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

fintail

Overengineered too, those things must have an amazing survival rate.

There's an old couple I see out on Sunday every now and then who have an early XLE that looks like it just came off the showroom floor.

andre1969

The other week I saw an '87-91 style Camry, gray with peeling paint, but otherwise solid looking, driven by an old guy who bore a resemblance to Warren Buffett. It had historic tags on it, which made me feel old.

It was one thing when cars I remember new as a little kid started showing up as antiques, but now it's cars that were new when I was in college! But, I'll probably feel the same way years off in the distant future, when I see something and think, hey, that was new when I first qualified for Social Security! :P

tjc78

Haven't seen a two-door like this in a long time.

kyfdx

I see more and more of that generation.... though, almost all have serious body integrity issues..

It's funny how perspectives differ.. I thought they ruined the Camry with the 1992 model... :P

andre1969

I still see an '85-86 Camry hatchback running around every once in awhile.

I didn't like the '92 Camry at first, as I preferred the style of the '87-91. But, the '92-96 grew on me over time. I think I still like the looks of the '87-91 better, but the '92-96 is roomier inside.

About a year ago, I rode in my co-worker's '99 or so Camry, and thought to myself that it really seemed kinda crappy, and I couldn't see what all the big whoop was at the time.

But, like others said, I think the '92-96 was a bit over-built, and almost *too* luxurious for its price class. So, for 1997 they sort of cheapened it and rubber-maided it up some.

I still see tons of the '97-01 style Camry around...moreso, it seems, than the '98-02 Accord. I see plenty of '94-97 Accords though.

andys120

I see one of those hatches from time to time as well. Were they all blue?

andre1969

Now that you mention it, I think the one I see occasionally is light blue. Or gray. Been a little while since I've seen it, so my memory's a bit fuzzy.

I kinda like those first-gen, '83-86 Camrys. Not the most exciting thing to look at, but they were pretty durable, and very space-efficient for their size. Almost like a Japanese Dodge Dart in a way! I remember sitting on in the junkyard one day, that they had just gotten in, so it hadn't been picked apart yet. I was able to fit comfortably in the thing, both front and rear.

Didn't some of the early models have problems with the 4-speed automatic? I knew a guy who had an '85 or '86, and this was in the late 1990's, but it was a stick shift.

andys120

I'd say those first Gen Camrys are arguably the best looking of the lot. Like the following gens there was nothing adventurous about the look but it has stood the test of time.

fintail

There are a few hatchbacks in my area - they all seem to be a beige or gold color. I never cared for the 87-91 design - something seems amiss at the rear of the car, like the trunk is too wide. But that style was offered in AWD, which is cool. 92-96 wagon with dual rear wipers takes the cake for Camry oddity.

hpmctorque

I was never a fan of the '92-'96 generation styling either. I preferred the '92-'95 Taurus. I believe the Camry got its inspiration from the first generation Taurus.

I liked the '97 Camry, though, but think the rear styling theme may have come from the '82 Celebrity. Of course, the Camrys were much better cars than the Celebrities and Tauruses.

Mr_Shiftright

over my shoulder, and WHAT do I see rolling into the parking lot?

One of these rare "birds":



All original, too---except maybe my trained eye detects new upholstery--but otherwise, paint, engine bay, decals, underneath, all looked factory.

Nice shape---very clean!

berri

I had an old girlfriend who drove a similar red Datsun. She was in nice shape, but she was dirty!

fintail

I thought the 92-95 Taurus was a very nice refresh. By then they were being dumped wholesale into fleets, but it looked very modern and it aged well. My mother had a 93 Taurus that was almost flawless for several years, but it also had the 3.8, so you know how that goes.

tjc78

I had a 93 with the 3.8.... I don't like to talk about it much.

kyfdx

I had an old girlfriend who drove a similar red Datsun. She was in nice shape, but she was dirty!


I see what you did, there..

fintail

Weirdest thing my mom's did was developed a water sloshing sound in the dashboard area, maybe something to do with the heater core or drainage. Car was garaged, so it didn't get constant rain - never knew what that was.

tjc78

I never had that, but by the end the HVAC only worked on panel, the RPM would surge to 3K at various times, the head gasket blew, and it ate tie-rods every 15k miles.

It also leaked everything.

fintail

I don't remember my mom's car doing most of that, but I do recall the AC died after 5 or 6 years - and as she lives in a coastal area in the northwest, she never got it fixed.

I do remember in my younger days pegging the 85mph speedo, and braking so hard that the ABS light would come on :shades:

She had a number of years with Ford loyalty, but she finally bit the bullet and bought a Camry - which to its credit has been flawless.

lemko

...dark green 1969 Chevrolet Caprice with black vinyl top and rare concealed headlamps on the PA Turnpike.

stickguy

a clean looking Lincoln mark 2 door. early 70s I guess? Square roof with pronounced spare tire bump. Saw it on a cross street, so not close enough to read badges. pre-bumpers though.

and a '71 Mustang convertible in neon green. look freshly done.

kyfdx

Sounds like a Mark III

fintail

Saw what I guess was a 77-79 Pontiac big sedan (Parisienne?) light yellow with white vinyl top, definitely an un-detailed survivor car - in OK condition, I guess it doesn't owe anybody anything at its age.

isellhondas

Have you ever seen the primer grey 1967 Ford Galaxy with the wing on the trunk that runs around Bellevue? It's loud and ugly and I see it often.

fintail

Ha, I have seen that car numerous times, often in south Bellevue around the SE 36th/Factoria/Richards Rd nightmare. It's what I imagine such cars to have looked like in the late 70s. I want to say I have seen a big dog or two riding in it.

stickguy

a cherokee. the real one, when it was a 2 door version of the classic wagoneer.

fintail

Saw a white El Camino SS today - the 80s kind with the Monte Carlo nose, letting off a lot of fumes. Also a C43 AMG.

jdshifty1

not rusty but a dozen diff shades of primer. it looked cool really

explorerx4

a mustard color MGB convertible with black top.
Dove gray Chevette from Maine (didn't look rusty).
A white Pontiac G8. I think it was a v6, didn't sound mean enough to be a V8.
Also a red Ford F5 flatbed being towed. It looked like a super sized F1 pickup.

ab348

Was driving home this week from work and encountered a `69 Eldorado I had not seen before. Unrestored, maybe with a repaint years ago, either dark blue or black. Missing a front wheel cover, windshield reveal molding undone at one edge, but nicer than a project car. I don`t ever remember seeing these around here even when they were new. Handsome design, though I prefer the hidden headlight look of the previous model years to the conventional headlights of the `69 model.

isellhondas

The GM "hidden" headlights did have a nice look to them but they were trouble prone too and very touchy!

hpmctorque

Red, being driven slowly in the right lane. The Fiero still looks good.

isellhondas

I saw that 67 Ford here in Issaquah a few weeks ago. The aftermarket "spoiler" makes me laugh and the car is SO LOUD that I'm surprised the cops haven't written it up.

It smokes too! Follow it sometime!

fintail

Yeah I think I noticed the smoke before.

With all the noise the local [non-permissible content removed] lifted truck set makes, I think the cops have many others to chase first.

fintail

Saw a few old cars out today. Started this morning out in my own oldie, while at the gas station a middle aged guy with a couple of kids in a driver quality 67 Caddy convertible pulled up, looked to be having fun. Then saw an older woman in a very clean MB W114, very focused on driving. After that, a nice 56 Chevy 4 door post, oncoming driver waved at me, then a MB W113 SL, driver also waved at me. Also saw a "horizon blue" MB C215 CL500, very rare color for that car.

Got a new camera, here's my own obscure cars.

Looking good for 10 years old:


Looking good for almost 5 times that:

lemko

...nice dark green 1950 DeSoto coupe at work today! Wow, I wonder which coworker has such cool taste in cars?

andre1969

spotted yesterday evening. It was ahead of an SUV in front of me, and initially I just caught a quick glimpse of the taillight as we all went into an exit lane. My first thought was hey, that looks like a Dart! But then, when I caught another quick glimpse as we went around a corner, I saw it wasn't quite '67-69 Dart shaped, so I thought it might have been a '66-67 Coronet.

But then, I finally got a chance to see the whole car, as I passed the SUV, and it turned out to be a '65 full-size, either a Polara or Custom 880. One thing that really struck me as odd, is how small that car looked in modern traffic. I know it's a stretch to call something that's ~212 inches long, riding a 121" wheelbase "small", but when a modern Civic is taller and looks almost as wide, the low-slung Dodge really didn't strike an imposing stance.

Looked like it was in pretty good shape. It was sort of a goldish/greenish color that was common back then.

imidazol97

Saw a Riviera from about 1967. It was a cream with a brown vinyl top. A pretty color combination.

And a DeSoto that's rare from 1967, I think, at a car show. Very nice condition. I can't recall having seen a Desoto at a car show in my immediate area. Not even in Cincinnati at the Spring Grove Cemetary car show.

tjc78

That Desoto is pretty cool. It looks to be in pretty nice shape too. Is that an Acura NSX to it's left?

andre1969

Yep, '57 DeSoto Fireflite 4-door hardtop. DeSoto made about 117,500 cars total in 1957, which I think was their third best year ever. IIRC, they sold about 125,000 in 1953, and around 130K in 1950. However, the most popular models by far were the 4-door sedans. I'd guess they might have sold around 5-7,000 Fireflite 4-door hardtops that year.

When it comes to leaks, rust, and body integrity issues, I think 4-door hardtops of any maker tend to be the most vulnerable, and these were no exception. Plus, buyers nowadays tend to go for the hardtop coupes and convertibles, so there usually isn't much upside to restoring a 4-door hardtop. Kind of a shame, as I always thought they were a really attractive body style.

imidazol97

Everything looked perfect from a short distance. The chrome was unblemished. Looked like a car new in its era.

magnette

Not a car you see every day - but went out this afternoon in the Magnette, and there it was coming round a roundabout - metallic green, and looked quite tidy - we waved at each other but were heading onto different main roads so went our separate ways.

fintail

I wonder if any of those exist in NA. I remember the first British car magazine I bought (I think Classic and Sportscar, sometime in 1988) had a little blurb on that car.

I like the old car driver wave, similar to what some motorcyclists do. I got it twice yesterday.

This morning saw a couple W126 on the road, impressive survival rate there.

isellhondas

I got a "wave" yesterday too. From a guy on a bicycle!

Not the kind of wave you received I'm sure!

magnette

Yes, I generally wave at other old cars, and they often wave back - not always though - couple of weeks ago I was out in the MG and passed an old Austin 1300 Countryman (the estate version was known as that here) - and I waved at the driver who was a little old lady, almost certainly on her way to church, and who had probably had the car from new. She didn't even see me, let alone wave...

fintail

That's how it was with the older woman I saw driving the nice early W114 yesterday - she was too intent on driving to even notice me. It's unusual to get a wave or any kind of friendly nod in this area, where people tend to be kind of cold and standoffish. But cars can break down walls.

fintail

I won't get started on local cyclists...99% of them are pretty good, but the others...

uplanderguy

I'm always amazed at how few people wave back to me, even from old cars, when I wave. I partially attribute it to the 'if it's not a Big Three car, it's not worthy' attitude, and also that the '64-66 Studes, especially, don't look all that much like an old car, in size and character.

jljac

I think that your car does not get that much attention because the 1964-66 Studes do not look that unusual. I do not think it has to do with Big Three loyalty.

My 1955 Commander gets a lot of waves and attention because it is a two-tone 1950s car that looks unusual, and I suspect that Hawks get similar attention. When I owned both the Commander and the Avanti in the 1980s the Commander got much more attention than the Avanti. Few paid attention to my Larks and some thought it was a Rambler.

Many younger people see my Commander and ask what car company built the Studebaker. I told one kid, "It's an American car, like a Chevy." And he said, "What's a Chevy?" :confuse:

andre1969

I'm always amazed at how few people wave back to me, even from old cars, when I wave.

I still remember back in 2005, the first year I had my '76 LeMans, and I was driving it up to the GM show in Carlisle, PA. I passed a guy in a '70 or so Chevelle SS. I waved to him, and he just gave me sort of a disgusted, how dare you even look at me sort of glance.

I guess in this case, there could be several different sentiments going on...
1) Chevy vs Pontiac rivalry
2) 60's versus 70's (IMO, a 68-72 A-body is still a 60's car, and still embodies a lot of what was good about the 60's, while my car kinda screams 70's excess and embodies a lot of what was wrong with cars in that era)
3) The old "I love my car, so I automatically hate its replacement" syndrome. And, understandably, I'm sure many people who love the '68-72 A-body really don't care for the '73-77 version. And I even have a bit of resentment for the Chevy Celebrity, which replaced the '78-83 Malibu (my first car was a 1980 Malibu coupe).
4) Simply a hatred, or at least a strong dislike for the '73-77 A-body, or, the '76 LeMans in particular
5) He didn't like the way I looked?
6) He was miffed that I was in a traffic lane that was going faster, so I passed him? As if it was some sort of slight against his car?

tjc78

7) he was just an [non-permissible content removed]!