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.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1968 Plymouth Fury III Sport Suburban

This week I decided to do another themed series of features. Like the Big Three Vans series I did a few months ago, this will also deal with some of Detroit's finest - and not-so-fine - family haulers. That's right, this week we'll be looking at Big Three Station Wagons.

Last in the series is Chrysler, represented by this 1968 Plymouth Fury III Sport Suburban. I've never been lucky at finding feature-worthy cars in the Montclair district of Oakland, but this big old Fury fit the bill. I've seen it a number of times parked in the same spot, but it certainly moves under its own power and drives.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1948 DeSoto Custom Suburban

Every time I visit my friend in San Jose, I drive past this car. It's a 1948 DeSoto Custom Suburban 8-passenger sedan. Today, this sort of car would probably be called a "crossover" with its massive long-wheelbase body and three rows of seats. It has all the interior space of a modern SUV without a truck chassis. After World War II ended, DeSoto resumed regular car production. Having no all-new models, they quite literally facelifted the 1942 model and sold it as a 1946. The '42 DeSotos were an unusual animal with hidden headlights and a toothy grille that caused it to resemble something from a Stephen King novel. The new '46s dispensed with the fliplights in favor of fixed units and an even bigger grille. Few exterior changes were made between 1946 and '48, so it's not easy to tell those cars apart. The only clue to this car's year, since even the owner didn't know what year it is (and he's owned it since the 1980s at least), is the wheelcovers. According to someone who knows more about obscure cars than I do, posting on the Internet Movie Car Database, the '48 DeSotos have a full chrome wheelcover instead of the postwar '46 and '47's smaller, plastic-rimmed center hubcaps. Steel was still in short supply following the war, which I presume was the reason for less metal used in hubcaps. Some cars left factories with wood bumpers, to be replaced later by dealers once steel became available for the real thing.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1968 Chevrolet Suburban C-20 Panel

Most of the vehicles I examine here are cars I see only once or twice, stuff I see while walking through the city. But not this one: this 1968 Chevy C-20 Suburban panel truck is local and I see it all the time. Usually in the same spot, too, causing me to wonder how often it gets driven. It sometimes shares the street with a copper-brown 1969-70 Chevy CST-10 stepside pickup. Coincidentally, this is in the same block where I found the Hillman Minx nearly three years before.