April Car Spotter

[Robert Hall]

Haven't seen much memorable in the last week.  Looking forward to Spring, this winter weather is hanging around too long...33 and flurries today.    Saw a gold Chevy Express panel van with the license plate 'I DO HVAC'...clever call out to their occupation, presumably.    Also saw a late model silver Subaru Impreza with lot of surface rust on the hood...odd.  

[Robert Hall]

The pizza delivery guy tonight was driving a silver late model Merc C63 AMG. 

[Drew Dowdell]

45 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

The pizza delivery guy tonight was driving a silver late model Merc C63 AMG. 

Gotta pay for maintenance somehow....

[G. David Felt]

13 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

The pizza delivery guy tonight was driving a silver late model Merc C63 AMG. 

Luxury Pizza delivered in supposed Luxury! ?

[Robert Hall]

Saw a clean red '74-77 Corvette at Dunkin Donuts this morning...had silver t-tops and some rims that looked like they came off of a C5.    Also saw this morning the two local Trailblazer SSes I see occasionally--the clean silver one (now has a cowl induction style hood) and the beater gray one. 

On Thursday evening was out enjoying the weather and went to a beach, saw a sharp turquoise '67 Plymouth Fury 2dr ht from a distance..very nice and rumbly..loud under acceleration.. 

[trinacriabob]

Saw a 1972 boat tail Riv on Thursday.  The owner told me it had the 455 V8.  (I don't recall anything else ever powering those Rivs.)  He also told me he didn't break 10 mpg.  Funny that half of that displacement would power the car 20 years later ... meh, 231 c.i. (3800) is close enough to 227.5 ...

And, as I was talking to this dude, a truck loaded with cars went wizzing by on the freeway.  Of the handful of cars on it, one was a much "cherrier" boat tail Riv in a light metallic blue with a white vinyl top.  With those odds, one probably should have bought a lottery ticket that day.

[ocnblu]

Got a running start and got to sit in a new Ram today at the local dealer.  Modestly optioned Big Horn shorty crew 4X4 wit Hemi.  While I'm not entirely sold on the kinder, gentler exterior, the interior is top notch.  FORTY-NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!  And it's only a Big Horn, one step removed from Tradesman status! 

[balthazar]

new (?) Bentley convertible, cruising back streets of Princeton NJ.
Does NOT look any better in person than in pics.

[Robert Hall]

Found myself out and about at 5am, saw a white '14-15 Camaro Z/28 blasting along the 480 in the rain...only seen a couple of those over the years. 

Edited April 16, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Robert Hall]

Was behind a Kia Niro this morning..first one I've seen on the road.  Seemed pretty low, more like a Golf hatchback than a CUV.  At the same time, there were two Sportages to my left and a Soul behind me...Parma, Oh is having a Kia invasion!    

There is a late model Golf GTI 5dr around that I see every few days--black, with the C-pillars painted a contrasting dark gray from the roof down to the rocker...reminds of the side blades on the 1st gen Audi R8, kind of looks neat.

[Drew Dowdell]

Someone in the lot where I park for work is preserving a 1985ish Dodge Aries coupe. Sitting high on fresh new springs and proud new 185 70r14s, it looks like it just rolled out of the Dodge-Chrysler-AMC dealer. 

Sitting there in dark blue, it really struck me how much like a Chinese knock-off Mercedes these can look like from certain angles. 

 

[G. David Felt]

Saw a Brand New Terrain today on the way into work. Not sure I like the body style seeing it for real compared to the pictures. Could be the color of the CUV, but something just looked off and this is to also say that it blended to much with the Honda CR-V next to it. ?

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Someone in the lot where I park for work is preserving a 1985ish Dodge Aries coupe. Sitting high on fresh new springs and proud new 185 70r14s, it looks like it just rolled out of the Dodge-Chrysler-AMC dealer. 

Sitting there in dark blue, it really struck me how much like a Chinese knock-off Mercedes these can look like from certain angles. 

 

Wonder if it was an Estate Sale auto that some old person kept in their garage and drove like once a month to the store and back.

[balthazar]

'68 Catalina convertible in for some fuel system work at my buddy's shop. Red w/ black top & bench seat interior, 400 2bbl. I drove it around a bit, under a mile, idled fine but had bad stumble under throttle. Timing is also off.

[Robert Hall]

Spotted this clean Maroon Cutlass outside a local restaurant.  

[balthazar]

it looks so small!

[Robert Hall]

Once I saw it from other angles, it's not as clean as it looked as first...missing a wheel cover on the left front, the rear bumper rubber strip is loose, and there is bubby rust going on at the base of the vinyl top on the right C-pillar.  Still, nice...fascinating to think these cars were once very popular and everywhere...I remember them from when I was a kid... Cutlass Supremes were as common then as Camrys are today. 

Edited April 18, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

MORE common - both in sheer numbers and in market share.

[G. David Felt]

14 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Spotted this clean Maroon Cutlass outside a local restaurant.  

Always amazes me how people cannot seem to park in the middle of the parking spot and end up on one side of the other right against other auto's.

The one thing I did not like about all 2 door cars like this is how big the cars are for access to the back seat and the number of times people would open them and hit leaving a door ding in the auto next to it.

Another reason for parking square in the middle of the spot for best available door opening room.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Always amazes me how people cannot seem to park in the middle of the parking spot and end up on one side of the other right against other auto's.

The one thing I did not like about all 2 door cars like this is how big the cars are for access to the back seat and the number of times people would open them and hit leaving a door ding in the auto next to it.

Another reason for parking square in the middle of the spot for best available door opening room.

Lack of parking discipline drives me crazy... I go out of my way to make sure I'm centered in spots.   But some dumbass always seems to park with a tire right on the space boundary line or over it.   The long doors of 2drs are part of why I prefer 4drs in general.. especially in parking garages.  

My favorite parking headache story happened about 15 years ago in Denver.  I parked my old Jeep GC in a spot of the 5th floor of my employer's garage.  Came out at 5pm, and asshat #1 had parked a Chevy pickup so close to my left side I couldn't have opened the door, and asshat #2 had parked a Aerostar so close on the right I couldn't have opened the passenger door.   Had to open the hatch and crawl over the back seat, between the front seats into the driver's seat.  Arrggggghhhh

Edited April 19, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Robert Hall]

I was behind a rusted out white Chevy minivan this morning--saw a badge on the tailgate I didn't recognize--'Uplander'..completely forgot about that model name, I remembered the 'Venture' that was it's predecessor.

I was stuck in traffic yesterday afternoon behind an Impala with the license plate 'STRYCH9'...so maybe the owner was a fan of the band, a fan of the retro jiu-jitsu clothing line, an exterminator or a serial poisoner? 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[G. David Felt]

Idaho Dually with trailer having purchased two new Lexus from the dealership around the corner today. They had the Washington 3 day temp paperwork on the auto windows for transport.

Guess some like overpriced mid luxury auto's.

[Robert Hall]

Idaho only has 1 Lexus dealer..guess they had to source cars from out-of-state dealers..  fascinating, apparently Montana doesn't have a Lexus dealer, and Washington, Oregon and Idaho together only have 7, less than Ohio. 

Edited April 22, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

Early 50s IH pickup, lightly hot-rodded, matte black, rollin'
Pair of nissan GT-Rs within 20 secs of each other. They crossed the same intersection but were travelling 90 degrees from each other.
Fox-bodied Mustang notchback done up in period police garb.

[Robert Hall]

Sunny and 60s today...should have gone to the beach today instead of yesterday...went up the coast and stopped at several beaches--temps in the 40s and 50s and overcast yesterday.   Went to the carwash today, saw a few convertibles out and about w/ tops down-a yellow C7, a bright blue '18 Mustang GT w/ a temporary tag, a couple 3 and 4 series BMWs, and a clean light blue '75 Buick Le Sabre (so many of the '74-75 B-body convertibles seem to be light blue). 

Edited April 22, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[G. David Felt]

Out running errands, saw a 90's full size 2 door ford bronco just like the one OJ Drove on 405 in the slow speed chase.

I really wish they would bring back a full size like this with 2 doors. I just think there is a bigger group of customers being ignored by everything being 4 door SUV. At least build it with mini suicide doors for rear access but the over all size is still smaller than a 4 door expedition or tahoe. 

[trinacriabob]

On 4/22/2018 at 4:42 PM, dfelt said:

 just like the one OJ Drove on 405 in the slow speed chase.

Never in my sheltered (not) teenage life would I have ever thought there was such a thing as a 405 way up north!

Today, within 15 minutes of each other, I saw:

1) a burgundy late motel Subaru Forester that was a taxi, and

2) a silver haired dude driving a silver VW Passat SE with the letters TSI or TDI over on the right side of the rear fascia.  He had the windows down.  The interior was black.  It had nice finned alloys.  I was thinking to myself that this has become a really nice looking sport sedan.  Only within the last decade have I found any VW product to be acceptable and the Passat rules that small group.

Edited April 23, 2018 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

Almost saw 2 collisions at the same intersection within an hour.  On my way out to get some pho, sitting in the left turn lane--light is green but no arrow..the Mustang in front of me is being cautious...as the light is changing to red, the asshat in a white Yukon behind me (3rd in line), pulls into the through lane beside me, goes around both vehicles and makes a left....an hour later, going through the same intersection in the opposite direction, I see a rusty Trailblazer out in the middle of the intersection trying to go left, with a Equinox behind them honking at them to go (green w/o arrow, I think)...they both finally go, as the left turn on my side of the intersection gets the green arrow...minivan pulls out, slams on the brakes and horn as it barely clears the Equinox...

Other than that, enjoying a sunny 75 degree day..driving around w/ the windows open, sunroof open, enjoying the smell of fresh cut grass. 

Saw a '72-73 Dodge D-series pickup in traffic this afternoon, longbed, orange w/ a cap and white Dodge script on the tailgate.   Solid shape, paint faded..   also saw a very clean dark red '77-79 Continental 4dr. 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[ocnblu]

'71 LeMans sedan, light green, with dark green vinyl top.  Sadly, the sedans (and B-bodies) get sacrificed to save the A-body coupes, so I felt a little special seeing it intact.

[Robert Hall]

Saw a rough gold 67 LeMans 4dr ht from a distance on Saturday.  

[balthazar]

Got to drive the aforementioned '68 Catalina convertible about 5 miles today. Front end was a little squirrely- needs some bushing replacement IMO, but the 2bbl 400 easily spun the tires from the stoplight. Nice, wide & floaty. :)

[Robert Hall]

Just saw a sharp gray-green w/ black top '72 Pontiac Grand Ville 2dr ht.  Very clean and shiny, w/ Pontiac mags.  Right next to it at the light was a bright red w/ black wheels, black stripes C7 Z06. 

[balthazar]

'64-65 El Camino, white, very clean survivor, rollin'

[trinacriabob]

I was doing the coupon thing at BK tonight.  As I sat there, a beautiful, clean 2001 or 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT coupe pulled into the parking lot.  A kid in his late teens or early twenties got out, came into the store, and was probably ordering all those bags of food for his family.  His parents probably hung on to the car and/or maybe handed it down to him.  Right behind the front turning lamps, it had the 3800 V6 badge in slanted letters.  As he drove off, the inspiring silhouette of the best looking W-body coupe faded out of sight.  I was in Spokane WA in the summer of 2003 wasting time waiting for a childhood friend now living there to return to the house, so I went over to B&N and a Pontiac dealership.  They had a Pontiac Grand Prix GT coupe in the bronze/gold color with a tan cloth interior and no one hassled me.  I remember that!  I was thinking "last call" (at least new).

Within 15 minutes, a LaCrosse identical to mine rolled through the parking lot.

Then, as I was almost home, a new black Cadillac CT6 was next to me at a light with a conservative business type behind the wheel. As the light turned green and I exerted moderate throttle, this Caddy blew right past me.  I'm thinking it needed very little throttle.  However, we ended up stopped at the next red, just like the tortoise and the hare.  If he can afford that car, he can afford the gas.  I saw that it was badged 3.0 TT.  It's one very stately looking automobile.

[trinacriabob]

Here are some photos of the boat tail Riv which I posted about on April 14

For being 47 years old (1971), it didn't look too bad

The front end is not at all subtle, nor is the rest of this car!  It looks like a hoodlum's car from this vantage point

Interesting beltline

I wonder if the design team was referencing the Plymouth Barracuda of the mid 60s with this rear window

The famous "boat tail" of this gen of Riv - they tried to make a statement with the strong oval shapes of the last gen (mid 90s Riv) but that car wasn't a hit, even though the dashboard that leaned forward was ... to me.  I don't think any generation of Riv lived up to the statement of the very first-gen Riviera.

It's cool that this cursive name badge remained with this car for most of its life - I believe they used block letters in the late 70s coupe that was scabbed off the LeSabre chassis and had the same dashboard and powertrain as the LeSabre in those years.   I once got to ride from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, crossing the desert at about 75 mph, in the plush back seat of a '77 or '78 Riv fitted with the Olds 403 V8 and it was very comfortable and serenely smooth.  I don't think the "ay-dult" (a friend's aunt) who was driving it that fast cared much about the speed limit or the gas mileage.

Edited April 28, 2018 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

A beautiful design from any angle. That's a '72 (no decklid louvers, offset rear plate) - same year car I had (smacked, but gave up it's powertrain for my '59). I've seen a bunch of this gen where people split the front bumper ALA the RS Camaro of the same years. Yep- all boattails had 455s.

Edited April 28, 2018 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

I just saw a candy apple red (seemed to be the original color) '77 or '78 Thunderbird in the parking lot while getting some groceries.  This is the long coupe with finned fender tops, a long hood, and a small intermediate opera window inserted into a very wide b-pillar.  Of the domestic automakers, FoMoCo did the weirdest things with opera windows ... as in "fail."  This was a weird car but it was in outstanding shape for its age.  I'm thinking it ran with a 302 or 351 V8.

[balthazar]

Hooo baby :
 

[Robert Hall]

Spied a decayed '59 Ford Galaxie in a yard in a small NE Ohio town yesterday...appears to have been a salmon and white color combo, may have looked like this decades ago:

[trinacriabob]

11 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

salmon

I'm laughing my ass off.  I vaguely remember the occasional older pastel/enamel salmon, pistachio, and baby blue cars toward the beginning of my life!

Yesterday, I saw TWO 2006 or 2007 Monte Carlos within 15 minutes of each other.   Both were LTs.  The first one was silver and the second one was charcoal.  Both had the substantial bucket seats I liked in gray cloth.  Both were in great condition, considering they were 11 or 12 years old.

And, at about the same time I saw that boat tail Riv, I saw yet another Monte Carlo and took a photo of it:

This one was in the metallic bronze color with slightly tinted glass.  It was also an LT.  Seeing these sets off more cognitive dissonance than seeing Grand Prixs.  I still like these cars a lot.  I've basically driven nothing but this genre of car since I got my driver's license until owning my current GM sedan.

Edited April 30, 2018 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

Not a huge lovefest for the 'bathtub' Packards (to which I would concur).
They are well built and the I8 was buttery smooth, but IMO they just had no snap, pizazz or moxie.
So when I see one (this is a 1948 Super 8), sometimes my mind's eye wanders. I think the I8 could be moved rearward, making it a mid-engined Packard 'Road Slug' :

 

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of those Packards, 20 years ago in Colorado Springs I had a manager that had a silver one. It was his grandfathers, all original in clean condition. He occasionally drove it to the office, his other car was a first gen Infiniti Q45, also silver. 

 

Speaking of Monte Carlos, saw two yesterday.   A clean red one (06-07 front) and clean black and silver Dale Earnhardt edition.  

Edited April 30, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

I like the forested areas and brick homes that show up in some of your photos.  I'm going to assume most of these photos are in NJ ... where property taxes are high and fuel prices are low(er).

[balthazar]

I took the 'VW 911' pic above, but the vast majority of the pics I post in here are from the web. RE the Packard, the pics I have of it came off of Craigslist, where I frequently just search by -say- "1948" (or a bunch of years from late '40s thru mid '60s), and I only bother to search my area... so that one was in Jersey, yes. :D
 

[ocnblu]

Looks like it has some sort of bug screens attached to the upper grilles

[Robert Hall]

Saw a sharp '87 Buick Grand National this morning.

[trinacriabob]

I like seeing Mercury Milans around and in good shape.  These would be with the latest grille (09-10).  Some of them are Premiers.  Most of them are 4 cylinders, including some of the Premiers.  I once rented one and was amazed by how much I liked it.  I drove it to Big Sur.

[Robert Hall]

Oddly saw two Milans earlier today around my neighborhood..a beige one parked in a garage next to a Grand Marquis, and a silver one parked on the street...

Saw an '86-87 Grand Prix in gold this evening...paint was nice and shiny, but the body was raggedy w/ rust around the edges...also saw a very clean dark gray Mercedes 560 SEL (W126). 

Edited April 30, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

For some crazy reason, I'd love to drive one of the very last Merc Grand Marquis or Ford Crown Vics with the 4.6 L SOHC V8 just to see what they're like.  I'm betting they're super smooth.  People are also hanging onto those.

[Robert Hall]

12 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

For some crazy reason, I'd love to drive one of the very last Merc Grand Marquis or Ford Crown Vics with the 4.6 L SOHC V8 just to see what they're like.  I'm betting they're super smooth.  People are also hanging onto those.

I've probably driven at least a dozen of them (along w/ as many Town Cars)  from around 2000-2012...were my favorite rental cars.   Always liked them, had an old school big car feel w/ the neat column shift.  Even drove a Crown Vic in Hawaii w/ a sunroof.  Driven them in LA, Nor Cal, Ohio, S Florida, etc..

Edited April 30, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar