Some Interesting Base Models You Don’t Often See

We find base models ordered with a minimum of extra-cost items represent a unique vehicle segment.  Strippers, plain Jane models.  Sure, many are used as commercial fleet vehicles or chosen by dealers to use as loss leaders in advertisements.  Those usually see hard use and have a low survivability rate.  But it’s cars specifically ordered that way by individual buyers which are of particular interest to us.  In this section, we’ve got a gallery of interesting base models we came across at different times.

Usually, such a buyer is stretching every penny of their money as far possible in order to get into any version of a car they need or want.  Maybe it’s the cheapest Toyota available in order to have something, anything, to get to work.  Or maybe it’s a Ford F-150 base XL level because you need a truck that’s not overpriced in order to manage a 4-year loan instead of a 7-year one.

But most interesting are older base models from the classic car days.  Back then, vehicle manufacturers allowed buyers greater flexibility when ordering a new car.  More options could be selected individually, so it was easy to order a plain Jane without air conditioning, a radio, power steering, power windows, and other conveniences we take for granted as standard features now.  And forget alloy wheels, base models barely had wheel covers at all.  Base models all the way up to full-size Buicks came with center “dog dish” hubcaps through the early 1980s.  During the muscle car era of the 1964-72, it was especially easy to order a car devoid of all comfort and convenience features but with a big-block performance engine, manual transmission, and heavy-duty driveline components.

Base models also applied to luxury cars in the old days as well.  For this, we’ll use “Fred W”, a successful chemical company sales rep, as an example.  To help him close deals, Fred needed a car which supported an image he came from a successful can-do company that you’d want to do business with.  For Fred in the 1970s, this meant many hours wistfully looking at the 1976 Cadillac brochure lusting after a new Sedan deVille or Fleetwood.  He’d always liked cars in general, and the look of the 1975-76 full size Caddies was handsomely distinctive and easy to recognize.  Plus, they recently got the Eldorado’s unique 500 cubic-inch V8 standard.  A new Olds 98 or Buick Electra didn’t look like a Caddy, and a 2-year old Sedan deVille didn’t even have the 500 engine or the square headlights he craved.  So it had to be a new one.  The problem was, Fred wasn’t rich and every penny counted when it came to a new-car purchase.

The Fleetwood’s base price of $14,889 was out of the question, so Fred set his hopes on a Sedan deVille.  But with an entry price of about $9,300, he still winced.  Then at the end of the brochure he saw the entry-level Calais model that looked identical to the DeVille, but with a lower trim level and price.  Realizing he could order one without a vinyl roof or lower brightwork for just over $8,600 instead, Fred would be able to make that purchase happen.  Done.  He didn’t care if it had plaid cloth seats instead of leather or no vinyl on the roof – a new Cadillac was a new Cadillac.

And finally, a modern take.  Sean (me) liked everything about the new Tesla Model 3 sedan in 2017 except the high price which put it out of reach.  Fast forward two years to when Elon Musk finally brought out a lower-priced “Standard Range” base model for a significantly lower price, and Sean ordered one immediately with zero options for the lowest possible base price.  While his was rear-wheel-drive and not as high performance as the other all-wheel-drive models, it looked identical to a Performance Stealth model down to the wheels and wheel covers – for almost $25k less.  But as far as Sean was concerned, it was just as satisfying to own. Maybe even moreso.

We’ll be updating this post with some interesting base model images we come across, along with any unique details that may be specific to an individual vehicle.