OCTOBER ve-hickle spotter

[balthazar]

^ The homogenization of auto styling on full display.
I was behind a small SUV the other night- couldn't ID it and the name across the back I couldn't initially make out. ESCAPE.

[Drew Dowdell]

On 10/17/2020 at 11:33 AM, Robert Hall said:

Don't think I've ever heard 'vehicle' pronounced 've-hickle'.  

Anyhoo, haven't seen really seen much of note this month.   Went out last Saturday to drop off my ballots at the county Board of Elections--15 minute drive then a 20 min wait in line w/ other vehicles...then took a drive across Cleveland and out into the suburbs and down through Rocky River Reservation (park)..great to see the fall colors and cooler weather.   My sister had her Cadillac STS detailed to get it ready to sell, I plan to take it out for a drive this afternoon...running well for now.

 

I just saw one of those right after being totaled.  The car was still on the side of the road with the family, safe, giving statements to police.  A dump truck pulled too close to the driver side of the STS, hooked onto it and started dragging the STS down the road. The entire driver's side was destroyed. 

[Drew Dowdell]

[ocnblu]

6 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Eldoraydo ETC!  Rare as hen's teeth!

[trinacriabob]

Spotted on October 13

Vista Cruiser wagon by Olds

Hard to explain:  engine note sounded typical of Olds, but not like that quieter woosh sound of when their V8s were new(er).  My 350 kept the quieter exhaust note to beyond 170,000 miles ... because exhaust components were kept up? 

Those wheels don't look stock to this model, or are they?

[Robert Hall]

Nice 70-72 Vista Cruiser..those look like an available Olds wheel of that era, without the trim rings seen on this '70..

[trinacriabob]

32 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Nice 70-72 Vista Cruiser..those look like an available Olds wheel of that era, without the trim rings seen on this '70..

The wheels on this one seem better than the color keyed ones.  For a while, Olds was running the alloy options that weren't body colored on Cutlasses.  I thought they looked better. 

I like the ones below even better than the ones we saw on Olds products in the mid '70s:

They just need to be cleaned up.

 

[balthazar]

On 10/25/2020 at 9:23 PM, balthazar said:

'toyoter' & 'impressed' in the same sentence ?!?
Only instance I can imagine that being uttered is 'toyoter went 7 days straight without a recall.'

I'd say 'Jinxed it!', but it's depressingly too common as it is.  4 days later :

[trinacriabob]

Ho hum post about October 24 sightings:

I usually dislike alloy wheels that are not stock.  Some look downright pimpy.  However, these work very well on this LaX

They got it right ... and it came and went in a flash. And did a number on Lordstown.  This turned out to be a real nice handling and riding car for the size and the price point that one would have understandably been waiting for a more upline Buick Verano to be further refined and put onto this same platform.

[trinacriabob]

Minding down a major street on October 25, minding my own business, and I see this:

You bet I was going to pull over to this exotic car dealer that I normally wouldn't pull over to.  I was wondering if this is a custom paint.  And what the person's motivation for ordering or choosing this car might be.

I went to the Bentley website.  It's a legitimate color: Jetstream II.  This is one pompous car.  You can build one on the website, but it won't give you a price.  All of the verbiage, such as "colour," is in English for the posh folks.

The experience mentally sent me running to the Dodge dealer down the street.

[trinacriabob]

Meant to say:  Driving down a major street ...

* sleep in my eyes ... and on the brain *

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Minding down a major street on October 25, minding my own business, and I see this:

You bet I was going to pull over to this exotic car dealer that I normally wouldn't pull over to.  I was wondering if this is a custom paint.  And what the person's motivation for ordering or choosing this car might be.

I went to the Bentley website.  It's a legitimate color: Jetstream II.  This is one pompous car.  You can build one on the website, but it won't give you a price.  All of the verbiage, such as "colour," is in English for the posh folks.

The experience mentally sent me running to the Dodge dealer down the street.

I remember that color as GM had it as a color option on their Luv pickup trucks from the 70's. Baby powder blue is what I remember it to be. 

On that auto, for sure a Look At Me Pompous color.

Pass on that ugly Jelly Bean!

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Minding down a major street on October 25, minding my own business, and I see this:

You bet I was going to pull over to this exotic car dealer that I normally wouldn't pull over to.  I was wondering if this is a custom paint.  And what the person's motivation for ordering or choosing this car might be.

I went to the Bentley website.  It's a legitimate color: Jetstream II.  This is one pompous car.  You can build one on the website, but it won't give you a price.  All of the verbiage, such as "colour," is in English for the posh folks.

The experience mentally sent me running to the Dodge dealer down the street.

That's such a Scottsdale car..saw many Bentley convertibles there, usually in the tired white w/ black wheels.  The current gen of Bentley Continental GT has a rear quarter shape that reminds me of the old Karmann-Ghia...given that Bentley is a VAG brand, it may not just be coincidence...one of those weird details that once you see you can't unsee....the modern Bentleys do have great interiors...I think the 2dr ht looks good in dark greens. 

[balthazar]

So generic.
Yeah; the quarter does look like the VW line Ghia ripped off the early Chrysler specials.

[trinacriabob]

11 hours ago, David said:

I remember that color as GM had it as a color option on their Luv pickup trucks from the 70's. Baby powder blue is what I remember it to be. 

On that auto, for sure a Look At Me Pompous color.

Pass on that ugly Jelly Bean!

The baby powder blue was indeed a '70s GM color, in both '75 and '78.  I do not consider light metallic blue to be baby blue.  It has to be an enamel paint, and not a metallic paint, to be baby blue.  I know most of us here know that but some people mix up the nomenclature.

'75 Cutlass Supreme coupe - factory color - yes, a baby blue

'78 Cutlass Salon sedan (above) - factory color, available in all models - yes, a baby blue

What were they thinking?  What was the slick Salon coupe became the Calais coupe (so these could be Salons) before becoming the Salon coupe again later in the '80s.  This styling mistake lasted 2 years and they were cleaned up as nice Sevillesque notchbacks for '80 through the end of the platform.

'84 Cutlass Supreme (Brougham) coupe - light metallic blue, NOT a baby blue ... mine was identical to this, I helped my parents pick it out, got it years later, and will never forget this vehicle.  Basically, it was GM Americana at its finest, in my mind, even if the horsepower wasn't there.

Any other baby blue on a GM, except maybe also in '79, would be a custom paint job.

 

 

[balthazar]

'64 Pontiac Skyline Blue : 

[trinacriabob]

31 minutes ago, balthazar said:

'64 Pontiac Skyline Blue : 

Interesting ... I didn't tune into pre-'70s cars to have known this. I'm guessing Olds and Buick probably ran an equivalent color at the same time or were all the divisions doing their own thing?

[ocnblu]

I love those aeroback '78-79 A-bodies.

[balthazar]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Interesting ... I didn't tune into pre-'70s cars to have known this. I'm guessing Olds and Buick probably ran an equivalent color at the same time or were all the divisions doing their own thing?

Buick, Olds, Pontiac & Chevy shared most of their colors, but always had a couple that were limited to one or 2 Divisions. Cadillac had their own unique palette.

[Robert Hall]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I love those aeroback '78-79 A-bodies.

They were certainly different...can't recall the last time I've seen one.  Unusual decklid shape.  Too bad they weren't hatchbacks. 

[trinacriabob]

5 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I love those aeroback '78-79 A-bodies.

We all probably love them to gawk at them, like we would at a Maverick or a Pacer.

But to own one?  That's the litmus test.

[trinacriabob]

Last but not least to close out October - not in sequential order - spotted on October 10 in the Twin Cities (and look at that, there's even a sliver of a Subaru in this photo, which are a dime a dozen in these parts):

So what is this?  German iron wearing an American badge indicating "Premium American Motorcars" ...

... and, with massive Mall of America behind my shoulders, just who's is this?

All in good fun!

 

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

We all probably love them to gawk at them, like we would at a Maverick or a Pacer.

But to own one?  That's the litmus test.

One of these Turbo Centurys restomodded with a Grand National or GNX drivetrain would be interesting, something different from the same ol', same ol'..

Of those early turbo Buicks, the one I like is the Le Sabre Turbo Sport Coupe.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Get a Stage II V6 block, It starts at 3.9L, goes to 4.5L, build up a reliable / docile 600-700hp version. Manufacturer says it's strong enough for 2000 HP. At least a few out there have run solidly in the SEVENs in the 1/4. How's 7.1 @ 193 grab ya?
 

I want to like those aeroback Buicks, but I can’t find any appeal to them whatsoever.

Edited October 31, 2020 by balthazar

[balthazar]

[Drew Dowdell]

I drove in the Bethel Park Halloween parade to hand out candy to kids instead of them having trick or treat. A nice selection of other classics.

 

[trinacriabob]

7 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

One of these Turbo Centurys restomodded with a Grand National or GNX drivetrain would be interesting, something different from the same ol', same ol'..

Of those early turbo Buicks, the one I like is the Le Sabre Turbo Sport Coupe.

The trim on the Century helps ... somewhat.  They put so many of these cars by the beach in California or on mountain roads up above Los Angeles and rely on that a little bit for appeal.  As for the LeSabre, I didn't like how these looked with the very angular lines of the greenhouse.  Ditto for the Catalina.  It was a little nicer as an 88.  When the Riviera shared the platform with the LeSabre, the Riviera made a much better impression with how they handled the greenhouse.  However, it's obvious that the visibility in this car was a strong point.

4 hours ago, balthazar said:

I want to like those aeroback Buicks, but I can’t find any appeal to them whatsoever.

That's because there isn't any.

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I drove in the Bethel Park Halloween parade to hand out candy to kids instead of them having trick or treat. A nice selection of other classics.

I like the mid '70s ('74, I believe) burgundy Camaro and the fact that Jimmy John's sponsored one of the vintage cars.  I can almost always use a Jimmy John's sandwich.