Danville Street Sighting - 1968 Kaiser Jeep Jeepster Commando C101

Each year on the 4th of July I like to feature a vehicle from an independent American manufacturer. That means nothing from Ford, General Motors or Chrysler. I call it Independent's Day. So why did I pick a Jeep? Because once upon a time, decades before it became one more brand in the FiatChrysler Automobiles stable, Jeep was a plucky little independent. And it's an interesting story.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1968 Mercury Montego MX

The United States of America celebrates another birthday today, and in honor of Independence Day I usually publish posts celebrating offerings from independent American automakers. I call it Independents' Week. Unfortunately I don't get out as much as I used to, and my archives are fresh out of American independents. So, instead, I have a star-spangled collection of ... well, defunct American brands in the colors of Old Glory. First up is a red Mercury Montego sedan.

Danville Street Sighting - 1968 Triumph TR 250 Roadster

My theme of features for late November was red British roadsters. So here we are halfway through December on the cusp of the winter solstice, and I've been remiss. Here's a 1968 Triumph TR 250.

Danville Street Sighting - 1968 Cadillac Coupe DeVille

This week I have an impromptu theme for my posts. These are all cars I've found outside the same Danville auto repair shop on the same side street, just not at the same time. Last one for this group is a 1968 Cadillac coupe that I believe is a DeVille.

Danville Street Sighting - 1968 AMC AMX

My Independents' Week feature series may be over, but I decided to add a bonus one just for the heck of it. Here's a 1968 AMC AMX.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Pontiac Firebird Convertible

Ever since I was a kid I've loved the 1967-1968 Pontiac Firebird. Given the choice of one of these, or a same-year Camaro, Mustang, Cougar or Barracuda, I would have trouble picking just one. But the Firebird places really high on my list of favorite cars from this period. It's not just a pretty face either; I'm pretty bored of seeing countless '67-68 Camaros at car shows. GM built 235,147 Camaros in 1968 and only 107,112 Firebirds the same year. GM produced 94,432 Camaros in 2013 (the most recent year for which I can find production numbers at the time of this writing) and Pontiac no longer exists at all.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1968 Dodge Coronet 440

Several months ago I featured a 1968 Dodge Coronet 440 sedan that I found in San Francisco. That car was pretty well used, but a tough survivor. Here's a coupe that's also seen some use in its lifetime and endured.

Campbell Street Sighting - 1968 Chevrolet Impala Wagon

On rare occasions I encounter an interesting vehicle used by a business for advertising, that's cool enough to feature here. And sometimes I'd like to give that business a free plug. This car belongs to the owner of Jalisco Mexican Food in Campbell, California. My friends in San Jose introduced me to Jalisco a few years ago (they're friends with the owner) and I've been coming back ever since for their really good beef tacos.

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1968 Chevrolet Van

I must say this is a new one on me.

General Motors turned out a fair number of Chevrolet and GMC vans in the 1960s to compete with Ford's Econoline and Dodge's A100. They followed the same formula: forward-control design with the engine located under or between the front passengers, rear-wheel-drive usually, and two wheelbase lengths. A cargo or passenger variant was always available. But I don't think the factory ever turned out anything like this.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1968 Saab 95 V4

Today there's much talk in advertising of crossover SUVs that seat 7 or more passengers. No longer satisfied with full-size V8 Ford Expeditions and Chevy Suburbans, many buyers want interior space, carlike handling and fuel economy at the same time. Funnily enough, that's not a new formula. The minivan has offered that kind of practicality for decades, but minivans are so passé. Early Saabs were always compact family cars with small engines, and the 95 wagon offered three rows of seating for up to seven people. Seven very small or very skinny people. The 95 wagon and 96 sedan were initially powered by a 0.8 liter three-cylinder, two-stroke engine. This engine made 40 horsepower and smoked too heavily to comply with rising emissions standards as the decade wore on. In 1967 a Ford-built 1.5 liter V4 engine became available, now a four-stroke design for more power and less smoke.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Dodge Coronet 440

Oh boy, if cars could talk. The 1968 Dodge Coronet sedan was not a particularly exciting vehicle, but I find this one fascinating.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1968 Austin-Healey Sprite Mk IV

In this era of political correctness it seems like the word "midget" is considered derogatory to little people. So what does that make the MG Midget? A Midget by any other name... is an Austin-Healey Sprite.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible

It's 1968. You're in the market for a new car. GM's just completely revamped its midsize A-platform offerings. So you have a choice to make: Chevelle, Tempest/LeMans, Cutlass or Skylark? You're young but moderately successful, so you want a vehicle that's not what your father drives but not what your neighbor's teenage son drives. You like a bit of luxury, some chrome here and there, but also a little power. You want a grown-up car to tell the world that you've grown up. So you get the Buick Skylark Custom convertible.

Pleasanton Street Sighting - 1968 Morgan Plus 4

The beginning of fall brought a huge termite swarm across the Bay Area this past Sunday. Usually that's only a problem for homeowners, and doesn't affect cars. Coincidentally, however, that same day marked the Danville D'Elegance concours car show in Danville, California. And one car present there would be very much at risk from termites - the Morgan.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7

One of the great things about Santa Cruz is that someone, somewhere, always has their old car out for the day. They're rarely concours examples, but usually a decent driver. I found this 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 while looking for a parking space near Marianne's ice cream shop. The shop is extremely popular and has a tiny parking lot, so we had to go down the block and around the corner to find parking. I was with a friend who's a huge fan of early Cougars so this was a good sighting for both of us.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1968 Lincoln Continental coupe

Over the years on California Streets I've featured multiple Lincoln Continentals and a couple of Mark series coupes. Most have been sedans, but the regular Continental was also available as a coupe for part of its production run. This practice continued from 1966 until the early 1980s when the Town Car was also offered as a Town Coupe. I almost never see Continental coupes like this, which made this one that much more special.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1968 Ford LTD Country Squire wagon

It's still summertime, and summer is the season of the road trip. Unless you're me, in which case my road trips usually seem to occur in winter. But that's another story.
Back in the good old days, road trips were the domain of the family station wagon. I could of course wax romantic about traveling hundreds of miles in the back of a big station wagon with no air conditioning, the rear hatch window rolled down to let in all the exhaust fumes, and the sun magnifying its rays through the untinted windows in an effort to fuse the children to the vinyl seats. Why? Because I'm 24 and that was before my time. My family road trips happened in a 1985 Pontiac 6000 STE, a 1994 Ford Taurus GL, and later a 1999 Buick Regal GS. All had air conditioning and some kind of music player, but they pale in comparison to the infotainment systems available today to keep kids occupied on long journeys. Honestly, I'm not really a fan of TVs and video game systems in cars. In my youth I'd look out the window and try to enjoy the ride, provided it wasn't all just Interstate 5 for six hours straight. I'd usually arrive at our destination with a sunburn on one side, a neck ache and a severe case of boredom. Road trips have gotten a little less boring in the years since I got my driver's license and a digital camera.

Santa Cruz Street Sighting - 1968 Ford F-100 pickup

When it comes to old trucks, I don't just photograph every pre-1980 pickup I see. The subject has to grab me visually. It has to tell an interesting story.
I can only guess at the story told by this late-'60s Ford F100.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Austin America

Five years ago I was wandering in San Francisco's SOMA (South of Market) neighborhood near the ballpark and happened upon a funky little red hatchback that piqued my curiosity. It turned out not to be a hatchback at all, but rather a two-door sedan. The car was for sale and, being the idiot I was, I didn't pay attention to the window sticker and only took a few pictures of the car. At the time I'd only seen two other examples of the Austin America; one of those was a non-running example at a swap meet in Pleasanton and the other was a rusted junker at a self-service wrecking yard in Hayward.
The 1968 Austin America I saw that day in 2007 would prove to be an elusive one. When I started writing and actively searching for interesting cars to photograph for California Streets, the America was high on my list. But it always got away from me. One day in 2010 I saw it driving, then nothing. I put it in my "Best of the Rest" post for British cars because I figured I'd never catch it standing still again. Then in January this year I was taking some friends around town and there it was. So I parked my car and quickly went to photograph the unusual little Brit.

Tomales Street Sighting - 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu wagon

In 1968 my grandparents walked into Val Strough Chevrolet in Oakland and traded in a 1963 Ford Galaxie coupe for a brand new light blue Chevelle Nomad station wagon. It wasn't much to write home about, a 307 V8 car with a Powerglide 2-speed automatic, but it was the car my father learned to drive in and it made an indelible impression on him. Sadly, that Nomad eventually went the way of so many low-spec cars of the era -- a hand-me-down car that broke one time too many and was left for dead. Today, one never sees a later Nomad, but the higher-spec Malibu has been saved in larger numbers.