I always wondered why these British cars from the '50s looked so much like American cars from the '20s.
A Tesla Plaid. I like that it’s markings are simple and understated.
IIRC it’s because Britain had a lot more rebuilding to do after the war than American did. So it took them longer to get around to designing new cars, so they kept the old pre-war cars in production for longer, with some minor updates.
MG started making the T series in the 1930s and stylistically they weren’t that much different from the P type and J type before them. They came out with a new model every few years (the TA through the TF) but most of the changes were mechanical. They had to shut down production after only producing a small number of TB models due to the switch to wartime production of military equipment for WWII. After the war, they didn’t have the time or resources to make any major changes, so the TC wasn’t much different than the TB. The TD had an improved suspension and some other mechanical tweaks, but stylistically the TC and TD didn’t look any different than the pre-war T series cars. The TF tilted the radiator back and added some fairings to the headlights to blend them into the fender wings. That’s probably the biggest change to the style over the entire range of the series. I guess they wanted to make it more aerodynamic to go along with its improved engine. The TF didn’t last long. It was replaced a few years later with the MGA, which does finally look like a 1950s car.
Yesterday, I saw an early (probably 1962, judging by a quick Google search) Ford Falcon. The car was painted bright red and looked “better than new”. It also had whitewall tires, but no hubcaps.
I spotted a white 1st generation Ford Mustang, probably a 1965. I couldn’t get a photo, and then later on my walk I spotted it again. Didn’t get a photo the second time either. Hard to grasp but that car is nearly 60 years old.
'nother oddball for you 'muricans:
DS - the luxury line of Citroën
I saw a very unusual car last night. I only saw it from the back, and couldn’t see the make. It was very boxy, and had a huge amount of glass - it looked like more than 50% of the height of the vehicle was window, and the pillars were very small. Like an aquarium on wheels. It was maybe a bit bigger than a Kia Soul.
Almost like this, but I don’t think this was it:
No idea on the model, but it’s a BMW, with suicide doors (at least on this side).
That’s a BMW i3. I spotted one yesterday as well.
I figured it was electric, but I couldn’t find it on their website. But I was just looking at the pictures. When it comes to BMWs I have no idea what model names go with what cars.
At our local Ford dealership to finalize some paperwork and the owner has a late 60s Ford F100 Custom Cab in absolutely gorgeous condition.
I get the feeling it’s not uncommon for car dealerships to buy an example of an old vehicle in perfect condition from whatever make they sell to put on display. My local Toyota dealership used to have a 1970s Toyota Truck (Hilux in the rest of the world) in perfect condition on display outside their service department.
Our salescritter said he drives it during the summer and winters it in the showroom.
Are the painted bumpers OEM? I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before. Looks nice though.
Not sure if it’s OEM, and it’s not common, but they are out there.
I think on some trucks back then the lowest trim got painted bumpers, while the higher trims got chrome ones. Except a low trim fleet truck wouldn’t have a two tone paint job like that. So I am assuming either 1) The bumpers started out chrome but got painted when the truck was restored (Maybe it was cheaper than having them re-chromed). Or B) The bumpers started out painted, and the truck got a nice two tone paint job when it was restored.
Also at the dealership showroom was a new F150 Raptor R, with a $115,000 sticker price and a sold tag. The guy who bought it was from upstate NY, I’m guessing it’s in high demand, but for what purpose I don’t know.
Today I drove past a shop that specializes in high end European cars. They mostly work on BMWs and Audis and similar, but sometimes you’ll see something more exotic there. Like today, I saw some crazy looking Lambo in the shop. It looked like an Aventador, but it could have been a Revuelto or a Huracan; they all look kind of similar and I don’t remember enough details to identify exactly which model it was.