# What unusual cars have you seen lately? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 22, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783 "2003-02-22T15:52:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/1 "2003-02-22T15:52:39Z")
The [Yugo thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=164791) got me thinking. What unusual cars have you seen on the roads recently? Yesterday I saw a bright orange **'57 Chevy coupé** going from the 405 north to the 605. There was a nice-looking **Nomad** not to far ahead of it. Going north on the 405 near LAX I saw a **big red 1940s car**. I don’t know what kind it was. It was a big bulgy thing with “Super DeLuxe” on the bonnet. I generally call these “Bulgemobiles”. Earlier, on the 22 westbound, I saw a white **Sunbeam Alpine**. That one got me anxious to drive my **'66 MGB** that is undergoing restoration with excruciating slowness by a couple of hobbyists. And of course I drive around in a **1946 Willys CJ2A** on weekends sometimes. People seem to enjoy seeing it. They smile, honk, give me the “thumbs up”, shout “Nice rig!”, etc. A friend of mine calls it a “happy car” because she says it makes people happy to see it. There are so many Porsches, Mercedes, Volvos, BMWs, SUVs of all makes, Hondas, Toyotas, and so forth that crowd the local freeways that it’s fun to see something out of the ordinary. So what unusual cars have _you_ seen lately? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/2 "2003-02-22T16:00:55Z")
I saw a silver Rolls Royce a couple weeks ago. Especially unusual considering that I live in a semi-rural area and it passed me by on one of our many two-lane country back roads here. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/3 "2003-02-22T16:08:16Z")
I saw a white Citroen of some type in Cambridge MA, heading out of town on Route 2. I didn’t get a good look at it though, it was nighttime. First one I had seen in years, they were never common in the US. Some friends of ours when I was growing up owned a Citroen Maserati SM, which is probably the most unusual car I have ever ridden in. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/4 "2003-02-22T16:10:48Z")
That reminds me: I saw a silver early-1960s Rolls Royce on the freeway last week. I usually notice newer Rolls Royces because they’re so ugly. They don’t make 'em like that silver one anymore! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/5 "2003-02-22T16:36:27Z")
There’s an Aston Martin DB5 running around here sometimes. I see a couple Jag E-types, too. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/6 "2003-02-22T17:02:00Z")
The red “Bulgemobile” appears to have been a [1941 Ford Super Deluxe](http://www.classicsandcustoms.com/search/7532.asp). But the one I saw had a chromed hood ornament. ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/7 "2003-02-22T17:27:19Z")
Hybrid gasoline/electric Toyota Prius. Based on the few I’ve seen, they are either too slow to be driven safely on an expressway during a northern Illinois winter or their owners are trying to actually achieve 50+ miles per gallon on said expressway and are willing to risk lives to save a gallon of gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![Lorenzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4da419/32.png) [@Lorenzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorenzo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/8 "2003-02-22T17:30:20Z")
Late 70’s Lamborghini Countach stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. I assumed it must have been a convincing kit car until I noticed a Lamborghini dealership up the street. ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/9 "2003-02-22T17:50:43Z")
Lots of Nissan Micras in Ireland. I don’t think they are sold in the U.S. Many little cars in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/10 "2003-02-22T18:31:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Hybrid gasoline/electric Toyota Prius. Hybrids are unusual in Chicago? ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/11 "2003-02-22T18:42:26Z")
A Triumph TR-4 at the P.O. yesterday. Sweet little car! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/12 "2003-02-22T18:48:07Z")
> [@](#): > > A Triumph TR-4 at the P.O. yesterday. Sweet little car! Ooh! Sweet! What colour was it? A few months ago I saw a Datsun 1600 roadster for sale at a gas station. My parents considered buying one, but mom liked the MGB better. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/13 "2003-02-22T18:50:09Z")
Oh – In December I saw a white '72 (?) MGB by Santa Monica airport. Several weeks ago I saw two MGBs on the way to work. One was a green chrome-bumper, and the other was a marron rubber-bumper that was broken down. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/14 "2003-02-22T18:54:42Z")
For the past couple years I’ve been going to the 24 hours of Le Mans with friends. We usually take the ferry from Portsmouth to (the French port I can’t remember right now). The queue at the ferry port is a huge car show, Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, Astons, old Jags, and a couple of Ford GT40s. ---
**Author:** ![Howard\_Juneau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@Howard\_Juneau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Howard_Juneau)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/15 "2003-02-22T18:55:28Z")
I saw a guy with Salvadore Dali’s mustache driving a gold Avanti in the next town over. Also saw a gold & white Studebaker Golden Hawk a couple of weeks ago (my dream car)🆒 ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/16 "2003-02-22T20:03:54Z")
A burgandy Auburn just crusin’ down the highway – The other day I saw three blue soft top corvairs pulled up at a drive-in. I imagine it was some sort of club - or Shriners or something. ---
**Author:** ![Trygve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@Trygve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trygve)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/17 "2003-02-22T20:56:20Z")
Lots of odd cars here: Ladas and Zhigulis - The most popular cars on the road. Today I saw a magenta Lada. Nevas - something like a “SUV” version of a Honda Civic Volgas - generally bigger and more like an Olds or Buick ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/18 "2003-02-22T21:10:34Z")
I saw a Delorean a couple of weeks ago - I wasn’t positive that was what it was (I’d never seen one apart from the Back to the Future movies) until I came home and looked up pictures online. It was kind of neat to see. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/19 "2003-02-22T21:21:03Z")
I got behind a [Qvale Mangusta](http://www.qvaleauto.com/) a few days ago in traffic. It’s a weird looking car from behind. I also finally saw an Aston Martin Vanquish on the open road. It’s a gorgeous car from every angle. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783/20 "2003-02-22T22:22:00Z")
I didn’t see [this one](http://www.artcars.com/artcarweekend/acw2002/winners/pages/artcarfirst1.html), but it’s nearly identical twin in Austin two weeks ago. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unusual-cars-have-you-seen-lately/156783.md?page=2)