September Car Spotting

[Robert Hall]

I took a drive east up the Lake Erie coast towards the PA line, visiting a couple wineries and a couple of my favorite beaches..beautiful and sunny, but too hot (85).    There was a VW cruise-in show in Geneva-on-the-Lake, saw dozens of vintage Beetles, buses, modern GTIs, etc in stock and restomod forms....maybe my favorite car of the day, though was a very clean gray w/ no vinyl top '71 Buick Electra 225 4dr ht.  It needed whitewalls and some interior work, but appeared rust free.   Another favorite was a bright red w/ matching steel wheels '72 Chevy Bel Air 4dr sedan..very clean, appeared rust free also.  Saw a white '64 Ford Fairlane 2dr ht parked in a driveway, a dark red '68 Buick GS 2dr ht, a matte black '55 Ford Country Sedan wagon, a gray and white '55 Chevy 210 2dr sedan, a '63 Nova 2dr street machine in white with '70s style blue color panels and stripes, several '70s Corvettes in the Skittles colors of the period, a silver Ferrari California T w/ the top down, a rough blue '73 Caddy Sedan de Ville for sale for $1900.  Memorable for the contrast between paint and bodywork was a a bright red Chevy Silverado crew cab from around 2005 that had shiny, clean paint yet was so rusty the left front fender looked someone had been chewing around the wheelwell opening.. 

All in all a mellow start to the holiday weekend, drove down I-90 heading home w/ a beautiful sunset, sunroof open, blasting Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell'.. happy happy joy joy...

Edited September 2, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

I was driving down a major street and a last-gen (late '90s) Buick Riviera coupe was coming the other way.  It was in perfect shape.  It was the pearl white color.  I like some special metallic extra cost colors, but not the off white. 

The guy driving it looked like the working class version of that silver haired bearded guy who is on an ad for alcohol or maybe "poverty sucks" that people seem to post on social media.  I can visualize the ad or meme but can't recall what product or message he represents.

Also, he zoomed away from that light.  I had my window down and could hear it.  Maybe it was supercharged as opposed to being a normally aspirated 3800 V6.  Polarizing car, that's for sure.

[Robert Hall]

9 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I was driving down a major street and a last-gen (late '90s) Buick Riviera coupe was coming the other way.  It was in perfect shape.  It was the pearl white color.  I like some special metallic extra cost colors, but not the off white. 

The guy driving it looked like the working class version of that silver haired bearded guy who is on an ad for alcohol or maybe "poverty sucks" that people seem to post on social media.  I can visualize the ad or meme but can't recall what product or message he represents. 

Sounds like the former Dos Equis beer ad guy in the  'The Most Interesting Man in the World' ads.  Actor Johnathan Goldsmith. 

[G. David Felt]

12 minutes ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Sounds like the former Dos Equis beer ad guy in the  'The Most Interesting Man in the World' ads.  Actor Johnathan Goldsmith. 

[trinacriabob]

You guys nailed it.  Put a dark t-shirt on him and put him in a cherry Riv in a middle to upper middle class neighborhood and that was the dude!

[Robert Hall]

Whilst out and about this afternoon, saw a beautiful gold-green '71 Pontiac Catalina convertible..tan interior, Rally II wheels, pretty much spotless.   Also saw 2 of the last gen Thunderbird convertibles, top down..one bright red w/ black interior, one maroon w/ tan interior.   Saw a white 45th anniversary edition Camaro convertible in white w/ gray and orange stripes, top down.  

Also saw a current style Impala in a dark green, didn't realize Chevy has/had a dark green currently/recently. 

Edited September 2, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[ocnblu]

Two Fiero GTs, one faded red, stock appearing, parked, the other a beautiful dark green, immaculate with a slight widebody kit and dark windows, distinctive 60-degree V6 growl on a four lane highway.  ?

[G. David Felt]

Went to a friends wedding this weekend, was on her parents ranch. The father is OCD about his garage, hobby rooms and his old cars. Restored SS is lovely, picked up a Galaxie 500 that he is planning to clean up too.

@A Horse With No Name Thought of you when I saw his wood options and the clean wood shop.

 

[trinacriabob]

If I see a Galaxy, I automatically think of someone's mom who gave a bunch of us kids a ride to the parochial school in our suburb.  She fittingly had a beehive and had sort of a Mrs. Cunningham ("Happy Days") personality.  Yes, once upon a time, SoCal was "somewhat" wholesome ... or at least there was more room for it.

[ocnblu]

*Galaxie

[G. David Felt]

5 hours ago, ocnblu said:

*Galaxie

We like the Galaxy 500 far far away!  

[trinacriabob]

9 hours ago, ocnblu said:

*Galaxie

Probably the French variant of the English word.  I know how much you like languages.

[G. David Felt]

Saw these two on the highway today!

[Robert Hall]

Someone in my neighborhood got a new '19 Ram 1500...black 4dr...Laramie I think...really sharp.  I think it's the first I've seen of the 19s...really looks good in person, IMO...

Edited September 4, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Robert Hall]

It was blue hot hatch time this morning...heading home from a quick trip to Dunkin Donuts (first time out of the house since Tuesday--been an insane work week), I saw a dark blue Fiesta ST, a bright blue Focus RS, and a dark blue Golf R....  

[A Horse With No Name]

Have not seen much American muscle on the road at all....but saw a 71 442 convertible the other day, immaculate....

[ocnblu]

Red, second-gen Corvair sedan on the road... appeared to be a decently kept daily driver.

[trinacriabob]

First sighting this evening:

A dark blue Corvette with the roof hatches off going down a major street.  It was one of the first model years without a metal bumper, yet without bumper rub strips ('74, '75, '76?).  I couldn't read the badging to see if it was a 350 or a 454.  A shaved head, Italian looking Mr. Klean type was at the wheel so it was no surprise that the exhaust was modified to be obnoxious.  Also, while this feature generally irritates me, the car had that ground lighting effect in light blue.  It was o.k.

Sidebar:  A friend of a friend once bought a new Corvette in the late '80s.  He let me drive it.  I limited my driving it to an enormous empty parking lot.  What surprised me is how light it felt and that it didn't communicate as much road feel as I would have expected.  Corvettes are interesting but, if I had oodles of money for a second/sporty car, I'd pick the current Chevy SS in a flash.

Second sighting this evening:

A car identical to mine in every which way.  The driver and his wife/gf were getting out of it to go into Starbucks and were pointing to my car as I was walking out.  He said that he basically liked his and has had some issues, though nothing major.

[Robert Hall]

After an all-nighter doing a production deployment for my client (went to bed at 5am EST this morning), at the end of a two 50+hr weeks, I finally had a day to relax.  

On the freeway this afternoon, saw a primer gray '55 Chevy 2dr sedan w/ a black hood.

Went to the casino for a concert tonight, came out and saw a black Ferrari 488 GTB w/ a temporary tag parked out front.     But parked in front of it and getting more attention, was a sharp clean white 4th gen Camaro IROC-Z convertible from around '89-90, top down. 

 

[trinacriabob]

Within 12 hours of each other:

Last night - a 1997 to 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix - it was a sedan - it was a 1997, per the owner pumping in some gas.  It was badged with the 3800.  He said it ran great but also mentioned how it looked like hell on the outside.  His dad had given it to him.  It was a 22 year old vehicle!

This morning - a 1997 to 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix - it was a coupe.  It was turning in front of me.  It was in o.k. shape. I'm guessing it was in the latter part of that span of the years listed.  It's always a pleasure to see these in coupe form, at least for me.

[Robert Hall]

The DoorDash delivery guy tonight was a Millennial hipster w/ a red artisanal beard, driving a black Tesla Model 3.  First Model 3 I'd seen in person...he said they told him there had only been about 150 sold so far in NE Ohio...

[balthazar]

Bunch of model 3's in central NJ- I've probably seen a dozen. Not nearly as sleek in person as in pics.

[Robert Hall]

They kind of look like a Model S that's been narrowed, shortened and made taller..a bit awkward looking from some angles. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Bunch of model 3's in central NJ- I've probably seen a dozen. Not nearly as sleek in person as in pics.

So true from the fit n finish to just the awkward angles that @Cubical-aka-Moltar has mentioned, really disappointed in the car. Many at work have bought them and they do not boast about it like they used to before or like the S versions owners. I think there is some buyers remorse and I would not be surprised to see many traded in once other OEMs EV's hit the market.

[G. David Felt]

@ocnblu A Woody for you I found today!

[Robert Hall]

Nice cool, cloudy day..felt really like fall today.  Saw a rusty dented white Pontiac G8, a white Vibe, and a dark green G6 convertible...all within about a mile in Parma.

Saw another Tesla Model 3, also in black on the freeway driven by a young woman who was looking at the huge touchscreen rather than the road..

Went downtown, and came out of the West Side Market and saw this clean black Riviera parked next to my Jeep. 

 

And a pic of myself, enjoying being out..away from my virtual cubicle (work has been very busy the last 3 weeks--3 weeks @55-60hrs/week). 

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[ocnblu]

That Cleveland sign, is that a big seesaw?

[Robert Hall]

16 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

That Cleveland sign, is that a big seesaw?

Nope.  

[balthazar]

My dealer has 2 '19 Silverados in- guy told me they aren't advertising them because they want to move the '18s out.
Walked around a white crew cab/short bed ($54K), I've been needing to see the front end in 3-D vs. the pics. I think it looks better in person, slightly, than in 2-D. Man; I really like 'em. Now I really want one.

- - - - -
In other related sighting news : my wife's '09 Malibu is on the way out the door / put a deposit on a '16 Malibu.

[Robert Hall]

Coming out of my neighborhood this afternoon, saw an orange and black two tone '70-72 Nova with a huge chrome blower & scoop, no hood, narrow tires up front, huge rear tires w/ tubbed wheel wells, wheelie bars and a parachute on the rear...full on Pro Street style, very loud.

In the airport parking garage, saw a Volvo XC40 for the first time--very sharp and substantial looking up close for a compact CUV...white w/ black roof, red seats, dark window tint and Florida plates. 

[balthazar]

My buddy picked up a '72 Dart Swinger 2-dr hardtop, black vinyl top over blue, decent shape for it's age, but nothing shiny/impressive. Ooops- I said that already at "Dart".

[Robert Hall]

Saw a sharp silver 64 Olds 88 2dr ht gliding along this evening, and a sharp bright blue Chevy SS. 

[trinacriabob]

I have been seeing last iteration (last grilled) Mercury Milans all around, almost every day.  Most of them are badged Premier yet none of them are badged V6.  Evidently, that base 4 cylinder in these cars is in it for the long haul.  They go whizzing by me on the freeway at 70 mph all the time.

Wasn't this engine borrowed from or developed by Mazda?  I'm trying to remember if it was 2.5 or 2.0.  I've test driven its sibling Ford Fusion with this engine when the car was squarer and, other than being slightly grainy, the 4 cylinder was up to the task.  Basically, it was a very logically laid out car.

[trinacriabob]

Yesterday, last day of September.

Saw a white last gen Monte Carlo LT or LTZ, making it 2006 or 2007.  It had the vertical spoiler instead of the ugly flat one.  The windows were slightly tinted, so I couldn't see the interior.  It had the five spoke star alloy wheels instead of the more common alloy wheels on possibly 17" wheels.  There was nothing pimpy about it.  I'm thinking it could have been a 3.9 V6 just as likely as it could have been a 3.5 V6.  It was in near perfect condition. 

After what some mechanics and owners have told me, I'm glad I bought what I bought instead of the MC.  I still like them, though.

On 9/24/2018 at 1:26 PM, balthazar said:

My buddy picked up a '72 Dart Swinger 2-dr hardtop, black vinyl top over blue, decent shape for it's age, but nothing shiny/impressive. Ooops- I said that already at "Dart".

My relatives in northern NJ once had a '71 Dart sedan ... with blackwalls, hubcaps, and everything else downmarket that came with the standard model.  They still had it in the mid '90s!  It had very low mileage on the odometer.  It had the base slant 6 engine.  (I think those were reliable.) Driving it on the more "challenging" northern NJ streets made for a horrible motoring experience.  It may not have even had power steering, if that's possible.

- - - - -

Adding this comment since I had reserved post 8,000 for something more comical, so here goes:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

Post 8,000 had been intended to say

"How ya doin'?" to ocnblu

- - - - -

Edited October 1, 2018 by trinacriabob

[G. David Felt]

Also for the last day of September, it was too funny, brand new Ram Pickup and with the backup camera and sensors and yet the drivers side bumper had a fresh buck buckle as they clearly did not pay attention to what was behind them. ?‍♂️

[balthazar]

MoPar Slant Six was one of the most incredibly reliable engines ever built. Not exciting or smooth, but they just. kept. going.