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

benjaminh

Las Vegas 1967

benjaminh

Vancouver, 1974....

benjaminh

Not much traffic here. We all know this movie....

benjaminh

Dublin c.early 1960s

sda

benjaminh said:

Vancouver, early 1974....

Cool to see a Citroen DS. My parent's friends had an older DS Pallas that I got to ride in several times when we lived in France. The seats were cushy soft and there was padding under the floor carpet that was also cushy. The engine had a unique sound, almost like a Subaru. Rough roads were soaked up by the unique hydraulic (?) suspension. Mom's '71 Audi 100 LS rode harshly in comparison.

fintail

That's a late run Citroen DS in Vancouver. Speaking of Audi, the car nearest the camera appears to be an Audi Fox.

I wonder if the twin Caddy coupes in Vegas have significance.

benjaminh

From the Caltrans archives....The opening of the Arroyo-Seco Parkway in Dec. of 1940.

benjaminh

Donner Pass, 1940....

xwesx

benjaminh said:

Hollywood freeway, 1972....

I spy Econoline!

Michaell

xwesx said:

benjaminh said:

Hollywood freeway, 1972....

I spy Econoline!

Certainly more imports - my folks had a VW Squareback in SoCal in 1972. I remember my dad taking us around LA after the '71 Sylmar quake and showing us the damage, specifically the VA hospital.

boomchek

benjaminh said:

Vancouver, 1974....

I'm trying to identify where in Vancouver this was shot. The city's skyline changes every few years now with so much new development going on. Cool picture.

boomchek

Looking at all these old photos makes me wonder if any of the cars from 60s and 70s would fit in modern parking stalls. It seems like all new parking spots are tiny compared to what they were 30-40 years ago, except maybe for Costco parking, which separates each stall with a foot or two of walking/loading space.

benjaminh

boomchek said:

I'm trying to identify where in Vancouver this was shot. The city's skyline changes every few years now with so much new development going on. Cool picture.

Yes, today Vancouver is a forrest of skyscrapers. And yet it's the most beautiful, friendly, and livable big city I've ever visited.

stickguy

Way towards the back a Toyota corona, and a gaggle of beetles. A few pintos too.

fintail

I love the features of google, this one had a solution:

https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/1000-alberni-street-south-side

Completely different today, now filled with generic blocks of sometimes gauche high end stores. Kind of suits much of Vancouver proper these days.

Regarding parking, sizes are definitely smaller, I feel it here, too. It can be funny in Europe - I remember not being able to find a suitable spot at all for my rented A8 in a Swiss parking garage - so I parked way in the back and used two spots.

boomchek said:

I'm trying to identify where in Vancouver this was shot. The city's skyline changes every few years now with so much new development going on. Cool picture.

stickguy

Vancouver, just noticed a nice red Volvo 164 dead center. But can’t figure out what the car next to it, passenger dude, is. Datsun 510? A lancia?

fintail

Car beside the Volvo reminds me of a Fiat 2300, but I am not sure.

Canada had an even more diverse market than the US during the era.

benjaminh

1965

benjaminh

1969. San Francisco....

ab348

The 1965 photo is fun. The Flxible coach is similar to those used by our longtime regional bus line here well into the 1970s. I think the ones here used early 1950s Buick straight 8 engines. Quite the contrast to see the Mini Countryman, the Dauphine and the MGA (with a lady behind the wheel who can drive a stick!) all surrounded by Detroit iron, especially that 1965 Pontiac convertible. It's a Parisienne Custom Sport, a Canada-only model with a lot of the GP equipment on the outside but offered with Chevy powerplants all the way down to the inline 6 and built on the Chevy narrow-track chassis. I think this pic is from Ontario, probably Toronto.

fintail

Even more unusual than the AMC in the SF 1969 pic is the Bentley Mark VI in the oncoming lane.

uplanderguy

The brown roof on the Chevy in the background and matching interior vinyl/leather speaks "1964" to me. Am I right?

That's a Pontiac Catalina. Blowing up the pic, I can see the Pontiac instrument panel, the Pontiac side molding and the "Catalina" emblem on the rear quarter.

Which reminds me how much I like '64 Pontiac Catalina 2+2's. I like them better than the Grand Prix that year, which had the boomerang taillights filled in. I'd like one in that salmon color I think was called "Sunfire Red", with a white painted top.

EDIT: Had I read further, I'd have seen that fintail said this already. That car has the Ventura option, which got you the nice, high-quality, two-tone vinyl interior.

andre1969

Is it just me, or were the traffic lanes wider back in the day? When you figure those trailers are probably 96" wide, and the typical standard-sized car was around 78-80", those lanes just look like they have an awful lot of wiggle room, compared to today.

boomchek

Honestly I avoid downtown Vancouver nowadays. Thehome we bought is in Langley, a suburb of Vancouver and about 40 minutes from downtown. We have everything we need within a 5 minute drive of our home and prices are more tolerable here. Quick 15-20 minute drive to work IF there's traffic. A lot of people that complain about housing prices only look at Vancouver core pricing which imo is steep. A few minute drive into the suburbs and there are plenty of homes at much more reasonable prices. But I just hate the cramped homes in or near downtown, no parking or pay parking everywhere, and non stop traffic.

On top of that the last Vancouver mayor clogged up the city with bike lanes, many of them underused because of our rainy climate which makes access to and driving in downtown even more congested and frustrating.

andre1969

boomchek said:

On top of that the last Vancouver mayor clogged up the city with bike lanes, many of them underused because of our rainy climate which makes access to and driving in downtown even more congested and frustrating.

They did that in DC and Baltimore too, in the past few years. Traffic was bad to begin with, but those bike lanes only made it worse. And those bikeshare programs have really gone over well...

boomchek

Last winter the bike lanes were cleared before car lanes




Then the city put another bike lane in an already clogged street in front of our hospital Emergency taking out all street parking (multiple clinics there attended by seniors).

Before:


After:
\

Rant end lol

roadburner

The bike lane idiocy has taken root in Louisville as well...

fintail

Even Bellevue, not exactly a Seattle or Vancouver, has jumped on the bike bandwagon, with rental bikes littered about, and new bike lanes. One such lane replaced a turn lane on a street that is busy during the day. Now traffic backs up for a couple blocks waiting for what was once a right turn lane, while the bike lane will be empty almost all the time. The boomburb kind of looks like Vancouver, with numerous residential highrises, being a key destination for capital either fleeing to or being laundered in local real estate (no vetting needed for those with $$$), sketchy drivers, and now the bike lane silliness.

ab348

Same with the bike lane lunacy here in Halifax, where for half the year the weather is not fit to be outside. Our city council has gone for them hook, line and sinker, yet they are virtually unused. The kicker was their approval of a $10 million "bike flyover lane" or overpass, from the end of one of our harbor bridges over a turning lane for cars, so the cyclists would not have to stop and wait for a traffic light to change. That is after adding a 2-way bike lane to that bridge for untold millions of dollars that also barely gets used. It is total insanity.

explorerx4

There are some large steering wheels in that 1965 picture.
There are LimeBikes in Hartford. People seem to use them, although they are seasonal.

andre1969

Baltimore even has a scooter sharing program...Oh, the humanity!

fintail

Something obscure from ACD, I had only seen these/this in books:

ab348

So obscure I don’t think I have ever seen it before. What is it?

fintail

The Tasco

fintail

Something less obscure but still pretty cool, at Volo - I liked this one too:

boomchek

The Tasco is cool. I learned something new today, thanks!

sda

benjaminh said:

1965

This picture is great. Everyone looks less than amused by the traffic jam. Its warm enough that many have their windows down and are resting their arm on the window sill. You don't see as much of that today with a/c being standard and most folks keep their windows closed to avoid exhaust fumes, noise and to stay cool.

ab348

sda said:

This picture is great. Everyone looks less than amused by the traffic jam. Its warm enough that many have their windows down and are resting their arm on the window sill. You don't see as much of that today with a/c being standard and most folks keep their windows closed to avoid exhaust fumes, noise and to stay cool.

Plus the Canadian Don Draper in the Pontiac convertible is wondering again on another warm sunny day why he let the sales guy talk him into buying a ragtop with a black interior.

uplanderguy

That Cord sedan in the background of your recent A-C-D pictures reiterates how I just love those cars. When we were at NATMUS in Auburn last year, a volunteer there was kind of hanging around us, answering questions, and asked us if we'd like to see the shop (which is normally off-limits). We said "Sure!" and in there they were working on a Cord sedan, '36 or '37, that had been an Indiana State Police car and was so-marked. Very cool. It was in some need of restoration.

NATMUS has a program where high school kids can come one night a week and help the adult volunteers work on the cars in the shop. That's great I think and one reason we were able to sell our local region Studebaker Drivers' Club to donate to them.

In their shop they also had a very solid, original-looking light blue metallic '65 Studebaker Commander Wagonaire, sliding roof, six with 3-speed, they were doing some small stuff to. They have since sold it to a guy in Florida they told me when I called them a few months back.

benjaminh

A 1920 Winton in front of Louisville's main library—a building that still exists. Did someone die?

benjaminh

1910 car. Not sure what....Knox?

fintail

The Indiana Police Cord was on display when I was there, I am pretty sure I got a pic of it. Stude museum needs a Wagonaire on display.


An obscure car I remember seeing but can't find a pic of is the Chrysler Turbine car at Henry Ford. I know I saw it, maybe I was just so amazed to actually see one, that I forgot.

uplanderguy said:

That Cord sedan in the background of your recent A-C-D pictures reiterates how I just love those cars. When we were at NATMUS in Auburn last year, a volunteer there was kind of hanging around us, answering questions, and asked us if we'd like to see the shop (which is normally off-limits). We said "Sure!" and in there they were working on a Cord sedan, '36 or '37, that had been an Indiana State Police car and was so-marked. Very cool. It was in some need of restoration.

NATMUS has a program where high school kids can come one night a week and help the adult volunteers work on the cars in the shop. That's great I think and one reason we were able to sell our local region Studebaker Drivers' Club to donate to them.

In their shop they also had a very solid, original-looking light blue metallic '65 Studebaker Commander Wagonaire, sliding roof, six with 3-speed, they were doing some small stuff to. They have since sold it to a guy in Florida they told me when I called them a few months back.

fintail

For the 1965 pic, the 55 Chevy in front of the truck appears awfully clean for its age and area.

The Winton makes me think of the old car of the same marque bought by Wilson and Mitchell in Dennis the Menace - apparently this car was seen in a few other movies/shows:

benjaminh

Kroger Mercury car giveaway, 1948....

benjaminh

This woman from c.1940 is happy about her Plymouth woody and her dogs....

fintail

Yep, it's a Knox. Probably rebodied in the teens. Interesting that it appears to be wearing a WW2 A ration gas sticker on the windshield.

benjaminh said:

1910 car. Not sure what....Knox?

benjaminh

Woman with her 1938 Pontiac and horse in Kentucky....

benjaminh

1930 photo of Chevrolet dealership....

benjaminh

Super Suds is giving away this beautiful 1935 Packard!

benjaminh

It's stylish and fun to drive a 1939 Mercury....