Danville Street Sighting - "1929" CMC Gazelle

Here we are again on Halloween. After the horror show that 2020 has been, Halloween seems a bit lackluster. My good friend suggested that my Halloween feature should be a car disguised as something it's not. We figured a kit car would fit the bill perfectly. Here is a 1929 Mercedes SSK roadster -- I mean, a Classic Motor Carriages Gazelle.

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1988 CMC Tiffany Classic

This week we're looking at cars from the 1980s that are uniquely a product of their time. Well, maybe not. Neo-classics have been a thing for decades. Ever since the Excalibur of the 1960s, people have been building cars that evoke the golden age of 1930s luxury and sports roadsters. Over the years we've seen the Clenet, Spartan II, Sceptre, Zimmer Golden Spirit among dozens of others, even such modern oddballs as the Mitsuoka Le Seyde and the SixTen Spirit. More exacting or approximate replicas of 1930s cars were also made, like the Auburn Speedster, Cord, Duesenberg II, Bugatti 35X, Mercedes 500K and Jaguar SS 100. Usually neoclassics use fiberglass parts on a donor body with contemporary chassis and drivetrain. They range from professionally coachbuilt cars to do-it-yourself fiberglass kits. A company called Classic Motor Carriages offered numerous products during the 1980s, ranging from Shelby Cobras, '34 Fords, Porsche 356 Speedsters, MG TDs and Gazelle "1929 Mercedes" roadsters. Perhaps the most extravagant of all of these was the Tiffany Classic.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1964 Rambler Classic 660

This is the car I always forget about in the AMC model hierarchy. The Classic was a midrange car during the Rambler years that made up the bulk of Rambler sales between 1961 and 1966. The first Classics were cheaply refreshed 1950s cars and the line only received a complete redesign in 1963. All Classics were six-cylinder economy cars until the '63 model year when the V8 from the large Ambassador was offered as an option.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1932 Cadillac V-16 Dual Cowl Phaeton

There is something of a mythical quality about the Cadillac V-16. These were some of the greatest luxury cars in their time, comparable to contemporary Duesenbergs, Pierce-Arrows and Packards as ultimate symbols of wealth, power and opulence. They were always limited-production, built to order and built to specification for clients in a number of body styles. It is estimated that domestic GM affiliates Fleetwood and Fisher Body built as many as 70 different body variations on the V-16 chassis, and other coachbuilders produced their own around the world to order. The V-16 was offered for eleven model years from 1930 to 1940, and only 4,076 were built. More than half of these were made in the first year alone.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1973 Chevrolet Caprice Classic

What?! A 1973 Caprice that's not a lowrider or a donk? Hold the phone!

Actually, it's not that unheard of. Chevrolet built literally 800,000 of their big cars in 1973, and the luxury-oriented V8 Caprice accounted for 212,754 of them. That's pretty impressive for a full-size car today, with that segment of the (retail) market shrinking with each passing year. Chevy sold about 160,000 Impalas in the US and Canada last year, and you probably rented one of them. Back in 1973 though, a full-size car was still pretty much a fact of life and it was what you drove if you had a family of four or more. Yup, right up until that pesky OPEC oil embargo left you and all your neighbors waiting around the block for gas.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1962 Rambler Classic Cross Country Custom Wagon

Continuing this "Independent's Week" in honor of America's Independence Day, and celebrating the American summer vacation road trip, we're looking at American Motors station wagons. Second in the series is this 1962 Rambler Classic Cross Country.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1961 Rambler Classic Cross Country Custom Wagon

We're coming up on the Fourth of July again, Independence Day. And as is my custom, I'm featuring an assortment of cars from American manufacturers not affiliated with Detroit's Big Three. Welcome to Independents' Week.

It's summer in America, and summer is the best time for the American road trip. And traditionally, the American road trip takes place in a station wagon. And what's more American than an American Motors station wagon?

Alameda Street Sighting - 1965 Rambler Classic 770 Coupe

For some reason nearly every Rambler Classic I see is a Cross Country station wagon. The sedans must all be parts cars or daily drivers for old ladies in the upper Midwest or something. I've come across one '63 four-door sedan, one '62 two-door sedan, and one '65 convertible. And then there was this handsome 1965 Classic 770 hardtop coupe.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1941 Dodge D-19 Luxury Liner

Prewar cars can still be found here and there on the roads of California, but one will often notice that they all seem to be Fords (or in some cases Chevys). Very rarely do you see Chrysler products of this era, particularly Dodges. Here we have a Dodge D-19 Luxury Liner sedan.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1993 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i

At this point I've featured a lot of classic Minis, and they pretty much all seem to live in San Francisco. What's easy to forget about these little cars is that while they look old, and the basic body dates back to 1959, these cars were built for over 40 years. The last "classic" Minis were rolling off the line when BMW was gearing up to build their all-new MINI Cooper for the 2001 model year.

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.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1976 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu Classic

In modern times, Chevrolet has played fast and loose with the word "classic" in its model names. Anything with the word "Classic" in its name now effectively means an obsolete model held over for another year either to ease the entry of a controversial new model or to simply move last year's old inventory. Case in point, the 2004-05 Chevy Classic, which was a carryover 1997-2003 Malibu with "CLASSIC" on the trunk lid in place of the Malibu badge. It was sold primarily to rental fleets while the awkwardly-designed 2004 Malibu took over.
There was a time when Malibu Classic meant something, and the mid-1970s were that time. Chevy's Chevelle coupe lineup had received a new "Colonnade" design language for 1973, with the Malibu making up the mid-level trim model and the new Laguna took the top luxury spot. In 1974 the Malibu Classic was introduced, sporting luxury touches not found on regular Malibus. In 1976, the Classic was given four stacked rectangular headlights and a new diamond-pattern grille in place of the plain horizontal grille bars and dated single round lights of the base car. Also part of the Classic package was a hood ornament; the vinyl landau top was apparently optional. This car rides on Chevy Rally wheels that, as far as I know, were not stock on the Malibu Classic that year but are a popular (and if I might say so, good-looking) add-on.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1965 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country

Rounding out this "Independents Week" grouping is another American Motors product, a 1965 Rambler Classic Cross Country 770 wagon.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1956 Studebaker President

The name President evokes grandeur, importance, celebrity status. But what about Studebaker? That name sounds a little less fancy. Studebaker was one of America's oldest car companies and this is the second one to be featured on this blog. President was Studebaker's top model in the 1930s, then was dropped after 1942. Then in 1955, the President was reintroduced as the premium nameplate on their cars. 1956 saw a much-needed redesign which brought the President more into the style of the day, with an upright front end and modest tail fins out back, although the basic body was the same as the 1953 model. In keeping with popular themes of the era, this '56 President also features bright chrome side moldings, two-tone paint and whitewall tires. V8 power was standard. Only 18,209 were built in 1956. The President series was dropped after Studebaker and Packard merged in 1958. Sales plunged further in a poor economy, and 1958 saw the advent of the "Packardbaker", a horrid mess that looked like a catfish. The President was now a lame duck and Studebaker changed its focus to the Lark compact.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1965 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country

San Francisco is home to many station wagons, but few old, relatively obscure ones like this 1965 Rambler Classic 770 Cross Country. I've seen this car three times in the city, first up on a lift in a shop on Brannan St, then driving with no lights on at night on Mission St in downtown. Then I saw the car parked on a hill around the Pacific Heights area and finally had the chance to shoot a rare old wagon deserving of a feature.