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Cars that are going missing

Drew Dowdell

By Drew Dowdell
in The Lounge

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Drew Dowdell Grand Master

Drew Dowdell

Posted
Posted

When I was out to pick Albert up from work this evening, I saw a first generation Neon drive by... and thought to myself..."Wow! It's been a while since I've seen one of those!"

Not that I like the Neon at all, but they were once incredibly common and I hardly ever see that version. I see similar vintage Cavaliers, Sunfires, and Escorts all the time....

What cars have you noticed aren't around much anymore?

Drew Dowdell Grand Master

Drew Dowdell

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Brougham-Holiday, you're right, I don't see Celebrity/6000 anymore either. But you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Cierra or Century.

I don't see many of the pointy nose Skylarks anymore either. I used to really love the look of those cars. Very unique for their class.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
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Brougham-Holiday, you're right, I don't see Celebrity/6000 anymore either. But you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Cierra or Century.

I don't see many of the pointy nose Skylarks anymore either. I used to really love the look of those cars. Very unique for their class.

Haven't seen any of those Skylarks in ages...same w/ the Achieva. That Skylark may have the distiction of being the last GM NA model w/ an offset front license plate. I still see the occasional Cierra and Century, makes sense as they were built until '95-96 or so, while the Chevy ended in '89 and the Pontiac '90 IIRC...though I have seen a clean dark red late '80s 6000STE a few times lately..

One family of cars I never see are '80s-early 90s Chrysler Corp. FWD cars...from the Aries to Daytona to Laser to Lancer to Dynasty and the 50 different LeBaron variations... I haven't seen any of those cars in a long time. There are a couple beat up Sundance/Shadow convertibles I see around occasionally, though.

Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
Drew Dowdell Grand Master

Drew Dowdell

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  • Author
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There is an astonishing number of operational first gen and First gen + MCE K-cars around here. There is a museum quality circa '83 Lebaron Turbo sedan running around with the original owner (by the looks of her) behind the wheel.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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It's been a while since I have seen the W-body 1st Gen Lumina Coupe.

I saw one of those a couple months ago..I think it was a 1990, since it had a gray eggcrate grille. A gold 2dr in clean shape.

Intrepidation

Intrepidation

Posted
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I see a fair amount of Neons, in fact there's a black first gen across the street.

Here's a car you don't exact to still be on the road, but there's one in good shape down the road...a Yugo!

Sixty8panther Newbie

Sixty8panther

Posted
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- 1980s G-body coupes.

Not that I never see them but seems

like their numbers dropped by 90% in

the last 3 years.

- Pontiac Fieros

I actually got excited when I saw one

the other day.

- 1980s Cadillac Fleetwood Broughams

As most of you know, I've had several

1970s & 1980s RWD Cadillacs for daily

drivers and around here it used to be

quite common to see 25-30 year old

Cadillacs being daily driven by seniors &

or young enthusiasts like myself.

Sad to say I no longer see many old

school Caddys on the street. Even 3

years ago you couldn't swing a dead

cat without hitting an '87 Brougham

and now I'm lucky if I see more than

a couple in one whole day.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
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Another scarce '80s GM are the G-body sedans. Haven't noticed one in years, it seems. '79-85 E-bodies are pretty scarce around here also, though there is a Riviera coupe, Eldorado convertible, and Toronado coupe I see around my 'hood periodically...

Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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Saw my first 240sx in a long time today.

Reminds me..I've seen a dark red 240sx convertible in my commute 3 times in last few months...I had forgotten they even made a convertible version..

mustang84 Newbie

mustang84

Posted
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-Pretty much anything built before 1988

-Dodge Shadows / Plymouth Acclaims...I used to see these cars everywhere as a kid

-Pontiac Sunbird

-1988-90 Pontiac Grand Prix (again, another car I used to see often that I rarely see anymore)

-First gen Taurus / Sable

-Chevy Celebrity, most seem to have rusted away around here

-80's Cavalier

-First gen Dodge Intrepid, and the second gen seems to be dropping off too. I see far more Chrysler Concordes / 300M's still running around

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
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-Pretty much anything built before 1988

True enough..

-First gen Dodge Intrepid, and the second gen seems to be dropping off too. I see far more Chrysler Concordes / 300M's still running around

Interesting..I see a lot more 2nd gen Intrepids than Concordes or 300Ms..the scarcest 2nd gens seem to be the LHSes. I rarely see 1st gen LHes of any version.

Some oldies I've seen in the last day incl. a clean white '78-79 Cutlass Supreme coupe, red interior, looked all original w/ some paint fade and a very clean, original looking '72 Plymouth Satellite 4dr in tan w/ dark tan top and interior, and blue & gold California plates.

  • 2 weeks later...
knightfan26917 Apprentice

knightfan26917

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- 1980s G-body coupes.

Come to my place ;).

- 1980s Cadillac Fleetwood Broughams

Again, come see me! A guy has one of these stored in the garage where my MCs are stored. It hasn't moved in a few years...and it doesn't run. We can't figure out why he's keeping it...since he hasn't been out to look at it in years.....lol

Cort | 36.m.IL | 5 Monte Carlos.1 Caprice Classic | pig valve.pacemaker * 07/24/2010=ChitownMeet #3 *

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"It's a door that never closes" ... Keith Anderson ... 'I Still Miss You'

mustang84 Newbie

mustang84

Posted
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True enough..

Interesting..I see a lot more 2nd gen Intrepids than Concordes or 300Ms..the scarcest 2nd gens seem to be the LHSes. I rarely see 1st gen LHes of any version.

Some oldies I've seen in the last day incl. a clean white '78-79 Cutlass Supreme coupe, red interior, looked all original w/ some paint fade and a very clean, original looking '72 Plymouth Satellite 4dr in tan w/ dark tan top and interior, and blue & gold California plates.

It seems like ever since they re-introduced the Charger, Intrepids have fallen off the map around here. I used to see them all the time.

I think the reason we have so many Concordes and 300M's is because there is a large retiree population around here. Not to say they're grandpa cars or anything, but along with the Grand Marquis, LeSabre, and Park Avenue they seem to be mostly driven by older folks who hang onto their cars longer.

I've seen my share of LHS's. They're not as common as the Concorde and 300M, but they're out there. The scarce one around here is the Eagle Vision...I've only seen a handful.

Edited by mustang84
  • 2 years later...
Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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I still see those fairly frequently, but w/ a large student population, VWs are popular in and around Tempe where I work.... one of my coworkers has a Mk3 Jetta, around a '97 in good shape. I saw 2 MK2 Jettas in the last week, one a faded orange-red and one a dark gold that was popular back in the day IIRC..

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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Yeah, rust isn't a problem here...we get paint fade/oxidation from the sun and cracked interior plastics from the heat, but there are still lots of 10-25 yr old cars on the road out here...

I see some rather obscure older cars pretty frequently out and about in my neighborhood....'70s Lancia Beta coupe, '90s Alfa Romeo 164, Merkur Scorpio, and an '80-81 Chrysler Newport (a car that I've only seen one of in probably the last 25 years).

Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
G. David Felt Grand Master

G. David Felt

Posted
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Neons are gone from the Seattle Roads except for one style which is in plenty around here. SRT4 Versions, you see them everywhere along with the STI's. Seems to be the two big camps for racing and getting into trouble.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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Neons are gone from the Seattle Roads except for one style which is in plenty around here. SRT4 Versions, you see them everywhere along with the STI's. Seems to be the two big camps for racing and getting into trouble.

Boy racer hooligans...Fast and Furious fans...got them here too. Most the Neons I see are of the worn out, faded paint but still on the road variety..

GMTruckGuy74 Newbie

GMTruckGuy74

Posted
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Yeah, rust isn't a problem here...we get paint fade/oxidation from the sun and cracked interior plastics from the heat, but there are still lots of 10-25 yr old cars on the road out here...

I see some rather obscure older cars pretty frequently out and about in my neighborhood....'70s Lancia Beta coupe, '90s Alfa Romeo 164, Merkur Scorpio, and an '80-81 Chrysler Newport (a car that I've only seen one of in probably the last 25 years).

I enjoyed my trip to Downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale last November 29 through December 2 mainly because of the vehicles I got to see still as daily drivers (the car show in Scottsdale was fantastic). There were so many "classic" cars and trucks being driven around as daily's that I never see here in the Northeast except for car shows. Truly a wonderful addition to my work trip.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

Posted
Posted

Yeah, rust isn't a problem here...we get paint fade/oxidation from the sun and cracked interior plastics from the heat, but there are still lots of 10-25 yr old cars on the road out here...

I see some rather obscure older cars pretty frequently out and about in my neighborhood....'70s Lancia Beta coupe, '90s Alfa Romeo 164, Merkur Scorpio, and an '80-81 Chrysler Newport (a car that I've only seen one of in probably the last 25 years).

I enjoyed my trip to Downtown Phoenix and Scottsdale last November 29 through December 2 mainly because of the vehicles I got to see still as daily drivers (the car show in Scottsdale was fantastic). There were so many "classic" cars and trucks being driven around as daily's that I never see here in the Northeast except for car shows. Truly a wonderful addition to my work trip.

The owner of a local boutique furniture store that I've bought a couple pieces from drives a '59 Chrysler Imperial 2dt ht, a Saab Sonnet hatchback, and a '70s Saab 99 Turbo, all in similar faded red colors...saw the Imperial in traffic twice this week going home....it's a hoot to see that giant beast next to a Prius at a traffic light.

  • Agree 1
daves87rs Collaborator

daves87rs

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Really? See, around here it's all about the Cavalier in that vintage econo-car.

I noticed they are slowly disappearing here...noticed it's not as easy to get trim parts for them....damn you GM......

Also noticed quite a few Jettas around here lately....many right around 2000-03. Not sure why...

Intrepidation

Intrepidation

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Lots of Neons (even a fair amount of first gens), Cavaliers and SLs around here.

I've noticed first gen Auroras becoming increasingly rare, Oldsmobiles in general, as well as Eagle Visions. Oh and first and second gen Caravans. There's one first gen that I know of and a couple second gens, one which was "converted" into a pickup.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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One older economy car I never see are Escorts, except for the later ZX2s which conintued after the Focus came out. The Mercury Tracer, haven't seen one in years. I think import economy cars have long outsold domestics around here, about the only older (> 10 years) econo cars I see frequently are Civics and Corollas. Any older Cavaliers, etc I see are usually rolling wrecks, completely worn out. Early Saturns are a very rare sight also.

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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The Mk4 Jetta.... where'd they all go!?

Now that I posted this, I'm being swarmed by them.

Kind of seems to always happen that way...mention something that seems hidden, and it appears..opens your awareness to them.

G. David Felt Grand Master

G. David Felt

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Or like bee's they just decide to swarm those that think their dead. :P

Course I thought the lovely Impala SS were all gone and now I have seen a bunch of them again. :D

Robert Hall Veteran

Robert Hall

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Saw one a few min ago in the evening commute that I haven't seen in ages-mid '90s Mazda MX-6 coupe...was on a shared platform w/ the 2nd gen Probe...was a good looking car back in the day, IMO..had a buddy in grad school that had one. The one I saw today was gold and in good shape.

NeonLX Newbie

NeonLX

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Loads of Neons from all generations around here. Came across an SRT-4 recently. Glad it didn't have a for sale sign posted on it.

G. David Felt Grand Master

G. David Felt

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One thing that seems to have disappeared from the roads are the 80's and 90's era Suburbans. I wonder if they got sold and shipped overseas to 3rd world countries that have cheap gas.

  • 2 weeks later...
the_yellow_dart Newbie

the_yellow_dart

Posted
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The Mk4 Jetta.... where'd they all go!?

Now that I posted this, I'm being swarmed by them.

After I posted about the disappearing Civic / EL, I was looking around in a parking lot and noticed 2 95-99 Civics and 1 95-99 EL parked right next to each other. LOL

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