BMW E21 3-Series

It's difficult to overstate the importance of the E21 to BMW history, with the model having kicked off Munich's most dominant model line that continues to this day. And in many ways it represented a bridge from the late Neue Klasse cars to the more modern BMW lineup that we've become accustomed to.

It's easy to forget that the E21 was available only as a two-door model, so the 3-Series sedan would have to wait until the next generation arrived in 1982.

Coachbuilder Baur offered its somewhat unconventional TopCabriolet, seen in our photo, through BMW dealers, opening up the E21 to the sky but perhaps not all the way.

One aspect of the E21 that may feel quite different viewed through today's eyes is that the vast majority of the versions sold were... not very powerful or sporty at all for the day, and were also adorned with smog equipment in the US.

But on the performance side of things, the 323i offered an inline-six, with the rest of the range featuring inline-four engines.

Peugeot 604

When it comes to European cars, another model celebrating its 50th anniversary this year is the plush Peugeot 604, which was the top sedan in the French automaker's lineup and made its way stateside in admittedly small numbers.

The big French saloon was offered in gas and diesel flavors, and over the years we've seen a handful of 604s appear at Carlisle—one of the few places in North America where it's even possible to see one.

The 604 was the choice for those who wanted something American-sized, in contrast to the much more modest 504, but it was a niche offering even in Peugeot's limited dealer network stateside, and was quickly upstaged by the 505.

There aren't that may 604s left stateside, even in Peugeot circles.

Volvo 66

Continuing in order of increasing obscurity, yet another European car that is celebrating the half-century mark this year is the Volvo 66. This was a DAF design that arrived on sale just after Volvo's takeover of the passenger car division of the Dutch truck maker, so it shared very little with Swedish Volvos of the time. In fact, the Volvo 66 was essentially a reworked versions of DAF 66 that arrived just three years prior.

Of course, DAF itself is still synonymous with its simple and rugged Variomatic continuously variable transmissions, and the Volvo 66, alongside the later 300-Series Volvos, featured this innovative component.

Among other things, Variomatic transmissions allowed these cars to go just as fast in reverse, which is slightly scary to think about.

Don't worry if you haven't seen a Volvo 66 of these in the US, as they were never officially sold here. Still, some have found their way to North America, and years ago we went for a spin in one of these rare machines.