Straight Dope Message Board

[Telemark]

I often keep a running track of the most interesting car I see on my commute each day. It can be a rare sports car, a brand new model, an old classic, or even a bizarre paint job. Heck, somedays it's an amazing bumper sticker.

So, what's peaked your interest today? 1

[Telemark]

I spotted a lime green Lotus Elise on the drive home. Until then it was the Tesla Model S but I see one of those everyday now. 2

[TriPolar]

A black El Camino. But it hasn't been an interesting day. 3

[jnglmassiv]

This afternoon, I saw here in my neighborhood a marked Fire Dept car from a suburb with a young kid maybe 6 in the front seat. The kid didn't have a seatbelt on and I wondered what it was about.

Cheating but yesterday, I saw a funny rear window decal captioned something like 'No one cares about your stick family' and a bomber/spaceship dropping bombs on fleeing stick figures.

And more cheating since this last happened about two weeks ago, I see Illinois plate O (oh) a couple times a year on my commute. Basically, this without the IRNY. We apparently take the same exit in the morning. 4

[ducati]

Lunching outside in Buckhead in the spring is a car lover's dream.

Today: 1 Veyron, maybe 4 Bentleys, 1 Phantom, an R8 and the Quattroporte I had towed from my parking spot. Again.

Akon has an office in our building, and his flunkies are always in a hurry and scam my space if I'm not around.

Ferraris and Lambos are almost common near Disco Kroger*





*Atlantans of a Certain Age know... 5

[andrewm]

Piqued.

Most interesting car today was a Tesla Model S. 6

[Gatopescado]

I can't tell you but I know its mine. 7

[QuickSilver]

There's an exotic/supercar dealership a few blocks away, so I see exotics of virtually every kind every day. However, I'm currently obsessed with the new Jaguare F-type, coupe. It's a thrill to see and hear every time, including yesterday. 8

[Telemark]

On the morning commute I saw an Audi A7, probably the same one I saw on the commute home yesterday. Striking looking car. 9

[Chefguy]

An Audi R8. 10

[lieu]

I drive by an exotic repair shop about a mile from home so there's always something there to make me appreciate the red light and 20 mph school zone... Mercedes SLS AMG, the owner's Lambo Gallardo, Astons, lots of older and turbo Porsches, Maseratti, Ferrari, etc. 11

[kferr]

Not today, but twice this week I've seen an Austin 7. 12

[Tiktaalik]

BMW Z8 Alpina. 13

[Amateur Barbarian]

The one I'm waxing and detailing for a parade on Monday. I didn't see anything on my brief grocery run today that was even close. 14

[ducati]

Originally Posted by kferr

Not today, but twice this week I've seen an Austin 7.

Sweet! That's my kind of ride! 15

[Penfeather]

A Tango. It looked like a marmalade coffin. 16

[Little_Pig]

A totally beat-to-shit, bondo'd up the wazo, 1968 VW Van/bus. Yeah, it looked worse than this. Guess it had promise. 17

[the_diego]

Our van out-sped a Lambo-Gallardo on our main highway here in manila. The guy was obviously just trying it out on the main highway but keeps it inside their exclusive subdivision to avoid wear and tear. 18

[Ms Boods]

A shiny Rolls Royce docked in the Park 'n' Ride near Winchester (M3, Jnc 11) next to a clapped out Vauxhall thing and some kind of Audi. 19

[chiroptera]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

An Audi R8.

Saw one of those yesterday afternoon. A client of mine just took delivery of one and was polishing it in his driveway for about 800 hours. Very pretty and expensive-looking car! 20

[Telemark]

I was following a Maserati Quattroporte on 128 today. Nice looking car, surprisingly understated. 21

[Cub Mistress]

I saw a Model A yesterday, just driving along in traffic! 22

[kayaker]

I saw a very old pickup truck held together with duct tape and wire clothes hangars. No way did it pass PA state inspection. Sure enough, no inspection sticker. Wondering what state it was registered in, I walked around the back of the truck (parked at a minimart). There was no plate. None. Must be a farm truck that seldom leaves home base. 23

[shunpiker]

Last week I saw a nice example of a ~1970 Ford Ranchero (dusty red and white) that dude was using as a daily driver. I talked to him for a bit and he said that he had spent a couple of years bringing it back to life, but he’d really rather drive it than restore it. It wasn’t fully restored, but had a new paint job and was looking good. He still had the old Ford hubcaps on the wheels. One of the “cool” things about it was it had turn signal indicators on the back of the hood scoop.

Coolest was probably this baby that I’ve been driving the last couple of days. 1963 Ford Futura.
24

[Telemark]

Originally Posted by Penfeather

A Tango. It looked like a marmalade coffin.

It looks like someone removed the middle of a Scion xB, lengthwise. How does it not fall over? 25

[DCnDC]

On my commute I mostly notice either people being excessively aggressive or wildly breaking the law to get ahead, or large trucks with distinctive markings, because they're easy to use to track which lane(s) are moving.

This morning, it was a woman in a blue-green Honda Pilot driving on the shoulder and jumping out into on-ramp merge lanes to jump ahead. At one point she was on the shoulder and zipped right past a State Trooper. It was one of the rare occasions there is a cop there to catch someone doing that shit. 26

[CheshireKat]

Yesterday a red 1958 T-bird flew past me going in the opposite direction. I almost ran off the road trying to keep sight of it in my rearview mirror.

I don't know what it is about my little town of 11,000, but I see gorgeous classic cars a lot around here. It could be they're from Seattle and out for a drive on our hilly, picturesque roads. 27

[Kimballkid]

A 1957 Chevy and a mid-50's Ford truck. Both are parked along side the road with 'For Sale' signs on them. They want $15K for the Chevy, I haven't checked on the truck yet. 28

[ElvisL1ves]

A Subaru Impreza with the Full Teenager Package - lime-green nonfunctional spoiler on the trunk lid, matching colors on the wheels and the decals, completely ridiculous but there are those who buy it. 29

[Hal Briston]

A Saturn wagon.

I haven't gone outside yet today, but I can see it sitting in the driveway from here. 30

[AtomicDog]

Originally Posted by andrewm

Piqued.

Most interesting car today was a Tesla Model S.

Ditto on the Tesla. Saw a white one last Saturday. 31

[AtomicDog]

Originally Posted by shunpiker

Last week I saw a nice example of a ~1970 Ford Ranchero (dusty red and white) that dude was using as a daily driver. I talked to him for a bit and he said that he had spent a couple of years bringing it back to life, but he’d really rather drive it than restore it. It wasn’t fully restored, but had a new paint job and was looking good. He still had the old Ford hubcaps on the wheels. One of the “cool” things about it was it had turn signal indicators on the back of the hood scoop.

Coolest was probably this baby that I’ve been driving the last couple of days. 1963 Ford Futura.

Before I saw the picture I thought you were driving the proto-Batmobile. 32

[shunpiker]

Originally Posted by AtomicDog

Before I saw the picture I thought you were driving the proto-Batmobile.

Are you referring to the FX-Atmos? I had never heard of it until your post got me to doing some quick googling today. If i saw that car on the road, it would take the prize as "most-interesting" without a doubt.

...found a photo of the FX-Atmos at this link in case anyone is interested. 33

[Penfeather]

Originally Posted by shunpiker

Coolest was probably this baby that I’ve been driving the last couple of days. 1963 Ford Futura.

Nice! To my mind the Futura Coupe is one of the nicest cars around. 34

[Chefguy]

Originally Posted by Penfeather

Nice! To my mind the Futura Coupe is one of the nicest cars around.

Falcons were pretty much sneered at back in the 60s when they came out. It was another of Ford's unimaginative designs, compared to the GM cars that were tearing up the roads at the time. My brother had one and managed to roll it while on one of his "hunting trips" (read: drinking binge). It's funny to me that they're considered 'cool' now. 35

[Cell Guy]

I stopped by a Tesla store today so I should go with the Model S.

Then my MIL stopped by with her '55 Bel Air.

So either one I guess. 36

[the_diego]

I'd like to see a wood-fired car or truck one of these days. 37

[Spiderman]

Nothing in the lot of the Bentley/Lambo dealer. It was my favorite 70's blue ragtop ghetto cruiser 38

[ducati]

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Nothing in the lot of the Bentley/Lambo dealer. It was my favorite 70's blue ragtop ghetto cruiser

There oughta be a law... 39

[El_Kabong]

The North Houston Hyundai dealership, which I pass every day, seems to do a side business in hot-rodded classics and '70s muscle cars, as well as having something like a dozen or so of those retro pickup-like Chevy SSRs on the lot.

But maybe that doesn't count. This might be better: for some reason each of the past three days I've seen a different, brand-new Bentley tooling around my neighborhood, two sedans and a convertible. While I don't live on the wrong side of the tracks or anything, neither would I consider this exactly Bentley territory. 40

[Robot Arm]

Saw an MGB today. I was with someone, so didn't have time to get the jizz but it looked like a model from very late in the run. 41

[Digital is the new Analog]

Wow..today was actually low key on the car front. South Florida has a ton of fancy, special cars.
And a pretty big antique scene.

I guess the Iconic Roadster we have in the garage would be the most interesting one, but I see it every day. It sits next to the two Hummers (one in camo)

There are some seriously rich people at the office. The other day, the owners were trying to remember if they owned two or three Ferraris. The one who drives a Ferrari to the office is out of town. One day when one of the Ferraris was in the shop, he drove the Rolls instead.

The guy with the Tesla model S didn't come in today, either. 42

[Battle Pope]

There is a guy in the suburb next to mine who has a restored Willys jeep. He was driving around this morning while I was on my way to work. 43

[AtomicDog]

QUOTE=shunpiker;17397496]Are you referring to the FX-Atmos? I had never heard of it until your post got me to doing some quick googling today. If i saw that car on the road, it would take the prize as "most-interesting" without a doubt.

...found a photo of the FX-Atmos at this link in case anyone is interested.[/QUOTE]

Pretty good, but I was referring to this:

http://www.1966batmobile.com/background2.htm

This was the original car that George Barris turned into the first tv Batmobile. 44

[AtomicDog]

Originally Posted by shunpiker

Are you referring to the FX-Atmos? I had never heard of it until your post got me to doing some quick googling today. If i saw that car on the road, it would take the prize as "most-interesting" without a doubt.

...found a photo of the FX-Atmos at this link in case anyone is interested.

Pretty good, but I was referring to this:

http://www.1966batmobile.com/background2.htm

This was the original car that George Barris turned into the first tv Batmobile. 45

[Uosdwis R. Dewoh]

I saw a Corvette. Probably late 90s or early 00s. Had the hidden headlights. They're pretty rare here in Finland. 46

[garygnu]

Teslas are a dime a dozen around here, but I just saw a Fisker Karma on my drive home. 47

[mhendo]

Originally Posted by garygnu

Teslas are a dime a dozen around here, but I just saw a Fisker Karma on my drive home.

One of those lives in a neighborhood not far from me. Very sleek looking machine. I saw an Aston DB7 on the road this morning.

If you go to the right part of the city around here, you can see plenty of high-end Eurocars, but what i really love about Southern California is all of the beautiful old American heavy metal. There's a tattoo shop just near me (actually there are about four), and a good chunk of their customers seem to drive old Chevy and Fords and other beautifully-maintained cars from the '50s and '60s.

One of the most unusual cars that i see around here is a bright red auto-rickshaw. Sounds like a cross between a lawnmower and a sewing machine. 48

[Penfeather]

Originally Posted by Chefguy

Falcons were pretty much sneered at back in the 60s when they came out. It was another of Ford's unimaginative designs, compared to the GM cars that were tearing up the roads at the time.

I like them because they've got the style elements of the time but manage to be pretty understated. The front grille isn't their strongest suit, but they've got that great roof line and from the rear they look flat-out terrific.

eta that's just a beautiful thing. 49

[Telemark]

After passing to Tesla Model S's on the way home yesterday I saw a car I see very rarely - a Nissan Leaf. Just an interesting commentary on the state of electric cars. 50