JANUARY CAR SPOTTERS THREAD

[Robert Hall]

It's been a rainy, cool cloudy week here in the desert...nice change from the usual.  This afternoon on one block in Scottsdale I saw an eclectic mix of cars parked on and off the street. A battered late model white Bentley Continental GT, a worn, tattered red LaForza SUV (haven't seen one of those in ages),  a new Chevy City Express van in HVAC repair livery, a black Audi A8, a clean brown and tan mid '80s Ford Bronco, and a sharp silver '65 Olds Jetstar 1 coupe I've seen around for years...

[balthazar]

'72 Cadillac Calais hardtop coupe, medium yellow, steel roof, historic plates, nice shape, rollin'.

[ccap41]

Saw my first wild Tacoma! I couldn't get a frontal pic as I started moving... 

 

[balthazar]

^ Hey! The frame is still a cohesive unit!

 

'71-72 Chevy K-10, white over green, lifted, historic plates, super clean, parked.

[Robert Hall]

Saw two road-rage morons on a busy street this afternoon...a silver Nissan Pathfinder and a black Audi A3 hatch...cutting each other off, blocking two lanes, horns, swerving, etc...went on a mile or so, then they both pulled into a parking lot...this being AZ, they probably shot it out...

[ccap41]

^ Hey! The frame is still a cohesive unit!

 

'71-72 Chevy K-10, white over green, lifted, historic plates, super clean, parked.

..huh..? Lol

[Robert Hall]

Saw a '16 Camaro SS today, first I'd seen out and about...dark blue.  Looks good..

[Robert Hall]

Made my annual visit to Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale today.   Will post some pics later.   Tired from walking 5+ miles this afternoon.

 

Interestingly, in the new car display in the entrance hall, GM had only Chevrolets, unlike last year where they had all 4 brands.  Saw the new Camaro SS ht and convertible, the Duramax Colorado (really good looking truck), the new Cruze and Malibu (both look better in person), various Corvettes and Silverados...

 

In the Ford display, they had the new GT in white (looks huge in person), Fiesta ST, Focus ST and RS, Taurus SHO, Shelby GT350, Mustangs GTs, etc. 

 

On the separate Lincoln stand, they had the new Continental...wow.  This is a car that looks much, much better in person than in photos...looks substantial and has real presence, IMO.   Looks great in a dark cherry red. 

 

As far as the auction vehicles, saw lots of interesting oldies, the usual muscle cars, 50s-60s land yachts, some vintage race cars, etc.  

[Drew Dowdell]

My rental for the week. It's a nicely loaded Ecoboost, heated/cooled seats, Sync3.   I'll probably write this one up.

 

[cletus8269]

corvair pickup truck. heard it before i saw it. nice 2 tone red and white scheme.

[oldshurst442]

I see some nice rides in my neighborhood during the summer.

In the wintertime....jackshyte.

 

Well,I did see a  grey 1987 or 1988 Pontiac 6000 the other day.

 

I havent see a FWD GM A-Body in years. Made my day...not for the car, but because I saw the car and fond  memories of my teenaged years flooded my brain.

[Robert Hall]

Everything is bizzaro opposite world here in the desert. Winter is when the sweet cars are out and about, the convertibles top down...

[oldshurst442]

Mr. Cubical. That makes sense.

Winter time for you folk is the good weather for cruising.

 

Summer must be unbearable. Just like our winters...unbearable.

 

That Pontiac 6000 was a winter beater. The thing is, it did not have any rust on it, nor any visible dents. It looked like a winter beater as it had all that salt deposit caked on to it, but other than that, looked good.

[Robert Hall]

Mr. Cubical. That makes sense.

Winter time for you folk is the good weather for cruising.

 

Summer must be unbearable. Just like our winters...unbearable.

 

That Pontiac 6000 was a winter beater. The thing is, it did not have any rust on it, nor any visible dents. It looked like a winter beater as it had all that salt deposit caked on to it, but other than that, looked good.

I've seen a 6000 STE around here a few times in the last 6 months or so..very well worn, bumpers cracked, not sure what the original color was..very sun faded (kind of blueish gray) A/C likely not working (windows down)...still rolling.

 

Summer is surreal here, but some keys to surviving:

Cold A/C at home, in the car, in the office

Plenty of cold beverages of your choice and lots of water

big hats, sunscreen, cotton/linen clothes

access to a swimming pool

good tires, cooling system, and battery (car batteries last 18-24 months max here)

covered parking is great, underground parking even better

a good sense of humor and appreciation of the surreal and absurd

 

That said, I do really like the restaurant scene in Phoenix and Scottsdale...lots of great dining, of all sorts of cuisines...

Edited January 26, 2016 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[oldshurst442]

 

Mr. Cubical. That makes sense.

Winter time for you folk is the good weather for cruising.

 

Summer must be unbearable. Just like our winters...unbearable.

 

That Pontiac 6000 was a winter beater. The thing is, it did not have any rust on it, nor any visible dents. It looked like a winter beater as it had all that salt deposit caked on to it, but other than that, looked good.

I've seen a 6000 STE around here a few times in the last 6 months or so..very well worn, bumpers cracked, not sure what the original color was..very sun faded (kind of blueish gray) A/C likely not working (windows down)...still rolling.

 

Summer is surreal here, but some keys to surviving:

Cold A/C at home, in the car, in the office

Plenty of cold beverages of your choice and lots of water

big hats, sunscreen, cotton/linen clothes

access to a swimming pool

good tires, cooling system, and battery (car batteries last 18-24 months max here)

covered parking is great, underground parking even better

 

You know what is funny?

 

THAT is the SAME list for Quebec. But slightly different. Opposites.

 

For the Winter obviously...

 

HEAT... at home, in the car, in the office

 

Plenty of hot beverages of your choice to help you stay warm, especially of one skis or skates outdoors.

 

big hats, scarves, gloves,  clothes that breathe so you dont sweat...and layered clothing to peel off if one gets hot...

 

- access to a swimming pool -  I dont have anything that comes close to that....OK...maybe warm shelter to keep away from the wind.  Montreal has the biggest underground city in the world....its on the same level of our Down Town subway stations. Lots of shops, corner stores, restaurants, boutiques that are NOT connected with the shops and restaurants on street level. Some stores  are connected by street access via their basements...a couple of cinemas and the like...very cool place to be in the wintertime.

 

good tires, winter tires preferably, but now they are mandatory, cooling system for heat and for the constant defrosting of the windows, good winter window wipers and battery  because when the temps drop 40 below F or C...same temp at 40...the engine needs lots and lots of juice to turn...the oil is practically frozen at those temps...not quite, Im dramatizing, but the oil is very sludgy... (car batteries last 5-6 years here, so not so bad...)

 

covered parking is great, underground parking even better...same here. Especially when there has been 2 feet of snow that has fallen over the course of 12 hours or so...see New York City over the week-end...we was lucky in Montreal. Or when the temps dip...40 degrees F PLUS the windchill factor.   This year, we have been lucky. I dont think we will see that this year. But the last 2 years was brutal...

Edited January 26, 2016 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

I grew up in E Ohio and S. Florida, lived in NE Ohio and SE Michigan before Colorado and Arizona....  lots of extremes.  Colorado had huge snows, but it was sunny most of the winter, dry snow, never that cold...SE Michigan had ice storms and the occasional subzero cold, NE Ohio had lake effect snow and subzero cold, S. Florida had hurricanes and humidity...I've liked them all..all interesting places.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[oldshurst442]

You really do do the extremes.

 

From lake effect winds and snow and hurricanes, to extreme cold and hot to extreme humid all the way to  extreme dry. To extreme heights (Colorado is a high elevation, non?) 

The only thing you are missing is the extreme low...(New Orleans) Maybe that is your next stop?

 

PS: Just to say that as cold as it was last year, Montreal had it easy as compared to other parts of North America last year. Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ontario (Toronto region) were all colder than the Montreal region...again, we was lucky. 

(I am not including Calgary, Edmonton, or Winnipeg because these guys  ALWAYS get that cold.)

Edited January 26, 2016 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

I have been to New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana for work, my next move will likely be to a coastal location, but require a snow blower...

[Drew Dowdell]

We have so many A-Bodies running around Pittsburgh, they've never been really remarkable enough for me to consider it a "spot".  Lots of Centuries, Cierras, and a few 6000s.  It's the Celebrity that seems to be the rarest of the bunch these days. 

[Robert Hall]

I guess the heat was worse for them than the road salt. Rarely ever see any them, even the Century and Ciera which ran for 6 years or so longer than the others.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Cubical-aka-Moltar