Forgot to post last night – a 1971 Mustang, parked in front of a small apartment building around the corner from my house. I think the person who lives there is a serial old car buyer. Over the past year or two I’ve seen parked in that same spot: A Model A, an early Wagoneer, a 1964 Rambler Classic, and a mid-1960s Chevy panel truck.
Today I saw a Nissan GT-R on the freeway.
Not sure of the exact year, but I’m guessing it was a 1958 or 59 Lincoln Continental sedan, in black.
On my way to Woodies on the Wharf this morning I saw 6 Cobras in a line heading over to Santa Cruz. On my way back from Woodies on the Wharf I saw a caravan of at least 50 Porsches cruise by, heading south on Highway 1.
In between, I saw a huge collection of Woodies all spread out along the Santa Cruz Wharf. Hard to pick a favorite from all the beautiful cars, but I’ll go with the 1946 Austin Hearse reimagined as a pop-up bar.
drops mic
A certain local billionaire hangars his fleet of aircraft next to the aviation museum where I work on weekends. When I drove into the parking lot this morning, our neighbor was hosting a gathering of about three dozen exotic cars for a photoshoot with the planes (and helicopters) as props. The Chiron apparently is his.
A car that cost roughly 30 times what I paid for my townhouse, maybe 300 times what I paid for my daily driver (Nissan Versa, thanks for asking), goes from zero to sixty before you can finish saying “Zero to sixty”, and with the horsepower of a WWII fighter. Jeepers, talk about wretched excess. OK, I’d still accept an invitation to drive one.
Then there were the various visiting Lambos, McClarens, Porsches, etc, but I was particularly amused by the presence of a clean Ferrari Testarossa in all its Miami Vice glory.
I’ve been in kind of a drought of really interesting cars over the past few days. Yesterday I saw a first generation Taurus, which is something you don’t see that often anymore, and that was about it.
Today I saw an old Pontiac Fiero and an early 1950s Ford pickup that had been customized and turned into a lowrider. I guess that was a little more interesting.
Indycars at Road America last weekend. They were interesting to me.
Tonight I saw what was definitely a Lamborghini, but I’m having trouble identifying exactly which model it was (as I’ve said several times before, I’m not that well versed in exotics). I thought the car I saw had pop-up headlights, and the only thing in Wikipedia’s list of Lamborghini automobiles that looks remotely like what I saw with pop-up headlights would be a 1990s Diablo. But I turned around as it passed and got a look at the back, and the back didn’t look like any of the pictures of Diablos I can find. Namely it had “Lamborghini” in a script font across the back, which doesn’t appear in any pictures of Diablos I can find. The back really looked more like a Gallardo. My best guess is that I remembered wrong and the car didn’t actually have pop-up headlights, and the car I saw was actually a Gallardo.
You can’t have it both ways, saying it was definitely a Lamborghini but you’re not well versed in exotics. If you’re saying it was a Lambo because of the badge - it was likely a Fiero or something similar with a Lamborghini-style body kit. Those kits tend to blend generations.
I saw two Dodge Vipers yesterday — and I cannot recall when’s the last time I ever saw one.
I’ve often wondered how a Porsche 356 and an MGB Mk. I (1962-1967) compare.
Yes, I identified it as a Lambo because of the badge. I guess it’s possible it was something else with a body kit, but it was a very well done one if it was. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see a real Lambo here though; this is a pretty affluent town.
Anyhow, today one of my neighbors must be out cruising around in his late 1960s Chevelle SS with no particular place to go. He’s driven past my house three times now.
Was he crusin’ and playin’ the radio?
A McLaren 570S Spyder just like the one in the picture here. Same color even… which would not be my first choice.
The MGB would fare poorly, weighed down by the extra two hundred thousand dollars its owner will still have.
I just checked, and the Porsche 356 is selling for a lot more than I remember. Still, they’re nowhere near that expensive. A nice one can cost $50,000 or more – twice as much as I remember from the early-2000s. I’ve seen fully-restored '62 to '66 MGBs sell for up to $35,000, though they can be had for $10,000. Of course, Mk.I MGBs can be had for much less, since 'B’s are one of the most-produced sports cars ever built. Anyway…
The 356C (1964-1965) had a 1.6 l, 95 hp, four-cylinder engine, and weighed up to 2,300 pounds. The Mk.I MGB (1962-1967) had a 1.8 l, 95 hp, four cylinder engine, and weighed up to 2,400 pounds. A cursory search says the Porsche has a top speed of 115 mph, and the MG has a top speed of 105 mph. But MGs were available with overdrive. A couple of weeks ago I was driving my '66 pretty fast. The speedometer is wonky, and I don’t think I hit 90 mph. But I still had plenty of power to go faster in overdrive. I’ll have to use my GPS next time I take it out, though I’m just responsible enough to not attempt to find the top speed on a public thoroughfare. At least not in Washington.
The cars have the same horsepower and similar weights. At least with overdrive in the MG, they seem to have similar speeds. My MG handles like it’s telepathic. I’ve never driven a 356; but my 911SC had telepathic handling, so I assume its precursor would handle well too.
I saw the ZERO-TH gen Taurus…the Merkur Scorpio.
If I ever take my 356 up north (near Seattle, are you Johnny?), let’s meet up, for maybe a cars & coffee kind of gathering. The value of the 356 has jumed dramatically. My wife and I have had ours since the mid-1990s and it was a little pricey back then — the choice then was to buy either a brand new Saturn SL, or a 30 year old 356.
And Johnny if you ever drive yours down to San Francisco, give me a ring, it’d be nice to meet up!
Over 100 miles north, just below the Canadian border.
I don’t trust the MG to Seattle! 
Ahh okay. I have friends on Lummi Island, and I’ve driven to there before.
So that might be a difference between the 356 and the MG. Mine is a 1963 356B, and it’s pretty reliable. I’ve driven it to Park City UT and to San Diego from San Francisco. It’s a good running car. But it’s so very old, I don’t feel protected in it, compared o cars of today. I basically drive that old Porsche like I ride my motorcycle — a bit nervous, and looking all around me at all times. Still, she’ll cruise at 90 MPH all day, just humming along.
In the mountains and under stress, the engine starts to ping. Have to back off the throttle, even with octane boost. But otherwise she’s a happy runner.