Berkeley Street Sighting - 1937 Plymouth P4 DeLuxe Touring Sedan

In the mid 1990s some of the best-selling models made by Chrysler Corporation were the Chrysler Cirrus, Dodge Stratus and Plymouth Breeze, collectively known as the "Cloud Cars". Well, here's a cloud car, and while it isn't a Cloud Car, it is still a Plymouth. It's a 1937 Plymouth P4 DeLuxe.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1970 Volkswagen Beetle 1500 Wunderbug

I told myself I'd never feature a Beetle. Twenty-one million of the things were built and a goodly number of them are still on the roads in various conditions. The Volkswagen Beetle is still common, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area. And for that reason, the Bug was never that special to me. Some of you in the rustbelt who never see them, or VW enthusiasts, may feel otherwise. My father once owned a '71 Super Beetle and thought it was a wonderfully fun little car.

The Beetle is such a simple and versatile platform, it's excellent as a starting point for dune buggies like the Meyers Manx and kit cars ranging from fiberglass Porsche 356 replicas to the Bradley GT. There is a tuner culture that gave rise to the Cal Look, Volksrod and Baja Bug. And then there's this, a faux-1937 Ford coupe called the Wunderbug.

Danville Street Sighting - 1937 Ford V8 Coupe

Few classic cars in my area are daily drivers, let alone to the point of being a sort of local landmark. This very blue customized 1937 Ford V8 coupe frequently parks outside a sports bar across from my local In 'N Out Burger. The 1932 Ford roadster I featured back in March sometimes hangs out with it. Usually it's parked off the street or moving when I see it, so catching it stationary on Hartz Avenue in downtown Danville on an average day after work is rare.

Danville Street Sighting - 1937 Packard 120-C Convertible Coupe

This is the kind of car that makes readers say, "Come on, dude, you took this at a car show, it doesn't count!"

...Well, you'd be close. This lovely yellow 1937 Packard was parked two blocks from the Danville d'Elegance car show last year. I assume it was a spectator's vehicle and was parked in front of the restored Southern Pacific railroad station that now serves as the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. I'm a sucker for classic Packards because they're such classy, beautiful cars. This one appears to be a Model 120-C convertible coupe.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1937 Ford Fordor Touring Sedan

You see them at every swap meet and cars for sale corral: The project car. Frequently it's something covered in dirt and leaves that someone lugged out of a barn after thirty years. Sometimes it's a wrecked vehicle that needs a rebuild. And sometimes it's a car that runs but is ugly and someone either ran out of time and money or simply realized they were in completely over their head. I suspect this car is the latter.