Buick

Buick, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A big toothy Buick Roadmaster, about a '53 or so.

Skylark

Skylark, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Originally part of the Roadmaster range, the Buick Skylark was introduced in 1953, along with two other special convertibles, the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta Convertible and the Cadillac Eldorado Series 62. The 'Lark was by far the most successful with about 1600 examples produced that year.

Essentially handmade, the Skylark differed from the Roadmaster in a number of ways. Most noticeably was the lowered windshield and seating, accomplished by the tried and true method of chopping the frame and lowering the seat frames. Between that and the new fenders and doors, the Skylark was basically a factory built custom car.

This one's a '53.

Authorized Service

Authorized Service, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I don't often shoot smaller neon signs-they're usually meant for wall or window display and the most common ones seem to be for beer or cigarettes. Once in a while, though, one pops up with some other subject matter.

This Buick is one such sign. Something like this would probably have hung in a showroom window, or maybe out by the service department. I don't know if this is original or a reproduction (or, really, if they used these back in the day), but it is gorgeous.

Teef

Teef, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

When they say cars have "faces", this is what they're talking about. And this one's smilin'!