July Car Spotter

[Robert Hall]

While at the dealer this morning for some routine service, I strolled around the lot.  At the back, i spotted a couple rusty old minivans, a rusty Ram pickup w/ what looked like at outboard motor attached (or maybe it's a salt spreader for plowing), a Jaguar w/ a munched bumper, and a Smart cabriolet 'Passion' trim level...

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

8 hours ago, balthazar said:

Very cool.  I'm guessing this is a Pontiac Phoenix ... '77 to '79 ... most likely with the base engine.  Its predecessor, the Ventura, which used that platform (with leaf spring rear suspension ... don't know the letter code) had nicer frontal styling in '75 and '76.  I thought its engine lineup was almost better, too.   I think PMD was a little misdirected on what to do with the styling of these last few Phoenix years.  Of the foursome sharing this platform, the Ventura got my nod, followed by the Omega, provided both of them had nice trim levels.

Yesterday, I was traveling down the freeway and a dark brown metallic LaCrosse SUPER passed me up.  It had the canted front grille, so it was either a 2008 or a 2009.  The dudes in it had their windows down and were rocking out to some music.  At any rate, I hadn't seen a Super in about a year.  It would be interesting to know how many Supers (5.3L V8) were produced in their V8 years compared to CXs and CXLs.

[ehaase]

The RWD X body Phoenix did have a base 2.5L Iron Duke some of the years, which I hope this one did not have.  The 231 V6 would have been adequate. 

[balthazar]

According to the '77 brochure, the Phoenix had the 231 V6 standard, and the Iron Duke 151, the 305 V8 and 350 V8 as options. Also standard was a 3-spd manual on the column, with a 3 on the floor and a THM optional.

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, ehaase said:

The RWD X body Phoenix did have a base 2.5L Iron Duke some of the years, which I hope this one did not have.  The 231 V6 would have been adequate. 

I would have never thought that until it went FWD.  Thank you.  So, even when RWD, it was an X body. I vaguely remember all the FWDs GMs on this chassis had 2.5L Iron Dukes and the rudimentary 2.8 V6s, if I'm not mistaken.  Neither engine was in it for the long haul, with each plagued by expensive issues after time. 

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

According to the '77 brochure, the Phoenix had the 231 V6 standard, and the Iron Duke 151, the 305 V8 and 350 V8 as options. Also standard was a 3-spd manual on the column, with a 3 on the floor and a THM optional.

What a difference a year could make.  If you got the '77 model with a 231 c.i., you got an "odd firing" one.  If you got next year's model, you got an "even firing" one.  I have no idea what the longevity of carbureted 231 c.i. engines of that decade was.  I had one in the '80s and it surpassed 170,000 miles, only coughing up a timing chain along the way.  With it being a non-interference engine, the valvetrain suffered no damage.

[balthazar]

‘64-66 T-bird at back end of driveway, barely peeking around pickup. From what I could barely see, has been sitting a long long time.

[trinacriabob]

It's the Fourth of July.  I'm in another major city, in its suburbs.  I'm stopped at a light. 

Next to me is a late model 4 door Chevy Sonic.  The light bulb goes on when I see its plain Jane wheel covers.

I put my window down and motion over to the driver.

"Hey, your car has crank windows, right?"

"Yeah, it does!" (sort of surprised and amused)

Both of us drive off, chuckling, when the light turns green.  All in good fun.

[G. David Felt]

All cleaned and ready for summer use.

My 1994 GMC SLE suburban.

[oldshurst442]

The last couple of days, including today.  In order of seeing/spotting/noticing them

• C4 red Corvette on the Mazda dealership used car lot section.   Still there today.   I havent had time to stop and see the details, maybe tomorrow. 
• dark grey Cadillac CT5.  Probably the 2.0 Turbo.  It has presence on the road seeing it out in the wild, but I wasnt really impressed with it. Probably the colour doesnt do justice to the car. That and I dont like grey on cars. Probably because the base car is kinda bland also.  Too far away to really analyse it but close enough to have an opinion if I like the exterior or not...
• North American market  MkIV Supra rolling on the opposite side of the road going the other direction.  (Yes, the steering wheel was where it belongs!!!)  Silver.  I dont think it was the turbo model, didnt look like it was.  Wasnt riced out.   (Thank the lord.  It looked stock.) Body was of a well driven Quebec car after all these years. No signs of rust.  Probably kept in the garage during the winter, but it did have some battle scars on the body. It was a decent car.  
• 1971 blue Chevelle SS with dual white racing stripes.   15 inch Torque Thrust II mags.  Well restored car parked on a street. 
• 1969 orange Camaro.  All orange.  I doubt it was Chevy's Hugger orange colour.  Maybe it was.  Another well restored car.  Had modern  17 or 18 inch 5 skinny spoke mags.  This car too, was parked. I stopped to analyse the Chevelle. I didnt for the Camaro.  No time.  
• mid 1960s Chrysler Newport convertible. Blue-ish grey-ish.  Nicely restored car.  In a McDonald's parking lot while I was driving towards a softball practice that was in Montreal. 

 And today.   I was going to Home Depot, to Reno-Depot (A Canadian-Montreal based -home renovation store) and back to Home Depot...   2 miles at the most apart. 

 

• A red on red 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird.  He was leaving Home Depot while I was going in.  When I left Home Depot to go to Reno Depot, I saw that 2002-2005 Thunderbird at the Reno Depot parking lot.
• While I was driving to Home Depot initially, a Dark Grey (kinda like Carbon Fibre grey colour)  C7  Z06 with a Hennessy cursive logo on the back bumper left side was in the right lane to me driving forward while I turned left to go to Home Depot.  Well, that same C7 was was parked in the lot at the 2nd Home Depot trip. 
• Coming back home from this romp, an all black no chrome, nothing shiny CT5 was coming towards me on the opposite side. I dont think it was a V car, but it definitely was a Sport trim. This version had a ton more presence. This version looked mean and good and awesome.   I LOVED this version! 

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

Saw this tonight.  Nice color.

The lady left the top down and went into the store.  It's a nicer area, so she figured it would be o.k.

Anyone who owns a Cascada should hang onto it for a long time.  Especially one like this.

[balthazar]

It’s a chunky lil toad.

[trinacriabob]

11 hours ago, balthazar said:

It’s a chunky lil toad.

It is indeed.  Not a svelte looking car by any stretch of the imagination.

- - - - -

As for the sighting on Sunday described above, the guy was obviously surprised that someone was able to figure out he had crank windows by his trim level and basic hubcaps.  The post seemed very clear to me.  Of course, @ocnblu needs to add the typical "confused" reaction to ensure the post(er) looks stupid and which seemingly doesn't fetch any points.  Time to grow up.  God, where would be without points? 

Edited July 7, 2020 by trinacriabob

[G. David Felt]

22 hours ago, dfelt said:

All cleaned and ready for summer use.

My 1994 GMC SLE suburban.

Realized why I like Rivian Truck and SUV so much, reminds me of the same body style of my beloved Suburban!

[balthazar]

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

God, where would be without points? 

Can I redeem mine for a coffee percolator or something??

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

Can I redeem mine for a coffee percolator or something??

I can remember my Mom doing the points thing in the 70s...can't recall the store, though. 

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

Realized why I like Rivian Truck and SUV so much, reminds me of the same body style of my beloved Suburban!

I like the design of the Rivian, but I don't really see any resemblance to a Suburban other than it's a 4dr wagon. 

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

Realized why I like Rivian Truck and SUV so much, reminds me of the same body style of my beloved Suburban!

This thing is a real production vehicle?  Those front headlights are goofy, but it manages to look like a sinister, testosterone charged, and updated version of the Wally World wagon.  Could it be that it's also green?  Not sure.

[balthazar]

^ until it goes into production, the above is just a concept.

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I can remember my Mom doing the points thing in the 70s...can't recall the store, though. 

I like the design of the Rivian, but I don't really see any resemblance to a Suburban other than it's a 4dr wagon. 

When you look at the front end, ignore the headlights or daytime running light bar, but look at the smooth rounded nose of the Rivian to the Suburban. Look at the slit angle of the back of both SUVs. Over all Profile looks very similar to my suburban. Even the belt line down the side, the type of wheel well arches. I see many similar style points. Makes me think the folks that styled the Rivian grew up around the 90's suburban's.

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

This thing is a real production vehicle?  Those front headlights are goofy, but it manages to look like a sinister, testosterone charged, and updated version of the Wally World wagon.  Could it be that it's also green?  Not sure.

As @balthazar states, till production starts later this year, it is just a concept. They have a couple dozen test mules running around. They even did a full trip that is documented online driving them from Argentina back north through South America, Central America and into the US back to the corporate campus. Testing the R1T, Truck at high altitude and heat. The auto's did a super job of getting the employees testing the trucks back home. You can also find video clips of their journey on their Rivian Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/rivianofficial/

 

 

Here is the SUV up in Colorado doing some skiing/snowboarding.

 

 

[ocnblu]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Time to grow up.

Well I'm a car geek too, but I would be embarrassed as heck yelling out to a stranger in traffic about their crank.  Unless they were super hot.

 

Like the time I was behind a lifted, redneck-ified Chevy pickup with aftermarket dual rear exit exhaust.  One pipe was a few inches lower than the other, so I pulled up next to him and yelled "Hey buddy, you got one hangin' low!"  He laughed.

[Robert Hall]

42 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

Well I'm a car geek too, but I would be embarrassed as heck yelling out to a stranger in traffic about their crank.  Unless they were super hot. 

Ya, I definitely wouldn't be thinking about if a vehicle has manual or power windows in traffic..manual windows seem like an obsolete 20th century artifact like carburetors or bias-ply tires; something I'd never think about.

[balthazar]

I try not to think about paper-thin sheet metal, horribly plasticy interiors and rock-hard suspensions; all hopefully-soon obsolete trappings of 21st century vehicles. 

[oldshurst442]

1993 Camaro Z28.  New fat tires. Faded red paint. T-Top.  Original mags.   Awesome car although it was an automatic...  Came to my drive-though. Couldnt talk to the guy. The guy was in his 60s.  

1984-ish Camaro Z28.  That awful beige colour that was offered then.  The skirts were goldish as well as the 5 spoke mags. All original. Paint looked to be in real good condition. The car as well. Parked exactly where the orange 1969 Camaro was parked on Sunday.   (on a side street of the main road that I use to go back and fro from work in front of a modest house) Camaro enthusiast?   Its funny though that all these years, its the first time that I see these cars in front of that house.  

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Well I'm a car geek too, but I would be embarrassed as heck yelling out to a stranger in traffic about their crank. 

Not embarrassed at all.  Most people like to talk about their cars.  It could have been like talking about your horse in the Wild West days.

[ocnblu]

3 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

talking about your horse

Oh my

[balthazar]

• minty '63 Cutlass 2-dr hardtop, silver/champagne color, with a jaunty red accent stripe across the grille, resting but poised in driveway (nose toward road).
• minty '68 442 convertible, dark green, tan top, motoring with gusto.
Both seen in rural eastern PA.

[G. David Felt]

Today was the day I had to go in, pack up my cubicle and became like @Robert Hall working from home full time.

At least I got my setup at home now.

On the way out with all my stuff, saw a true oldie along with a modern auto in the parking garage. 

Have to say seeing the eTron again, that CUV has a phat ass.

Sadly, so many businesses are gone. One of my favorite as they made just awesome breakfast/lunch only meals was "The Biscuit Bitch" RIP.

[trinacriabob]

I get a twinge of cognitive dissonance when I see a Pontiac GP, which uses the same platform as the car I ultimately bought.  It has the same powertrain, too.

This one is (light bulb goes on) Fusion Orange metallic, clearly an inaugural 2004 color that might have carried forward into 2005, because this unit, in sound shape and cruising effortlessly down the freeway, did not have a trunk lock cylinder.  Also, one has to give Pontiac some credit for having the moxie to offer a polarizing and sportier color like this on the GP.  Not so with other W-body GM vehicles of the same years.  I don't know if I'd want to own a Fusion Orange metallic car, but I like(d) seeing these.

This was on the 4th of July ... or the next day.  Will never forget Pontiac!  Have loved them for as long as I can remember.

[balthazar]

Clean F’em-250, I think these are early ‘80s: 

Anachronistic WWs on a square body: 

[balthazar]

First time under the sky in maybe 26 years:  

[Robert Hall]

On 7/10/2020 at 4:17 PM, balthazar said:

Clean F’em-250, I think these are early ‘80s: 

 

 

'78-79.  Looks like the roof is squashed.

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

First time under the sky in maybe 26 years:  

Lots of patina..you going to get it running again? 

[balthazar]

^ Mostly dust. Patina is minimal. More will buff out.
Lookit the shine still in dem flanks :

 

Yes- the plan is to get running again.

Edited July 12, 2020 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

Saw this small Chevy this morning.  What's to remark about?  Well, anymore, when you look at car brochures or web sites for more economical cars, you can pick your exterior color to be: 1) white, 2) black, 3) silver, 4) charcoal, 5) red, and 6) navy blue.  I'm not asking for 15 to 20 colors like they had decades ago, but kudos to Chevrolet and maybe other GM brands for this cool color, similar to one found in '75 GM BOP products.

The downside is that, for the interior in the lower trim levels, your color choices are: 1) black, 2) black, and 3) black.  

Nonetheless, this is a recent and cool color added to the GM stable.

 

[G. David Felt]

Seeing more and more people living out of trailer's. Never seen such a base model Toyota truck before.

[ocnblu]

"Living out of trailers..."

The RV industry is booming because people still want/need to go on vacation but they don't want to fly in rickety sky buses.  So they're buying/renting RV.

Please provide proof the person is "living" in that camper.

[G. David Felt]

6 hours ago, ocnblu said:

"Living out of trailers..."

The RV industry is booming because people still want/need to go on vacation but they don't want to fly in rickety sky buses.  So they're buying/renting RV.

Please provide proof the person is "living" in that camper.

This individual works at blue cross/blue shield and started living out of the camper in March of this year. Now there are 3 others that also park in the lot who work there, no longer living in an apartment. It is what I have noticed. Will take a pic next time I drive down that parking street by their campus. Never had the RVs before the pandemic and now seems to be more moving around but in this area.

[trinacriabob]

Tonight, I was behind a new mid-engine Chevy Corvette.  I see one anywhere from once every 2 weeks to once a month, so it's sort of a treat.

IMO, the best combo is white/burgundy leather interior or silver metallic/burgundy leather interior.  This one was (enamel) orange and it looked great.  It had temporary plates.  The exhaust purr was pleasing to the ear.

Given that I was behind this new Corvette and they are fiberglass, I moved into an adjacent lane as quickly as I could.

[trinacriabob]

On 7/8/2020 at 7:23 PM, David said:

One of my favorite as they made just awesome breakfast/lunch only meals was "The Biscuit Bitch" RIP.

Great name.  Surprisingly NOT PC for Seattle.  I like it.

Saw this during lunch.  I guess whether or not you leave the top down depends on the neighborhood.  While not a big fan of FoMoCo in general, this take on the Mustang was reasonably well done - at home in the New Millennium but also with definite ties to its original styling cues.

 

[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

33 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Great name.  Surprisingly NOT PC for Seattle.  I like it.

Saw this during lunch.  I guess whether or not you leave the top down depends on the neighborhood.  While not a big fan of FoMoCo in general, this take on the Mustang was reasonably well done - at home in the New Millennium but also with definite ties to its original styling cues.

 

I liked them in the retro lt green and lt blue colors back around '05-07.

[G. David Felt]

45 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Great name.  Surprisingly NOT PC for Seattle.  I like it.

They still have their trailer and one location, the southern food is Da Bomb. Limited Menu, but better than nothing.

https://biscuitbitch.com/

Mask up Bitches per their web site!

Menu Love: https://biscuitbitch.square.site/s/order?location=11ea68c98f76d396a76c0cc47a2b1e8c#2

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

9 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I liked them in the retro lt green and lt blue colors back around '05-07.

This is the light green that's like a metallic mint or the toy car lime?  Yes, pony cars look good in those colors.

[Robert Hall]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

This is the light green that's like a metallic mint or the toy car lime?  Yes, pony cars look good in those colors.

The retro colors were Legend Lime and Windveil Blue.  They reminded me of '67-68 colors. 

 

[trinacriabob]

@Robert Hall I had that blue on, not one, but two Cutlass Supremes and it's a great color!  That green works on sporty cars.

- - - - -

I could talk about the first-gen Chrysler 300 I saw in a supermarket parking lot yesterday, but I was more amused by, how right outside its passenger doors, someone really WIGGED OUT!

 

[trinacriabob]

I'm not in calendar order, but the car turned 12.5 years old last week!  I took it out on the open road.  Some interesting sightings:

THREE last gen ('06 or '07) Monte Carlos on the interstate - silver, black, and navy blue - cruising along faster than me, probably at ~ 70 mph, so their (then new) VVT Chevy V6s are still up to the task.

I saw one of these!  They're rare.  Possibly badged an Opel Corsa in Europe when it looked like this.  I might see one or two Saturn Aura sedans a month, while I see one of these coupes about once a year.  This Saturn Astra was also in great shape and cruising along nicely.  Don't know what engine powers them.

I also saw a Tibetan monk (Asian man with a shaved head, orange robes, etc.) at a large gas station complex / truck complex next to the interstate.  I have no idea what rules they have about what they can and cannot do while circulating in (American) society, but it's not an everyday occurrence that you see one.

As for the Saturn Astra, its styling is NOT derivative and is fairly unique.  Kudos for that.

[Robert Hall]

53 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

 

I saw one of these!  They're rare.  Possibly badged an Opel Corsa in Europe when it looked like this.  I might see one or two Saturn Aura sedans a month, while I see one of these coupes about once a year.  This Saturn Astra was also in great shape and cruising along nicely.  Don't know what engine powers them.

 

As for the Saturn Astra, its styling is NOT derivative and is fairly unique.  Kudos for that.

The Astra was the Opel/Vauxhall Astra in Europe, the Corsa was a smaller car (more Sonic sized).    The Astra some years in Europe was a available with an interesting optional windshield that wrapped up into the roof.    There was also a folding hardtop cabrio version (called Twin Top), kind of the predecessor of the Cascada.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

5 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

The Astra was the Opel/Vauxhall Astra in Europe, the Corsa was a smaller car (more Sonic sized).    The Astra some years in Europe was a available with an interesting optional windshield that wrapped up into the roof.    There was also a folding hardtop cabrio version (called Twin Top), kind of the predecessor of the Cascada.

 

This sounds right.  I like the coupe more so than the convertible.  What's going on in that Opel's front headlight assembly?  I'm guessing low beam, high beam, and amber turning signal.  It doesn't look that bad.

I always wanted to try one of these in the automatic version when across the pond.  Instead, I was either given smaller automatics ... or larger automatics (i.e. Opel Insignia wagon, with a flawless shifting 6 speed automatic).

[trinacriabob]

Within 10 minutes of each other - one near a smaller city hall and the other at Costco - 2 Pontiac snouts - 1 new and 1 old(er)

Beautiful G8 sedan in excellent condition:

Pontiac Firebird Formula (350!):

Did the Pontiac 350s hit the quarter million mile mark easily with routine maintenance?  Don't know much about them.  People talk about how far their Olds and Chevy 350s go. A lot of glare, so I couldn't see what I was aiming at, but I got "350."  (Also, it had a/c, a manual trans., and a rear spoiler).  Obviously, '70 to '73 ...

[balthazar]

Excluding known , verified lemons, most any post-war vehicle can go 250K with good maintenance. It's not a rarity. There's a number of documented cars from the '30s going 500K.
Pontiac built excellent V8 motors.

Edited July 21, 2020 by balthazar