I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

texases

"A local dealer had an 05 LS loaded ultra lux package, 30K miles, mint, for something like 26K."

I'm seeing the same prices in DFW. And yes, it'd be dead boring, but still....

lemmer

and passed a TVR 280i, very early Lotus Esprit, Midget, Lotus Elan (from the early '90s) and a Cobra replica.

I also saw a Lamborghini and several other late model exotics but those are pretty normal to see around here.

texases

I spent last week driving around LA and San Diego - didn't see much of anything out of the ordinary. Several Guards Red 944s - did they make any other color? A number of W123 MBs, including a couple of coupes. Oddest car? A new BMW 120i 5-door. Wonder how that got here?

kyfdx

Mexico, I'd guess...

texases

Could be Mexico, but it had CA plates.

kyfdx

Could be a corporate car for testing..

But, most likely someone just slapped the plates off another car on a Mexican model...

One thing I noticed about SoCal is that with the lack of rust, you see a lot more cars from the '80s... still being used for daily drivers..

lokki

I saw a BMW 1 Series 5 Door on the street while I was in Japan earlier in the month. I really didn't care for the look.



It reminded me of a BMW variation of the 1970 Honda Z coupes

andre1969

while out driving around, I spotted one of these...


Also saw a purple 71 Torino hardtop coupe. Didn't notice if it was a big-engined musclecar model, but it was the fastback style.

This evening, on the way to run some errands, I saw a burgundy '57 Chevy Bel Air 2-door sedan. Repainted, non-stock interior, but still decently done.

I got my '67 Catalina out this afternoon, and drove around a bit, too. Thought it was warm enough to put the top down. It wasn't. But that didn't stop me. It's cool finally having that top go up and down by itself after all these years. I've only had the car going on 15 years now! First time I dropped the top though, I was a bit disappointed. Back when it was broken, I could put it down faster myself than what the hydraulics could do. I could get it up quicker too, although that could be a backbreaker. And to do it right, it really took two guys to get it up. :P

Oh, almost forgot...this was kinda amusing. Had to run out to Best Buy to get a new tv. The old one fried, but was thankfully under warranty. Well, it was a 50", so we took my roommate's Xterra. I jokingly said that we should've put it in the Catalina. While we were at Best Buy, I saw a guy loading a 40" in the back seat of a new-ish 6-series convertible, with the top down. I jokingly said that maybe we should've brought the Catalina. If that little car could hold a 40", I'm sure the Pontiac could hold a 50!

Well, that guy left before we did, but about two miles up the road, we saw him on the side of the road, stopped by a cop. I wonder if it was a no-no to transport something like that? I guess it's a good thing I didn't follow through with that thought!

boomchek

Mitsubishi Diamante wagon. Early 90s. I envber even knew they came in a wagon version, as this is the first time I saw one.

fintail

You saw a W116 limo? There couldn't have been more than a few of those made back in the day. Wow...

Yesterday I saw a Karmann Ghia, an early 60s Beetle, a first generation Prelude, and a 70s Civic. Not exciting car times lately around here.

fintail

Was it burning oil?

andre1969

Evidently, that W116 Limo sits around a lot, in more or less the same place, because it's even showing up on aerial photographs. If you go to www.googlemaps.com, and type in 1148 Central Avenue 21037, it shows up. It's in the parking lot of a restaurant, across the street from what looks like a construction site or contracting company. And they even have a street view of that area, which is kinda cool.

I remember a few years back, when I first ran across local.live.com, which also shows birds-eye views, I actually spotted my '79 5th Ave in three different locations...at my old condo, at my grandmother's place, and oddly, at my Granddad's. That had to have been a 1 in a million shot, that they'd take a picture of my Granddad's house during a time that I happened to be over there, and driving that particular car. Maybe the gov't is scoping me out for something or other! :surprise:

lokki

We're not watching you anymore Andre.... budget cuts 'n all that you understand.

Now finish your coffee, you're going to be late for work.

Sincerely, the new administration.

texases

Shifty - SPAM alert!

boomchek

That's pretty cool, seeing your own cars on satellite images. The govt is gonna turn all cars into electrics and they're just scoping out people that might try to hide large stashes of american cars in their barns. That's why they're keeping an eye on you.

Edit: I actually spotted my old MB C240 at my old place on MSN Live maps.. Funny.

fintail

Cool, I see it on google street view.

It appears to be a W123 limo to my eyes, maybe an easy mistake to make due to both the W116 and W123 having quad round lights in the NA market. The car at that location does appear to have US spec bumpers, so it could be a NA coachbuilt car. There was a factory LWB W123, but it was different. A very unusual car either way, probably equally rare to a W116 limo. Is that a German restaurant perchance?

I have searched for my cars on the various satellite photo sites - never had any luck, probably because my cars are garaged most of the time. I remember when the live.com birds eye views came out, they had old images, and the image of my old place (just had a carport) was from the time I still had the W126...I could tell by the surrounding cars. I could also tell from looking at the surroundings that the image was probably made on a Saturday or Sunday. But, I wasn't home....I searched those views all over town to see if I might have been caught, but I couldn't find my car, must have been out of town.

andre1969

I dunno what kind of restaurant that was...the car caught my attention and I sort of blanked out the rest of it. Also, that car actually had the composite-looking headlights, rather than round quads, although looking at the Googlemaps street view, the fuzziness and the way the sun and reflections are casting, it does appear to have the round ones. If I'm ever back out that way, I'll try to snap a shot of it with a camera. It's about 20 miles from my house. We just happened to be out that way to go to a big garden/nursery place, and then afterwards, just drove around a bit for kicks, and happened to come across it. The purple Torino was close by, too. It's sort of a secluded, rural, small-town atmosphere down there, where a lot of businesses still close up on Sundays. Type of area where there's probably lots of old stuff, both obscure and not, if you look around. I also spotted a '68-72 era Corvette parked next to a garage...sort of made me wonder what was in the garage!

My pickup truck shows up several times on those mapping things, too. It shows up both in the driveway at home, and in the parking lot at work.

fintail

It could have composites, if it is a grey market car or an owner upgrade. It's a seriously unusual car either way, I have never seen a W123 like that in person, nor a W116 limo of any kind.

I suspect there's a 57 DeSoto convertible in that garage, a nice original high option car that just needs new consumables to be back on the road. The owner would take 4 grand for it, and throw in the Vette if you agree to haul them both away

I've noticed a fair amount of google street view shots seem to have problems with sun angles. Must be their cameras.

Mr_Shiftright

the spam sleeps with the fishes.

explorerx4

lemko

garv214

Hey Fintail...you doing ok? Looks like you were having a rather "spirited" conversation regarding radar/photo cameras on another thread...

fintail

I'm just playin around with one of the locals...it's all in fun.

garv214

Good to hear

fintail

This morning I am headed to work early, about 0545, and I notice there is a xenon light W210 behind me on an off ramp. Red light at the end, so it catches up, and it was my twin again, tectite grey E55. What are the odds of this? It happened before several months ago, too.

texases

"What are the odds of this?"

Apparently, 100% :P

andre1969

I've had a similar situation twice, when driving my '79 5th Ave. There are at least two others in my vicinity. And I know they're two different ones because one is a bit rattier looking than mine, with the wire hubcaps, and the other is really nice looking, with a dual exhaust and sport rims.

One day, I was driving home from work, and the ratty one was approaching from the other way. For a moment I forgot what I was driving, and when I saw it my first thought was wait...is that MY 5th Ave?! No, wait, I'm DRIVING mine right now! D'oh!

Another time, I was stopped at a traffic light, and the nice one passed by me on the right, in a turn lane.

One of my officemates snapped this picture of a 5th Ave coming into work a few days ago. At first he thought it was me. I only wish mine looked that nice! I think this might have been the same one I've seen before, as it has the dual exhaust and sport rims.

lemko

Cool! If you do a google streetview of my place you can see my '88 Park Ave out front.

lemko

...ratty dark blue 1971 Ford LTD convertible on a rolltop parked on Longshore near Rising Sun in NE Philly. Not long ago, this same rolltop sported a 1962 Galaxie sedan. Somebody must have a thing for old FoMoCo products. I remember a pretty nice green 1965 Lincoln Continental sedan residing in this vicinity a few years ago.

fintail

I think I've figured it out. I am actually seeing a rift in the space time-continuum, and the car I am seeing is actually my own, from the past or future.

I think the color was only offered for 2 or 3 model years, and under 100 units per year were sold here in the color. It's a very crazy coincidence.

fintail

I remember several years ago I was driving on a highway, in the fintail, and on an overpass I saw another blue fintail. There was no exit for a couple miles, so I was stuck. I really had an urge to chase it down.

There can't be too many 5th Avenues left, so that's quite a coincidence too.

Are those wheels off a sport trim Mirada or Cordoba?

texases

I had a similar/opposite experience when I had a '79 Scirocco, black with black fiberglass air dam and silver stripe. I bought it used, must have been some 'S' type of package. Up next to me pulls the exact same car, except it was white. The only one I ever saw anywhere, anytime, black or white.

fintail

What's a rolltop?

fintail

Maybe you were looking into a photographic negative.

Just when you think your car is completely unique...

andre1969

I think I've figured it out. I am actually seeing a rift in the space time-continuum, and the car I am seeing is actually my own, from the past or future.

LOL, I actually thought of something along those lines, when I encountered that 5th Ave (the rattier one, not the nice one I posted the pic of). It made me think of an old episode of the Twilight Zone, where this good looking woman goes out horseback riding, and encounters this hideous, shrieking monster of a woman who tries to chase her down. It turns out that she actually ran across herself in the future, and her future self was trying to chase her down to warn her about bad choices in life she was about to make. The woman looked kinda like Elizabeth Montgomery, but I looked her up online once, and I think her name was actually Diana Hyland or something like that.

Anyway, I had this vision that the old guy in that 5th Ave was actually me, in the distant future, driving into work to cover a night shift. And driving that same car, not because I wanted to, but because I had to!

As for those sport rims on the 5th Ave, they were popular options on the Cordoba/Mirada. I don't know if they were optional on the R-body, or owners just put them on, but that's not the first time I've seen an R-body with them. There was a '79 St. Regis for sale outside a body shop near Harrisburg, PA with those rims. I swear I'd seen that car before, once or twice at the Carlisle Mopar shows, maybe in 1997 and 1998. I remembered the rims. Weird how some little detail like that will stick in your mind. I wouldn't mind getting a set of rims like that for one of my NYers.

andre1969

Cool! If you do a google streetview of my place you can see my '88 Park Ave out front.

I don't wanna post my address on the internet, but here's the google street view of my yard. I must've driven my blue '79 NYer that day, since the Intrepid and pickup are home, and it's nowhere to be seen.

explorerx4

that picture is totally scary. everyone has to watch out they don't get caught 'watering the lawn'.

imidazol97

I thought they were doing street view of fairly urbanized areas Your area looks somewhat rural (that's a good thing!). Are they doing every road? They did not do all roads in this area.

fintail

Back when I was in school, I was in an area with kind of an old hippie past. Every now and then I would see an older guy, with the type of look that said he had maybe a little too much fun back around 1970. He drove a dirty oxidized red 220S fintail, sometimes loaded up with junk. I had to wonder if I'd end up looking like that...but I'd keep my car shinier, at least :shades:

Those "sport" wheels would look decent with a period slightly wider than "narrow" whitewall, somehow. Were they sold that way when new?

fintail

Pretty funny, we all recognize the place no doubt.

I have noticed that street view is slowly but surely branching out to less urban areas.

cantaffordit

I saw a 1974 AMC Matador (what's that?) for you my age. It was sitting in the lot of a local pick n pull parts place. Weirder than that, someone was actually taking parts off of it.

andre1969

that picture is totally scary. everyone has to watch out they don't get caught 'watering the lawn'.

Yeah, tell me about it...and I gotta confess that yes, I've done that. Now out in the boonies like that, it's one thing...and I'd always do it facing the woods, or actually back in the woods. But I remember years ago, when I lived in the condo, catching one of the neighbors taking a whizz upside the building! Now that's class. :P

lemko

I might have the term wrong, but it's a type of truck with a tilting flatbed and a winch used for transporting wrecked or disabled vehicles versus a wrecker.

lemko

Funny thing! I had the same vision while driving my brand-new 1989 Cadillac Brougham 20 years ago. There was this husky mustachioed guy driving this year-old Buick Park Avenue with some small dents and really bad paint, but the inspection and registration stickers read "09."

andre1969

Might be a regional thing, but we've always called them rollbacks. They're better than a wrecker for transporting a RWD car, since you get all four wheels off the ground. You're not supposed to tow a RWD car with the rear wheels on the ground for much more than a short distance, unless you take the driveshaft out. You can tow them with the front wheels on the ground, but in the days before locking steering columns, you had to tie the steering wheel in place. And I think even with a locking steering column, it might not be good to tow a car like that way. Maybe it puts too much stress on the column or something?

I remember years ago, when my '89 Gran Fury refused to start and I had to get it towed, I think I gave the tow truck driver a bit of a complex about his rig. He showed up with some little cabover thing that might've been an Isuzu or Mitsubishi; I can't remember now. Anyway, it was actually shorter than the Gran Fury! I asked him if he was going to be able to lift it with that little thing, and you'd think I'd insulted his manhood or something! :P

fintail

Ah I get it. I just call them all "tow trucks". It might be a regional/east coast thing. I never drink "soda" either. :P

andre1969

It might be a regional/east coast thing. I never drink "soda" either.

Only pop for you, eh Fintail? I have a friend from Connecticut and a friend from Michigan, and they get on me because I say "lightning bug" instead of "firefly".

I think that's a north/south thing.

fintail

No soda, no "coke", you can only get pop out here :P

I've always thought "wrecker" had a very southern/southeastern connotation.

kyfdx

So... '86 at the latest?

In light blue... a little paint oxidation on the hood... otherwise in pretty good shape..

fintail

Early Camrys are relatively simple to date. 83-84 have quad lights, 85-86 have composites, and the 86 has the center high mount rear light.

There are still a few 5-door Camrys kicking around my area.

awitherspoon

lambo, espata 1971 the greatest car ever made! 4 seater, room for bags in the back, same engine as countach! Very nice!