I can beat that- I saw a Mercury Tracer wagon of the same vintage a couple days ago.
(for the uninformed, the Tracer was the Mercury version of the Ford Escort)
After they passed away, we gave my folk’s maroon Tracer wagon to friends who were in desperate need of a car. It was the quintessential “little old lady who only drove it on weekends” car - it was my Mom’s, and she only drove it to get groceries. I think it had 56K miles on it. AFAIK, the people we gave it to are still using it.
Yesterday we were watching Lilies Of The Field (1963), Sidney Poitier drove a 1959 Plymouth Suburban Sport. I’m pretty sure my mechanic has a Plymouth Suburban in need of total restoration next to his shop.
I occasionally see a 1963 Plymouth Fury wagon in my neighborhood. It’s no show car; it’s a daily driver. The body looks straight. Running on truck tires, so it rides an inch or 2 high. Probably original paint; was light blue but now faded to almost gray.
Someone in my neighborhood has a first generation Ford Bronco in their driveway. The body looks straight, but the paint job looks pretty rough. I’m not sure if it’s a restoration project, or if the owner just likes the patina. I don’t usually mention it in this thread because I see it quite often, so it’s usually not that interesting to me. But Saturday when I walked past it there was a mannequin’s head sitting on the hood. That made for an interesting scene.
So that’s where I left it last. Outta my head, but couldn’t remember where.
Yesterday in Burien, I saw an orange, 1974 VW Beetle Cabriolet.
Around the corner from our house, there’s a silver Jaguar Mark 2 (1959-1967) parked in someone’s driveway in the rain.
Amazed it hasn’t reduced itself to a heap of iron oxide - The ‘LA’ in your name would be the ideal place for it rather than somewhere with probably even more rain than most places in the UK.
Saw a fully restored Stanley Steamer on display at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. It was smaller than I would have imagined, being the size of an average car of the period. The controls looked complex- many valves to manage.
While stopped at a red light earlier this evening a big 1960s American convertible drove past on the intersecting street. I didn’t get a great look at it, but as it drove away I could see that it had small pseudo-tailfins on the back, smaller than what Cadillacs of the era had. At first I thought maybe it was a Buick, but looking at some pictures online the 1964 Oldsmobile 98 looks closest to what I saw.
Later I saw a first generation Acura NSX.
The vehicle wasn’t that interesting, but it was decorated nicely:
Oh, how fun!
A friend drove us out to Manaport Plaza in Manassas today and we happened to park nose-to-nose with a late-model Honda owned by a Star Trek fan. The “Trekkie” (in 1337 5p34k) license plate and the communicator badge on the hood made the car interesting.
Yesterday afternoon I was in downtown Sacramento and saw a beautiful black 1950s or early 1960s Mercedes-Benz drive down the street. I’m guessing it was most likely a 120, as it looked like a fairly small car (at least small for a Mercedes), and it had the “pontoon” styling of Mercedes of that era.
No other cars in the driveway so I got a clear look at my neighbor’s 46 Pontiac.
I saw a brand-new Bentley Bentayga, still with temp tags, being driven by someone with more money than sense. I see the occasional Bentley sedan, but this is the first SUV I’ve seen. Not sure why Bentleys tend to be driven by idiots; they rarely disappoint. I always give them a wide berth, and that may answer my question.
Spring has finally sprung today. Lots and lots of good cars burbling past either on their way to, or from the nearby car wash detailing center. Today, I’ll pick the red '67 GTO convertible.
I used to pass by this '59 Mercury every day. Turn to the right and there’s a Corvette C3 as well.
Last night I saw a vintage Datsun 240Z. It looked to be in mint condition, or restored, more likely. But the most striking thing about it was just how small it was compared to every modern car. I was driving my three year old Miata in the lane next to it, and it looked small compared to my car even. The driver was sitting noticeably lower than me, and it seemed narrower too when I merged in behind it. That just goes to show how much every car has grown in the past few decades.
Last week in the parking lot of my hotel in 29 Palms: a Rolls Royce with a “KP SMOKN” license plate. There were a bunch of film production vehicles parked in the lot as well. According to the person at the front desk, Cheech and Chong and the film crew were staying at the hotel while doing a shoot in the area.
