1983 Hyundai Pony

Ah yeah a classy econobox you just don't see any more. Good to see someone is still putting it to good use. It fits right in with it's surroundings. Don't think they used the same paint on the concrete though.

1971 Ford Maverick 4 Door

I was severely tempted to tag this "malaise", it would completely fit but this car pre-dates the era.

Oh that yellow! Has to be original (though repainted). Note also the lock mechanism hanging out of the door, the oddly sharp ridge running the length of the side, those dark/bright hubcaps. And the profile is so like a Challenger/Barracuda, though a Maverick is as similar to those as it is to the cars that surround this example.

1981 Oldsmobile Omega

1986 Plymouth Reliant Wagon

Note the Chrysler pentagon but Plymouth labelling (held on by metal fasteners), with all other badges completely missing, the wipers wrapped in newspaper.

Also the banal hubcaps, egg crate grille, the vast glass area / narrow pillars. I took a shot of the "Buckle Up For Safety" sticker in the window, but exactly this shot appears on "The Street Peep".

1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham

This car is not what you think of when you think "Cutlass".

This strange mule is just the sort of hidden classic that should be celebrated:
- The clever little vent window in the rear door, to make up for the fact that the larger window does not roll down.
- the odd collision of style -- a front end looking like a full sized Olds, the backend still looking like a Cutlass.
- the long rear overhang, which still looks small because the front looks full sized.
- the small looking wheels, tires and exterior mirrors.
- the pillow like seats trying to communicate luxury.

Yet the formal roof line is not awful, and they tried to add some class with the accent lights on the "C" pillars. And the shut line of the rear door blends into the fender bulge.

1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

In the same spot at the same time as another GM product from a while ago. This was the second time I've seen this car, and it's owner -- a nice guy.

Love the formal roofline, the way the vinyl in the roof traps dirt & moss into patterns, and gradually peels from the metal, the very long rear overhang. And how there needs to be a thin chrome strip surrounding everything. The door that covers the fuel cap is behind the licence plate. I thought that sort of detail disappeared in the '70s for safety reasons.

1985 Pontiac Parisienne Brougham

A beige-y car against a sort of beige-y background on a kind of beige-y day.

Love the chrome lower body panels, which catch the dirt and salt, ensuring that few cars so equipped survive to this day. Also the gold colour on the roof and hood, standing in for a vinyl roof. And those aerodynamic mirrors -- sporty but so small, the exact same unit used on everything from Chevettes to Le Sabres. The fender skirts, the formal roofline, the hood ornament -- all echoes of a past which was more optimistic and careless.

1976 Mercury Monarch

A car that looks odd these days because of a boxy front end noticeably longer than the back. But this is moderate compared to some other pre-90s American cars. Ford was trying to make their "small" car fit in. An effort to create a small luxury car, which fell flat on it's face like many of it's contemporaries.

This car is in great shape for a 40 year old. All the original hubcaps, few dents. Some obviously re-painted doors, hood ornament looks like it is from a later Lincoln, rear suspension slowly sagging. But it sits in quiet dignity.

Love the shape of the rear trunk area, the narrow seeming roll-down windows in the rear doors, the skinny little chrome strips around everything, and those bullseye hubcaps.

1985 Buick LeSabre Limited Collectors Edition

Yes, GM actually named a car "Collectors Edition", apparently because this was last year of the rear wheel drive version. It just adds to the the absurd charm of this anachronism on wheels. The car looked old school when it was new.

Lens distortion and fog c/o my cell phone.