Beautiful '74 Grand Safari I snapped photos of at cruise tonight...

Dealer stock ordered cars

there was really no rhyme nor reason to what options were ordered for stock, there were more popular:

cruise
tilt
illuminated visor vanity mirror
twilight sentinel
split seats
radio options
power passenger seat

and less popular:

guidematic
illuminated entry
theft deterrent
level-ride

Where it got creative was in the color combinations. In those days, you could really order anything, recommended or not, hence mistakes like the aqua Seville with red leather that I ordered. But we had a customer that insisted on a navy blue Seville with saddle leather that was also not recommended, and that car was sharp (and a very popular combination today) but remember that was 30+ years ago!

The aqua Seville did sell quickly.... I remember saying "stripe it red, and wrap it in red ribbon (it was December) and put it on the (showroom) floor."

It went pretty quickly from what I remember.

 

I know... it was amazing.... then they had the Granada and LTD midsize spinoff of the Fairmont in the early 80s. I also drove one, as my grandpa had a 1979 Fairmont wagon. He bought it in 1990 and it had 17K miles! Yes, 17K. It was like new, but that was before he retired and he used it as a work car... and it was not so nice by 1995 or so.

 

I used to drive Land Rover Discoverys, always with the V8 petrol engine (rare here).
I would love a new Discovery, but Land Rover has cut the drivetrain options back to two, a 2.7 or 3.0 litre V6 diesel, both with automatic transmission.
Thinking about the days when you could option a car to your requirements as we've been discussing here, I asked about the possibility of the new 5.0 litre petrol V8 available in some markets, but the dealer shook his head.
There is no way I would drive a diesel Land Rover, so LRUK has just lost a customer for good.

 

Cornering Lights

Actually, if you see a late model BMW waiting at a light for a left hand turn, you might notice that the fog light on the left side has come on. What's less obvious is that the left headlight also pivots a little when the wheel is turned hard to the left or the left blinker is on (it also has similar behavior on the right). Mercedes, Audi and VW have similar setups. It seems that the Europeans were discovering cornering lights just and the US brands were dropping them; even Cadillac only offers them on the aging DTS at this point, though, I wouldn't be surprised if they made a comeback with the switch to LED lighting.
BTW: When I added them to my Accord, I wanted to avoid hacking up the front fenders, so I mounted them in the lower grille, angled out about 45 degrees. The beams just clear the rest of the bumper; I'm surprised at how well they work there.

 

Welcome PCL!

You are already contributing fun (well-lit) insights to the group! I know you will enjoy it here! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima

David

 

I have cornering lamps on my Safari, but did not even know I had them until about a year ago! D'oh! I had never heard of them before. When I went to switch out the steering column, besides needing a match for the obvious options of tilt wheel, and cruise control, I was asked if I had cornering lamps. Oh...so thats what those big 'side marker' lights are! Nifty invention, they work great, and who knows, you might even have some on your car without knowing it!

 

Yeah, my 89' Safari had them as well... I loved them. I only wish my 73' Pontiac had them... they were optional on it too, but it dont have them.

I have seen some late 80s Safaris without cornering lights, but most of them lacked woodgrain as well.

 

I haven't seen enough Safaris around here to make a comparison...My car is pretty much loaded, I wonder if the cornering lights came as part of a package or 'convenience group'? About the only thing my Safari doesn't have is leather seats...was that even an option?

 

I dont think leather was optional on the Safari wagon... only the cloth interior that I have seen them with is the only interior I was aware of. Also not sure about those lights... could have been part of a package. I think the only options mine lacked were power antenna and power passenger seat.