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

fintail

Shame about that Seville, fear of a non-working extinguisher is real. I carry one in both my cars. Hopefully he had an agreed value policy where he'll quickly get a check.

stickguy

a Ford weekend. a couple both out driving.

a Red 67 (I think) Fairlane. fastback roof IIRC. definitely modded a bit (wheels and rumble were a tell).

and today on I87, a 63ish Galaxie. Looked like a 2 door post. Baby blue. with some script on the LF fender spelling out "baby blue", sounded pretty good, and looked clean.

fintail

Out on the road today: 60s Beetle, unrestored looking Model A pickup, pristine brand new looking Ford Elite, pre-86 A-body Century, later 70s Omega 2 door.

roadburner

That's the only Seville model I ever found attractive. A friend in law school had one back in 1980.

uplanderguy

He was insured with Hagerty and already has his payment. He said they were as good as they could have been. I'm glad to hear that, especially since I'm with Hagerty.

uplanderguy

That's the only Seville model I ever found attractive.

When it came out, I liked the '92 a lot. Now, that gen doesn't do much for me--meh interior (too much colored plastic for me).

That '91 sda here posted, looks a lot better to me now than it did then.

Funny how the passing of time can change your mind about what styling you like, and don't.

When I was small, I loved the '65 Impala Sport Coupe. I still do, although not enough to ever buy one. But a lot of other cars, my idea of good styling has changed or evolved.

kyfdx

Guy jumped out of an early-'90s Integra at Starbucks. White 2 dr hatch. Not sure of the year, but it still had the motorized seatbelts. This car looks like it's been his daily driver, for a long time.

andre1969

Yesterday, about a mile from my house I saw a Nissan Skyline. I know absolutely nothing about them, but it was right-hand drive, and had the Bel Air/'73 Chevelle-esque taillights. Looked like this, right down to the color...

Michaell

R32 or R34, depending on the year.

Quite the colletible item, and now legal to import as they are more than 25 years old.

kyfdx

@andre1969 The current iteration of the Skyline in the USA, is the Nissan GT-R.

In Japan, they run from pedestrian to supercar. In the US, we just get the supercar.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

@andre1969 The current iteration of the Skyline in the USA, is the Nissan GT-R.

In Japan, they run from pedestrian to supercar. In the US, we just get the supercar.

And, there are 4 door versions

tjc78

@Michaell said:
And, there are 4 door versions

I did not know that

tjc78

Not quite classics but here are some obscure cars from Turks and Caicos I quickly shot while being taken back to the airport.

Michaell

tjc78 said:

@Michaell said:

And, there are 4 door versions

I did not know that

Here you go:

kyfdx

@tjc78 I had a Daihatsu for a rental on my honeymoon, in Grand Cayman. Almost 30 yrs ago.

stickguy

Bermuda is like that too. All kinds of weird tiny cars. RHD too.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Bermuda is like that too. All kinds of weird tiny cars. RHD too.

They drive on the left in the Cayman Islands, but my rental was LHD. We had some interesting action at intersections.

tjc78

Same in Turks. Most vehicles were LHD but they drive on the left. Complete opposite of Bermuda though, everyone seems to drive extremely slow (except the shuttle driver). Bermuda was pretty much a free for all when we went.

fintail

A while back I posted a pic of this unusual battleship I spotted while on foot, and then found on street view:



Today I saw it parked on the street for the first time I've noticed, and with year of manufacture plates. Maybe someone is resurrecting it.

uplanderguy

Brougham model, with the cornering lights. I'm impressed. '67.

kyfdx

1967?

andre1969

The side shot of that '67 shows how much better of a job Pontiac did at working in extra length for this year, than they did in some earlier years.

kyfdx

My mother had a Bonneville Coupe (white over white), and her sister had the sedan (blue over... black?).

uplanderguy

I always liked Brougham hardtop coupes--rarely seen. Luxury interior with fastback roof. Those became mutually exclusive in the '70's.

uplanderguy

andre, meant to ask you--did you guys get around to any of the car corral at Hershey? There was a brown metallic (similar to what Chevy in '72 called 'Golden Brown') '70 Bonneville four-door hardtop, with gold cloth and vinyl interior. I'm smitten with 1970 big Pontiacs after not liking them for probably 35 years, LOL. It looked like a three-year-old car. I can't recall the price.

tjc78

Weren’t we just talking about these green colors?

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRH5CHrF/

tjc78

For those that don’t do TikTok

andre1969

We did get to the car corral, but it was pretty late and most of them were gone. Missed that Bonneville, unfortunately. I have a similar mindset...never was a fan of the '70 in the past, but I don't mind them now.

And even in my "not a fan of the '70" days, I still cringed at that one episode off "CHiPs" where they wreck a really nice 4-door hardtop not once, not twice, but THRICE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCeB7fq3tMU

You can see it get run off the road twice here, representing two different cars. And the reason it already has some body damage going into this scene, is that it was run off the road towards the beginning of the episode, as well! Poor thing got smacked by a '63 Olds!

andre1969

That '79 Cutlass brings back some memories of Mom's '80 Malibu. The carpet in her car was constantly pulling loose from under the sill plate, in that same spot! I'm really not a fan of that '79 green, neither inside nor out, but somehow, on that car it seems to work well, I think.

I remember an '80 Electra, I think it was me that posted it, that was a darker green, like Uplanderguy's parents' '80 Monte Carlo, and while I liked the exterior color a lot better, the interior looked like this '79 hue to me, and it just seemed to clash.

andre1969

More "CHiPs" carnage...this is the scene where the '70 Catalina first gets it. I had forgotten that it got a 1-2 punch from the '63 Olds and then the '63 Chevy wagon... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp-5qRXp-fE

ab348

TikTok is not permitted on my devices. Just another thing turning minds into mush.

tjc78

@ab348 said:
TikTok is not permitted on my devices. Just another thing turning minds into mush.

Yeah it’s a time waster, but I don’t do much You tube, no Facebook etc so I let it slide lol

ab348

@tjc78 said:

@ab348 said:
TikTok is not permitted on my devices. Just another thing turning minds into mush.

Yeah it’s a time waster, but I don’t do much You tube, no Facebook etc so I let it slide lol

It is apparently a ChiCom govt enterprise so I hope you’re comfortable with opening up what’s on your device to them.

texases

That green Cutlass interior - 4 or more shades of green.

andre1969

Years ago, I saw a '77 Catalina 4-door that was a really nice dark green. I think Pontiac called it "Berkshire" and Chevy just called it "Blue-Green". For the interior, they copped out and used a light brown/buckskin interior, rather than trying to coordinate a green to it, but I thought it was a nice contrast.

uplanderguy

At Chevy, I thought the '77 Colonnades were a slight disappointment compared to the '76's, with the exception of the color you're talking about, and the availability of the Sport Wheel Covers of the new full-size Chevys being available on the Colonnades.

Just this morning I looked at this link of the color you're talking about.

andre1969

D'oh! Just looked up the '77 Pontiac paint chart, and it turns out it's "Bershire" green...no "k". There was another green, a light silvery one, called "Bahia" green, that makes me think of the early 80's light jadestone. I think Chevy just called that one "Medium green".

Apparently that limefire was still around in '77 as well, although I tend to associate it mostly with 1976. Seems like it was all the rage that one year, and then fell off fast.

uplanderguy

RE.: That green '79 Cutlass--that green, in and out, across the divisions, was awful that year IMHO. The pale, pastel green was no better.

In '79 when the Cutlass Supreme used the wider wheel opening moldings, as in the picture above, it was a small but nice improvement over the '78's very small molding there.

andre1969

Yeah, it's funny how it seems like GM went off the rails for '79 with regards to green. In previous years, even if they offered some pretty tasteless colors, there was still usually a nice green or two. And the '77 greens were almost perfection, in my eye. I even like that Limefire metallic...on the right car. In '78, it looks like that "medium/Bahia" green went away, while the "dark blue-green/Bershire" stayed around. However, two new greens, "medium" and "dark" in Chevy-speak, were offered. Pontiac called them "Seafoam" and "Mayfair". Neither had that slight touch of blue that the '77 "medium/Bahia" did, but they were still nice colors, in my opinion. Oh, and it looks like that Limefire was finally retired for '78.

But then for '79, it looks like it was just "Pastel" (that really light hue that we called "Gonorrhea" green ) and the "Medium Green Poly", which I believe that Cutlass above is sporting. I could tolerate either color, if it was on a car I found otherwise pleasing, although neither would be my top choice.

Also, according to the paint charts I found online, it looks like GM went to more "corporate" with its color names for '79. Rather than call them 4 different names for each division, they just gave it a more generic name, and then underneath listed which car it was available for (B, C, O, P, Cad(illac), Cor(vette) etc) It also looks like there were still some pretty nice greens around, Cadillac was hoarding them for itself.

uplanderguy

That is a no-vinyl top Coupe deVille, ridiculously rare--but I think for good reason, LOL.

There is a piece of plastic or fiberglass around the quarter window. I remember seeing a new one at Ron Seidle Chev-Cadillac in Clarion, PA in '78 or so. There were visible file marks on the B-pillar right at eye level, which to me is indefensible.

tjc78

@andre1969 said:
Yeah, it's funny how it seems like GM went off the rails for '79 with regards to green. In previous years, even if they offered some pretty tasteless colors, there was still usually a nice green or two. And the '77 greens were almost perfection, in my eye. I even like that Limefire metallic...on the right car. In '78, it looks like that "medium/Bahia" green went away, while the "dark blue-green/Bershire" stayed around. However, two new greens, "medium" and "dark" in Chevy-speak, were offered. Pontiac called them "Seafoam" and "Mayfair". Neither had that slight touch of blue that the '77 "medium/Bahia" did, but they were still nice colors, in my opinion. Oh, and it looks like that Limefire was finally retired for '78.

But then for '79, it looks like it was just "Pastel" (that really light hue that we called "Gonorrhea" green ) and the "Medium Green Poly", which I believe that Cutlass above is sporting. I could tolerate either color, if it was on a car I found otherwise pleasing, although neither would be my top choice.

Also, according to the paint charts I found online, it looks like GM went to more "corporate" with its color names for '79. Rather than call them 4 different names for each division, they just gave it a more generic name, and then underneath listed which car it was available for (B, C, O, P, Cad(illac), Cor(vette) etc) It also looks like there were still some pretty nice greens around, Cadillac was hoarding them for itself.

They kept it in 79 and then around 1992 it got sprayed on everything from Explorers to Lexus to Dodge Shadows lol

tjc78

@uplanderguy said:
That is a no-vinyl top Coupe deVille, ridiculously rare--but I think for good reason, LOL.

There is a piece of plastic or fiberglass around the quarter window. I remember seeing a new one at Ron Seidle Chev-Cadillac in Clarion, PA in '78 or so. There were visible file marks on the B-pillar right at eye level, which to me is indefensible.

Not surprised about the fit and finish but a slick top anything from those years (domestic) is pretty cool IMO.

andre1969

tjc78 said:

They kept it in 79 and then around 1992 it got sprayed on everything from Explorers to Lexus to Dodge Shadows lol

Now that I think about it, my uncle's old '97 Silverado wasn't too far off from that "Bershire Green" color... Here it is, in the background, in December 2009 on the day my DeSoto got towed off to the mechanic. My uncle let me use this truck as a trade-in, when I got my 2012 Ram.

texases

Sighted a true classic yesterday: a Pontiac Aztek. I actually don't mind the looks all that much, even though it's now a favorite for 'ugliest car ever'.

kyfdx

texases said:

Sighted a true classic yesterday: a Pontiac Aztek. I actually don't mind the looks all that much, even though it's now a favorite for 'ugliest car ever'.

In retrospect, it isn't all that ugly, in comparison to all the crossovers that came afterwards.

andre1969

I think the Aztek helped soften the blow, so that most of the ugly, disproportionate, disjointed styles that came afterwards didn't look so bad. I think the biggest problem with the Aztek, was most likely that the production version had to share too much of its architecture with the minivans, and that gave it a tall, ungainly look. The original concept, while still ugly in my opinion, still manages to exude a certain level of coolness about it... The concept, at least, looks like it was designed by one committee, in my opinion. But the final version looked like they farmed out various parts of the body design to different committees, all operating completely independently of each other and with no communication whatsoever, and then in the end, they just forced each part onto the minivan platform as best they could.

The Isuzu Vehicross came out a few years earlier, and was also pretty ugly. And then there was the Honda Element. Both of these took a lot of criticism. But the Vehicross, at least, seems to work its ugliness into the design; it doesn't look slapped on at random. And the Element was just boxy, and it looked like they forgot to paint a few of the body panels.

One thing I'll say for the Aztek, and some of the crossovers and such that followed...after getting used to it, all of a sudden, a '61 DeSoto doesn't seem so vulgar!

tjc78

Walter White drove one. Can’t be all that bad.

kyfdx

I think the solid color option really helped vs. the big flat gray panels.

It's way better looking than the Buick Rendezvous.

fintail

The Rendezvous was arguably GM's most awkward piece from an awkward era. Aztek at least has some quirky and funky going for it, not so much its sibling.

kyfdx said:

I think the solid color option really helped vs. the big flat gray panels.

It's way better looking than the Buick Rendezvous.

uplanderguy

At the time I thought the Rendezvous looked better, but I don't now.

The monotone colors on the Aztek look way better than the gray plastic panels.

I can remember first Aztek I saw. I was working near Youngstown, OH and would normally take I-76 W home, but there was a major accident closing a section. I took old Route 224 home, a more scenic drive anyway--normally. As I got quite near an exit near Lordstown, I saw a screaming, school-bus yellow Aztek with "GM" on the plates--apparently someone driving it had been at Lordstown (they were never built there BTW). I was stunned. I want to say it was prior to their introduction. It just seemed like there was no styling cohesiveness whatsoever.

That said, I think they look better than some of the stuff Nissan has turned out since--the Juke, and the Cube. I always thought the Cube from the rear looked like a late'90's Taurus with an archives box on top of it.

I do think, as I've said before, volume normalizes bad styling. I did see a lot of Azteks over the years. I actually seem to remember that people who had them tended to like them for utility, price, etc. I'd never buy one though!