1971 Plymouth Barracuda Drag Racer

Owner says all his modifications are reversible. Apparently he can get 600+ horsepower out of that engine. This is no pretend performance car. Has been garaged for a while, but owner will soon be out racing it again.

Love the deep staggered grille openings, fine narrow fins within, shaker hood, meaty rectangular exhaust tips. Chrysler made pony cars like this one in their own excellent style. The shapes in the profile are a delight -- the long front fender, long door leading to the dramatic arch over the rear wheels, thick rear pillar smoothly rising from it, the distinctly pony car deck behind.

The blue is no exaggeration created by me or the camera. Not really visible is the emergency engine cut off handle just left of the rear licence plate.

1988 Lincoln Town Car

1970 Pontiac GTO

A little too shiny and polished for me, though this does provide interesting reflections. The GTO is a great car, one of my favourites from when I was a kid.

Interesting fenders with straight lines contrasting curved surfaces, the deeply recessed grilles bordered by squarish headlight surrounds, plus the ever important hood scoops & tachometer bulge.

1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Nice work done on this car to make it look so great. Sure, a little missing trim, but in excellent shape for an ancient but formerly very common car. There doesn't seem to be a dent in it.

This is not my favourite year for the Monte Carlo -- I think the first generation was the best (especially with fender skirts).

Still, it has those (totally useless but) dramatically sculpted fenders, that steeply raked windshield and formal roofline. The wheels are not original, but they have the correct feel. The ridges on either side of the hood leading to the turn signal enclosures, embracing the enormous looking headlights. The designers did an excellent job working within the limits of the then new laws about 5 mph bumpers etc. Only the taillights and trunk shutline between them let me down.

1977 Cadillac Sedan de Ville

I guess Cadillacs of the 70s just don't have their headlights firmly mounted. Love the vast expanse of the hood, with the large elevated section -- shrunken compared to predecessors but still present, like some inherited glandular condition. And it still has vestigial fins, 15 years after they went out of style.

Nice eroded paint on the hood and grille surround. Turn indicators actually do look elegant, as do the shapes of the wheel wells. Unlike many full sized GM vehicles of the era, the wheels & tires don't look too small for the car.

Another vehicle missing passenger side hubcaps.

1988 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z Convertible

Always found the convertible Camaros of this generation awkward looking. The notchback style forced by the roof simply did not suit it, and when the roof is down it is worse. The IROC Camaro, with all it's extra aero bits looks like a parody of itself. Just like the Corvette of the same years, it was trying too hard.

Kind of sad really that such a promising model succumbed to mismanagement.

Pininfarina #2: 1987 Cadillac Allante

Interesting shapes, subtle elegance much like it's late 80s Eldorado/Seville siblings and unlike most other Caddys I'm ever likely to feature on this blog. Love how the digital dash is almost completely blank when not operating. Also interesting is the subtle placement of the fuel door just behind the driver's door.

Regretfully not shown: the control stack next to the instruments, with 1000 black rectangular buttons + cassette deck.

The owner was very patient in allowing me access, for which I am grateful.