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25-569: The Rolls-Royce Boat Tail is a mid-sized luxury coach built grand tourer car made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars . It is the world's most expensive street legal new car, with a speculated price of US$ 28 million. BMW , Owner B.Aravind Jayesh Naik the parent company of Rolls-Royce, trademark protected the Boat Tail Concept with the European Union Intellectual Property Office on 30 May 2018, as well as with

50-661: A 118 in (300 cm) wheelbase and the Monte Carlo had a 116 in (290 cm) wheelbase. When the A- and G-body cars were restyled for 1973, the G-body design was renamed the A-special body. All GM A- and A-special body cars were completely restyled for 1973 with hardtop and convertible bodystyles eliminated due to pending Federal safety regulations. The 1973-77 cars were available in sedans, coupes and station wagons. General Motors described

75-448: A butterfly shape, at an angle of 67 degrees. The first car features matching pairs of men's and women's watches manufactured by Bovet Fleurier which include a tiny sculpture of the car in the dial. The watches can be worn as a wristwatch or used as a desk clock or pocket watch, and they can also be placed in a titanium enclosure on the car's dashboard to be used as its clock. The car has a bespoke Bose Corporation sound system which uses

100-514: A full perimeter frame and four-link coil-spring rear suspension, similar to that introduced on full-sized Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles in 1961 and on all other GM full-sized cars in 1965. The Chevrolet A-body line included the El Camino coupe utility . Two station wagons based on the A-body used stretched wheelbases and raised rear roof sections with skylights: the 1964–1972 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and

125-423: A vent wing window assembly - 1969-72 models had a one piece door glass where GM's Astro Ventilation system (first used with the 1966 Buick Riviera) was phased in. Also using a variation of the A-body chassis and suspension were the 1969–1972 Pontiac Grand Prix and 1970–1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo — both of which were marketed as intermediate-sized personal luxury cars and coded as G-body cars. The Grand Prix had

150-624: Is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in the European car classification. Mid-size cars are manufactured in a variety of body styles, including sedans , coupes , station wagons , hatchbacks , and convertibles . Compact executive cars can also fall under the mid-size category. The automobile that defined this size in the United States was the Rambler Six that was introduced in 1956, although it

175-490: The C/K series in 1960. The A-body platform returned as an intermediate-sized platform introduced in the 1964 model year for two redesigned and two new mid-sized cars from four of GM divisions. Notable examples include the FR layout Chevrolet Chevelle , Buick Special , Oldsmobile Cutlass and Pontiac Tempest . The A-body cars were the first intermediate-sized cars designed with

200-618: The Chevrolet Master and the Chevrolet Deluxe , and all 1936-39 Pontiacs, the 1940 Pontiac Special, the 1941 Pontiac Deluxe Torpedo and all Pontiac Torpedoes produced from 1942 through 1948 were A-bodies. From 1949 to 1957, only Chevrolets ( 150 , 210 , Bel Air , Del Ray ) and Pontiacs ( Chieftain , Star Chief , Super Chief ) were built on the A-body. These cars were moved to the new B Body shared with some Buicks and Oldsmobiles in 1958, and all truck conversions were replaced by

225-607: The National Institute of Industrial Property in Brazil. The car was designed by the company's specialised coachbuild division at its Goodwood plant , reinterpreting the 1910s Rolls-Royce Ltd Boat Tail car design. It draws aesthetic inspiration from yachts of the 1920s and 1930s. The car shares its chassis and engine with the Rolls-Royce Phantom ; but has 1,813 bespoke parts, including five electronic control units in

250-568: The "big cars of the future." By 1978, General Motors made its intermediate models smaller. New "official" size designations in the U.S. were introduced by the EPA , which defined market segments by passenger and cargo space. Formerly mid-sized cars that were built on the same platform, like the AMC Matador sedan, had a combined passenger and cargo volume of 130 cubic feet (3.68 m ), and were now considered "full-size" automobiles. Cars that defined

275-430: The 1962 Ford Fairlane was viewed by consumers as too close to the compact Falcon in size and performance as well as too close to the full-sized Ford models in price. It was the introduction of General Motors " senior compacts " that grew the mid-size market segment as the line of cars themselves kept increasing in size. By 1965, these GM "A platform" mid-size models matched the size of 1955 full-size cars. During

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300-457: The 1964–69 Buick Sport Wagon . All A-body cars had a 115 in (292 cm) wheelbase except the stretched-wheelbase wagons, which were 120 in (305 cm). Some of GM's most successful products in the muscle car era were A-body models, including the Pontiac GTO , Chevrolet Malibu SS, Oldsmobile 442 and Buick GS . From 1964 to 1969, GM Canada produced a special-market version of

325-416: The 1970s, the intermediate class in the U.S. was generally defined as vehicles with wheelbases between 112 inches (2,845 mm) and 118 inches (2,997 mm). Once again, the cars grew and by 1974 they were "about as large as the full-size cars of a decade or so ago ... best sellers include Ford Torino , Chevrolet Chevelle , AMC Matador , Plymouth Satellite ..." The domestic manufacturers began changing

350-574: The 1978 model year in response to CAFE requirements and the increased popularity of smaller cars. The redesigned models were similar in size to the previous X-bodies . The Buick and Oldsmobile were introduced with fastback coupe styles, while the Chevrolet and Pontiac received notchbacks. Four-door fastback sedan models were also available. An interesting design compromise was non-lowering rear door windows on four-door sedans and wagons, which also reverted to full window frames while two-door models including

375-681: The Chevelle SS-454, Pontiac 's 455 cu in (7.46 L) in the GTO, Oldsmobile 's 455 cu in (7.46 L) in the 442, and Buick 's 455 cu in (7.46 L) in the GS. The two-door had a 112 in (280 cm) wheelbase; four-door, station wagon, and the El Camino had a 116 in (290 cm) wheelbase; and the stretched-wheelbase wagon had a 121 in (310 cm) wheelbase. 1968 model year A-body 2-door hardtops and convertibles had

400-558: The Chevelle called the Beaumont , which included Pontiac-type trim and unique front grilles as well as taillight assemblies. When the A-body cars were introduced in 1964, GM had set a corporate policy prohibiting V8 engines larger than 330 cu in (5.4 L) in these models. However, Pontiac fitted its 389 cu in (6.37 L) V8 in the Lemans to create the GTO — commonly considered

425-486: The car's floor structure as a resonance chamber . The car includes a Montblanc pen housed in a hand-crafted case inside the glove box. The instrument panel dials feature guilloché decorative work. Mid-size Mid-size —also known as intermediate —is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars . "Large family car"

450-527: The combined passenger and cargo volume, mid-size cars are defined as having an interior volume index of 110–119 cu ft (3.1–3.4 m ). GM A platform (1936)#1964–1967 The earliest GM A-bodied based cars shared a common chassis with the Chevrolet Superior , with Pontiac Six replacing Oakland starting in 1926. Oldsmobile also used the A-body for the 1938–48 Series 60 . All Chevrolets produced during this period, to include

475-665: The definition of "medium" as they developed new models for an evolving market place. A turning point occurred in the late 1970s, when rising fuel costs and government fuel economy regulations caused all car classes to shrink, and in many cases to blur. Automakers moved previously "full-size" nameplates to smaller platforms such as the Ford LTD II and the Plymouth Fury . A comparison test by Popular Science of four intermediate sedans (the 1976 AMC Matador, Chevrolet Malibu , Ford Torino, and Dodge Coronet ) predicted that these will be

500-558: The exception of the Chevrolet Corvette), was continued through the 1969 model year. All GM A-bodies were completely restyled in 1968. The 400 cu in limit remained. It was removed in 1970, mainly due to Chrysler's domination in the drag racing and muscle car market with larger engines and highest power rated engines available in nearly all Chrysler "B" platform models. This led each of the four GM divisions to offer their largest engines: Chevrolet 's 454 cu in (7.44 L) in

525-512: The first popular muscle car. Though this violated the 330 cu in limit, Pontiac got around the rules by designating the GTO as a low-volume option package rather than a specific model. The sales success of the 1964 GTO led the corporation to increase the cubic inch limit for 1965 A-body cars to 400 cu in (6.6 L), opening the door for the other three divisions to offer similar muscle cars. The 400 cu in limit for A-body cars, as well as for other GM cars that were smaller than full-sized (with

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550-799: The mid-size market in the 1980s and 1990s included the Chrysler K-Cars ( Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant ), the Ford Taurus , and the Toyota Camry , which was upsized into the midsize class in 1991. The Taurus and Camry came to define the mid-size market for decades. Mid-size cars were the most popular category of cars sold in the United States, with 27.4 percent during the first half of 2012, ahead of crossovers at 19 percent. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fuel Economy Regulations for 1977 and Later Model Year (dated July 1996) includes definitions for classes of automobiles. Based on

575-437: The pillared bodystyles with frameless doors and windows as "Colonnade" styling. Wheelbases for this generation were 112 for two-door coupes and 116 for four-door sedans and wagons. By this time, engine performance had diminished due to a combination of higher insurance rates, stricter emission standards, and higher fuel prices. Top performance options of this generation included: All GM intermediate-sized cars were downsized for

600-457: The rear deck. The cars feature a parasol that extends from the rear deck deployed by a mechanical system in an inverted manner like a flower, rotating cocktail tables with matching stool seats , a complete set of Christofle tableware and two fridges in a colour scheme to match Armand de Brignac champagne bottles. The deck is finished in Caleidolegno veneer and hinges towards the centre in

625-513: Was called a "compact" car at that time. Much smaller than any standard contemporary full-size cars, it was called a compact to distinguish it from the small imported cars that were being introduced into the marketplace. By the early 1960s, the car was renamed the Rambler Classic and while it retained its basic dimensions, it was now competing with an array of new "intermediate" models from General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The introduction of

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