August 2021 Car Spotting

[David]

Kicking this off as I saw a brand new Cadillac Escalade sport edition all Matte Black. I suspect a custom paint job as I do not see Matte paint on the option list of the web site. New purchase from my local Cadillac dealership I go too.

Plenty of blah appliance auto's today, but one consistent observation, so much body damage on 1 and 2 year old auto's from corners of the bumpers crushed in to side swipes. Very weird especially as I saw a number of subcompacts from Honda Fit to Mini with this kind of damage today as I ran to Costco.

[balthazar]

Local Chevy dealer has almost no inventory.
One brand new '21 Silverado W/T; regular cab / long bed, 4WD but stamped steel 17" rims, refrigerator white. Sticker was $33K, but has a 'market adjustment' addition of another $3K.

Edited August 8, 2021 by balthazar

[Robert Hall]

Saw a very clean turquoise w/ black top ‘68-69 Buick Skylark 2dr ht in traffic twice this afternoon, tried to get a pic the 2nd time I saw it..a bit distant, making a left turn. 

[balthazar]

Dark blue ‘71-72 Olds 442 convertible on the interstate, mint restoration.

[Robert Hall]

Saw a weird crash scene this evening.  On I-77 southbound saw a late model BMW 5-Series up close against the left median lane divider.  Flashers on, no signs of damage, but all the side curtain airbags had popped.  Driver was sitting on the divider on the phone.  Came back past about 3 hours later, and it was sitting in the same spot on a rollback wrecker, and drivers side looked fine, no sign of damage, but the curtain air bags popped.   Faulty airbag sensors? 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Robert Hall

[surreal1272]

On 8/7/2021 at 9:11 PM, balthazar said:

Local Chevy dealer has almost no inventory.
One brand new '21 Silverado W/T; regular cab / long bed, 4WD but stamped steel 17" rims, refrigerator white. Sticker was $33K, but has a 'market adjustment' addition of another $3K.

Interestingly enough, the Chevrolet deanship near my work has a reasonable amount of inventory (although it's not a very large dealership). What's really odd is that they've had the same four C8 Vettes there for the last three weeks. Strange times.

[trinacriabob]

Spotted August 8

When finned and "truly" full-size Cadillacs were still a little bit garish ...

Front grille

Side view

Interesting but nasty color ...

[David]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Spotted August 8

When finned and "truly" full-size Cadillacs were still a little bit garish ...

Front grille

Side view

Interesting but nasty color ...

Would be a lovely car with a new paintjob. If that was shiny with clear coat it would probably look amazing.

[oldshurst442]

^^^  I like the colour.   Green on this era Cadillac makes it stately in my opinion. 

 

Couple that with a green interior and its a winner for me. 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

I saw yesterday, in pretty decent condition, a late '80s early '90s Chrysler New Yorker.  The pop-up lights looked like they werent working and they were in the 'up' position. 

It was white, no visible rust.  Nothing exciting about it other than seeing a relic of the past.  I hadnt seen one since before the '90s decade was up.

[trinacriabob]

Or like this one ...

[David]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Or like this one ...

Awesome Car, AWESOME MOVIE!

[oldshurst442]

I was on a playdate today. With an employee's father who had a convertible C6 Corvette.  I had thought that it was a Z06 badge on the side of it a while back when I posted seeing, but in fact it was a Z51 badge. 

Well, he sold it privately and got himself a.....C8 Corvette.   2021.

He had to jump through hoops to get it. None in Quebec were available. All sold out. He gad to fetch it in Saint John's Newfoundland. But couldnt because of Covid restrictions. He had it shipped by ship...to Quebec City to another Chevy dealer  But couldnt fetch it there either. Covid restrictions.   So had it transported by truck to another dealer. Had to pay extra monies to have it shipped to these dealers. But all in all, the transaction price was NOT higher than MSRP.  

However, it wasnt the trim level he wanted. His is a 1LT base Stingray. He wanted another Z51, but beggars cant be choosers with a hot and rare commodity that is a C8 Corvette in Quebec and in Canada generally. 

White with a red interior. Red seats. Red stitching. BEAUTIFUL. But there is no wing. The mags are plain. The only option I think are red brake calipers that have the Corvette name on them. Basic but beautiful. 

So...I spent the entire day with him and his Corvette. Two middle aged men having the time of their lives.  Bonding of our love affair of cars.  Talking about Corvettes, but other muscle machines as well. 

We spent it in the Laurentians.  He let me drive it. I fed him steak and beer and chicken wings.  You know...manly food. Ahem....   

It turned out to be a Thelma and Louise kinda day. (without the sexual abuse, killings, runnin' from the cops and ultimately jumping off a canyon...) 

 

 

 

[balthazar]

^ That ‘64 above is stately, not garish. 

- - - - -
An actual 4-dr coupe : 
 

[trinacriabob]

25 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

I was on a playdate today. With an employee's father who had a convertible C6 Corvette.  I had thought that it was a Z06 badge on the side of it a while back when I posted seeing, but in fact it was a Z51 badge. 

Well, he sold it privately and got himself a.....C8 Corvette.   2021.

He had to jump through hoops to get it. None in Quebec were available. All sold out. He gad to fetch it in Saint John's Newfoundland. But couldnt because of Covid restrictions. He had it shipped by ship...to Quebec City to another Chevy dealer  But couldnt fetch it there either. Covid restrictions.   So had it transported by truck to another dealer. Had to pay extra monies to have it shipped to these dealers. But all in all, the transaction price was NOT higher than MSRP.  

However, it wasnt the trim level he wanted. His is a 1LT base Stingray. He wanted another Z51, but beggars cant be choosers with a hot and rare commodity that is a C8 Corvette in Quebec and in Canada generally. 

White with a red interior. Red seats. Red stitching. BEAUTIFUL. But there is no wing. The mags are plain. The only option I think are red brake calipers that have the Corvette name on them. Basic but beautiful. 

So...I spent the entire day with him and his Corvette. Two middle aged men having the time of their lives.  Bonding of our love affair of cars.  Talking about Corvettes, but other muscle machines as well. 

We spent it in the Laurentians.  He let me drive it. I fed him steak and beer and chicken wings.  You know...manly food. Ahem....   

It turned out to be a Thelma and Louise kinda day. (without the sexual abuse, killings, runnin' from the cops and ultimately jumping off a canyon...) 

@oldshurst442 Hilarious story.  Cruising around the Laurentians in the most recent of Corvettes without any of the brittle Thelma and Louise bull5h!+.  

Wow.  I guess he got it prior to the opening of the borders.  The Canadian border opened to (some of) us on August 9 but the converse is not true for the U.S.  And he couldn't go to Quebec City - in the same province - to pick up his Corvette?

I like how you describe the craftsmanship.  Sounds nice.  I think a silver one with the red interior goes to the top of the heap for me in Corvette land.  So, how does the new Corvette drive and ride after being behind the wheel of one?

17 minutes ago, balthazar said:

^ That ‘64 above is stately, not garish. 
 

I only began to like the full-size Cadillac once they got rectangular lamps up front and became more slab sided.  They kept the stateliness but also picked up some "less is more" in the process.

[oldshurst442]

43 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

@oldshurst442 Hilarious story.  Cruising around the Laurentians in the most recent of Corvettes without any of the brittle Thelma and Louise bull5h!+.  

Wow.  I guess he got it prior to the opening of the borders.  The Canadian border opened to (some of) us on August 9 but the converse is not true for the U.S.  And he couldn't go to Quebec City - in the same province - to pick up his Corvette?

I like how you describe the craftsmanship.  Sounds nice.  I think a silver one with the red interior goes to the top of the heap for me in Corvette land.  So, how does the new Corvette drive and ride after being behind the wheel of one?

 

 

Yeah...finally that American-Canadian border is open! 

Yeah...there was a time, just a couple of months ago actually, that Quebec was divided into regions and one person couldn't cross into a different region...  Especially if one came from a red zone.  Montreal was a red zone when he got his Vette in May.  

 

 

[trinacriabob]

On 8/9/2021 at 1:21 PM, oldshurst442 said:

I saw yesterday, in pretty decent condition, a late '80s early '90s Chrysler New Yorker.  The pop-up lights looked like they werent working and they were in the 'up' position. 

It was white, no visible rust.  Nothing exciting about it other than seeing a relic of the past.  I hadnt seen one since before the '90s decade was up.

I also get a kick out of seeing the "Knight Rider" years of Firebird on the road.  There aren't many left.  Some of them are pretty messed up. 

And, like you say, you see the pop-up headlamps in the up position or, even worse, you have one up and one down!  I wonder what the repair bill looks like to fix a pop-up headlamp that isn't popping correctly.

[oldshurst442]

10 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I also get a kick out of seeing the "Knight Rider" years of Firebird on the road.  There aren't many left.  Some of them are pretty messed up. 

And, like you say, you see the pop-up headlamps in the up position or, even worse, you have one up and one down!  I wonder what the repair bill looks like to fix a pop-up headlamp that isn't popping correctly.

There are a couple of Camaros and 1 Firebird of that era around my area.   I think...all of them, with their V6 base engines.   I am sure of the Firebird and one of the Camaros as that Camaro has a Berlinetta badge on it. The other Camaro, I cannot tell. But it aint an IROC, therefore it could have the 5.0 middle offering...  

Electric motors on pop-up head lights?  Couple hundred dollars at least to replace the motors.  

Edited August 12, 2021 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

Saw this derelict ‘70s Fiat Spider on a transporter today..

[balthazar]

Too nice for the HD lot. 
 

This euro trash is fine for picking up bags of mulch tho : 

[Robert Hall]

‘55 Chevy in the parking lot at Marblehead Lighthouse on Lake Erie. 

Also saw a sharp purple '57 Bel Air 2dr ht on the road, a gorgeous red '64 Bonneville convertible top down rolling along, a white w/ blue stripes  '04-05 Ford GT, and a very clean red w/ red interior '87-89 Mustang GT convertible. 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

I was on the freeway, so couldn't take a photo.  We should all be scanning our surroundings and rear view mirrors when we drive.  (I know ... I am not your mother.)  So, earlier today, I saw this unusual front grille a ways back in my rear view mirror.  It was one of the less popular mid-'70s Cutlasses with a sloped front ... a Cutlass S.  I expected it to be a coupe and have the triangular window and a fastback rear back lite.  Not.

It was a sedan.  That was rare.  It was in really good condition.  With the cursive lettering in the back, it was a '76 and not a '77.  As it pulled away from me (possibly a 350 V8), it had a rear sway bar.  It was almost exactly like the one in this photo:

What were they thinking? Who'd be taking this car with wheel covers and whitewalls into some rugged Western canyon?

[Robert Hall]

^ I knew about the sloped nose used on the ‘76-77 fastback coupes, but didn’t realize the 4dr was available with it.  Fascinating.  I wonder if there was a wagon with that nose also? 

[trinacriabob]

11 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

^ I knew about the sloped nose used on the ‘76-77 fastback coupes, but didn’t realize the 4dr was available with it.  Fascinating.  I wonder if there was a wagon with that nose also? 

I am going to say no, but am not 100% sure.  Because they would have had to cant the grille in the Century wagons of the same year!  I think BOP mid-size wagons all had vertical grilles.  For down line models, they were just less trimmed up and hood ornaments may have been omitted.

[balthazar]

This is one of the 2 big sales brochure sites- good one to bookmark as these question come up here periodically... and I just don't retain 70's stuff as much as earlier.
https://www.lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

'77 shows only one mid-size (Cutlass-based) wagon, the Vista Cruiser, and it has a vertical grille.

[trinacriabob]

@balthazar  What a great link!  I wonder how much time I'll be spending there.

[bobo]

Last week I saw a Lincoln Mark V with a personalized plate with something like "79 MARK V."  It appeared in excellent condition.  Nice to see something of that vintage still on the road.

[trinacriabob]

I had forgotten all about these, and how the sedans were handled!  The wagons were handled similarly.

Here, the '76 has more of a uniform eggcrate grille.

But the '77 has nicer horizontal lines in the grille.  Note that this one is badged as being powered by the V6!

- - - - -

The converse was true for the coupes.  The '76 had a cleaner grille and the '77 had too much horizontal chrome trim at the top of the grille.

It looks like they didn't do much to the sheetmetal of the sedans and wagons in 1973-1977, while they spent a little more money on cleaning up the colonnade coupes in 1976 and 1977.  That investment paid some dividends via big upticks in popularity.

[Robert Hall]

And with the Buick’s, there were two different coupe front ends.  The Regal had a chrome vertical grille, and the Century and Special 2drs had a sloped back front (and was used in NASCAR). 

[balthazar]

^ Pretty sure that's why the 'slope nosed' front ends came about- NASCAR. Everybody was running intermediates in that era, and although not exclusive, there were plenty of the 'sloped-nose' cars in speedway racing. 

It's also why the '80s Monte Carlo SS AeroCoupe and the Grand Prix 2+2 were built.

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

And with the Buick’s, there were two different coupe front ends.  The Regal had a chrome vertical grille, and the Century and Special 2drs had a sloped back front (and was used in NASCAR). 

Right, so three grilles each year:  sedans and wagons had the one above, Regals, always with a formal roofline, had the vertical Parthenon-like grille, and Century and Special models had the sloped back grille. 

What was interesting is that they made some Century models with the formal roofline and gave them the sloped back grille.  Most of them were trimmed out in a sportier way, with very few trimmed out in up-level cloth and wire wheels.  I could see these models being amended for NASCAR. I vaguely remember that.

Still, my favorite Regal of these 2 years would have been the Regal S/R, by a long shot.

Burgundy (manual windows)

Tan (and in a junkyard, per how the door is thrashed)

That trestle shifter was the best of the quadruplets with buckets in those years.

[trinacriabob]

Saw this yesterday.  I'm going along the interstate in Appalachia.  Coming the other way (north) was a flatbed truck carrying a large object with a familiar shape ... the curved roof, the orange/red/blue striping ... was I dreaming?

It was an old MARTA rail car.  Where was it going?  And why?  Toward PA or upstate NY?  To be recycled or repurposed?  

Then, about 2 minutes later, I saw another one, so I was not dreaming.

I could not possibly take a photo.  But I looked and found the exact same situation, uploaded onto RailPictures-dot-net back in 2006, so a nod to that site and its uploader.  Too funny.

I used to ride this system and these rail cars daily for 2 years in my 20s.

[trinacriabob]

I saw a newish Armada today.  That thing is a bombastic tub of lard.  What were they thinking?

Within half an hour, I saw a Juke, and was studying its ugly and oddly placed lamps.

I realized that Nissan makes some ugly vehicles.

[Robert Hall]

Good morning for spotting vintage GMs in good shape.  Saw a sharp black w/ black top '75-76 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a clean brown w/ tan top '78-79 Buick Electra coupe, and a clean bright red late 80s Camaro IROC-Z.   Also saw a sharp bright medium blue C8 Corvette Z51. 

[trinacriabob]

I was in a small town with a historical downtown and, without expecting to see this, there was an informal auto show of sorts on Saturday, August 21.

1) I don't know what this is, but it was ominous ...

2) I don't know what this is, but it was humorous ...

3) Ford Thunderbird ... possibly a '64 (?) ... I didn't ask

4) Chevy full-size coupe ... possibly a '61 ... I didn't look to see if it was an Impala, a Biscayne, or a Bel Air ... the original engine was no longer in there; this is a now Chevy 350

5) Cadillac '64 REAR WHEEL DRIVE (the last year for RWD) Eldorado ... WOW ...  the color, one of the "firemist" series, is the one that was originally on the car ... white bench with fold down armrest ... real wood applique ... and 429 V8.  The owner knew the Cadillac brand thoroughly ... from then to now!

End of photos in this post

[trinacriabob]

This was also at that "car show" on the street and I'm giving it separate billing.  This family had purchased this Buick LeSabre for their son years ago, and it was a family project.

Some humorous things on this one ...

I guessed it was either a '77 or a '78.  It is a '79.

Not sure which LeSabre trim level ... probably up from the base model.  Manual windows but air conditioned.  The brushed silver dials on this model were cool, as is the imposing full-size dash, and shared with the Electra and the "grafted on" Riviera on the coupe platform for '77 and '78.  I am not a fan of the dice and never will be.

The tray with the shakes and malts is funny.  It screams, "Trans Am ... what's your pleasure?"

This inscription takes the cake!  The engine is original.  Its pulley configuration is Buick.  Even though Olds 350 V8s and Olds 403 V8s made it into these cars, most likely into California bound ones, these folks weren't going to have that, it seemed.  This is the Buick 350 V8.  Affirmative, per the car's owner.

[trinacriabob]

Then, you'll have sightings like this on the same day to let the air out of the balloon ...

Subaru ... at least it wasn't a wagon

A boot ... haven't seen one in a long time ... I'm guessing this wasn't the first offense

[Robert Hall]

^ Some interesting cars there...the humpy lumpy red car w/ the side opening hood is an 40s Buick.   They used that style hood into the 50s.  The Eldorado is a '66 (last year of the RWD Eldorado).   I think the '65-66 Eldorados were convertibles only.  the white Chevy 2dr sedan is a '60, looks like a low trim level--Biscayne or Bel Air I think. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Eldorado was convertible-only from '61-66. 
The one above has aftermarket rub strips down the sides- I always like the Eldos because they don't have that (the lower stainless is factory). Very rare in these years- only 2,250 built in '66.

You can't believe how beautiful the ride is in this era Cadillac; I slipped into a cloud dimension taking this for a spin a few years ago: 

[trinacriabob]

Spotted August 22

It said Caprice Classic on the rear deck lid, even though it has Impala SS embossed on the rear fenders.  This appears to a 1996 and, with dual exhaust, appears to have the Chevy 5.7L V8 under the hood.  It's a 25 year old car.  People are hanging onto these!

[Robert Hall]

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

Eldorado was convertible-only from '61-66. 
The one above has aftermarket rub strips down the sides- I always like the Eldos because they don't have that (the lower stainless is factory). Very rare in these years- only 2,250 built in '66.

You can't believe how beautiful the ride is in this era Cadillac; I slipped into a cloud dimension taking this for a spin a few years ago: 

About 10 years ago, I got to ride to lunch in a coworker's '69 Sedan de Ville he inherited from his grandparents.   Silver blue 4dr ht.  We went out to lunch in it, said it was quite different to drive compared to his Camry.  I remember it being very, very quiet and smooth.  Seemed as quiet as a modern luxury car...and vast and empty inside w/ bench seats.  Lots of hood to look out over...

Edited August 30, 2021 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

Spotted August 25

Based on the size of the lettering of the Oldsmobile badge in the back, this is anywhere from a 2000 to a 2002 model Intrigue.  If original, it definitely has the 3.5 L high feature (all aluminum - block and head) V6 in those years.  So, this is a 19 to 21 year old car that's holding up reasonably well.  I remember when I was set on buying an Intrigue!  I miss not snagging a very last Olds vehicle, but am also happy that I put it off and have a dependable car with the even better Series III 3800 V6.

[trinacriabob]

Spotted August 26 while doing errands

Taken while outside

From the inside, as it began to drive off ... got it.

- - - - -

Is the grass always greener?  In this case, the wallet is for sure.

[balthazar]

^ Incredibly underwhelming.
I see these all the time by me.
Wonder why they didn't try anything aspirational or remotely dynamic for the exterior.

[David]

How do people consider this luxury? 

[oldshurst442]

5 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Spotted August 22

It said Caprice Classic on the rear deck lid, even though it has Impala SS embossed on the rear fenders.  This appears to a 1996 and, with dual exhaust, appears to have the Chevy 5.7L V8 under the hood.  It's a 25 year old car.  People are hanging onto these!

THAT is a mystery waiting to be solved...

Its got Caprice mags.  

I dont know what the face looks like, but it does look like its got a hood ornament.  The rear quarters DO say Impala SS and the C Pillar has that Impala SS kink. 

The Caprice had that triangular peak.

But wait on a second...

From I think 1995, the Caprice ditched that C Pillar design and gained the Impala kink and the lights in the back...

 And so in that mystery pick...we could see that the lights have chrome around them and the Impala SS was DEVOID of chrome trim in the backlights. 

I think that this car was a Caprice and was accidented and was repaired with Impala SS  rear fenders .

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

The gold car is a Caprice that someone inexplicably added Impala SS badges to.  The quarter window opening was changed in '95 so the '95-96 Caprice Impala SS both had that 'kink'...(the '94 Impala SS had some plastic there).  Those look like '91-92 Caprice LTZ wheels. 

The real Impala SS was only available a few colors--black, dark red, and a gray blue IIRC...

Edited August 31, 2021 by Robert Hall

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, David said:

How do people consider this luxury? 

The badge. 

[trinacriabob]

@oldshurst442 and @Robert Hall - I like the kink in the rear sail panel.  The treatment in 1994, and before, was ugly.  That's what some friends of my parents must have had.  It was a big white base model that was a "hippo on wheels," as I've heard them called. 

Caprices of the '90s had to be the right year, the right colors, and trimmed out in certain ways to make them attractive sedans.

[Robert Hall]

Another change they made was in 1994 to open up the rear wheel wells.  Made the car look less bloated than the low cut 91-93 opening.