In traffic today saw an E-Type roadster, maybe a quarter mile ahead of me, but they have a distinct shape. Also saw a Vanagon, W124 making creaking sounds, a R107 SL parked beside a R129 SL in a church parking lot, Tercel 4x4 wagon near a late 80s Subaru AWD coupe I see whenever I take the old car out, and that was about it - a little warm here, which might keep non-AC cars off the road - my car feels like an oven when it is 80F or more.
What the heck is that black thing in the foreground? Looks like some sort of mutant crab.
Whatcha think, 60’s GMC or early 70’s?
I cannot quite see the front of the hood clearly, but it almost appears to have the sharp crease that the 67/68 models did not share. Based on that, I'm going to guess 69/70. I believe they changed up the look of the tailgate lettering for the 71/72 years.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
Funny, but it first made me think of "Falling Down", as well, although the cars are definitely too old. However, considering it's southern California, I'm sure a lot of movies have been filmed in that spot, so it has that familiarity about it.
What year was the original "Gone In Sixty Seconds" filmed?
Falling Down, from 1993, has a number of contemporary and older cars in scenes, as it was in CA where cars age well. I don't think I have seen it since the 90s, but IMCDB always remembers.
A few obscure cars in this shot, including 2 old MBs:
The underpass shot with the Explorer, and something pretty rare in front of it:
Not a classic, but a 2012ish Suzuki Kizashi resides in my neighborhood. “Mature” couple owns it, and they say they like it. I bet it’s a bear to get parts for. They use a local indy shop, and the owners say they will drive it as long as they can and then take it straight to the junkyard (kinda like my wife’s plan for me).
Not a classic, but a 2012ish Suzuki Kizashi resides in my neighborhood. “Mature” couple owns it, and they say they like it. I bet it’s a bear to get parts for. They use a local indy shop, and the owners say they will drive it as long as they can and then take it straight to the junkyard (kinda like my wife’s plan for me).
Hah! The problem is, she didn't think it would keep running for so long!
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
After raining for all 3 days of the Canada Day weekend the weather finally turned decent yesterday and today was positively nice. All the old cars came out it seems. A couple of unrestored VW Beetles were first to appear in my travels today, followed by a @lemko -type 1990 (composite headlights) square-rigger Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham which I saw twice, so someone is using it as a DD, a '79-early '80s Toronado that was also very nicely preserved, and a late '80s Chevy Suburban in remarkable condition for around here. Haven't seen one of those around in ages. They had such pure, clean styling, looked great. GM needs to go back to something like that.
I think the heavy squarebody pickups also soldiered on for a year or so after the 1988 update. Same thing happened to heavy Fords with the 1996 light truck redesign, IIRC.
Squarebodies are a cult item now, people appreciate that design.
The square wheel openings were something that was a 'trademark Chevy' styling thing on pickups, but I never liked that look on the 2014 and later ones.
As usual, I'm out-of-step with what's mainstream, but I think the new Silverados are the best-looking ones in a while, but supposedly they're not selling as well as even Rams.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I worked with a guy for awhile who had a plain-jane '86 (I think) square Suburban. It was a 4-speed manual. He ordered it. He liked to say that his dealer tacked it onto an order for stick-shift Suburbans from the gas company which supposedly meant it would come in quicker, LOL.
He called it "Big Red" and he owned it quite awhile.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I liked the '88 Silverado when it first came out. I thought it was the first truly "modern" looking truck of the 80s...basically, it was to pickup trucks what the '86 Taurus was to mainstream sedans. I had always thought the '73-87 GM C/K pickups seemed modern when they came out, and aged very gracefully. When Ford re-did their trucks for '80, in my mind, they finally "caught up" to GM, more or less, but didn't seem any more modern.
FWIW, GM kept that '73-87 style around a few more years, with full-sized Blazers, Suburbans, and the 3/4 ton and up trucks. Those were the ones that got the grille and headlights that tried to mimic the '88 1/2-ton trucks. I think the Blazer, Suburban, and crew cab trucks held on to that old style through 1991, but the heavier-duty regular cab and extended cabs probably transitioned earlier. Now that I think about it, GM never offered an extended cab version of that '73-87 style. Kinda odd, since Ford and Dodge offered it for years.
Now, when they went to the flush headlights, where the headlight was about the same size as the turn signal, I didn't care for it as much. It made me think of Chevy's answer to the Wagon Queen Family Truckster! I thought the '99 redesign was pretty nice though...although they messed it up a bit with the "Angry Appliance" look a few years later...
Speaking of these GM trucks, I saw a Yukon "GT" on the road a few weeks ago, just like this:
Not sure how much of a grand tourer it is, but it has to be rare. I used to not pay much attention to old trucks, but lately I have been kind of "getting it". Squarebodies are just nice pieces of industrial design, and period Fords and even Dodges aren't far behind. For 2019 models though, I'd probably go Ram/Ford/GM.
This morning while jogging through a commercial area, I saw an 88-89 Accord coupe parked on one side of the street, and a 92-93 Accord coupe on the other side. Both white, both appeared to be in reasonably good condition (but the newer car had a ricer-era bodykit). Not many areas you'll still see these things plying the road daily. Also saw a gold 450SL on the road.
Speaking of these GM trucks, I saw a Yukon "GT" on the road a few weeks ago, just like this:
Not sure how much of a grand tourer it is, but it has to be rare. I used to not pay much attention to old trucks, but lately I have been kind of "getting it". Squarebodies are just nice pieces of industrial design, and period Fords and even Dodges aren't far behind. For 2019 models though, I'd probably go Ram/Ford/GM.
That design looks cleaner and better than anything new being sold. IIRC the pickups of this generation were pretty good but had two main issues: the first few model years the dashboard was GM-'80s at its worst, though there was a change to it made somewhere in the production run that fixed that. The other thing was that the design of the pickup seats proved to be a problem over time as the foam degraded badly, and when it did you were basically sitting on an upholstered metal pan. I don't know if that applied to models like the Yukon though.
I agree with your pecking order for current trucks on offer.
walking dog just now through the next neighborhood, I was by the house that has an assortment of crappy old cars in the driveway and out front. His DD was an 80ish Vette. Really rough shape. Anyway, I heard some serious rumbling and rounded the corner to see a GTO Judge convertible. Looked OK, though hood was faded and fit seemed off. I chatted with guy that lives there who confirmed (as expected) the graphics were just added on. But, he claimed it was a legit GTO 455. Red convertible with a 4 speed. Forgot to ask year, but I guess a 70 with plastic nose. I liked it a lot. Smelled good too (all those unburned hydrocarbons!)
I think that can be said for a lot of 90s designs from many makers. Powertrains could be dull during that era, but in terms of design, it was a clean time. GM still lagged in interiors, but some models had solid styling.
I am sure you have seen this, retro paint packages applied to GM trucks starting a few years ago. For some of them, it kind of works:
That design looks cleaner and better than anything new being sold. IIRC the pickups of this generation were pretty good but had two main issues: the first few model years the dashboard was GM-'80s at its worst, though there was a change to it made somewhere in the production run that fixed that. The other thing was that the design of the pickup seats proved to be a problem over time as the foam degraded badly, and when it did you were basically sitting on an upholstered metal pan. I don't know if that applied to models like the Yukon though.
I agree with your pecking order for current trucks on offer.
Off-topic, but anyone know how to edit your profile here? Decided it's time to add our new Equinox to the 'vehicles owned' portion, but I can't figure it out. I can't stand when stuff isn't intuitive.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
Where I lived, those '73 Chevy trucks were real rustbuckets compared to the '67-72 design. I remember the guy who owned the office supply store in town had holes around the door handles repaired by Chevy in '76 and in fact he subsequently bought a new '76 Chevy pickup.
At the time, the interiors were a big luxury upgrade over the earlier pickups. Nice instrument panel.
About the first half of the '73 model year, the trucks had no rain gutters. A lot of folks must've squawked as they started coming in with them and from that point forward.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
Where I lived, those '73 Chevy trucks were real rustbuckets compared to the '67-72 design. I remember the guy who owned the office supply store in town had holes around the door handles repaired by Chevy in '76 and in fact he subsequently bought a new '76 Chevy pickup.
At the time, the interiors were a big luxury upgrade over the earlier pickups. Nice instrument panel.
About the first half of the '73 model year, the trucks had no rain gutters. A lot of folks must've squawked as they started coming in with them and from that point forward.
Trying to eliminate rain gutters seemed to be a popular thing back then. Aside from the pickups, the Mopar fuselage C-bodies that debuted in '69 technically still had rain gutters but they were integrated into the upper trim around the greenhouse so that they had virtually no capacity to catch anything. Of course today I don't think many, if any, vehicles have them.
Editing profiles seems difficult or perhaps broken as well. @Fezo was trying to edit his yesterday and gave up. You are supposed to be able to click on your user name and then use a pulldown in the upper right of the ensuing screen to get at it, but it seems balky.
Off-topic, but anyone know how to edit your profile here? Decided it's time to add our new Equinox to the 'vehicles owned' portion, but I can't figure it out. I can't stand when stuff isn't intuitive.
I tried to do it and IIRC there's a choice missing that said "Profile" in the pull down menus after I clicked on my user name in the upper right corner of any page. I can't find it.
Amazing what you can find online. While looking at an old-car group on Facebook I found this picture of me and my Cutlass leaving a car show in 2015. Had no idea it had been taken, or posted.
Amazing what you can find online. While looking at an old-car group on Facebook I found this picture of me and my Cutlass leaving a car show in 2015. Had no idea it had been taken, or posted.
That is one good looking Cutlass.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
Good looking car, AB. It's always kinda cool to run across pics of your own car at random on the internet. I can remember back in the day, if you googled "1976 Pontiac LeMans", or "1979 Chrysler 5th Avenue", my cars were among the first that would pop up. I just tried it...the LeMans still shows up pretty early on, but the 5th Ave is way down on the list now.
I guess I was into R-bodies before they were really a "thing". Not that they're really THAT much of a "thing" these days
Speaking of finding your car online - that's my car, years ago before it got wide whites. The image on right appears to also be my car, color changed.
Google also has some OCR functions in its search, so if you search by plate, you might also find your car, if it was at a show or parked on the street and someone noticed it.
For obscure cars, last night I saw a 78 Nova and a 78 Monza - on a 1978 episode of The Price Is Right. I've been watching/listening to these on Youtube now and then, as had a thing for the show and game shows in general when I was a little kid (I took afternoon preschool so I could see TPiR in the morning, no joke), and the cars are amusing. That Nova and Monza weren't bad at all compared to some of the stuff in later years.
I know the wide whitewalls are period correct yet I like the cleaner look of the narrower whitewalls. Were the narrow whitewall tires Michelin? I always liked the clean look Michelin had. They had their own distinctive look. It was something about how smooth and lack of embellishment the sidewalls had. I convinced dad to replace his BFGoodrich for Michelins on his Eldorado. They looked great, and rode wonderfully, no more vibration at 60+.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I am not going to be able to post pics from my computer because of the problem here but I can post from url's.
Photobucket was where I used to have pics hosted. Does anyone have other free places that will host pictures and are easily usable for uploading and linking?
I am not going to be able to post pics from my computer because of the problem here but I can post from url's.
Photobucket was where I used to have pics hosted. Does anyone have other free places that will host pictures and are easily usable for uploading and linking?
I have jpg's I want to put up and can't.
For the same reason as you I opened an account at Imgbb.com and it seems to work OK. Ridiculous that we’re forced to do that, but whatever.
MB switched to narrow band whitewalls late, for model year 1965. Wide whites are correct for my car, but narrow band is correct for later fintails.
The old tires were Les Schwab specials (I want to say "Dean Alpha") that cost ~$40 apiece in the late 90s. I ran them until early 2013, when they finally wore enough to justify replacement. The fintail has 13" wheels, which limits tire selection, especially these days.
I know the wide whitewalls are period correct yet I like the cleaner look of the narrower whitewalls. Were the narrow whitewall tires Michelin? I always liked the clean look Michelin had. They had their own distinctive look. It was something about how smooth and lack of embellishment the sidewalls had. I convinced dad to replace his BFGoodrich for Michelins on his Eldorado. They looked great, and rode wonderfully, no more vibration at 60+.
The color of the car is original, paint code DB334 ("hellblau" - "light blue", creative name). I think most cars were black or white, kind of like MBs today.
Thanks for posting that link, AB. I've been having issues with Photobucket lately, myself. I just opened a new account. Here's my first test... hopefully this works...
I took this pic a couple weeks ago, at my old place (which I still need to get off my butt and sell), when I swapped my Catalina for the NYer. Just noticed, you can sort of make out my Park Ave at my grandmother's place across the street. Which, we also need to unload. The car and the house.
Comments
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
One easy one and a bunch of partials to work on
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Car at bottom left appears to be a Jaguar Mark II
the white truck at far left, front I think is an International.
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A 1973 Cutlass Supreme Coupe followed me part of the way to work today. I always liked the 1973 Salon.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
What year was the original "Gone In Sixty Seconds" filmed?
A few obscure cars in this shot, including 2 old MBs:
The underpass shot with the Explorer, and something pretty rare in front of it:
The lead character's Chevette:
The original Gone In 60 Seconds is from 1974.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Shortly thereafter, on the freeway, a mid-late '60s VW bus with pop up camper roof. Guy driving it looked old enough to be the original owner.
Then, on the way home, an MG Midget in rough condition on a trailer behind a U-Haul.
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late '80s Chevy Suburban
Was that the new style ('88 pickup style)? I think that was the first time the Suburban wasn't redesigned at the same time as the pickups.
I always liked the '88 pickup styling from Chevy--the four small square headlights.
I swear I remember seeing the new '88-model-year pickup in Dec. '86 at our local dealer's.
Squarebodies are a cult item now, people appreciate that design.
As usual, I'm out-of-step with what's mainstream, but I think the new Silverados are the best-looking ones in a while, but supposedly they're not selling as well as even Rams.
Image pulldown non-responsive so I had to copy a quote from another post and patch my link into it.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
He called it "Big Red" and he owned it quite awhile.
FWIW, GM kept that '73-87 style around a few more years, with full-sized Blazers, Suburbans, and the 3/4 ton and up trucks. Those were the ones that got the grille and headlights that tried to mimic the '88 1/2-ton trucks. I think the Blazer, Suburban, and crew cab trucks held on to that old style through 1991, but the heavier-duty regular cab and extended cabs probably transitioned earlier. Now that I think about it, GM never offered an extended cab version of that '73-87 style. Kinda odd, since Ford and Dodge offered it for years.
Now, when they went to the flush headlights, where the headlight was about the same size as the turn signal, I didn't care for it as much. It made me think of Chevy's answer to the Wagon Queen Family Truckster! I thought the '99 redesign was pretty nice though...although they messed it up a bit with the "Angry Appliance" look a few years later...
Not sure how much of a grand tourer it is, but it has to be rare. I used to not pay much attention to old trucks, but lately I have been kind of "getting it". Squarebodies are just nice pieces of industrial design, and period Fords and even Dodges aren't far behind. For 2019 models though, I'd probably go Ram/Ford/GM.
This morning while jogging through a commercial area, I saw an 88-89 Accord coupe parked on one side of the street, and a 92-93 Accord coupe on the other side. Both white, both appeared to be in reasonably good condition (but the newer car had a ricer-era bodykit). Not many areas you'll still see these things plying the road daily. Also saw a gold 450SL on the road.
Flickr Link
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I agree with your pecking order for current trucks on offer.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I am sure you have seen this, retro paint packages applied to GM trucks starting a few years ago. For some of them, it kind of works:
At the time, the interiors were a big luxury upgrade over the earlier pickups. Nice instrument panel.
About the first half of the '73 model year, the trucks had no rain gutters. A lot of folks must've squawked as they started coming in with them and from that point forward.
Editing profiles seems difficult or perhaps broken as well. @Fezo was trying to edit his yesterday and gave up. You are supposed to be able to click on your user name and then use a pulldown in the upper right of the ensuing screen to get at it, but it seems balky.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
So we need to post that in https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/56332/general/x/forums-feedback-and-suggestions#latest
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I guess I was into R-bodies before they were really a "thing". Not that they're really THAT much of a "thing" these days
Google also has some OCR functions in its search, so if you search by plate, you might also find your car, if it was at a show or parked on the street and someone noticed it.
For obscure cars, last night I saw a 78 Nova and a 78 Monza - on a 1978 episode of The Price Is Right. I've been watching/listening to these on Youtube now and then, as had a thing for the show and game shows in general when I was a little kid (I took afternoon preschool so I could see TPiR in the morning, no joke), and the cars are amusing. That Nova and Monza weren't bad at all compared to some of the stuff in later years.
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
Photobucket was where I used to have pics hosted. Does anyone have other free places that will host pictures and are easily usable for uploading and linking?
I have jpg's I want to put up and can't.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
For the same reason as you I opened an account at Imgbb.com and it seems to work OK. Ridiculous that we’re forced to do that, but whatever.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
The old tires were Les Schwab specials (I want to say "Dean Alpha") that cost ~$40 apiece in the late 90s. I ran them until early 2013, when they finally wore enough to justify replacement. The fintail has 13" wheels, which limits tire selection, especially these days.
I took this pic a couple weeks ago, at my old place (which I still need to get off my butt and sell), when I swapped my Catalina for the NYer. Just noticed, you can sort of make out my Park Ave at my grandmother's place across the street. Which, we also need to unload. The car and the house.