This morning saw a powder blue 65 Mustang fastback, that dark blue low mileage base model 84 Mark VII I spotted over the summer, a Celebrity wagon, and a ~85 Tercel 5 door.
Out on the highway this afternoon, saw a couple of older women in an absolutely brand new looking 86-89 Town Car, and a K-Car NYer flying up 405 - I was going 70 in a 60 and he was putting good distance between me and him,
Saw a Vehicross today, which isn't terribly odd as I bet half of them were sold within 20 miles of here. Also saw a MB W114 or 115, and from a distance, a 107 SL.
Saw a couple of Oldsmobiles today which is a lot since I can go moths without seeing one:
-A '64-5 Cutlass convertible, black over white, not in great shape but not blowing any smoke or making undue noise, middle-aged female driving.
-1957 Hardtop, bright red over black, shiny chrome/paint, stock wheel covers (skirted in rear) , white wall tires. The only thing that didn't look perfectly stock was a slightly lowered front.
...in our 14-degree weather, snow and slush on the ground...a gold '77 Caprice Classic sedan that I've seen around here in nice weather...looks perfectly stock, right down to wheelcovers, tire size and whitewall width and placement, and sitting level and somewhat high at all four corners, as I remember those cars new.
I think the styling has stood the test of time.
He'll regret driving it in salt. The rearmost frame crossmember is known to rust out on those cars.
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Ah well, cars were built to be driven in bad weather and that one isn't so valuable that it can't be enjoyed in the real world. Those underside car washes should take care of it.
1993-94 Caprice, spotted on the drive into work this morning. Light blue in color, appeared to be in really nice shape. Driven by an older gentleman. I think it was just a base model, rather than one of those 5.7L models. I didn't notice if it had dual or single exhaust, but it looked like it had smaller rims/tires, that seemed tucked into the wheel wells a bit. IIRC, the 5.7 model had larger, wider wheels that filled out the wheel wells a bit more.
I saw a '53 or '54 Bel Air (can't remember the difference--something about the turn lamps).
The car was all there but the light green paint had no gloss, the chrome was not very shiny, the period correct whitewalls were kinda dirty but the full wheel covers were in good shape. White roof.
The '53, from the front, has very large, round, turn signals behind clear lenses. The '54 has IMO a simple horizontal grille, and smaller, non-circle turn signals. I like the '54 better. Although the '55 was so much nicer IMHO, I've always heard and read that the '49-54 Chevys were well-built cars. They do seem stodgy though! Before my time, but my grandparents had a new '54 Bel Air 4-door, on which they traded in a '49 or '50 Chevy 4-door fastback ("Fleetline"). I've seen pics of the latter, and I remember finding the brochure for the '54 in their basement when I was a kid, with the options and prices handwritten on it.
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Someone in my family had a '53 Chevy at one time, as there's an old pic of my house, which has been in the family forever, with a '53 parked next to it. I've posted it before, but here's the link if anyone wants to see it again... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/House/12112DL_1965_200dpi.jpg The date stamp on the back is from 1965 so I guess my penchant for old cars is somewhat genetic!
That 12 year old car probably seemed absolutely ancient in 1965, yet today, a 12 year old car doesn't seem all that "old".
Thanks guys, I can never remember which is which but the car I saw had round turn lamps ergo it was a '53. I imagine it was still wearing the original paint, I wonder how it would look if it was buffed out.
That 12 year old car probably seemed absolutely ancient in 1965, yet today, a 12 year old car doesn't seem all that "old".
1955 was the birth of the "modern postwar car" in America. Sure, some companies had some modern features beforehand, in styling (Studebaker, Corvette, Alfa Romeo) but not necessarily the mechanicals to go with it. In 1955 everything seemed to come together for most automakers, all in the same year. 1955 cars, did in fact, make most older cars looks very old indeed.
Nowadays, we don't take such quantum leaps except perhaps in the pricey exotics.
I always joke that many people who bought new 1954 models must have been pretty irked when they saw the 55s, as most were such a leap forward, design wise. The same thing happened on a smaller scale around 1965.
andre, that '53 is a One-Fifty model. I can remember seeing '53's and '54's around when I was a kid, but they were almost always Two-Ten or Bel Air models. It seemed that I never saw a '49-54 Chevy station wagon 'til I was an adult, though.
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For some reason, I've always loved the shade of green that's on that '54 Chevy. It's something really period, and not every car could pull it off, but I think it's really attractive. I guess it wouldn't really work on a modern car.
I like greens too...soothing to look at IMHO. When it was time I could buy my first new car, I loved the '81 Dark Jade (that's what Chevy called it, anyway), which was the first time in a long time GM had a color like that. I ended up buying a two-town light jade over dark jade Monte Carlo, and the interior was sort of a light jade color too. Probably the most-striking looking new car I've ever owned. Jan. 17, 1981 is the day I picked it up, a Saturday. My hometown dealer located it, while I sat right next to our favorite salesman, at a dealer in Clearfield, PA. I'll always remember that day!
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The '53 DeSoto Firedome that my Granddad had when I was a kid was about the same color as the "Sea Green" crayon in the Crayola box, a really pale color. It had some body damage from a prior accident; I remember going with Granddad in the summer of '78 to a big junkyard down near Culpeper VA, and he found another '53 Firedome that was a darker green...similar to that '54 Chevy, but a bit darker. He got the hood, driver's side fender, bumper, all the grille teeth, and a few other odds and ends for about $80-90!
I guess those various shades of green/blue were pretty popular back in the day. Often when we see movies these days that take place in the past, they tend to give the impression that everybody drove around in a nice, shiny red convertible!
As for that 2-tone, I remember seeing an early 80's Cutlass Supreme once, in a 2-tone dark-over-light jade. I was actually on the way to a junkyard, in my '82 Supreme which was either light jadestone or simply "silver-green" (The GM paint chart lists both, and they're close enough in color that I can't remember which one was mine). I passed it on the highway. The reason I was on my way to the junkyard was that one of the grille inserts on my Cutlass had broken out at the hinge area, and I wanted to get a replacement. They had an '82 Cutlass Supreme, but it was a Brougham, which used a slightly different grille, so I had to buy both sides, to make it match!
I have some old pics of that Cutlass somewhere...I'll have to scan them in. It was pretty sharp, I thought. It had a landau roof and rally wheels that were the same color as the body. And the interior was a light jade/green as well, although the dash was dark.
Even though those cool, refreshing green/blues have been my favorite colors, that Cutlass was the only green car I ever had. When I bought my 2000 Intrepid, I initially tried to get a green one. They offered two different greens. One was a darker, forest green and the other was a light greenish gray that only looked green in the right light. At some angles, it just looked like gray that hadn't been washed in awhile. The dealer did a search and couldn't find any of the darker ones in stock, and the only light green one was pretty far away. So to seduce me into the silver one I had test driven, they threw in a 12 disc CD changer.
Saw a new looking black Olds Cutlass Supreme. It had full wheel covers, which is rare to see now because everyone has the spoked, colored wheels on the ones at cruise-ins.
I was surprised to see it out because we are full salt on the roads from the couple snows last week.
oddly out the other day on a below freezing day, light snow and wet roads. Driving around local streets, an Acura NSX. neat looking, but very unexpected to see it.
Back in 2003 I was coming home from a funeral in Virginia, and ran into a huge traffic snarl on the DC Beltway, in the middle of the day. Probably stuck in traffic for about an hour. When we finally got to the source of the traffic jam, I had to smile a bit. It was, of all things, a 2-tone green 1954 DeSoto that had stalled out in one of the middle lanes, near a spot where I-270 merges. This one was dark green on top.
It makes a regular appearance at one of the local shows I attend on occasion...
At least, I've always presumed this was the same car. After all, how many '54 DeSotos in that color scheme can still be around, locally?
@andre1969 said:
Back in 2003 I was coming home from a funeral in Virginia, and ran into a huge traffic snarl on the DC Beltway, in the middle of the day. Probably stuck in traffic for about an hour. When we finally got to the source of the traffic jam, I had to smile a bit. It was, of all things, a 2-tone green 1954 DeSoto that had stalled out in one of the middle lanes, near a spot where I-270 merges. This one was dark green on top.
It makes a regular appearance at one of the local shows I attend on occasion...
At least, I've always presumed this was the same car. After all, how many '54 DeSotos in that color scheme can still be around, locally?
Didn't your Grandfather have a 1953 DeSoto in this same color?
Yeah, Granddad's '53 was seafoam green that, according to the color charts, is called "Spring Green". It was all one color though, no two-toning. Well, except for the dark green hood and fender he put on, which was "Forest Green", and a metallic (or "poly" as they called it back then). For 1954, I think the colors are slightly different. The light green is called "June Green" and the dark is called "Fairway Green Poly". They also have different part numbers from 1953.
I wanted that '53 so bad, as a kid, but Granddad sold it for $600 in the spring of 1986, just before I got my learner's permit. His reasoning was that he didn't want me bringing it back to him to fix, every time it broke down. Although I ended up doing that anyway, with Mom's 1980 Malibu that I got instead, so it's not like Granddad got off the hook doing mechanic duty.
That car ultimately met up with a sad fate. The guy who bought it tried to jump start it, but with a 12 volt battery. Ended up doing electrical damage to the car, but he never investigated to see how bad. So, he just pushed it to the edge of the woods in his back yard, where it sat for years. I think it may finally be gone now. That guy lives near my Mom in Southern Maryland, and sometimes I'd drive past his house to see if it was still in his back yard. For years I could still see it, but eventually the brush grew up and blocked the view from the road. A few years ago, I looked up the house on Google Maps, and the car was showing up, in the woods. But I just looked now, and Google has updated their maps, and I no longer see it. However, this last time Google their pics in early fall, before all the leaves dropped, so it could still be hiding in the woods.
When I was younger, I used to toy with the idea of seeing if that guy would let me buy the car from him, but I never pursued the idea that seriously. And now, if the car is still around, I'd be afraid to think of what it must be like, after sitting in the woods for 27 years! It was rust-free when Granddad sold it, but I imagine it's not, anymore! Kinda sad to think that car has been sitting in the woods, rotting away, for almost half of its life.
I do feel a bit sentimental about the car sometimes, mainly because it's from my childhood, but I don't think Granddad had any real attachment to it. He originally bought it to fix up and use as a spare car, mainly because he didn't like the direction modern cars were going at the time. He could work on something like the DeSoto, but modern cars were starting to get more complex with the electronics and emissions equipment, and engine bays that were getting more and more cramped. At the time, they had a '72 Impala and a '76 GMC crew cab, and Granddad's rationale was probably that keeping the DeSoto around might prolong the life of the Impala and put off getting a new car.
But then, the second gas crisis hit, and they bought a used '72 LUV from one of my Mom's friends. Then Grandmom retired at the end of 1980, so having a spare car wasn't as critical, so I think Granddad just started losing interest in doing anything with that DeSoto.
@andre1969 said:
Yeah, Granddad's '53 was seafoam green that, according to the color charts, is called "Spring Green". It was all one color though, no two-toning. Well, except for the dark green hood and fender he put on, which was "Forest Green", and a metallic (or "poly" as they called it back then). For 1954, I think the colors are slightly different. The light green is called "June Green" and the dark is called "Fairway Green Poly". They also have different part numbers from 1953.
I wanted that '53 so bad, as a kid, but Granddad sold it for $600 in the spring of 1986, just before I got my learner's permit. His reasoning was that he didn't want me bringing it back to him to fix, every time it broke down. Although I ended up doing that anyway, with Mom's 1980 Malibu that I got instead, so it's not like Granddad got off the hook doing mechanic duty.
That car ultimately met up with a sad fate. The guy who bought it tried to jump start it, but with a 12 volt battery. Ended up doing electrical damage to the car, but he never investigated to see how bad. So, he just pushed it to the edge of the woods in his back yard, where it sat for years. I think it may finally be gone now. That guy lives near my Mom in Southern Maryland, and sometimes I'd drive past his house to see if it was still in his back yard. For years I could still see it, but eventually the brush grew up and blocked the view from the road. A few years ago, I looked up the house on Google Maps, and the car was showing up, in the woods. But I just looked now, and Google has updated their maps, and I no longer see it. However, this last time Google their pics in early fall, before all the leaves dropped, so it could still be hiding in the woods.
When I was younger, I used to toy with the idea of seeing if that guy would let me buy the car from him, but I never pursued the idea that seriously. And now, if the car is still around, I'd be afraid to think of what it must be like, after sitting in the woods for 27 years! It was rust-free when Granddad sold it, but I imagine it's not, anymore! Kinda sad to think that car has been sitting in the woods, rotting away, for almost half of its life.
I do feel a bit sentimental about the car sometimes, mainly because it's from my childhood, but I don't think Granddad had any real attachment to it. He originally bought it to fix up and use as a spare car, mainly because he didn't like the direction modern cars were going at the time. He could work on something like the DeSoto, but modern cars were starting to get more complex with the electronics and emissions equipment, and engine bays that were getting more and more cramped. At the time, they had a '72 Impala and a '76 GMC crew cab, and Granddad's rationale was probably that keeping the DeSoto around might prolong the life of the Impala and put off getting a new car.
But then, the second gas crisis hit, and they bought a used '72 LUV from one of my Mom's friends. Then Grandmom retired at the end of 1980, so having a spare car wasn't as critical, so I think Granddad just started losing interest in doing anything with that DeSoto.
I was friends with a guy in high school whose grandfather was a mechanic. He had a small junkyard on his property that was full of 1940s-early 1950s Mopars and none of them showed any serious signs of rust despite sitting for 20-30+ years. I recall there was even a 1951 Kaiser among those cars. The newest car was a 1961 Valiant. My friend's grandfather drove a 1959 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon at the time. It was a little beat, but seeing something like that still on the street in the early 1980s was pretty cool.
Reverse the colors on that 54 Desoto and we had it! I remember it had a nice looking dash inside and a smooth V8 that had carburetor butterfly problems with the choke in cold weather. My dad carried a wedged piece of wood with him in winter to fix it.
1959, I think with that chrome and those wheels/caps, it would be an Eldorado. I am unsure if it would be an Eldorado Seville or Eldorado Biarritz - but a highline model either way.
My lone odd car spotting today was a Suzuki Kizashi.
@tlong said:
I saw this on a walk in my neighborhood a few days ago. It's a Caddy. Anybody guess what year?
Love those huge fins. When I was a kid there was always some kind of rumor like a little league outfielder backed into those fins and was impaled to death. Even Lincoln's back then were distinct cars. I think the 59 Caddy's actually look better as 4 door than coupes. They are kind of long for a coupe, but everyone has a different opinion. It's definitely a car that brings out personal opinions, that's for sure. Now if you run into Kevin from Wonder Years on those walks, give me a holler!
I vistited Kevin's house last month - the obscure cars are long gone
@berri said:
Love those huge fins. When I was a kid there was always some kind of rumor like a little league outfielder backed into those fins and was impaled to death. Even Lincoln's back then were distinct cars. I think the 59 Caddy's actually look better as 4 door than coupes. They are kind of long for a coupe, but everyone has a different opinion. It's definitely a car that brings out personal opinions, that's for sure. Now if you run into Kevin from Wonder Years on those walks, give me a holler!
"Looks like the Arnold's got a cell tower near their back yard, or one large power transformer."
Ah yes, those neighborhoods where they put the utility poles in the back yard, ostensibly to give the streets a cleaner look and more curb appeal. Dunno if that's better or not, than having them run along the road? On one hand, the poles are less likely to get hit by cars. I know the pole in front of my house has sent at least two vehicles to their grave...both of them in the 1980's. First was an early 70's Ventura, second was a 70's Ford F-150 pickup that hit it so hard it snapped the pole, and pulled the pole behind it down into the neighbor's pine tree, where it started a fire!
Earlier this year, someone hit a pole in the front yard of the neighbor to the other side of me. They had gone onto the wrong side of the road for whatever reason, took out the neighbor's mailbox and pole. If that pole hadn't been there, I think they would have ended up in my yard!
But, on the flip side, there's a community nearby where they put the utility poles in the back yards, and I swear they tend to lose power a lot more often than we do. I think it's because there tends to be bigger trees in back yards than in the front?
Oh, I also remember another instance, back in the 1980's, when a teenager ran a Dodge Magnum into a pole up the street. Had a passenger in the front seat, unbelted, and she hit the windshield. I don't think it did any permanent damage to her, but she did leave blood in the windshield and broke it.
Looking back, my street has claimed a lot of old cars...I remember one Thanksgiving Day back in the mid/late 80's, a late 60's Mercury Cougar went into the ditch and hit a fire hydrant. Those hydrants don't snap off in real life quite as easily as they do on tv and in the movies, so it did a pretty good number on the car. I also remember, in the early 80's, an old lady in a blue '67 or so 4-door Valiant went off the road up on our hill, hit the embankment, and flipped the car. I didn't see it happen, but saw the aftermath. The car ended up right-side up and interestingly, was smashed back towards the C-pillar, rather than towards the front where they usually buckle. Just the way she landed, I guess.
And apparently, our road is not finished with taking sacrifices. Just a couple weeks ago when we had some snow, someone parked their Park Ave in the ditch across the street from my house...
I have to admit, my first thought was "Parts Car!!"
Saw a 1966 Town Hardtop in a pretty mid blue metallic paint. In great condition. Parked at Target away from the other cars. I wondered if it belonged to a worker or just a customer. I don't recall the wheels it had. The car was in great condition.
Ah yes, the "Flightbird", the last Thunderbird anyone wants anything to do with. You can still get a pretty good deal on the 64-66 T-Birds, and have yourself an interior that was described as "suitable for interplanetary space travel".
@imidazol97 said:
Saw a 1966 Town Hardtop in a pretty mid blue metallic paint. In great condition. Parked at Target away from the other cars. I wondered if it belonged to a worker or just a customer. I don't recall the wheels it had. The car was in great condition.
I always liked the '64-66 generation of T-bird, with the '66 being my favorite. I think most people deem it their least favorite of those three years, but I just like the larger grille and separate bumper, compared to the bumper/grille combo of the '64-65. And whenever I think of one, for some reason it always pops into my mind, in that medium blue color! Guess that must have been a popular choice for them!
I think that's a Thelma and Louise car.
They are pretty stylish, but I've read they eat front end parts, and of course drink fuel like it's going out of style.
@MrShift@Edmunds said:
Ah, I misspoke---this generation of T=Birds was called "Flairbird" not "Flightbird"---GEEZ Shiftright, get it "right".
and of course this '66 was immortalized in what movie?
Yes they can suck an alarming amount of fuel. You could get as bad as 8 mpg and if you were lucky, 12 to 14 on the open road, on a windless day, downhill, with overinflated tires.
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-A '64-5 Cutlass convertible, black over white, not in great shape but not blowing any smoke or making undue noise, middle-aged female driving.
-1957 Hardtop, bright red over black, shiny chrome/paint, stock wheel covers (skirted in rear) , white wall tires. The only thing that didn't look perfectly stock was a slightly lowered front.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The first was a third generation Ford Thunderbird convertible in white and the second was a first generation Ford Bronco in red.
I think the styling has stood the test of time.
He'll regret driving it in salt. The rearmost frame crossmember is known to rust out on those cars.
Ah well, cars were built to be driven in bad weather and that one isn't so valuable that it can't be enjoyed in the real world. Those underside car washes should take care of it.
Usually they're seen around here with the rear bumper waving at you! LOL
What are you guys talking about? No quotes, no references to other posts...
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1993-94 Caprice, spotted on the drive into work this morning. Light blue in color, appeared to be in really nice shape. Driven by an older gentleman. I think it was just a base model, rather than one of those 5.7L models. I didn't notice if it had dual or single exhaust, but it looked like it had smaller rims/tires, that seemed tucked into the wheel wells a bit. IIRC, the 5.7 model had larger, wider wheels that filled out the wheel wells a bit more.
I saw a '53 or '54 Bel Air (can't remember the difference--something about the turn lamps).
The car was all there but the light green paint had no gloss, the chrome was not very shiny, the period correct whitewalls were kinda dirty but the full wheel covers were in good shape. White roof.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
The '53, from the front, has very large, round, turn signals behind clear lenses. The '54 has IMO a simple horizontal grille, and smaller, non-circle turn signals. I like the '54 better. Although the '55 was so much nicer IMHO, I've always heard and read that the '49-54 Chevys were well-built cars. They do seem stodgy though! Before my time, but my grandparents had a new '54 Bel Air 4-door, on which they traded in a '49 or '50 Chevy 4-door fastback ("Fleetline"). I've seen pics of the latter, and I remember finding the brochure for the '54 in their basement when I was a kid, with the options and prices handwritten on it.
Someone in my family had a '53 Chevy at one time, as there's an old pic of my house, which has been in the family forever, with a '53 parked next to it. I've posted it before, but here's the link if anyone wants to see it again... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/jgandrew/House/12112DL_1965_200dpi.jpg The date stamp on the back is from 1965 so I guess my penchant for old cars is somewhat genetic!
That 12 year old car probably seemed absolutely ancient in 1965, yet today, a 12 year old car doesn't seem all that "old".
Thanks guys, I can never remember which is which but the car I saw had round turn lamps ergo it was a '53. I imagine it was still wearing the original paint, I wonder how it would look if it was buffed out.
FYI, here's a '54 in a similar color.>
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
1955 was the birth of the "modern postwar car" in America. Sure, some companies had some modern features beforehand, in styling (Studebaker, Corvette, Alfa Romeo) but not necessarily the mechanicals to go with it. In 1955 everything seemed to come together for most automakers, all in the same year. 1955 cars, did in fact, make most older cars looks very old indeed.
Nowadays, we don't take such quantum leaps except perhaps in the pricey exotics.
I always joke that many people who bought new 1954 models must have been pretty irked when they saw the 55s, as most were such a leap forward, design wise. The same thing happened on a smaller scale around 1965.
IMHO, Studebaker made that leap in '53. A '52 looks positively ancient next to a '53 I think.
andre, that '53 is a One-Fifty model. I can remember seeing '53's and '54's around when I was a kid, but they were almost always Two-Ten or Bel Air models. It seemed that I never saw a '49-54 Chevy station wagon 'til I was an adult, though.
andys, that green '54 Chevy has its hood emblem on upside down.
For some reason, I've always loved the shade of green that's on that '54 Chevy. It's something really period, and not every car could pull it off, but I think it's really attractive. I guess it wouldn't really work on a modern car.
I like greens too...soothing to look at IMHO. When it was time I could buy my first new car, I loved the '81 Dark Jade (that's what Chevy called it, anyway), which was the first time in a long time GM had a color like that. I ended up buying a two-town light jade over dark jade Monte Carlo, and the interior was sort of a light jade color too. Probably the most-striking looking new car I've ever owned. Jan. 17, 1981 is the day I picked it up, a Saturday. My hometown dealer located it, while I sat right next to our favorite salesman, at a dealer in Clearfield, PA. I'll always remember that day!
The '53 DeSoto Firedome that my Granddad had when I was a kid was about the same color as the "Sea Green" crayon in the Crayola box, a really pale color. It had some body damage from a prior accident; I remember going with Granddad in the summer of '78 to a big junkyard down near Culpeper VA, and he found another '53 Firedome that was a darker green...similar to that '54 Chevy, but a bit darker. He got the hood, driver's side fender, bumper, all the grille teeth, and a few other odds and ends for about $80-90!
I guess those various shades of green/blue were pretty popular back in the day. Often when we see movies these days that take place in the past, they tend to give the impression that everybody drove around in a nice, shiny red convertible!
As for that 2-tone, I remember seeing an early 80's Cutlass Supreme once, in a 2-tone dark-over-light jade. I was actually on the way to a junkyard, in my '82 Supreme which was either light jadestone or simply "silver-green" (The GM paint chart lists both, and they're close enough in color that I can't remember which one was mine). I passed it on the highway. The reason I was on my way to the junkyard was that one of the grille inserts on my Cutlass had broken out at the hinge area, and I wanted to get a replacement. They had an '82 Cutlass Supreme, but it was a Brougham, which used a slightly different grille, so I had to buy both sides, to make it match!
I have some old pics of that Cutlass somewhere...I'll have to scan them in. It was pretty sharp, I thought. It had a landau roof and rally wheels that were the same color as the body. And the interior was a light jade/green as well, although the dash was dark.
Even though those cool, refreshing green/blues have been my favorite colors, that Cutlass was the only green car I ever had. When I bought my 2000 Intrepid, I initially tried to get a green one. They offered two different greens. One was a darker, forest green and the other was a light greenish gray that only looked green in the right light. At some angles, it just looked like gray that hadn't been washed in awhile. The dealer did a search and couldn't find any of the darker ones in stock, and the only light green one was pretty far away. So to seduce me into the silver one I had test driven, they threw in a 12 disc CD changer.
Saw a new looking black Olds Cutlass Supreme. It had full wheel covers, which is rare to see now because everyone has the spoked, colored wheels on the ones at cruise-ins.
I was surprised to see it out because we are full salt on the roads from the couple snows last week.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
oddly out the other day on a below freezing day, light snow and wet roads. Driving around local streets, an Acura NSX. neat looking, but very unexpected to see it.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
the "Sea Green" crayon in the Crayola box, a really pale color.
When I was a little kid my dad had a two tone 54 Desoto that was that color on top and dark green on the bottom. Nice looking car, but a lemon!
Saw a 94-96 Impala SS today, and an early Duel style Dart/Valiant in driver condition.
Back in 2003 I was coming home from a funeral in Virginia, and ran into a huge traffic snarl on the DC Beltway, in the middle of the day. Probably stuck in traffic for about an hour. When we finally got to the source of the traffic jam, I had to smile a bit. It was, of all things, a 2-tone green 1954 DeSoto that had stalled out in one of the middle lanes, near a spot where I-270 merges. This one was dark green on top.
It makes a regular appearance at one of the local shows I attend on occasion...
At least, I've always presumed this was the same car. After all, how many '54 DeSotos in that color scheme can still be around, locally?
Didn't your Grandfather have a 1953 DeSoto in this same color?
Yeah, Granddad's '53 was seafoam green that, according to the color charts, is called "Spring Green". It was all one color though, no two-toning. Well, except for the dark green hood and fender he put on, which was "Forest Green", and a metallic (or "poly" as they called it back then). For 1954, I think the colors are slightly different. The light green is called "June Green" and the dark is called "Fairway Green Poly". They also have different part numbers from 1953.
I wanted that '53 so bad, as a kid, but Granddad sold it for $600 in the spring of 1986, just before I got my learner's permit. His reasoning was that he didn't want me bringing it back to him to fix, every time it broke down. Although I ended up doing that anyway, with Mom's 1980 Malibu that I got instead, so it's not like Granddad got off the hook doing mechanic duty.
That car ultimately met up with a sad fate. The guy who bought it tried to jump start it, but with a 12 volt battery. Ended up doing electrical damage to the car, but he never investigated to see how bad. So, he just pushed it to the edge of the woods in his back yard, where it sat for years. I think it may finally be gone now. That guy lives near my Mom in Southern Maryland, and sometimes I'd drive past his house to see if it was still in his back yard. For years I could still see it, but eventually the brush grew up and blocked the view from the road. A few years ago, I looked up the house on Google Maps, and the car was showing up, in the woods. But I just looked now, and Google has updated their maps, and I no longer see it. However, this last time Google their pics in early fall, before all the leaves dropped, so it could still be hiding in the woods.
When I was younger, I used to toy with the idea of seeing if that guy would let me buy the car from him, but I never pursued the idea that seriously. And now, if the car is still around, I'd be afraid to think of what it must be like, after sitting in the woods for 27 years! It was rust-free when Granddad sold it, but I imagine it's not, anymore! Kinda sad to think that car has been sitting in the woods, rotting away, for almost half of its life.
I do feel a bit sentimental about the car sometimes, mainly because it's from my childhood, but I don't think Granddad had any real attachment to it. He originally bought it to fix up and use as a spare car, mainly because he didn't like the direction modern cars were going at the time. He could work on something like the DeSoto, but modern cars were starting to get more complex with the electronics and emissions equipment, and engine bays that were getting more and more cramped. At the time, they had a '72 Impala and a '76 GMC crew cab, and Granddad's rationale was probably that keeping the DeSoto around might prolong the life of the Impala and put off getting a new car.
But then, the second gas crisis hit, and they bought a used '72 LUV from one of my Mom's friends. Then Grandmom retired at the end of 1980, so having a spare car wasn't as critical, so I think Granddad just started losing interest in doing anything with that DeSoto.
I was friends with a guy in high school whose grandfather was a mechanic. He had a small junkyard on his property that was full of 1940s-early 1950s Mopars and none of them showed any serious signs of rust despite sitting for 20-30+ years. I recall there was even a 1951 Kaiser among those cars. The newest car was a 1961 Valiant. My friend's grandfather drove a 1959 Chevrolet Parkwood station wagon at the time. It was a little beat, but seeing something like that still on the street in the early 1980s was pretty cool.
Now if that Valiant was a wagon, it shared something with that Parkwood - an awful lot of window pieces!
Reverse the colors on that 54 Desoto and we had it! I remember it had a nice looking dash inside and a smooth V8 that had carburetor butterfly problems with the choke in cold weather. My dad carried a wedged piece of wood with him in winter to fix it.
I saw this on a walk in my neighborhood a few days ago. It's a Caddy. Anybody guess what year?
1959, I think with that chrome and those wheels/caps, it would be an Eldorado. I am unsure if it would be an Eldorado Seville or Eldorado Biarritz - but a highline model either way.
My lone odd car spotting today was a Suzuki Kizashi.
I'll walk by that area again in the next week or two. With luck I'll catch it again, and if so I'll take pictures from a few other angles.
Love those huge fins. When I was a kid there was always some kind of rumor like a little league outfielder backed into those fins and was impaled to death. Even Lincoln's back then were distinct cars. I think the 59 Caddy's actually look better as 4 door than coupes. They are kind of long for a coupe, but everyone has a different opinion. It's definitely a car that brings out personal opinions, that's for sure. Now if you run into Kevin from Wonder Years on those walks, give me a holler!
That '59 is an Eldorado Seville. The Biarritz was the convertible in that era.
Cool, I learned something today
90s Impala SS parked next to a mid 80s Iroc. Both looked brand new. Also, spotted two box Town Cars (one 86-87 and an 89).
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
I vistited Kevin's house last month - the obscure cars are long gone
Looks like the Arnold's got a cell tower near their back yard, or one large power transformer.
"Looks like the Arnold's got a cell tower near their back yard, or one large power transformer."
Ah yes, those neighborhoods where they put the utility poles in the back yard, ostensibly to give the streets a cleaner look and more curb appeal. Dunno if that's better or not, than having them run along the road? On one hand, the poles are less likely to get hit by cars. I know the pole in front of my house has sent at least two vehicles to their grave...both of them in the 1980's. First was an early 70's Ventura, second was a 70's Ford F-150 pickup that hit it so hard it snapped the pole, and pulled the pole behind it down into the neighbor's pine tree, where it started a fire!
Earlier this year, someone hit a pole in the front yard of the neighbor to the other side of me. They had gone onto the wrong side of the road for whatever reason, took out the neighbor's mailbox and pole. If that pole hadn't been there, I think they would have ended up in my yard!
But, on the flip side, there's a community nearby where they put the utility poles in the back yards, and I swear they tend to lose power a lot more often than we do. I think it's because there tends to be bigger trees in back yards than in the front?
Oh, I also remember another instance, back in the 1980's, when a teenager ran a Dodge Magnum into a pole up the street. Had a passenger in the front seat, unbelted, and she hit the windshield. I don't think it did any permanent damage to her, but she did leave blood in the windshield and broke it.
Looking back, my street has claimed a lot of old cars...I remember one Thanksgiving Day back in the mid/late 80's, a late 60's Mercury Cougar went into the ditch and hit a fire hydrant. Those hydrants don't snap off in real life quite as easily as they do on tv and in the movies, so it did a pretty good number on the car. I also remember, in the early 80's, an old lady in a blue '67 or so 4-door Valiant went off the road up on our hill, hit the embankment, and flipped the car. I didn't see it happen, but saw the aftermath. The car ended up right-side up and interestingly, was smashed back towards the C-pillar, rather than towards the front where they usually buckle. Just the way she landed, I guess.
And apparently, our road is not finished with taking sacrifices. Just a couple weeks ago when we had some snow, someone parked their Park Ave in the ditch across the street from my house...
I have to admit, my first thought was "Parts Car!!"
Saw a 1966 Town Hardtop in a pretty mid blue metallic paint. In great condition. Parked at Target away from the other cars. I wondered if it belonged to a worker or just a customer. I don't recall the wheels it had. The car was in great condition.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Ah yes, the "Flightbird", the last Thunderbird anyone wants anything to do with. You can still get a pretty good deal on the 64-66 T-Birds, and have yourself an interior that was described as "suitable for interplanetary space travel".
I always liked the '64-66 generation of T-bird, with the '66 being my favorite. I think most people deem it their least favorite of those three years, but I just like the larger grille and separate bumper, compared to the bumper/grille combo of the '64-65. And whenever I think of one, for some reason it always pops into my mind, in that medium blue color! Guess that must have been a popular choice for them!
Ah, I misspoke---this generation of T=Birds was called "Flairbird" not "Flightbird"---GEEZ Shiftright, get it "right".
and of course this '66 was immortalized in what movie?
I think that's a Thelma and Louise car.
They are pretty stylish, but I've read they eat front end parts, and of course drink fuel like it's going out of style.
Yes they can suck an alarming amount of fuel. You could get as bad as 8 mpg and if you were lucky, 12 to 14 on the open road, on a windless day, downhill, with overinflated tires.