San Francisco Street Sighting - 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88 Holiday Coupe

I don't make it to San Francisco much anymore. I've been out of college for several years, working full time, and now with the coronavirus pandemic going on I've barely gone anywhere for the past few months. These pictures are two years old but they continue a long-held tradition. When I go to the city I always try to see if our friend Fifties Guy has anything new. This visit was after I participated in my first Radwood car show in South San Francisco, where I shined up and displayed my 1999 Buick Regal GS. I'd already paid the bridge toll to be on the peninsula, so I headed up north for a little while. Sure enough, I was greeted by this all-original 1958 Oldsmobile finished in what I believe to be Champagne Mist Poly.

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.

Danville Street Sighting - 1977 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Champagne Edition

For years I resisted photographing Beetles. Volkswagen cranked out 21 million of the things and a lot of them are still puttering around in various conditions. Our first featured Bug was a customized one made to look like a 1937 Ford. Since then I've wanted to find a Karmann convertible Beetle, since those are less common than their regular sedan siblings (just 331,847 built). I got lucky with this one, which turns out to be a 1977 Champagne special edition.

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.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1948 Buick Super Sedanet

It's been a long time since the full-size two-door fastback was a competitive player in the marketplace. Probably not since the 1970s has anyone seriously pursued that style as a mainstream model, usually more as a niche performance model. Earlier than that, domestic manufacturers took advantage of the public's interest in sleek, streamlined forms and produced a unique body style known as the sedanet (or sedanette depending on who you ask). Buick produced Sedanets from around 1940 until 1952, available on certain years of Specials, Supers and Roadmasters.

Danville Street Sighting - 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super

In my previous post about an Austin Princess limousine I discussed how difficult it is to date a European vehicle that didn't change much visually. One of many such cars is the Alfa Romeo Tipo 105 Giulia sedan. This one is a Giulia Super, and if the license plate is original, it is likely a 1967 (or early '68) model. I saw it well over a year ago, parked near the Danville D'Elegance car show in front of the now-demolished Danville Hotel strip mall. Perhaps it's cheating, but it was a very fine example of a classic Alfa.

Danville Street Sighting - 2005 Chevrolet SSR Indy 500 Parade Truck

In 2002 General Motors decided to discontinue the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The F-body coupes and convertibles were popular budget sporty cars, especially among young buyers looking for rear-drive V8 power. But the body and chassis dated to 1993, the interior was hopelessly antiquated and the competition was upping their game. So what did GM build to replace them? Well, in the case of Pontiac, nothing. Pontiac had things like the Grand Prix GTP, but no sporty coupes that could truly replace the Firebird and Trans-Am in the middle years of the 2000s. Nobody thought a Sunfire or Grand Am GT was a substitute for a Trans-Am. For Chevy, though, GM was readying an all-new performance two-door. Hoping to take advantage of the retro styling craze popularized by the 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser and 2002 Ford Thunderbird, Chevy rolled out the SSR (Super Sport Roadster).
A pickup truck.
...With a retractable hardtop.
...Patterned very loosely after the 1947-1953 Advance Design Series pickups.

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.

Danville Street Sighting - 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396

One of my all-time favorite muscle cars is the 1970 Chevelle SS. It was an amazing year for General Motors, pretty much the climax of the muscle car era and there weren't a lot of cars that could be called ugly in GM's vast stable. The Chevelle was Chevrolet's everyman midsize offering and could be had in any flavor from a tame straight-six Nomad wagon to an El Camino pickup to an LS6 454 Chevelle SS convertible producing 450-plus horsepower. The one everybody remembers is the SS 454 coupe, usually decked out with a cowl induction hood and contrasting stripes.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1941 White Super Power Fire Truck

Someone somewhere had to recognize the irony of a car company building a vehicle called the White Super Power at a time when Hitler's Nazis were steamrolling over Europe. This fact was not lost on other manufacturers such as Studebaker, who dropped the name Dictator from their lineup in 1937. The Studebaker Dictator had been so named because it 'dictated the standard' for its competitors. But by that year the word 'dictator' was not fashionable. Likewise, White Super Power refers to the White Motor Company flathead six-cylinder engine under the hood, not to any racist tendencies or support of Hitler on the part of the manufacturers.

Petaluma Street Sighting - 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS

I always told myself I'd try to avoid featuring "cliched" cars here at California Streets. You know which ones I mean: 1957 Chevy Bel Airs, 1965 Ford Mustangs, and especially 1964 Chevy Impalas. Why? Well, the "Six Fo" Impala is one of the quintessential cars associated with lowrider culture, and thus is often found rocking small wire wheels with spinner hubcaps, whitewall tires and featuring a bright color, pinstriping and/or airbrush work. Good thing I found one that .... looks exactly like that. Oh dear.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1971 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super

Rounding out this week's Alfa series is a Giulia Super sedan. I'll admit it, this is one of the most baffling cars I've ever tried to date, aside from the Citroen Traction Avant. Produced from 1962 to 1978, the Alfa Romeo Giulia used to be common as dirt in Italy. Even in San Francisco where old import cars number in the dozens, you can still find one every now and then. I got lucky while walking to one of my classes one day, and found this tan Giulia Super parked in front of a bike shop.