Oakland Street Sighting - 1967 Ford Cortina Mk II 1600 Deluxe Wagon

It's been a long time since we looked at an English Ford here. Heck, it's been a long time since I last saw an English Ford on the street. As the Covid pandemic drags out ever longer, I haven't been out and about photographing cars quite as much as I once did. Years ago I visited a house in Oakland with an Anglia 105E and a Cortina sedan. We've looked at the others, now here's a rare Cortina wagon.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1967 Dodge Coronet Deluxe

When I was a kid I picked up a Johnny Lightning diecast of a blue 1967 Plymouth GTX. I loved that toy car. Since then I have been a fan of 1967 Mopar coupes and convertibles, particularly the Plymouth Belvedere, Satellite and GTX. The B-platform was shared with the Dodge Coronet and Charger, the latter of which I also had as a Hot Wheels toy. Coronet was one of Chrysler Corporation's most popular models for 1967, yet was never on my radar that much growing up.

Old Sacramento Street Sighting - 1952 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe

I usually like to do something special for my Christmas feature. I visited Old Sacramento with a friend last December when the historic area was all decorated for the holidays. We encountered this lovely gray 1952 Chevy sedan parked in front of a shop. I liked the building's festive decorations so it seemed appropriate for today. Enjoy.

Danville Street Sighting - 1946 Ford Super DeLuxe Custom

Every so often I pass by a shop in Danville and there's something interesting parked off on the side street. This usually happens while I'm on the clock at work in my van, so I can't stop. They aren't always there when I come back, and I usually don't get to meet the owner. This time I got lucky.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1951 Plymouth Concord

One of the curious things about the 1950s to a modern observer is the complete market dominance of the full-size car in the U.S. To many in that era a large car represented space, safety, stability and status. Oh yes, and value. Some drivers favored the little foreign jobs like the early Volkswagens or some of the British MGs, Triumphs or the odd Austin or Morris that were popularized by returning military servicemen after WWII. The Japanese were still a few years away from attempting a toehold in the United States with diminutive Toyopets and Datsuns. Even such American small cars as the tiny Crosley, prewar Willys Americar and postwar Aero, upcoming Hudson Jet and Nash Metropolitan would prove to be little more than bit players in their respective times. Large American cars owned the roads and if you could only afford one car for the whole family, you might as well get the biggest and best car in your price range.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1951 Pontiac Chieftain DeLuxe Eight

I mentioned a couple of years ago that Bernal Heights is an unusual area full of unusual old cars, and that curiously it seems to be home to a lot of vintage Pontiacs. I've found a rat-rod '51 sedan and a beautifully restored '54 Chieftain there, and most recently this unrestored survivor '51 Chieftain DeLuxe.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1976 Toyota Corolla Deluxe Liftback

When my parents were just starting out, they had a choice to make: make a down payment on a small suburban ranch house or buy a Toyota Corolla SR5 Liftback. They picked the house. It was a wise choice, but the Corolla Liftback was and still is an interesting offering in the economy-car market of the era. I've always liked them, especially in lemon yellow.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1964 Ford Anglia 105E Deluxe

Ask anybody in the United States who never owned one of these cars, and chances are they won't know what it is. Tell them it's a Ford and they'll be confused. Then show it to a kid and they'll tell you it's the Weasleys' flying car from the Harry Potter movies. And indeed it is. It's a Ford Anglia 105E.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1948 Ford Super DeLuxe V8 Coupe

When I was a kid I loved 1940s Fords. Heck, I still do. The '40 and '48 were my favorites, then I discovered the '49 and fell in love with that too. I even like the '42 to some extent. Every kid is fascinated seeing the DeLorean time machine in action in Back to the Future, but I cringe every time I see how they abused Biff Tannen's black '46 Ford convertible.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1950 Plymouth DeLuxe Suburban

This was more or less the vehicle that got me started coming to Berkeley to shoot cars. I browsed Flickr for Bay Area classic cars and learned that there was a 1950 Plymouth wagon in Berkeley. Sure enough, it turned up, and I've been making the odd trip to the eclectic streets of Berkeley ever since.

Danville Street Sighting - 1948 Pontiac DeLuxe Torpedo Convertible

This was easily one of my favorite cars to photograph so far this year. Which is funny, given that the 1948 Pontiacs have never been on my short list of favorite cars. There are just so many cool Art Deco details on this beast, I couldn't help myself.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1952 Kaiser DeLuxe

Henry J. Kaiser made an indelible mark on America in the mid-20th century. His shipyards built thousands of Liberty cargo ships to keep Allied forces supplied during World War II; and his healthcare company, Kaiser Permanente, saved thousands of lives and continues to do so today. Many people might forget that Kaiser also ran a car company.

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.

Danville Street Sighting - 1940 Ford DeLuxe V8 Coupe

Every now and then I get lucky and something cool turns up on the road, then it happens to park nearby on a public street. Such was the case with this 1940 Ford that rolled past me while I was driving through Danville one afternoon following work. I'm not typically a fan of brown cars, I'm a fan of the '40 Ford and this one definitely spoke to me, brown and all.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1947 Ford Super DeLuxe V8 Fordor

Some of the best cars only seem to appear when I don't have my camera with me. I had jury duty. No point in bringing my camera. The thing was, there were no trials scheduled that day, so the entire group was excused. I went to hang out with my friend in Oakland, and naturally there at the curb was the "old forties car" he had previously told me about next to the coin laundry place near his house. He loaned me his point-and-shoot and I pointed and shot.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1950 Plymouth DeLuxe sedan

The year 1950 is not really known for being a banner year of automotive design. Detroit was still emerging from pre-war design ideas and conventions. The all-new 1947 Studebakers put everyone on notice, and then Ford introduced all-new models for 1949 with fenders fully incorporated into the body and exciting new styling themes that looked nothing like the cars that came before them. GM and Chrysler's products were also new for 1949, but Dodge and Plymouth cars couldn't really be called the most exciting things on the street. Plymouth was the car you bought if you needed a sensible, cheap family car and didn't like paying for gas. They weren't made to be exciting, just dependable at low cost.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1970 Toyota Corona Deluxe

I've come to respect a number of old economy cars, some of which are maligned for being terrible even if that reputation is undeserved. This week we're looking at cheap cars of the 1970s.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1973 Toyota Corona Deluxe

Last year I featured a 1974 Toyota Corona as my first Japanese "Street Sighting". Some time after that, I photographed another old Corona with a similar body but a different front end. It took a fair amount of Googling to determine what year this second car was, but the oddly Dodgelike crossbar grille turned out to be a 1973 Corona Deluxe.