November 2019 Car Spotters!

[ocnblu]

Post your noteworthy spots right here.  Let us gobble them up and be thankful.

[ocnblu]

Local Ford dealer has a hokey "Throwback Edition" Ranger Supercab in red with white two-tone wrap down the sides, a 6" lift, rollbar, All-Terrain T/A tires and polished alloys with round holes.  $45k.  I'd be super embarrassed to be seen in it.

Also I cannot believe a new soft Escape Titanium is over $40k loaded.  It looks small and low in person, but I do like the interior.  Insane pricing does not bode well for the Bronco Scout.  Saw a loaded RAV4 Limited for $39k.  When you are gunning for the (inexplicable) leader in the segment, why shoot yourself in the foot with pricing?

[balthazar]

This pic is off GoogleMaps, but I've seen it in person. '49 Cadoo, moldering away.

[Robert Hall]

Saw a really clean black '97-03 Grand Prix 2dr pulling out of a parking lot this afternoon...looked rust free..always liked the roofline on that era.

[trinacriabob]

19 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Saw a really clean black '97-03 Grand Prix 2dr pulling out of a parking lot this afternoon...looked rust free..always liked the roofline on that era.

I agree.  Even though the GP ultimately made for a fine mid-size sport sedan, it was born as a coupe and, in that span of model years, it made for an attractive coupe.

This morning, I saw a 1985 (almost sure) Delta 88 Royale sedan moving along at a nice clip on the freeway.  It was cream colored, had a tan vinyl top, and had wire wheels.  It most likely ran with a 5.0 (307) V8.  It was in excellent condition.  I took a look at some images and, damn, those things had massive dashboards with a lot going on.

[G. David Felt]

The amount of Matte paint job autos sure has grown. This I am pretty sure is a custom paint job.

[trinacriabob]

15 hours ago, dfelt said:

The amount of Matte paint job autos sure has grown. This I am pretty sure is a custom paint job.

First Avenue South?  Near Jackson?  South of Pioneer Square?  It's been so long, yet I still remember some of the street names.  (There's also a mneumonic device for the adjacent named streets with paired first letters.)

I very much like the new enamel (non metallic) charcoal gray that Chrysler is featuring.  It looks great on a Charger.  On that vehicle, NO.

Voila:

 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

First Avenue South?  Near Jackson?  South of Pioneer Square?  It's been so long, yet I still remember some of the street names.  (There's also a mneumonic device for the adjacent named streets with paired first letters.)

I very much like the new enamel (non metallic) charcoal gray that Chrysler is featuring.  It looks great on a Charger.  On that vehicle, NO.

Voila:

 

Yes, I work at 1st and King Street and walk through Pioneer Square to get to my bus. This Toy was just outside our front doors at 505 First Ave South.

[trinacriabob]

9 hours ago, dfelt said:

walk through Pioneer Square to get to my bus. 

I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

On rare occasions, I took the (articulated) bus from Woodinville into the city and vice-versa as well as the bus that went from the Bellevue Transit Center to the airport and vice versa, meandering down the suburbs on the east side of the lake and taking its sweet a$$ time.  It was to save money.  It was also like pulling teeth.  I hated it.

If I had coworkers who lived on the south end, I was able to get a lift to the airport if it my flight was after work.

Build that damn rail line to the east side (Bellevue).  I thought it was to be operative in 2020.  Will it be?

 

[balthazar]

'64 Stingray, factory original & minty (except medium blue).

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

On rare occasions, I took the (articulated) bus from Woodinville into the city and vice-versa as well as the bus that went from the Bellevue Transit Center to the airport and vice versa, meandering down the suburbs on the east side of the lake and taking its sweet a$$ time.  It was to save money.  It was also like pulling teeth.  I hated it.

If I had coworkers who lived on the south end, I was able to get a lift to the airport if it my flight was after work.

Build that damn rail line to the east side (Bellevue).  I thought it was to be operative in 2020.  Will it be?

 

Buses from the north end exit at Stewart and go down and turn left onto 2nd Ave. I get off at 2nd and S Washington. I get back onto the bus to go north at 4th and S Jackson then up 4th and turn onto Olive way and ride it till the expressway, then buzz up north.

January 2023 is when the eastside lite rail connects to Seattle and goes live. You can ride from Redmond into Bellevue and then across I90 to downtown Seattle where at 5th and Jackson you can change to either go up north on the lite rail or south.

[trinacriabob]

@dfelt

I know that this thread is about car spotting.  However, I am amped up about the light rail crossing Lake Washington from the east side suburbs.  It will be analogous to BART coming in from the East Bay into S.F.  They opened BART in 1972, if I recall.

[ocnblu]

*ahem*

[Robert Hall]

Saw a dark blue C7 Z06 at the grocery this morning.   

[ocnblu]

We got our first Venue in.  Base model... in silver... with wheel covers... kinda blah.  Want to see one in uplevel trim with alloys before I write it off.

[balthazar]

venue, venza, versa.

[USA-1]

On 11/5/2019 at 3:59 PM, dfelt said:

The amount of Matte paint job autos sure has grown. This I am pretty sure is a custom paint job.

Looks like a wrap or Plastidip they spray right over the factory paint and you can pretty easily peel them off. It looks like the top is still factory clear though. Looks like a shinier sheen compared to the dull reflection on the hood. Flat black rattle canned the grille. Either way it's low maint. probably doesn't have to wash it by hand all that often, the gray matches the gray your car will be after one run down a soaked Seattle freeway. Pretty funny there are at least 3 gray cars in the pic! That's one thing I don't miss, is that you'll never have a clean car for more than a day in the PNW.

Edited November 11, 2019 by USA-1

[trinacriabob]

I see Kia Sorentos almost daily.  How did they get that name?  It bugs me.

The Nissan Murano is named after the Venetian island of Murano, famous for its glass craftsmanship.  As for Sorento, the only place that approximates that name is the Italian coastal resort of SoRRento, with 2 r's.

[balthazar]

It always puzzles me when foreign brands, fully retaining an obvious 'other-land' brand name, then go and use a distinctly American or other country-based name. 'Mazda Navajo'.

I guess the grass is always greener : 'Cadillac Seville'.

[ocnblu]

22 hours ago, balthazar said:

venue, venza, versa.

vista, ventura

[Robert Hall]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

It always puzzles me when foreign brands, fully retaining an obvious 'other-land' brand name, then go and use a distinctly American or other country-based name. 'Mazda Navajo'.

I guess the grass is always greener : 'Cadillac Seville'.

Well, with some vehicles it's a marketing thing to evoke adventure or travel, Old West mythos is popular...Hyundai with Santa Fe, Sedona, Tucson, KIA with Telluride, etc...   no different than Jeep with Renegade, Rubicon, Laredo, etc. 

[balthazar]

Its not a question of image or marketing attempt. Its the name pairing I was noting. 

[Robert Hall]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Its not a question of image or marketing attempt. Its the name pairing I was noting. 

It is marketing.  Wouldn’t make sense for Hyundai to name a CUV after a Korean mountain range and sell it in the US with that name...

[G. David Felt]

4 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

It is marketing.  Wouldn’t make sense for Hyundai to name a CUV after a Korean mountain range and sell it in the US with that name...

Agreed, here are the top 5 Korean mountain ranges and their names:

Some how a Hyundai Gajisan, Hyundai Dongdaesan or Hyundai Cheonhwangsan as a CUV just does not ring a marketing bell!  

[balthazar]

35 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

It is marketing.  Wouldn’t make sense for Hyundai to name a CUV after a Korean mountain range and sell it in the US with that name...

Why not? They use 'hyundai' and that 'makes sense'.

How does Volkswagen 'make sense' of using 'Arteon', a Latin-derived term?

Edited November 12, 2019 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Why not? They use 'hyundai' and that 'makes sense'.

That's the company name and brand name.  Talking about model names here. 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

I wasn't; I specifically brought up the PAIRING of brand & model names.
You're only talking about model names by themselves.

[Robert Hall]

Just now, balthazar said:

I wasn't; I specifically brought up the PAIRING of brand & model names.
You're only talking about model names by themselves.

So?  It's still marketing.   Automakers choose model names that they think will work in a specific market or multiple markets and fit the product image. 

[balthazar]

Point missed.
- - - - -
My buddy got a late '80s Monte Carlo SS, silver, very tired. Not sure what he's going to do with it yet.

[trinacriabob]

I liked these.  I didn't love them.  So, then, today I saw the last rendition of Olds' Custom Cruiser full size wagon.  It was white. Couldn't get a photo. It was in very good condition.  This model was only run for 1991 and 1992.  That meant I was looking at a 27 or 28 year old RWD vehicle that the years had been kind to.

The front end is cool.  The rear third is a little on the bloated side.  They kept the old school square front fascia all the way through 1990.  

I was driving and couldn't look at the interior but, wow, this looks like a nicely crafted interior that's quite a few notches above a base GM offering in wagons of that era.  There's the vista roof treatment that Olds used to use quite extensively in wagons.

I'm guessing V8s of the 5.0 (307) or 5.7 (350) variety, hopefully produced by Oldsmobile Motor Division.

Edited November 15, 2019 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

There is a weirdly modified Custom Cruiser of that era around here I see occasionally...black, with a padded top covering the back side windows, dark window tint, blue headlights, custom wheels and big tires, very loud exhaust, big hood scoop...

[trinacriabob]

38 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

There is a weirdly modified Custom Cruiser of that era around here I see occasionally...black, with a padded top covering the back side windows, dark window tint, blue headlights, custom wheels and big tires, very loud exhaust, big hood scoop...

That does not sound good.  I'm amazed at how so many people think modifications away from stock are appealing.  I find them pimpy.  Most cars look their best in purist form.  Just look at the last rendition of the Bonneville, starting in 2000.  The more letters got appended to the name, the tackier it got.  It took getting a base LE to avoid the much disliked grooved Pontiac cladding of that era.  The only problem was that the LE came with wheel covers ... and some type of alloy wheels and a console were necessary to make it credible as a full size sport sedan.  Ditto with the Olds Intrigue.  I was not a fan of the spoiler.  The upward bowed cant of the trunk lid and the crease at its edge were sufficient to make it look good.

I found that  the Custom Cruiser started you out with cloth seats, so leather must have been an upgrade.  I also read that the 5.0 and the 5.7 were produced by Chevrolet. By the 1990s, divisional GM ownership of engines ceased to be; however, most who kept tabs on GM would have known that 305s were made by Chevy and 307s were made by Olds.   If I was in the market for this vehicle and my V8 wasn't made by Olds, I don't think I'd buy the vehicle.

Edited November 15, 2019 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

Quote

Just look at the last rendition of the Bonneville, starting in 2000.  The more letters got appended to the name, the tackier it got.  It took getting a base LE to avoid the much disliked grooved Pontiac cladding of that era.

GXP - the best iteration of the last Bonne. Still a great looking car.

 

Now we have to look at disjointed shit like this:

Edited November 15, 2019 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

GXP - the best iteration of the last Bonne. Still a great looking car.

 

Now we have to look at disjointed $h! like this:

Agreed.  That last GXP doesn't come to mind that readily.  It was a last ditch effort to clean up any clumsiness in the Bonne and, sure enough, the sides are smooth and the rear tail lamps look great.  However, one might forget this version because the sticker was a good bit higher and it came with a Northstar V8.

The ones that bothered me were some of the SLEs, SSEIs, and blah blahs of the early 2000s. I did not like the cladding and I did not like the lower front fascia scoops and big, circular further inboard fog lights ... too much.  The trademark Pontiac twin kidney grille that aligned with the headlamps on simpler models was way better, IMO, as in "less is more."

Here's a nice looking Bonne.  I guess there was no LE.  They started at SE.  That amount of ribbed effect is palatable.  I could do without the spoiler.  The plump seats and crazy dashboard made this an interesting car.  It was fairly agile for a full size. I like seeing them on the road when I do.

 

[Robert Hall]

City of Parma (suburb next to my suburb) has at least two Bonnevilles for some city department, saw them in a city parking lot w city decals on the doors a few months ago. 

[trinacriabob]

@Robert Hall

Wow, to this day?!?

I have always liked the unique rear light fascia on this car and the flanks that merged into it.  This car looks best from the rear 3/4 view.  It's cool to have one ahead of you on the freeway.

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

@Robert Hall

Wow, to this day?!?

I have always liked the unique rear light fascia on this car and the flanks that merged into it.  This car looks best from the rear 3/4 view.  It's cool to have one ahead of you on the freeway.

Yeah, back in the summer I happened to be driving past a city parking lot and saw them...a dark red last gen Bonneville and a white one.   A couple mid-oughts Impalas also. 

[G. David Felt]

@ #darbywinery wine release party in Woodinville Washington. Awesome power wagon with a modern Cummins under the hood.

[balthazar]

Bunch of stuff at a local garage auction :
'55 Coupe deVille was last registered in '77, was showing 40K miles (correct by my eye).

[balthazar]

There was a '73 mercedes SL there too (seen next to the Caddy). I always take a minute to look at older mercedes to check their build quality/engineering. Time & time again, as personally viewed on '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s versions, they're no better engineered or constructed than a Plymouth or Rambler. The hood springs are anchored to the inner fender sheetmetal. There's thousands of screws & panels & fasteners to bolt them together, just encouraging rattles and corrosion. The '73 was a little better than the '59 I looked at a few years ago, but not by much. Front bumper is still in 2 halves and bolted together in the center. There was a dicey welded patch at the lower corner of the grille opening, and there was no evidence the car was ever repainted that I saw.
TONS of marketing went into the illusion that it's a top-notch quality piece, but reality really shatters that myth hard. It's a plebian, plain little car loaded with cheap bits and mediocre construction.

[USA-1]

How cool would this old girl have been? 

https://www.motor1.com/news/376247/cadillac-deville-roadster-rendering/

 

 

 

[balthazar]

^ The first comment at the link summed it up perfectly.

[Robert Hall]

Sunday evening I was out and about and saw an Amish buggy with a light bar on the front roof, like something off those brodozer trucks.  Green and white lights.  

[Drew Dowdell]

My chariot on the way to LA for the auto show.

A Star Wars themed 737.

[Robert Hall]

Was at the airport this afternoon, got stuck for over 5 min in the parking garage waiting on a guy to back out a Ram 4dr pickup...it was like he had never backed a truck out of a parking spot before..didn't turn the front wheels enough.... kept backing up, pulling forward..for some reason, the tailgate was down.  He got out at one point, closed the tailgate, fiddled w/ the passenger mirror, saw me waiting maybe 50 feet away and just shrugged.  Eventually got it in a position where he could drive away...

[G. David Felt]

Putting some shelves up and ran to Home Depot. Saw this lovely F250 there. Talk about minty fresh.

[trinacriabob]

Two good one yesterday ...

First, during daylight, a pampered 1971 Olds (Cutlass) 442 convertible coupe, that was outpacing me on the freeway.  It was silver, had a black convertible top, rally wheels, and was in damn near perfect condition.  Of the 1969-1973 fraternal quadruplets, this model was probably a close second to the Pontiac LeMans-GTO as a favorite.  As it pulled off the ramp, you realize that it sported good lines and it makes you wonder WTF is wrong with Americans, AND others, as far as their changed tastes in vehicles go. I do not recall what the engine would have been the base engine the 442 that year.

Second, at night, a 1975 (or 1976) Olds Ninety Eight Regency coupe with a landau. Those cars were huge. It was copper or bronze and had a white top.  I could not make out the wheels but they were not pimpy.   Its condition was good, but not excellent.  It was nice to see those taillamps resembling the twin spires of a Gothic cathedral as it pulled away from me in the left lane on the interstate.

Yep, the days when Olds, and GM, changed their cars a little bit, or a lot, every model year.

[trinacriabob]

On 11/19/2019 at 1:05 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

My chariot on the way to LA for the auto show.

A Star Wars themed 737.

I'm betting it quakes a good bit of money to create those special themed liveries for planes.  Wow, even the interior.  If it's for advertising, the (other) company pays for it.  When Argentina won the cup in soccer and Diego Maradona was thought to walk on water, they put his image kicking a soccer ball on the side of their 747.  I wonder who picked up that tab.  Alitalia has had 747s painted up in both Baci (those delicious hazelnut chocolates by Perugina) and Bulgari.  

[Robert Hall]

Came out the movie theatre after seeing 'Ford v Ferrari' (loved it) and there was a red '05-06 Ford GT way out at the edge of the parking lot.  And my phone was dead. 

[oldshurst442]

A Lamborghini Urus  drove up to my drive through window today.   It looked like your anus...it was dirty. It had salt grime on it. 

At least the dude is driving it... 

It also looked like your anus because the thing is phoquing ugly.  Why would anybody want to be seen in that?     

Because of the high price tag?  People have low standards I guess. 

To be fair, the guy, in his 50s, was well coiffed and was extremely polite.  He just wanted a hot dog and a coffee.   Gave the girl a 2 dollar tip and gave me a surfer gesture  ? as I gave him a thumbs up for his ride.  

        (Urus---Uranus---Your Anus---see what I did there?)

Edited November 23, 2019 by oldshurst442