A red Meyers Manx just went up the street.
That would be a fun little toy to have!
It would. Mut I already have an MGB, a YZF-R1, and I’m going to restore my XJ600. I don’t have enough space for what I have!
But if I had a Meyers Manx, I’t want it to be metal flake (not ‘metallic’) purple.
Sweet!
Have you seen the Max 2.0 EV? If it ever makes it to production it should be sick.
For anyone following along, I cleaned up that picture and ordered an aluminum print of it. Here’s the cleaned up version:
Here’s the other two aluminum prints I already have:
The first picture is a water tower, the second picture is inside the water tower looking up.
I’m pretty sure this is hot rodded 1940s Ford Tudor, not sure if it’s possible to identify the specific year.
Also, my first Nissan Ariya in the wild. It’s bigger in person than it looks in photos.
Finally, no pictures, but a black, first-generation (1964-68) Pontiac GTO, at a July 4th parade.
I believe those headlights are specific to 1940.
Here’s a better shot of the headlights.
Could be a 1940 fiberglass replica on much more recent running gear.
I saw one of the new Nissan 400Z’s driving through town today. Black with red trim. A weird color combo that didn’t really work. When I first heard about a new Z car I thought I would like them but in addition the colorblind guy in the paint booth there’s something about the weird almond-shaped headlights that don’t really fit the car, somehow. The grill is huge and there is this big blank piece of unadorned sheetmetal (well, plastic most likely) between the grill and the fenders. The headlights look too small and oddly shaped compared to the rest of the rather bold front end. Had Nissan’s designers elongated them along the fender the way Aston Marin did (see the second generation Vanquish) I think it would’ve looked much better and fit the overall dimensions of the front end more appropriately.
Overall not really a fan.
I went to the car show at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank tonight. I goes to show just how varied the car scene in SoCal is. There were the typical muscle cars and hot rods, a few “chopped and channeled” customs, some low riders, and a few oddballs which honestly were my favorites. Like a basically mint condition first generation Accord. And an Autozam AZ1. And a 1960s Ford Cortina GT (ie a British Ford, and about the only car I couldn’t id without looking at the badge).
But if I had to pick one as the most interesting, it would have to be the GAZ Volga, a Soviet car, although it looked somewhat customized.
I took pictures with my SLR camera but not my phone, so I will post them when I get home.
I haven’t seen one IRL but the pictures look pretty nice.
Agree. Different strokes and all.
Sadly, I’ll probably never buy a sports car again. I had a Nissan 240 SX that, well, maybe not really a sports car, it was really fun to drive. Same for my VW Scirrocco. I hi-powed the engine on that. It also was a blast to drive.
The 240SX is a nice car and is sporty enough.
If your Scirrocco was a 1st generation (1974-1980), that was one of my favorite cars! I loved that Giugiaro design.
Yeah, I really liked that 240 SX. Fun to drive. But not in mountain snow. Once, trying to get home in the mountains, it was a no go in snow (studded snow tires). I walked home, got my truck and towed/dragged the driverless car home up my road. This is a gravel road, and I was the only full time resident.
Yup Re: Scirrocco. I had a '77. Viper Green in color. Headers, high compression head and pistons. Different carb.
Sort of a sad story, helped a friend build that engine for his Scirrocco. He got T-boned by an AMC Matador. He was fine. His car? … not so much.
So we pulled the engine out or his destroyed car, and put it in my Scirrocco. It was quite a zippy car.
There’s a McLaren down the street from us.
I had a Chevy Caviler Z24. I used to enjoy the hell out of blowing away Mustangs off the line. Of course, they would catch up a mile down the road, but off the line, it was great!
Saw this sparkly Jeep at First Fridays yesterday:
I owned a 2003 350Z for about ten years. It was my daily driver and track car for all of that time. This is me driving at Watkins Glen (instructor in the right seat).
I had forgotten that the 400Z was coming out, so I was interested to find some pics after @Lancia mentioned it. From the side it looks very much like most of its ancestors, and I like that silhouette. It’s closer to the original 240 than my 350 was.
I see your points about the front end, but if you look at mine, you can see how the elements of the 350 evolved to the 400. I strongly suspect that the much larger grill is related to the overheating problems that the 370 had when tracked.
The grill opening is not very elegant, just a rough rectangular maw. A little more refinement would have been nice. The almond headlights don’t bother me, but they don’t wow me, either. (I wasn’t a fan of how the 370 modified the 350’s headlights.)
I’m not sure I like the rear end. My first reaction is that it looks like a 1980s Camaro.
But maybe that’s just because I’m used to the more rounded look of my 350. I might get used to it.
What I really don’t like about the 400Z are some of the horrible colors: the puke yellow-green in the pics above, a dull gray, and a white that just doesn’t seem to suit the car. I like the blue, which seems to be similar to the 350Z blue; in person, that was a stunning color that photos just didn’t do justice to. (But I loved my copper, aka “Lemans Sunset.”)
Thanks, @Lancia, for bringing me up to date with the latest Z car. I have many great memories of my time with my Z.
My son also has an '03 350Z (this is his car, not a random internet pic):
It’s showing its age a bit – it could use a paint job and needs new headlights – but it runs reliably. I personally don’t find it particularly comfortable to drive but I’m tall and wide, so that may be it. My tall and wide son says it’s fine for him, my other son, tall and skinny, says it’s uncomfortable for him. Guess it takes all kinds?
Styling wise I like it better than the new 400. The headlights, while a bit oddly shaped for my tastes, actually fit the dimensions of the car. With the 400, not so much. Again, designing the lenses to swoop back a bit down the fender would, I think, fit the aesthetics of the whole front end better. However, each generation of Z car shares some of the same DNA so I suspect the headlight design was done as a nod to the traditional design elements. At least they didn’t do something stupid like what they did with he 370’s headlights. ::insert puking emoji::
Agreed, although it doesn’t look bad, per se, just…
Yes. Unrefined. I agree in profile the car looks stunning, as most Z cars do.
This is the same color as the one I saw, although the one I saw was a glossy black; this pic makes the paint look almost matte. The red really looks weird:
If I ever win that lottery I don’t play I’m buying an OG 240Z. I probably can’t fit in one, but I want one.
Now then. On to cool cars I saw today.
First, I saw a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser First Edition in bright white.
This is their top-of-the-line trim model and the one I saw was literally brand new – still had dealer plates. Interestingly, this trim has round headlights, a nod to previous designs. The lower trim models have weird tiny square headlights which look off to me.
(I’m starting to think I’m overly judgmental when it comes to car headlight designs…)
Second, I saw what I’m pretty sure was a ’66 Bronco. It did not have the front marker lights on the fender which I think (and a quick Google search is confirming this) makes it a ’66. It looked absolutely pristine, although it was painted a kind of dusty sage green. Google is telling me that’s not an original factory color.
The headlights looked fine. If original and truly in as good shape as it looked that Bronco is perhaps worth more coin than that new Land Cruiser.
Driving to my nephew’s I noticed a neighbor of his has a Willy’s pickup in the yard.
It’s surrounded by junk so clearly not running/going anywhere, but it looked straight and all the glass / body panels appeared to be there so to my mind that would make a good winter project.
Fun story: when I was in my early teens I diligently watched Northern Exposure on CBS. In later seasons Dr. Fleischman drives a Willys pickup. I didn’t know what it was at the time but was fascinated by the design of the pickup and was curious what it was but naturally had no way to look it up or research it. Fast forward many years and my dad and I were in the tiny jerkwater town of Pomeroy, Washington between Walla Walla and Moscow, on our way to Montana. We were filling up at a Cenex station when I spied one of those pickups in a junk yard across the street. “Dad! What’s that pickup??” He tells me, and I write it down (this was pre internet, of course). 30 years later I still love the design of those pickups and yes, would love to own one.
Interestingly, across the street was someone who had what appeared to be a first generation IH Scout 80 – short wheelbase with a pickup bed, which I think was only available on the 80.
Random internet pic:
It looked pretty beat up but was parked in the driveway next to a minivan, not surrounded by junk, so maybe was a regular driver.