OKTOBER FEST - October 2013 Car Spotters

[Z-06]

What did you see in October 2013?

[ocnblu]

oh hai

[G. David Felt]

2000 DTS, front wheel blew out on the way to work this morning so had to pull over to the shoulder right in front of my bus.

[Drew Dowdell]

wait... was there another thread or did I take too much sudafed?

[ocnblu]

This is our October thread. A Z-06 is just a bit quicker than a TDI Beetle though. I was off work today for some stuff, and I saw at least two vehicles that would have been appropriate for the thread... but I forget what they were.

[Robert Hall]

Saw a sharp bright red '67 Cougar on Market street in San Francisco earlier...

[Drew Dowdell]

A bunch of Teslas in suburban Chicago this week

[caddycruiser]

This Impala just appeared near work, and caught my eye to check it out closer. Huge car, but if I were interested, this is exactly the combination of color (White Diamond/Ebony) and 20" wheels on an LTZ V6 I would do.

Stunning.

It does make me wonder how one of these drives, with the 3.6L, 20" wheels, and the longer Epsilon bones. Hmm. Too bad again the Malibu is nice but so depressing next to this car. This one has "special" all over it.

[Robert Hall]

Saw a black Mercedes CLA--first one i've seen, looks pretty good in person. Also saw a very clean black '83 Cutlass Hurst/Olds. And a very clean early '80s Toyota Celica notchback..haven't seen one of those in years. All sorts of interesting stuff in San Francisco beyond the usual Priuses and other late model FWD generics.

[Z-06]

A couple of red SSRs back to back.

[ocnblu]

One of those new big Acuras parked on the sidewalk at the local Honda-Acura dealer. At first I was like "why are they parking an Accord in front of the Acura building", but then it dawned on me.

[caddycruiser]

One of those new big Acuras parked on the sidewalk at the local Honda-Acura dealer. At first I was like "why are they parking an Accord in front of the Acura building", but then it dawned on me.

Awe, really? I will never comprehend the reference, "quiet" styling aside, but nice that you've seen one. It's a big car.

[G. David Felt]

Saw three Tesla's this morning at the Tesla Recharge lot in Bellevue. They just opened up a covered charge place right next to the doors into Nordstroms at Bellevue mall. So you buy a Tesla and get covered near front door access to Nordstroms and Ruths Chris Steak house at the Mall.

Interesting and me without a Phone or camera. Will have to go back and take a picture to post for everyone to see. Pretty nice for a company that is wanting to reach out to the masses for sales.

[Robert Hall]

Continuing w/ SF sightings, saw a white '65 Chevelle coupe in good shape behind a fence. Saw a red early 80s Dodge Rampage in good shape. Saw 4 Tesla S sedans and a couple Tesla roadsters in traffic around Union Square and SoMa..over the last 3 days I've seen the same dark brown w/ tan top '73 Fleetwood Sixty Special, in great shape..saw it last night, distinctive taillights glowing in traffic..

Edited October 3, 2013 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[vonVeezelsnider]

One of those new big Acuras parked on the sidewalk at the local Honda-Acura dealer. At first I was like "why are they parking an Accord in front of the Acura building", but then it dawned on me.

Awe, really? I will never comprehend the reference, "quiet" styling aside, but nice that you've seen one. It's a big car.

It's not just 'blu who sees that.

I was stuck behind one in traffic last week and it didn't take me long to think to myself that it was giving a weird last-gen-Accord-vibe from the B-Pillar back either.

Actually I think the new Accord looks way better than an RLX- certainly one of the better looking midsize cars out there and the styling translates nicer to the lower trim cars than the overly bulky lines on the Fusion do.

Edited October 4, 2013 by vonVeezelsnider

[Robert Hall]

One of those new big Acuras parked on the sidewalk at the local Honda-Acura dealer. At first I was like "why are they parking an Accord in front of the Acura building", but then it dawned on me.

Awe, really? I will never comprehend the reference, "quiet" styling aside, but nice that you've seen one. It's a big car.

It's not just 'blu who sees that.

I was stuck behind one in traffic last week and it didn't take me long to think to myself that it was giving a weird last-gen-Accord-vibe from the B-Pillar back either.

Actually I think the new Accord looks way better than an RLX- certainly one of the better looking midsize cars out there and the styling translates nicer to the lower trim cars than the overly bulky lines on the Fusion do.

I can see that also...the Accord and RLX have similar profiles--the C-pillar shape and rear door upper, the character line through the bottom of the doors, taillight shape on the side, all very similar...I assume the RLX is badged as a Honda Legend in other markets like the RL was?

http://www.acura.com/Exterior360.aspx?model=RLX&modelYear=2014

http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-sedan/exterior-360-view.aspx

Edited October 4, 2013 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[caddycruiser]

One of those new big Acuras parked on the sidewalk at the local Honda-Acura dealer. At first I was like "why are they parking an Accord in front of the Acura building", but then it dawned on me.

Awe, really? I will never comprehend the reference, "quiet" styling aside, but nice that you've seen one. It's a big car.

It's not just 'blu who sees that.

I was stuck behind one in traffic last week and it didn't take me long to think to myself that it was giving a weird last-gen-Accord-vibe from the B-Pillar back either.

Actually I think the new Accord looks way better than an RLX- certainly one of the better looking midsize cars out there and the styling translates nicer to the lower trim cars than the overly bulky lines on the Fusion do.

I can see that also...the Accord and RLX have similar profiles--the C-pillar shape and rear door upper, the character line through the bottom of the doors, taillight shape on the side, all very similar...I assume the RLX is badged as a Honda Legend in other markets like the RL was?

http://www.acura.com/Exterior360.aspx?model=RLX&modelYear=2014

http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-sedan/exterior-360-view.aspx

It's odd how some reviews mention "Accord" when talking about RLX. In reality, it's a larger car, especially rear door, rear seat, and trunk.

As of now, this is not a Legend elsewhere. Still in extended roll-out phase, with Sport Hybrid AWD to be out soon.

[G. David Felt]

Brand new Lotus, black one in our parking garage today.

Amazing that someone would buy this car at the start of Fall when we have rain and snow falling.

[Robert Hall]

Back from 4 days in San Francisco for a conference..saw a bunch of interesting cars there. On the way to the office here in Tempe this morning I saw a sharp black '96 Impala SS. Nice to see one in stock form, most times I see one they are trashed or modded..

[balthazar]

Saw a late model BMW 7-series with (3) Buick VentiPort knock-offs, evenly spaced across the upper third of the front doors. The noobs are going to think it has a 6-cyl in it.

[G. David Felt]

Their noobs for thinking that putting fake vent ports on a BMW is cool and makes it better.

[Drew Dowdell]

Saw a late model BMW 7-series with (3) Buick VentiPort knock-offs, evenly spaced across the upper third of the front doors. The noobs are going to think it has a 6-cyl in it.

Well, since it's an I6, shouldn't all 6 ports be on the same side?

and I thought the number of ports represented the body series rather than the cylinders.... so, they demoted their car a bit.

[balthazar]

^ Correct on the '6-on-one-side'.
Buick commonly used 3/side on lower series, and 4 for upper.

If BMW ran this system, there'd be 1 per side of the 1-series and 7 per side on the 7-series, because BMW is just that hurr durr.

[Z-06]

Helped a friend with a 86 Monte Carlo SS put a LS 5.3 motor from a 2004 Avalanche.

[caddycruiser]

A new 2014 ATS 2.0T...in the new for 2014 "Majestic Plum". Actually a nice and different color, even on the Cadillac lines.

Edited October 8, 2013 by caddycruiser

[balthazar]

Was in the back lot of a repair garage, saw this motley crew:

The last one, a '73 Gran Ville, was the one I went to look at, but it's far too rough. Plus, the 455 appears to be stuck and "threw a rod" 9 years ago. What a waste of an hour or so.
I didn't bother to take any pics of the 2 bentleys there; just squint your eye at the accord in the one shot and you get the idea.

[ocnblu]

Oh man, really? Is that '73 Grandville that bad? Are the floors out of it?

We got our first new style Mazda 3 sedan. Pearl white. Not my favorite color, but a snazzy looking little car... the best looking in the class, easily, imo.

[balthazar]

Well, the roof is all there, I think the floors were fine, There were only thumb-sized rot holes in the front fenders... but it's a full resto project rather than a spit-shine flip.
Price is supposedly 1200, my buddy is a master wheeler-dealer tho; he' says he's going to offer 300. The shop wants it GONE and no one else seems to be looking. He'll likely get it... but it will likely be stripped.
C'mon Bill, this is you- save it!

Edited October 10, 2013 by balthazar

[caddycruiser]

Freshly delivered 2014 Regal base Turbo at the dealer I was getting service at yesterday for the GS. Nice changes.

[balthazar]

What a cornucopia of sightings today!

circa '74 Nova coupe, bright red w/ black stripes, mags, looked real sharp but too new to bother stopping. For sale on roadside.

'71 Olds Cutlass 2-dr hardtop, 442 clone, performance built w/ 455, purple paint (has to go) and black factory interior, body had issues, for sale @ $6000, in garage.

'68 LeMans 2-dr hardtop, factory 4-spd, quickie black spray job, terrible body, for sale @ $5500 on roadside.

'66 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, blue with Bellflower tips, up on shop rack getting air bags installed, NFS.

'64 Corvette Stingray, SB with BB hood, gold with black interior, awaiting resto, in garage, NFS.

'63 Ford Fairlane 2-dr sedan, red w/ red interior, very nice shape, rolling.

'63 Studebaker GT Hawk, yellow, very nice shape, resto-mod with Chevy 383, customer car at repair shop, NFS.

'62 Newport 4-dr hardtop, black primer, behind house, spotted on the fly.

'60 Corvette, white w/ red cove, red interior, decent but crazed paint, runner, in garage. Hoping the owner might consider selling.

'58 Grumann shortie AL step van, bare AL, all there but unrestored, awaiting customizing, NFS.

'57 Canadian Pontiac Pathfinder 2-dr sedan delivery, one of about 450 units, claimed one of 5 known to exist, very nice med blue w/ white spear, for sale @ circa $18K, in storage unit.

'55 Thunderbird, red w/ red interior, very nice resto, for sale @ $25K, in garage.

'50 Merc, chopped, tubbed, primer, modern Lincoln interior (which totally ruined it), claimed first pro-streeted chopped Merc, NFS.

'47 GMC diesel bus again, it's really calling me. In same driveway for over 30 years. For sale.

'39 Packard 4-dr sedan, senior model, dash plaque claimed once owned by George Lucas (Seinfeld 'John Voigt's Lebaron' episode came immediately to mind), yellow, solid but needed cosmetics, for sale.

'36 Ford panel delivery, dark red, decent driver shape, 302/3-spd, for sale @ $18K, in garage.

'34 Ford panel delivery, FG body, Chevy 409, chopped, deep in process of being built, grey primer, NFS.

Owner of some of these cars ('in garage') claimed he was buying a Duesenberg, but far too many inconsistencies in the story for it to be remotely possible. I'm still incredulous at the so-called 'details'. As the same owner has the '71 442 my buddy & I will be pursuing, I am FASCINATED to learn what this car is (I already know what it is NOT). Even the well-done replicas are 6-figure cars.

Same owner that owns the 2 Corvettes listed above, said he has a 'big tank' '63, which is the Z06 option- worth a crap ton. 199 '63 Z06s, with only 63 units having the big tank option (36.5 gallons).

Edited October 15, 2013 by balthazar

[caddycruiser]

^^Very impressive list.

[Z-06]

That Stingray is gorgeous. I wished I had a garage for that thing. Is he planning to sell?

Are you back from the future? I did not know we are into 2014.

[Robert Hall]

Saw a bright yellow '14 Corvette Stingray yesterday, first one I'd seen on the road...sharp, though not the color I'd choose (too flashy)...also saw a black '14 Camaro.

[balthazar]

That Stingray is gorgeous. I wished I had a garage for that thing. Is he planning to sell?

Are you back from the future? I did not know we are into 2014.

He didn't indicate either the '64 or '60 were for sale, but he said he had 22 cars and sold like 15 recently to pay bills.

Will inquire... but not sure I am in his general price range for doing a deal, other than the 442 mentioned above.

The '60 would sure be fun to bang around in without worrying about it, tho.

Edited October 14, 2013 by balthazar

[Z-06]

To me it's more of a boulevard cruiser than a tossing in the corner car.

Nevertheless, I think it is more beautiful than a C2 or a C3. I like the C1.5 iteration better than the C1.

[balthazar]

Clarify "C1.5" for me, plz. I had always grouped the '53-55s as '1st gen', '56-62 and 2nd... it was years later when I became aware of the 'C1', 'C2' common definitions.
You're talking about the '60, correct? If yes, I think we're exactly on the same page, no?

[bobo]

Ford GT. Don't know the last time I saw one of these things. I happened to drive along it for a few miles. Very noisy to the point of annoying. Had "GT-40" badging on the side instead of "GT". Pic through my dirty windshield:

[Z-06]

Clarify "C1.5" for me, plz. I had always grouped the '53-55s as '1st gen', '56-62 and 2nd... it was years later when I became aware of the 'C1', 'C2' common definitions.

You're talking about the '60, correct? If yes, I think we're exactly on the same page, no?

Yes we are on the same page.

Actually the second gen is from 63. Chevrolet never officially called the 56-62 as a new generation. The design changes were more like a mid cycle refresh and hence C1.5

[ocnblu]

My uncle has a black on black '62, it's a real nice bridge between first gen and second gen, with the duck tail.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I saw my first on-road 2014 Corvette too yesterday. It was in a really nice blue color, getting off of I-295 SB into Bordentown, NJ. New paper license plate in the plate holder, lucky new owner!!

Saw a bright yellow '14 Corvette Stingray yesterday, first one I'd seen on the road...sharp, though not the color I'd choose (too flashy)...also saw a black '14 Camaro.

[Olds Guy]

How about a new '15 Yukon...

Have to see if any of the other pics are better....

[Robert Hall]

Looks like the local Chevy store had a couple '14 Camaros out front, incl. one in Matte Black. Wonder if that is a factory option?

[Drew Dowdell]

This was out in front of the top end hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. First one I've seen "in the wild", but it didn't have plates and had a box full of Mitsubishi i-miev brochures in the trunk, so I'm wondering if Mitsu is in town doing some presentation.

[GMTruckGuy74]

Saw another '14 Corvette Stingray - this time in white - in the same area as yesterday (I-295 outside of Bordentown, NJ) on my into work this morning. Quite an impressive sight to see so early in the day

[AAS]

Looks like the local Chevy store had a couple '14 Camaros out front, incl. one in Matte Black. Wonder if that is a factory option?

The 1LE option on a 6MT Camaro SS includes a matte black hood wrap, but I'm pretty sure there is no factory option for the whole car to be matte black.

[Robert Hall]

Looks like the local Chevy store had a couple '14 Camaros out front, incl. one in Matte Black. Wonder if that is a factory option?

The 1LE option on a 6MT Camaro SS includes a matte black hood wrap, but I'm pretty sure there is no factory option for the whole car to be matte black.

Probably a dealer installed option...it's trendy around here I've noticed...

[GMTruckGuy74]

I've been on a Caprice PPV hunt lately (okay, for the past month or so). Last weekend I attended a nearby local fire station's fire prevention week open house. EMT's were called due to a spectator having cardiac issues and the police of that town (Springfield, Burlington County, NJ) now have a new 2013 Caprice PPV. On my way home from work tonight I spotted a NJ State Police Trooper parked in the median in his Caprice PPV - the first NJSP Caprice I've seen in person.

[ocnblu]

We got in a "stripper" 2014 Mazda 3 hatch in black. $19,710. Plastic wheel covers, no foglights, and a funny little radio sticking up, billboard style in the dash where the retractable screen goes on the higher end models.

[bobo]

Saw my first Scion iQ on the road, and it had New York plates.

[caddycruiser]

We got in a "stripper" 2014 Mazda 3 hatch in black. $19,710. Plastic wheel covers, no foglights, and a funny little radio sticking up, billboard style in the dash where the retractable screen goes on the higher end models.

On that note, one of my neighbors just bought a red Grand Touring fully loaded hatch model. Probably one of the coolest looking cars in the parking lot now, by far, color included.