September Spotter

[balthazar]

Sittin the the mall parking lot, while the wife shops for work pants. Pickups around me:
• circa 10-yr old Ford Super Duty King Ranch crew cab/8-ft bed.
• current model GMC 2500 crew cab/8-ft bed
• current model Ram crew cab/5.5-ft bed.
• current GMC 1500 AT4 crew cab/5.5-ft bed
• current GMC 1500 Denali crew cab /6.5-ft bed
• and me in my ‘21 GMC 1500 crew cab/6.5-ft bed.

Pulling out:
• current model GMC AT4 crew cab (couldn’t determine bed: doors were open).

Edited September 5, 2021 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Beach day today..drove up to Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA to sit on the beach for a while and walk in the surf...very relaxing.  Stopped at a 1/2 dozen other beaches along Lake Erie on the way home...saw a variety of interesting cars today.

Saw a new Ford Bronco in person for the first time--a gray 2dr out front of a Ford dealer, saw a Porsche Taycan for the first time--a pale blue (almost white) one in Conneaut, Ohio,  saw a sharp dark red '70-ish Nova w/ a large cowl hood scoop, a very clean dark blue '65 Mustang 2+2 on I-90, a dark gray w/ black stripes current Shelby GT500, a bright yellow Lambo Huracan.  At a beach in Ashtabula, Ohio saw a car show by the water, incl a neat '62 Mercury 4dr. 

 On my street tonight when I got home, saw a very sharp white w/ red interior '70 GTO in a driveway next to a sharp black '73-74 Challenger.    

Edited September 6, 2021 by Robert Hall

[Robert Hall]

Another beach day today, went and sat on the sand reading a book on the history of Top Gear.   Saw a sharp candy apple red '68 Pontiac Firebird 400 w/ Cragar SS wheels...nice rumbly exhaust.  Also saw a gray late model Nissan GTR at a gas station out in the country, and a black w/ white interior Rolls Royce Dawn convertible rolling top down...

[G. David Felt]

Just ran to Costco for a few things and saw a brand new VW ID4 in Blue and White. Sadly did not have a chance to take a picture of it, but cool to see these are finally hitting the street.

[Robert Hall]

46 minutes ago, David said:

Just ran to Costco for a few things and saw a brand new VW ID4 in Blue and White. Sadly did not have a chance to take a picture of it, but cool to see these are finally hitting the street.

That reminded me..I saw a blue & white ID4 a few weeks ago out on Catawba Island plugged in at a McDonalds.  Should have taken a pic, it was parked between the drive thru and the building. 

[balthazar]

Saw an ID4 (I guess) today, also blue & white (must be an initial production limitation). VW SUV, not the usual type.

Doesn't say 'VW' design-wise, not sure if that's bad or good.

[G. David Felt]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

Saw an ID4 (I guess) today, also blue & white (must be an initial production limitation). VW SUV, not the usual type.

Doesn't say 'VW' design-wise, not sure if that's bad or good.

Just read the Blue and White is their Launch edition ID4, so pretty much their initial 2021 production are all Blue and White. Crazy when Ford has 6 or more colors per trim level including their Launch Edition.

Went to the configurator and in 2022, you can configure and order up your new ID4 for delivery then, but you only get gray, silver, black or white unless you go with the pro model where you get blue and then only if you choose the $1,500 Gradient package you can also choose red then. Crazy terrible color choices in a compact size auto. Mach-e is a better option imho.

[trinacriabob]

Spotted today at a gas station.  It's a 1971 with a Pontiac 400 and no A/C.  Its owner was a cool guy.  I asked him if I could take a few photos before I fueled up.

That's all folks.

[balthazar]

^ I'm pretty sure the Sport still had the Endura nose as a separate option, so; nice set-up.

My brother & I once tried to go in together and buy a pair of white '71s- he was after the Judge hardtop (1 of 357 built), and I was after the LeMans Sport convert, which was wearing the Judge's Endura nose. They had been just sitting behind a Pontiac engine-builder friend of ours for years, but once we started the conversation going with the owner (another guy), he apparently 'fell back in love' and declined to sell them.

I'm not really into A-Bodies, but I've chased a few. Another was a white '68 GTO hardtop with a bright red interior, hide-aways and a hood tach, but the owner sold it out from under me to someone else.

Edited September 11, 2021 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

@balthazar I told this guy how my dad had one.  I only saw the grille and nose of his 1971 as he left.  I liked the grille with the simpler lines on my dad's 1970 base coupe.  The upward and downward sweeps of his grille were okay, but I liked the 1970 grille more.  I only wish that the one our family had had been equipped with front disc brakes.  The front and rear drum system, together, was suboptimal.

[balthazar]

A-Bodies should've just gotten B-Bodies brakes.

My brother still has his first car, a '71 GTO hardtop. He's too busy working to work on that project (body off frame, lots of rust repair), plus he has 2 other Pontiacs.

[balthazar]

Buddy stopped by with his ‘21 TrailBoss :
 

[Robert Hall]

Another beach day, saw a very clean dark blue late 80s IROC-Z rolling w/ the T-Tops off, and a clean maroon mid 80s Cutlass Supreme.  

[oldshurst442]

Ive seen some really nice rides these past few days.  

I just dont remember what I saw.   Is that a normal thing?  

Lets see...

• I too saw a blue Camaro with T-Tops.  It was  a '82-'85  Z28 with the grey side skirts. It too was a nice clean ride. 
• '85 or '86  red  Trans Am  with the similar popular grey side skirts like the Camaro.  Again, nice clean ride. 
• Mid '80s BMW 3 Series.  Another nice clean ride.
• mid to late '70s Chevy C/K step side pick-up truck that was lowered but had a classic muscle car stance where the back end was higher than the front. Fat rear tires.  Crappy '70s brown with even crappier '70s graphics.  The graphics didnt look like they came stock from GM. But they really had a  '70s vibe to them. Orange pinstriping or whatever the hell it was...   It wasnt a clean ride. It didnt look restored. The paint had some massive fade to it. But the truck itself also didnt look beat up either.  
• A Hellcat widebody Challenger. Dark grey with black racing stripes.   I giggled like I was a teenager and saw my high school crush.  My kids were in the car and wondered what all that was about. I just pointed to the car which was parked while we came to our stop sign and they understood right away.  They knew the car in question.  I have pointed out this car to them a literal thousand times!!!

I know there were a couple of others but I dont seem to recall...

 

 

Oh yeah...I just remembered

A former police interceptor Ford Crown Vic.     We just dont see those around anymore.  Made me realize how I liked them. Now I miss them. 

[balthazar]

FINALLY…. something interesting: 
 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

FINALLY…. something interesting: 
 

Pontiac Le Mans, Not sure of the year and cannot read the motor size on the front fender, is that Crain holding up the front end?

[balthazar]

'65 hardtop. Originally a 326 (that's the badge)- had to get the GTO option to get a 389.  Currently has a 400 2bbl in it (prolly low-compression mid-70s variant).
Last on the road in 1987, been sleeping in a container since '99.  Odometer says 26K, awful clean for 126K but that's more likely than 26K.  PS, PB, PWindows, AM-FM, factory A/C, so very nicely optioned.  No floor, frame or trunk rot, just basically the lower corners of the front fenders (just like my GP). 

Guy had the optional Custom Sport 4-spoke 'wood' wheel, '64-only, highly sought after.  I asked about buying it separately (3 times) but he said no.  I said I would let him know in a day or so on the whole car, maybe I should go there in person with cash and make an offer.

One of the wheels sold on eBay this year, in slightly worse shape, for $1425. (One from eBay) : 

[Robert Hall]

Went to the office today, saw this clean '71-72 Chevy Cheyenne 10 w/ a 350 and a '65 Mustang coupe on the same block when out for a walk...also saw this neat metal dog sculpture.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by Robert Hall

[oldshurst442]

I saw this today in that exact colour

 

I did a double take as I was immediately reminded of this

 

Its nice to see that the Aztek is an inspiration.  

[G. David Felt]

Running an errand saw this clean blazer across from me at the intersection 

[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

Another beach day.  Saw a clean Apple green ‘71 Monte Carlo and a dark gray restomod ‘68 Camaro SS convertible on the way here.  On the way home, saw a red/white/blue Rambler American with a hood scoop (can't recall what these were called, 1969 only), a clean white '71-72 Grand Prix w/ no vinyl top, a yellow '55 Thunderbird rolling top down, and a custom salmon-colored '41 Chevy tudor.   People getting their oldies out and enjoying them in the great September weather..

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

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[balthazar]

[Robert Hall]

Not on the road, but on tv..while watching the first episode of season 4 of ‘Goliath’, I saw a Lucid Air in a brief scene being used as an Uber Black-style service car in San Francisco.  

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

Retroactive posting

September 16

Driving down the highway in my rented Renault econobox, minding my business, and, WTH, I can't believe I'm seeing this car at what appears to be an automotive repair shop's front parking apron.

It's a first-gen Cadillac Seville just about exactly 100 miles - as the crow flies - from Seville!

I pulled over.  How could I not?

The grille might give some clues as to the exact year.

There was no shopkeeper or proprietor around to talk to and ask questions.  It would have been interesting to learn about this car's history.

A sunroof in a dry Mediterranean climate that doesn't appear to be leaking.  Underneath it are velour seats - probably a reupholstered interior.

Left 3/4 rear view.

Right 3/4 rear view.

You may note that you see Cadillac badging all the way around, but there is no badging for the Seville nameplate.

What a sighting!

Edited October 4, 2021 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

^ Seville scripts were on the lower front fenders originally.

'Chunky' grille texture was '76, '77-79 grilles were this finer texture. 
Further, it appears the sunroof came online for '78.

[trinacriabob]

13 hours ago, balthazar said:

^ Seville scripts were on the lower front fenders originally.

'Chunky' grille texture was '76, '77-79 grilles were this finer texture. 
Further, it appears the sunroof came online for '78.

Chunky grille seems to imply the eggcrate grille of ('75 and) '76.

With the sunroof (and the finer, vertical grilled), that would make this one a '78 or a '79.

It would have been interesting to speak to the proprietor or custodian of this car.  It had to have come from America and I couldn't see it having anything other than the Olds 350 TBI V8.  With their gas prices, they would mentally blow a gasket at the mention of anything around 5700 cc.  To them, 1600 cc and higher is a big engine, it seems.

Maybe one of its proprietors was still fighting the "civil war."  This was on the south coast of Portugal and maybe whoever owned it wasn't fond of Spain.  Younger people over there are getting over that sentiment.

[trinacriabob]

Random thought about Portugal and Portuguese ...

This was one wild movie - "Wild Orchid."  Can't say I liked it, or any movie with Mickey Rourke who can only play sleazy types.  In this movie, Carre Otis played a fresh law graduate of Northwestern from a small town in Kansas, yet fluent in Portuguese, who gets sent down to Brazil on an assignment and gets embroiled in all the horndog antics stereotypically associated with Brazil.

I like the goofy bilingual part at around 2:50 when the local lady is showing her the parrots at this exclusive club.

 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Random thought about Portugal and Portuguese ...

This was one wild movie - "Wild Orchid."  Can't say I liked it, or any movie with Mickey Rourke who can only play sleazy types.  In this movie, Carre Otis played a fresh law graduate of Northwestern from a small town in Kansas, yet fluent in Portuguese, who gets sent down to Brazil on an assignment and gets embroiled in all the horndog antics stereotypically associated with Brazil.

I like the goofy bilingual part at around 2:50 when the local lady is showing her the parrots at this exclusive club.

 

My thoughts on Portugal, port wine and wine in General!  

[balthazar]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Chunky grille seems to imply the eggcrate grille of ('75 and) '76.

There's no '1975' Seville; the '76 just came out earlier than the traditional September intro's.

That sometimes trips people up in an era of traditional September debuts.

Edited October 5, 2021 by balthazar

[trinacriabob]

10 hours ago, David said:

My thoughts on Portugal, port wine and wine in General!  

I'm not much of a drinker at all.  Plus, I'm cheap.  But I have had port wine to finish off a meal when in Portugal a few times and it is tasty.  Portuguese wine is reputed to be very good, in general.

On this last trip to Italy, I was given a slip upon check in for a welcome drink at the hotel.  I went to the bar and got my welcome drink.  I tipped the bartender a Euro.  The real highlight was scarfing down all these cashews he put in front of me.  I tried not to be too obnoxious.

Prior to that, I can't remember the last time I had anything with alcohol ... probably over 3 years ago.

6 hours ago, balthazar said:

There's no '1975' Seville; the '76 just came out earlier than the traditional September intro's.

That sometimes trips people up in an era of traditional September debuts.

True.  It was not a September release.  It was probably a spring release.  Either way, it looks like the eggcrate grille only stuck around for one M.Y.  I didn't think it looked too bad.  It might have been better if it consisted of vertically oriented rectangles to give it more of a Cadillac look.

[Robert Hall]

The rear bumper on that Seville looks like it's been pulled in tighter than normal.   Always liked the long hood/short front overhang and squared off roofline of these...definitely see styling cues that appeared on other GM models later...the rear reminds me of a smaller version of the early 80s Olds 88..

[trinacriabob]

10 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

The rear bumper on that Seville looks like it's been pulled in tighter than normal.   Always liked the long hood/short front overhang and squared off roofline of these...definitely see styling cues that appeared on other GM models later...the rear reminds me of a smaller version of the early 80s Olds 88..

Now that I look at it, the rear bumper is odd.  As is the fact that any of the side badging is gone.

True that.  This car inspired GM sedans 5 to 10 years later.  Case in point:  my dad had one of these (see below), and it was a good little car.  It was the enamel dove gray (thankfully, no vinyl roof), had the gray Limited interior, and wire wheels.  It was nimble and rode very well.  I was reading ads in the Times, stumbled into this one, we went to look at it, and he decided he wanted it.

[oldshurst442]

On 10/5/2021 at 9:13 AM, trinacriabob said:

Random thought about Portugal and Portuguese ...

This was one wild movie - "Wild Orchid."  Can't say I liked it, or any movie with Mickey Rourke who can only play sleazy types.  In this movie, Carre Otis played a fresh law graduate of Northwestern from a small town in Kansas, yet fluent in Portuguese, who gets sent down to Brazil on an assignment and gets embroiled in all the horndog antics stereotypically associated with Brazil.

I like the goofy bilingual part at around 2:50 when the local lady is showing her the parrots at this exclusive club.

 

Mickey Rourke...

He was such a good looking young man, he had to go screw himself with cosmetic surgery.  

I get it. Young and hot and women fall into your lap.  No loss of work in Hollywood either. Age catches up, roles run dry (when talent is not the primary reason for gigs) and maybe the ladies dont come by anymore. 

Women in Hollywood have it worse than men do.  Aside from all the sexual assault they have to endure...

I never saw Wild Orchid.   Was never a fan of that type of movie.  (comedic sexual movies  I liked.  Like Revenge of the Nerds or Porky's or Bachelor Party...)   I did see its predecessor 9 1/2  Weeks.  Basinger is still one good looking lady.  Didnt really enjoy the movie. I did enjoy Basinger. If it really was her...  Although her ex Alec aged better than her.  I dont think she done any cosmetic shyte done.  Maybe minimal stuff...   (enough with the chick talk...)  

Ive seen a fair share of Mickey Rourke's movies.  Not too bad of an actor actually.   The reason why I chimed in was to tell you that I loved him in The Wrestler.  

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

I never liked that Seville. 

I do have to say that it IS a good looking car to me.  I just dont like it.  I do not know why.  Maybe its because to my eyes, it looks like a Malibu? Albeit a couple of years later?  

 

Which I never liked either.   The bustleback Sevillle is even uglier to me.  

It wasnt until the 1992 Seville that I started to lust after.   

Edited October 7, 2021 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

20 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I get it. Young and hot and women fall into your lap.  No loss of work in Hollywood either. Age catches up, roles run dry (when talent is not the primary reason for gigs) and maybe the ladies dont come by anymore. 

Women in Hollywood have it worse than men do.  Aside from all the sexual assault they have to endure...

I never saw Wild Orchid.   Was never a fan of that type of movie.  (comedic sexual movies  I liked.  Like Revenge of the Nerds or Porky's or Bachelor Party...)   I did see its predecessor 9 1/2  Weeks.  Basinger is still one good looking lady.  Didnt really enjoy the movie. I did enjoy Basinger. If it really was her...  Although her ex Alec aged better than her.  I dont think she done any cosmetic shyte done.  Maybe minimal stuff...   (enough with the chick talk...)  

I also saw "9 1/2 Weeks" and did not like it.  Usually, when I didn't like a movie, I don't remember much about it ... like a blank slate. 

It wasn't like "Body Heat," where I had the lines down!

20 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I never liked that Seville. 

I do have to say that it IS a good looking car to me.  I just dont like it.  I do not know why.  Maybe its because to my eyes, it looks like a Malibu? Albeit a couple of years later?  

 

Too funny.  I saw the resemblance immediately.

Thinking bench seat with no armrest, the cheapest of cloth interiors, the plasticky dashboard with those pods (which began in 1978), etc.  But, if a person did buy a Malibu of those years, and it did NOT have a THM 200 and it did not have many problems with the CCC, it might serve its owner for quite a long time, though probably not as long as a Seville would. 

Hilarious that you drew this parallel:  a poor man's Seville, so to speak.

Edit:  just found this ... the Chevy products of the downsized intermediates across 4 brands had the worst interiors and dashboards.  You could tap on the side of the pods and hear rat-tat-tat.  But the Memory Lane part is good fun.

Edited October 7, 2021 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

Spotted September 15

This Renault is ancient!

[oldshurst442]

The Seville never caught my eye in the 1970s as a very young boy as some other 1970s cars did.  I noticed that particular model when it was several years older in the early 1980s.  Didnt think too much of it other than it being a nicer Chevrolet Malibu when the early '80s Malibu hit the streets.  

As a more or less 10 year old...I couldnt help but notice the similarities.  I didnt find it offensive in the least.  Just meh since I didnt I like the Malibu. Like at all.   I did find it better proportioned and better looking than the Malibu, but too similarly styled to like it further than that. I didnt think it was a bad Cadillac. Just an underwhelming one.   

I think I saw Body Heat once. Maybe on TV.  A very TV friendly version probably.  Dont recall anything about it. I do remember the Beta and VHS art work/movie poster images on the cassettes as I passed by the shelf where the movie resided on at the movie rental store on my way to rent something else...  

PS:   Yes...memory lane is a fun lane to be driving on from time to time. 

Edited October 7, 2021 by oldshurst442

[G. David Felt]

5 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Spotted September 15

This Renault is ancient!

WOW, Now I know where Honda Stole their EV E look from!

[trinacriabob]

13 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 I think I saw Body Heat once. Maybe on TV.  A very TV friendly version probably.  Dont recall anything about it. I do remember the Beta and VHS art work/movie poster images on the cassettes as I passed by the shelf where the movie resided on at the movie rental store on my way to rent something else...  

"Body Heat," of 1981 vintage, pushed its R rating fairly far.  It was known for that.

One of its many memorable lines include one where William Hurt is trying to pick up Kathleen Turner in a bar, after already having seen her around, and she says, "Most men are like little boys.  Once they get a whiff of it, they trail you like a hound."

- - - - -

Spotted on September 18

Fueling my rental to take it back to the airport and I see this ...