trinacriabob

I was there. I marked it on my calendar. Easily on the Top 10 list of the coolest things I've seen in my life. And thousands of people lining both sides of the bay (in summer clothing on this February day) watching and cheering seemed to agree with me. This was almost 15 years ago ...

Heard this song while getting coffee ... ... it has something retro about it; it almost hearkens to something by Alphaville.

I had to take one anyway I could photograph one. This one also had a horrible aftermarket hood ornament. I just thought it was timely since we had been discussing Sevilles within the last few days. I looked at the first-gens on line and it confirmed how much I liked them. I just wish I knew photoshop to play with the roofline, the rear taillamps, and a few minor things. I thought the first-gen dashboard was interesting. It was a mixture of clean and a little too driver focused at the expense of the front seat passenger. The climate controls are to the left of the steering wheel. Other controls are not centered and favor the driver. Still, I liked the zoned, blockier volumes of Cadillac dashboards in those years and that they were starting to inset warning lamps and gauges into the upper part of the cowl. What a success story and how quickly the consuming public bought into the "baby Cadillac," as it was called. Really nice seating set-up for a Cadillac of those years. Maybe switch out the leather for cloth. I'd be perfectly happy to have this as a daily driver.

Seen in a supermarket parking lot over the weekend ...

@balthazar Speaking of the devil, I hadn't seen one of these in a long time. These sure were different.

I saw a Mercury Milan in the supermarket parking lot - silver, 4 cylinder (no V6 badge), no noticeable weathering from the elements. The guy told me it was a 2008. And that it had 150,000 miles. Original and original powertrain. I remember how much I liked those when I was car shopping - dignified looking with good road manners. How interesting that, for some of us, we've seen the transition from disposable 4 cylinders to borderline heirloom 4 cylinders.

Today marks 65 years since the sinking of the "Andrea Doria" after the "Stockholm" plowed into her the night before she was due to arrive at her New York pier. https://www.history.com/news/the-sinking-of-andrea-doria Most of the survivors are probably not around anymore, but some who were children and teens who were rescued from the sinking ship still might be. What a life changing experience. The Swedes sank Italy's first post-war passenger flagship. Remind me not to ever consider buying a Volvo.

@balthazar There was a window of time when Cadillac was thinking of naming what was released as the Seville as the Cadillac LaSalle. Spanish versus French. A historic city in Spain versus an important financial street in Chicago. I wonder how the naming plan for the car changed. Mostly, I liked everything about the Seville as initially released. I felt the roofline could have been a little less boxy - it become more so with a padded vinyl roof and how they trimmed it out around the rear back lite - and that the rear lamp treatment was a little less boring compared to the much better handling of the front grille. I believe there was either an entry-level version (or a credit option) for plaid cloth seats! I was pleased that they dialed in the mechanics in terms of the powertrain and the chassis. And that's why you are likely to see '70s Sevilles around instead of '80s Sevilles. They blew it later on with the Seville on numerous levels ... with what was nicknamed the "bustle back" model, with some engines that were embarrassing flops, etc. ... That Cadillac successfully reinvented itself borders on miraculous.

Oui, c'est vrai ... ".fr" et non ".ca."

I agree with this The bubbling up of the rear glass is unbecoming when looked at from the side. The idea hearkens to the creation of the Datsun 280ZX 2+2 from the 2 seater. It looked a little weird, though not too, too bad, but the 4 seater Corvette looks worse. A college friend's mom, a tiny Mexican lady from the San Fernando Valley, bought a burgundy on burgundy 2+2. I also remember when the 280ZX (2+2) was available in a metallic bronze-salmon color with burgundy cloth bucket seats. Man, was that time stamped. I will say that the 280ZX was fun to drive. I just don't know how well they held up.

Check out the (French or Quebecois) audience getting goofy at this song that was probably released when they were kids or teens.

There are 2021 articles on this topic, but this is one good enough, being an October 2021 article. It says that we can expect few changes on the Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger, AND Chrysler 300 through the 2024 M.Y. And that they will be built out at the Brampton, ON plant in Canada. https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/dodge-charger-challenger-chrysler-300-production/ Most likely, there will be fine tuning of the exterior, interior, and mechanical gizmos. Hopefully, these would go in the right direction instead of the wrong direction. Translation: please keep the electronic bits and touch screens under the cowl of the dashboard. If Chevy Silverados and Ford F-150s went for long periods of time without marked changes, and still had a loyal customer base, this posture by Stellantis (what? you mean Chrysler, or FCA) shouldn't come as a surprise. Plus, they wouldn't want to lose the law enforcement market segment.

Interesting take. Another interesting take. Riviera over Thunderbird. Any day of the week ... and twice on Sundays. Much nicer and more interesting silhouette and interior. The front might be a little potent (probably better than being im-potent) but the side silhouette may have inspired the late '67-ish Skylark, LeMans, and Cutlass coupes with this sort of proportioning, although these newer cars had "finned" rear windows. While most consumers can't verbalize what it is specifically that they like about a car's design, they still zero in on good or interesting design and vote with their dollars - examples: this, the pony cars, the colonnade coupes, Olds' last hurrah in its Intrigue, etc.

I don't know how I feel about this vehicle, since I'm having trouble with the change in the Envision's dash ... and removal of the NA engine as a base engine. I will say that the new fascia is a little nicer. These are way too expensive. Very interesting image above. As for the photo above, that's just marketing. And it would imply it's either departing from Newark or flying into LaGuardia. These units used JFK, way out at the edge of Queens by the Atlantic, so never near Manhattan. What few people realize is how incredibly cool the layout of NYC is. That's just Manhattan, and it's a tiny part of the whole scheme. Four of the five boroughs of NYC are on islands and single family homes are more common than people would think. New Yorkers don't need to toot their horn. They know they're the Big Apple. But I sure met of a lot of Chicago folks at U of I who were pretty full of themselves as far as their city went. Does your city look anything like this? No. And, when your city thins out, is it pancake flat corn fields for miles and miles? Yes. Pan Am was the launch customer for the 747. Their latest 747 livery is up front. Their traditional livery is shown beyond, taking off. Don't get me started on 747s.

@David Thank you from the bottom of my heart for hailing from the Seattle area and acknowledging the ridiculousness of the herd mentality toward Subarus. When I was younger, I had neutral thoughts toward Subarus. Earlier on, the Olympian skier twins - Steve and Phil Mahre - were Subaru's spokespeople. Only recently did I learn they hail from Yakima, WA, in the central part of the state. That was probably a good idea - two Olympian skiers who were ordinary Joes selling North America on the AWD characteristic of this Japanese car with less market share than Toyota and Datsun (Nissan) that got them up to and back from the slopes. Now, this brand courts smug NPR listening liberals who have to advertise whatever alternative and counterculture pursuit they're invested in via covering their P.O.S. car in stickers and decals. Idiots.

I always drool when I see photos like this. I feel fortunate to have visited Banff National Park in the province of Alberta. Breathtaking scenery.

I once found this on line. And, what, someone has a problem with stereotypes? Colorado ... Minnesota ... the license plate on the right says "XENA LVR" (or Xena lover). Classic. Let's also add Oregon, Washington, Northern California, and northern New England states such as Vermont and Maine to the mix. - - - - - They once took a survey and found that 77% of the Americans they polled had a negative opinion of Los Angeles. I didn't bookmark it, but one study indicated that a fairly high percentage of people sampled didn't have a good impression of Subaru owners.

I, too, liked these very much, but only with the formal opera window and more upright coupe roof line. I will never tire of these: 1976 Cutlass Supreme Brougham 1977 Cutlass Salon (badged as such, but you can barely see any bucket seats popping up) Jokes about the South and Appalachia are usually good. I wonder if they find them funny. In "My Cousin Vinny," not so much ... Saw this on ... drum roll ... the Redneck Riviera (the FL panhandle)

The market took quite a dip today - hopefully transitory - but there is some good news today: Canada will be opening its border to FULLY VACCINATED Americans on August 9th of this year. (I knew I did something right.)

My last "archiving" of spotting photos into their proper month ... this was on June 30th 1. As it approaches, it steals attention from the 2 Subarus in this parking lot in a Reno NV suburb ... as if the Subarus even got any attention from me, except maybe negative attention 2. The driver sees his nifty T-Bird is being checked out and gives a "thumbs up" in acknowledgment 3. And he's off (shown from inside a merchant's store, hence the dirty glass)

Two quick random thoughts: I wish I had a dollar for every time I've seen the Lauren Landry on Purdue Global (presumably their on-line degree venue) streaming banner ad in a little box somewhere on my browser while on C&G. If I have two 12-packs of LaCroix flavored water in the fridge and it has been taking months to work that "inventory" down, it must mean that I don't like LaCroix flavored water as much as I could / should.

Yikes. Much like one of these

June 29 - Reno, in the casino area: I will always be fond of the last big reasonably priced GM coupe (this one is a Monte Carlo LS and has after-market wheels ... the LT with the upturned spoiler was a little nicer)! This car is meant to be white. Very nice, for being about 15 years old.

Retro back to June ... still ... for June 27 In the Gold Country foothills of the Sierra above Sacramento A Schwinn bicycle blue new Corvette: A ~ 25 year old "value priced" (back in the day) Ford Thunderbird which, without a V8 badge, probably means it runs with FoMoCo's spin on a 3.8 V6 (wonder what major work has been done on it):

The rental car companies are out to get you (and me) with their rates these days for having put all those ungodly free miles on their vehicles in the past.