere's a look at nearly a quarter of Adam's collection:1) 1966 Pontiac Catalina Hardtop CoupePhoto credit: Adam WadeAt 214.8-inches long on a 121-inch wheelbase, Pontiac's bread-and-butter B-body model was a bit larger than America's bestseller, the Chevrolet Impala. The Catalina got a mild facelift for '66, retaining the all-new 1965 model's coke-bottle rear-quarter flares. Engine is a 325-hp 389-cubic-inch V-8.2) 1965 Pontiac Bonneville 4dr HTPhoto credit: Todd LassaThe Bonneville was at the other end of Pontiac's full-size lineup. At 221.8 inches on a 124-inch wheelbase, this premium C-body model was competition for the slightly longer Buick Electra 225. Adam's car has a rare, optional reverberating AM radio, plus automatic temperature control air-conditioning, heavy duty suspension for better ride and handling, 338 hp, 421 cubic-inch four-barrel V-8, tilt wheel and power front bench seat. A custom foam front cushion added to seat comfort while adding $10 to the Monroney.3) 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Holiday Hardtop CoupePhoto credit: Adam WadeMy parents had a '67 Delmont 88 425 two-door hardtop much like this, one 88 trim-level down from this model [Delta 88 Custom was the top]. Like my parents' car, Adam's Delta is powered by the optional (at no cost) lower-compression 300-horsepower 425 cubic-inch V-8 and Turbo-Hydramatic. A high compression, 310 hp 425 was standard with the optional three-speed automatic, but the lower compression option let you fill the tank with 33 cents per-gallon regular instead of 38 cents per-gallon premium.4) 1968 Mercury Park Lane BroughamPhoto credit: Adam WadeAdvertisementAdvertisementA big fan of the original Hawaii Five-0 (1968-80) Adam owns two black vinyl-on-black '68 Mercs like the car Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) drove through most of the first six seasons; one with a tan interior and another with a red interior and both with the optional "gentleman's hot rod" 428 cubic inch, four-barrel V-8. He has a third with black cherry paint over a red interior, and the base 390 V-8, as well as a '74 Marquis Brougham much like McGarrett's replacement car for the 1975-80 seasons. Drive 'em, Wade-o. (He does, regularly.)5) 1968 Meteor MontcalmPhoto credit: Adam WadeFord of Canada assembled the Meteor brand, positioned between Ford and Mercury and sold locally and to export markets except the U.S. from 1949-61 and 1964-76. Powering Adam's Montcalm is an optional 210-hp 302 cubic-inch two-barrel V-8, which he describes as a "gem" of an engine that moves the big car smoothly and surprisingly well.6) 1972 Imperial LeBaron 4DR HTPhoto credit: Todd LassaSure, this is not a normcar brand, but rather a luxury brand. But we include it because it represents the epoch of Chrysler's "fuselage" design language launched on its 1969 full-size models, with clean body sides canted inward toward the roof panels, to resemble aircraft fuselage. Chrysler revised the Imperial's sheetmetal again three years later, with the distinctive Woodlite-style parking lamps flanking hidden headlamps. Wheelbase of the unibody car is 127 inches long and engine is a 440 cubic-inch V-8.7) 1973 Oldsmobile CutlassPhoto credit: Adam WadeGM invited controversy with its all-new baroque "colonnade" intermediates of 1973 and derision from musclecar enthusiasts who recognized the impending demise of GM's A-body musclecars. The Olds 442 now was just a trim option for the Cutlass S two-door. All colonnades, like Adam's base four-door Cutlass, have a fixed b-pillar but frameless doors. It was a successful formula, with Cutlass overtaking the Chevy Impala on the sales charts and the Olds division topping 1 million annual sales before the end of the decade. Adam's Cutlass colonnade has a smooth, 180hp, 350-4bbl V8, that he says combined with its excellent ride and surprisingly good handling helps explain the line's sales success.8) 1974 Mercury Marquis BroughamPhoto credit: Adam WadeAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 1967-74 model years marked the sweet spot for Mercury, Adam says, as Ford moved its middle division upscale to become to Lincoln what Buick was to Cadillac. The Marquis' hood ornament resembles a wreathed Lincoln logo rotated by 90 degrees, he notes. Wearing "Santa" livery, this four-door Marquis was the biggest Mercury ever, at 229 inches on a 124-inch wheelbase. Standard engine is an OPEC-be-damned 460 cubic inch V-8 making just 195hp, but with prodigious torque. Wade's fleet-o-Mercurys includes the three 1974 Marquis variants and a '74 Colony Park Wagon.9) 1973 Ford Galaxie 500 4DR HTPhoto credit: Adam WadeThe '60s bestseller Galaxie 500 was gone after 1974 as the upscale LTD became Ford's full-size standard-bearer. This is as large as Galaxies got, at 220 inches long on a 121-inch wheelbase. It was often the police/unmarked car on '70s TV cop shows like Kojak or Hawaii Five-0, though Adam's example is a rare pillarless four-door, not a sedan. Adam bought his black Galaxie from a Mennonite farmer who avoided the usual power options on his austere example, except for automatic climate control and the optional 400 cubic-inch two-barrel V-8.10) 1984 Oldsmobile Omega Brougham sedanPhoto credit: Adam WadeGeneral Motors' 1980 X-body compacts, at 183-inches long on a 105-inch wheelbase, were the automaker's next small thing after the Chevy Vega. They were wildly successful in their inaugural model year, with the '80 Chevrolet Citation alone selling 800,000 (Pontiac had the Phoenix and Buick the Skylark). But they were plagued with teething problems because GM engineers needed to redesign just about every system for its X-body in the platform's transition to lightweight front-wheel-drive compacts. Among GM-firsts were standard transverse 2.5L I-4 or optional 2.8L V-6, MacPherson front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering. The Iron Duke four in Adam's Omega also powered Grumman LLV US Postal Service trucks. He finds the engine "humorously crude and slow, but very reliable," and it puts out a distinctive "puttering" sound.11) 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans AmPhoto credit: Todd LassaAlong with shows like the Jack Lord-era Hawaii Five-0, Adam grew up watching Knight Rider. So, it's no coincidence his first "classic" car purchase was this Mk. III F-body Trans Am, which he calls a "beautifully styled, horribly built car." Adam admits being sentimental about his T/A 'bird after owning it nearly 20 years. With 30,000 miles on the clock, it's "loaded" with optional rear wiper and the Firebird's most powerful engine offered that year; a 165hp Cross-Fire Injection 305 cubic-inch V-8 coupled to the THM200C transmission. The three-speed automatic is not very robust, so Adam says he rarely forces full-throttle upshifts or downshifts. [The four-speed manual option required a downgrade to the standard 145-hp carbureted V-8.]12) 1986 Cadillac CimarronPhoto credit: Todd LassaAdvertisementAdvertisementUnlike, say, any vintage Corvette, body parts for obscure models like Cadillac's Reagan-era entry front-wheel-drive compact are ultra-rare. Wade needs a plastic filler panel that goes between the chrome front bumper and the left front quarter panel to make this 9,000-mile example quite likely the best Cimarron extant. He is working on a time-consuming 3D print of the part. Built on the Opel Ascona-based J platform (Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac J2000, Oldsmobile Firenza, Buick Skyhawk) from 1982-88, the Cimarron came with a 1.8L 4-cylinder, 2.0L 4-cylinder, or 2.8L V-6 engine during its tenure. Thankfully, Wade has the optional 125 hp, 2.8L V-6 engine with three-speed automatic (a manual was offered) which he says is relatively peppy considering it moves just 2,600 pounds. "I like to drive things that, let's just say are quirky, and other don't have," Adam says. "The Cimarron is kind of a giant, despite the fact that it was never really a sales success. You could drive a really expensive car and be noticed, or you could drive a Cimarron; A far less-expensive way to be noticed."