July 2021 Car Spotting

[oldshurst442]

Ive been visiting Canadian Tire a lot lately.  But with good reason. Its been a place to see hot cars in the parking lot. 

Ferrari 812 Superfast

 

I asked permission to photograph his car. A young guy. In his 40s.  

WHAT A SOUND THIS THING MAKES!!!   Ferrari V12s are AWESOME!!! 

 

[Robert Hall]

Was out and about yesterday and saw a clean red '67 Impala 2dr fastback, a white '68 Cadillac convertible rolling top down, and a red '50s MG TC top down. 

[Robert Hall]

Saw a really clean, sharp black late 80s Firebird Formula w/ Rally wheels and the T-tops off parked this afternoon.  

[Robert Hall]

Saw a minty dark red w/ dark red top 1990-ish Cadillac Fleetwood (the stretched downsized C-body w/ fender skirts) with a couple that looked to be in their 80s...

Saw a guy about 75 or so loading groceries in a bright yellow C8 w/ chrome wheels at the grocery.  

 

[David]

Wife took these for me when we were out on Saturday checking in on her friend.

[balthazar]

That an MG badge? Oldie.

[David]

2 minutes ago, balthazar said:

That an MG badge? Oldie.

Yes, an MG badge, wife tried to get a pic of the side when turning, but messed up so no other pictures, but appeared to be a true oil burning MG.

[Robert Hall]

Looks like an MGA.  A buddy in high school drove his Dad’s one occasionally.  Was dark green w/ wire wheels IIRC. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I was on the motorcycle so I couldn't get a pic... but this morning I saw a Ford Transit with GMC badging on it.

I looked at it and it didn't register, and then a half mile away I'm like 

[oldshurst442]

Its been a long time since an interesting car coming through my drive-thru. But today I served a gentleman in his 60s driving an air cooled Porsche 911.

Brown coupe from the early 1970s I assume.  Light tan interior.  I assume that it was from the 1970s because the seat fabric had a weird pattern to them.  Fuchs wheels.  

I didnt ask him about his car. I did say to him that I liked his 911.  He looked like he could be a doctor so I asked him if he was. He said close, dentist.  

So...a dentist with a brown 1970s Porsche 911 coupe came by to have a couple of hot dogs today.   He made my day.  

 

 

 

[David]

So here at my local caddy dealership which used to be a Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac dealership. Building is the same as it was since they built it back in the 50's. Now they are finally going to remodel into a 21st century luxury dealership.

A great assortment of older auto's on the lot either employee owned , in for service or for sale.

Employee owned

In for service

Used for sale

New 2021 for sale.

Wow, only 3 new Escalade,  4 new cars and 2 new cuvs on the lot, about 50 or so used and the used are selling at new prices. 
Crazy, they just sold a 2yr old used Toyota Rav 4 XLE hybrid for 52K, sold new T $49k. I had seen the stories,  but now is not the time to buy an auto. Crazy used prices due to the chip shortage.

Yup, here killing time as I await my oil change.

[balthazar]

Seems like Brotherton didn't pick up Pontiac until very late ('06), when they bought out a 'local Pontiac-GMC dealer' - David; might you know the name of this bought out Pontiac store in Renton?

 

[David]

37 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Seems like Brotherton didn't pick up Pontiac until very late ('06), when they bought out a 'local Pontiac-GMC dealer' - David; might you know the name of this bought out Pontiac store in Renton?

 

From what I remember we had the following dealerships that covered Pontiac:

Westlund Pontiac, Buick & GMC in Seattle WA

Dick Lewis Pontiac & Cadillac Olympia WA

Valley Pontiac, Buick GMC which was bought out by Brotherton and moved from Auburn WA to Renton WA.

Seaview Pontiac, Buick GMC Lynnwood WA

No old image as they remodeled the place about a decade ago.

I know there were more Pontiac dealerships than this in Washington state, but these were the ones I was aware of due to family / friends that lived in these areas.

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, David said:

Dick Lewis Pontiac & Cadillac Olympia WA

 

Also: 

[balthazar]

4 hours ago, David said:

know there were more Pontiac dealerships than this in Washington state

Probably closer to 150 than 100 (over the years).

Edited July 9, 2021 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Saw a black Lincoln MKS with the license plate 'GNX'.  Since it wasn't a Buick, I assume maybe someone's initials---like Gene Norbert Xavier or something like that.

[Robert Hall]

Sitting at the edge of a Wal-Mart lot was this Shelby GT500.  I like the black with stripe delete color scheme over the usual day glo cartoon colors these seem to come in.  

Edited July 10, 2021 by Robert Hall

[David]

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Sitting at the edge of a Wal-Mart lot was this Shelby GT500.  I like the black with stripe delete color scheme over the usual day glo cartoon colors these seem to come in.  

Always amazes me that people will buy an expensive nice car and yet cannot seem to park square in the parking spot to maximize safety while minimizing dings.

[surreal1272]

So I accidentally posted this to the June thread insets of this one and I too lazy to do it all over again here.

 

[oldshurst442]

Just came back from my daughter's softball game tonight in a posh suburb of Montreal.  Kirkland.  Yeah, like the Costco brand. 

Came across lots and lots of new Audis of all kinds. In drive-ways, on the road...   More than usual sightings.   3 of the bigger SUVs,  3 of the smaller CUVs, 1 A5, 2 A7s and bunch of A3s and A4s.  (Not the interesting stuff I wanna share) 

The house neighboring the baseball field had 2 Mercedes E Class sedans in the drive-way.  A 2019-ish model and a 2015-ish one.  Both white.  (NOT the interesting stuff I wanna share either...) 

As the game was being played and we were at bats, and I was the 1st base coach...

A nice blue Corvette C6 Z06 drove by...  and of course I acknowledged it by yelling out CORVETTE Z06!!!  I was lucky that the pitch was already pitched and the catcher was throwing it back to her pitcher....   But I did get some weird glances my way from both of my girls and the opposing team's girls...

Oh well!   A single Corvette in a sea of drab Audis, Ill take the judgmental looks of 'WTF are you saying?' any time!!!

[trinacriabob]

I saw a Mercury Milan in the supermarket parking lot - silver, 4 cylinder (no V6 badge), no noticeable weathering from the elements.

The guy told me it was a 2008.  And that it had 150,000 miles.  Original and original powertrain.

I remember how much I liked those when I was car shopping - dignified looking with good road manners.

How interesting that, for some of us, we've seen the transition from disposable 4 cylinders to borderline heirloom 4 cylinders.

[trinacriabob]

@balthazar

Speaking of the devil, I hadn't seen one of these in a long time.

These sure were different.

[trinacriabob]

Seen in a supermarket parking lot over the weekend ...

[balthazar]

6 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Speaking of the devil, I hadn't seen one of these in a long time.

Some kind of aftermarket package- there's chrome 'straps' on the deck, big grille topper and that halo vinyl top isn't factory (tho it looks nice).

I can still picture this: was over an acquaintances house once after school, walked across the lawn; their driveway was 'cut into' the terrain, so when you walked up to toward the driveway your feet would be about 2 feet higher than the driveway. There was a brand new Seville, all red metallic, and it had the thicker brushed Elegante' sweepspear down the side. From above, in profile, it looked amazing.

[trinacriabob]

I had to take one anyway I could photograph one.  This one also had a horrible aftermarket hood ornament.

I just thought it was timely since we had been discussing Sevilles within the last few days.  I looked at the first-gens on line and it confirmed how much I liked them.  I just wish I knew photoshop to play with the roofline, the rear taillamps, and a few minor things.  

I thought the first-gen dashboard was interesting.  It was a mixture of clean and a little too driver focused at the expense of the front seat passenger.  The climate controls are to the left of the steering wheel.  Other controls are not centered and favor the driver.  Still, I liked the zoned, blockier volumes of Cadillac dashboards in those years and that they were starting to inset warning lamps and gauges into the upper part of the cowl.

What a success story and how quickly the consuming public bought into the "baby Cadillac," as it was called.

Really nice seating set-up for a Cadillac of those years.  Maybe switch out the leather for cloth.  I'd be perfectly happy to have this as a daily driver.

[David]

Was unable to take a picture, but saw a California Special Edition red Mustang late 60's getting off the freeway today.

Looked very much like this one I found on Bing Images.

Other thing I noticed was a Chevrolet Suburban with Cadillac taillights. Seems to be a trend lately as I also snapped a pic of a GMC that had them too.

[balthazar]

Spotless '57 Bel Air hardtop, red, cruisin'. 

[trinacriabob]

Spotted on July 14 while doing some errands.  I didn't see many of these, even when new.

In excellent shape.

[trinacriabob]

Spotted on July 23 at a gas station:

Beautiful 1987 Caprice Classic.  The front fender badge indicates a 4.3 liter (Vortec) V6 with TBI.   Its driver told me that he had recently purchased it and had less than 45,000 miles!

Interesting color combo.  Not one most people would think of. 

Many power accessories.  And a really nice, up-level interior (compared to the more staid standard seats that probably came with this model) to keep you comfortable on a long road trip. 

I took these photos while my car was being fueled.  I couldn't pass on this one. Wow.

[Robert Hall]

On my way back from the grocery this morning saw a sharp red w/ white top '62 Catalina convertible backing out of a driveway...rumbled off with a growl.  Had big (maybe 20 inch) chrome blingy wheels which seemed out of place w/ the gray haired boomer driving it...

 

Also earlier at the pet supply store saw a row of a dozen or so Mustangs lined up at the distant edge of the parking lot...ranging from a '68 coupe to a current GT350, with several modded Fox and SN95 ones...must have been a car club cruising somewhere..heard them rumbling off as I came out of the store..

 

At the Dunkin drivethru saw a new Kia Carnival, first I’d seen.  Kind of looks like crossover between a minivan and a crossover…

Edited July 31, 2021 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Terminally ill big boy: 
 

[trinacriabob]

Spotted yesterday, on the very last day of July 2021 ...

It had @balthazar written all over it.

I wasn't expecting this.  I had to pull over.

I am guessing it's after the "Bonnie and Clyde" days, but maybe not by much

It already came this way.

[trinacriabob]

Also spotted yesterday ...

^ As Nancy Reagan would have said, "Just say no."

^ Just say yes, except to the ridiculous hood ornament.  This guy did a great job of keeping this old school Coupe de Ville true to form in all other aspects. Great old school black - red pinstriping - black vinyl top - burgundy interior combination. You should have seen how grand this car looked as it was pulling in to the service station.

[balthazar]

• I believe Bonnie & Clyde perished in a '34 Ford.  That patriotically-colored Packard is a '48-50.

12 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

You should have seen how grand this car looked as it was pulling in to the service station.

Cadillacs should be large. Or... there should always be a large Cadillac sedan.
And I'm not talking about a mere 205"- that's  an intermediate/compact.

[trinacriabob]

I spotted a fair number of unusual cars yesterday.

Here were some at the same place, which was closed by the time I drove by on a Saturday evening.

Funkily modified Bel Air convertible

A Cadillac Allante convertible

- - - - -

A Camaro Berlinetta - late '70s to early '80s ...

Side view - wire wheel covers ? hard pass - in great shape

For a wedding invitation?  Yes.  For a Camaro?  No.  Come to think of it, the Firebird Esprit of the same years also used cursive badging.

This unit is not air conditioned.  Crank windows!  And, the dumbed down climate control is to the left of the driver.  Under the hood must be a Saturday mechanic's dream.

Camaro and Berlinetta inscriptions, along with some pinstriping

If that's one tailpipe at the left, it could be a 250 in-line 6.  If there's another one, it's probably a 305 V8.  Because I'm not sure of the year, there could have been a 231 even firing V6 or the small Chevy 4.4 V8 at the very end of this model run. 

I got into this car because I had one of these, although not a Berlinetta, for a couple of years.  It was fun to drive and it was a comfortable car up front.  It was a second car I had alongside one of my Cutlasses.

Edited August 2, 2021 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

The last spotting yesterday, in the evening while refueling.  A Buick Roadmaster sedan in very nice condition.  The guy told me it was a 1992. 

I'm not a fan of the roof treatment.  Maybe in Palm Beach ...

It had the corporate GM 5.7 V8 that I believe was the Chevrolet design and not the Olds design.

I prefer the '94 to '96 Chevrolet Caprices to this model if going the large RWD route.

[oldshurst442]

^^^   Yes...the Corvette's LT1

I also prefer the Caprice over the Roadmaster. The Impala SS over all of them.  I also liked the Fleetwood Brougham.  

1. Impala SS

2. Caprice Classic

3. Fleetwood Brougham

4. Roadmaster

 

I didnt like the the wagons all that much then, but I dig them today. 

 

[balthazar]

Saw a gloss black '21 Escalade Sport, parking facing my direction, the DRL blades lit up. Looked SO sinister.

[trinacriabob]

On 8/2/2021 at 12:00 AM, oldshurst442 said:

^^^   Yes...the Corvette's LT1

I also prefer the Caprice over the Roadmaster. The Impala SS over all of them.  I also liked the Fleetwood Brougham.  

1. Impala SS

2. Caprice Classic

3. Fleetwood Brougham

4. Roadmaster

 

I didnt like the the wagons all that much then, but I dig them today. 

We think a lot alike.  The main difference is that I would omit the Impala SS from my list and start with the Caprice Classic.  The Impala SS was too flashy for my taste and wouldn't have suited me ... then or now.  I also agree with you on the wagons, with the Olds rendition of the last full-size wagon easily winning that hand.

[oldshurst442]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

We think a lot alike.  The main difference is that I would omit the Impala SS from my list and start with the Caprice Classic.  The Impala SS was too flashy for my taste and wouldn't have suited me ... then or now.  I also agree with you on the wagons, with the Olds rendition of the last full-size wagon easily winning that hand.

The Impala SS fills(ed) my muscle car desires.

I dont think Canada ever got the Olds Custom Cruiser on that final B Body.  I got to learn that it even existed sometime in 2010 or so when I joined Motor Trend forums.  

My initial thought about that final B Body Olds Custom Cruiser was that it was a shame that Oldsmobile didnt get a sedan version too.    It would have been #2 on my list if Olds had sedan. 

Therefore, I would have to say that that the Olds custom Cruiser would be #1.  And surprisingly, the Buick Roadmaster wagon would be #2 and the Caprice wagon at #3.