Honourary Old Parked Car: 1995 Nissan Rasheen

Ahh, cherry blossoms adorn the trees, and JDM vehicles adorn the streets. Another Japanese only curiosity that I could not resist.

Those oddly shaped headlights and bulging grill, the fake brushed aluminum bumpers, door handles & mirrors. The long low flat hood. The obligatory single reverse light. This looks a lot like a product of Pike Factory, but apparently it is not.

Also, the unusual rear hatch can be seen in the second last shot. It is really two doors. The top one is hinged not above the window but a couple feet into the roof, giving it an inverted "L" profile.

1949 (?) Chevrolet/GMC Tow Truck + 1971 Dodge Demon 340 + Ford Model A?

On a bright sunny day I found these cars while wandering down a back alley. I went around front and knocked on the door of the house. The woman who answered was slightly annoyed. Apparently I was at the wrong house, and these cars were perhaps a sore point for her. I beat a hasty retreat next door, where the owner was not home. So now I am left guessing...

The Model "A" is just barely recognizable, and does not really qualify as a car. Amusing that one of the items holding it off the ground is a coffee machine.

Love the improvised bumper on the truck, which at some point might have been blue, and the bulbous fenders & hood.

The Dodge looks like a sleek spaceship when in the company of these others. Would have loved to get a shot of the eight (!) tailight lenses and four reverse light lenses. Love the dual ridges in the hood, the nicely faded paint, the continuous shape of the side windows, the dynamic "C" pillar.

1971 Datsun 510 Wagon

Had a chat with the owner, who is a part of a local club dedicated to the 510. Wheels are from a newer Nissan, which certainly give it an aggressive look. He also did a lot of repair/replacement to the suspension. Is particularly proud that this car has a rare original tachometer.

Love the slightly arched chrome over the headlights, giving it that slightly angry look, the simple chrome doors handles, the way the outside mirror hooks back in the profile shot, the little chrome strip below the doors, the flat glass everywhere except the windshield.

1972 Plymouth Valiant Scamp

A project car, no doubt.

Love that concave rear window, the original hubcaps, the way the rust must have developed under the vinyl roof before the vinyl was removed, the little slots in the bumpers that accept the jack, those squarish tail lights in that practical but dynamic rear bumper, which echoes the angles of the back of the roofline. As I recall there are (or were) small rear facing amber lights in the chrome pips on top of the front fenders.

1954 DeSoto Firedome

Now the mystery car visible in the previous post.

Those giant chrome molars in the grill! And a miniature secondary maw with it's own little teeth in the bulbous extravagant hood, flanked on either side by those malevolent eyes. A dinosaur on wheels. Then there are the more moderate details -- the peculiarly modest tail lights, the odd shape of the "C" pillar, the deeply recessed front wheels, the great bulge of the rear fender to engulf the wheels. The chrome setting for the door pulls, the little cover for the keyhole (to keep it clear of ice?), plus continuous chrome at the base of the windows. This was the era of moderate fins and imagined stream lining to communicate speed.

Unfortunately could not properly capture the noble portrait of de Soto in the center of the steering wheel.

1965 Valiant 100 Hardtop

No Plymouth markings on this car, making it the Canadian version.

Interesting items: The merest suggestion of fins leading to the vertical tailights, the barely visible front turn signals, the bulges in the rear fenders which reach out to integrate with the rear bumper, the chrome on the door frames and rain gutters surrounding the windows, the way the rear fenders hide the upper part of the tire. And then the humorous additions to the interior.

But what is that black car lurking in the background? Some may already guess from the tailight in #1. But you will have to wait until the next post to be sure.

1978 Buick Skylark