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.

Danville Street Sighting - 1929 Ford Model A Rumble Seat Coupe

I've always heard the Ford Model A referred to as a great starter classic car. They're relatively inexpensive, easy to find, parts are easy to get and the driving controls are understandable to most people familiar with more modern cars. So it warmed my heart to see this 1929 Model A parked outside the high school. Imagine having one of these as a first car!

Saratoga Street Sighting - 1973 Ford Mustang Grande

In the past I've said a few times here, that just because I love the Ford Mustang doesn't mean I'll post a lot of them. It has to speak to me or at least be uncommon or interesting to make the cut. Here's the luxury spec from the Boxstang generation, the Grande.

Alamo Street Sighting - 1995 Mercury Tracer LTS

Riddle me this: What makes a car "special"? What makes a car "sporty"? Where do we draw the line on what makes a vehicle interesting enough to document and preserve? How does rarity figure into the equation and should cars be saved simply because they're rare? For your consideration, today we're looking at a 1995 Mercury Tracer LTS.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1973 Ford Econoline E-100

Many moons ago I used to enjoy going to K-B Toys at my local mall. I was a budding diecast collector who loved the Johnny Lightning brand of 1:64 scale collectibles but could rarely find or afford them. Luckily for me, K-B Toys used to put them on sale periodically at the unheard-of price of three cars for $5. This was around the time that JL produced their Boogie Vans series of 1970s custom vans. I picked up some good stuff for dirt cheap. I fell in love with a couple of the Boogie Vans, namely a metallic blue 1977 Dodge B-150 with American flag graphics, and a white 1977 Ford Econoline 150 decorated as a dealership parts chaser. My small assortment of diecast vans helped foster an appreciation of vintage custom vans as more than an old steel box full of dirty carpet left over from the disco era.

Danville Street Sighting - 1974 Ford Pinto Squire Wagon

I seem to have a 1970s theme going on with my last couple of posts, so why not carry it on with another earth-toned disco era beastie? This one's the fifth Ford Pinto to appear on California Streets, but it's the first Squire station wagon that wasn't found in a junkyard.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1979 Ford Ranchero GT

I don't know what it was about the 1970s, but someone decided maroon and gold looked good together on cars. I don't mean to offend any Arizona State or House Gryffindor fans, but when I was a kid, I did not like the combination. In 1980 my dad bought a 1966 Mustang convertible that had been repainted maroon and gold. I suppose it's a classic color combination for clothing and such, but on that car I hated it. This '79 Ranchero came from the factory like that. Except on this vehicle, it's not plebeian maroon. It's Cordovan.

Danville Street Sighting - 1965 Ford Mustang GT 2+2 Fastback

Ever have those moments when you forget an anniversary or birthday until the last minute? Yeah, me too. Today is April 17. Happy birthday to the Ford Mustang.

Rental Car Review - 2019 Ford Fusion Titanium EcoBoost AWD

I have long been a fan of the Ford Fusion. When an all-new model bowed for 2013 as part of the "One Ford" plan uniting the U.S. Fusion with the global Mondeo, I liked the new car a lot. My favorite spec was an SE EcoBoost in pearl white. Fast forward to 2019 and I got to live with a white Fusion EcoBoost for a week.

Danville Street Sighting - 1969 Ford Fairlane 500

 Wow, I have truly been delinquent this year. It's been a good ten months since our last post, but I'm still here and still photographing cars. It's Halloween time, so let's get into the spirit of sorts with a little orange and black. Here's a 1969 Ford Fairlane 500.

Danville Street Sighting - 1972 Ford Mustang Mach 1

Today marks the eighth day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the eighth day of Christmas my archive gave to thee:
Jade Mach 1 Mustang,
'77 Lincoln,
Suede Studebaker,
Fine Nomad bling,
Ford Thunderbird,
Beige French shed,
Tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

Admittedly some of my adaptations of the original 12 Days of Christmas are rather forced. While Ford did offer a color called Black Jade on the Mustang in 1969 and 1970, this is not it. No, this car wears the hue creatively named "Dark Green". But Dark Green doesn't rhyme with "eight", does it? Forget it, I'm not apologizing for anything.

Danville Street Sighting - 1956 Ford Thunderbird

Today marks the fourth day of the fabled countdown to Christmas.

On the fourth day of Christmas my archive gave to thee:
Ford Thunderbird,
Beige French shed,
Tuned Chevy LUV,
and a Park Lane down on the street.

Isn't she sweet. We've taken a look at a few early Thunderbirds on California Streets and this is the second '56 to appear here. My area has a lot of these cars, with an entire club chapter bringing T-Birds to local car shows year after year. This one appeared near the high school on a weekend, as cars for sale often do in Danville. I've come across an awful lot of Danville street sightings there.

Danville Street Sighting - 1978 Ford Pinto Runabout

I have a completely irrational love for the Ford Pinto. At best it's a perfectly ordinary compact car that's become cool in an ironic way. At worst it's regarded by others as a rolling punchline or a rolling bomb waiting to go off. Or if you're slightly crazy, it can be a starting point for a mad little autocross car, dirt track racer or drag car.

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.

San Ramon Street Sighting - 1984 Ford Mustang SVO

If you like grey Foxbody Mustangs, you're in luck this week. After an '87 GT coupe, here's the second one, a 1984 Mustang SVO.

San Jose Street Sighting - 1987 Ford Mustang GT

One of my best friends has a birthday today, so we're going to honor him with a feature of one of his favorite cars. He loves 1979-93 Foxbody Mustangs. Now these cars are still a dime a dozen in California, but there are some problems. Most of them have been ridden hard and/or modified within an inch of their life, and many look like the example seen here. That's not really why I photographed this car. I shot it because Medium Gray Metallic over Titanium with an electric blue accent stripe is my buddy's favorite color combination for these cars, and from what I've seen it's a rather rare paint scheme.

Danville Street Sighting - 1931 Ford Model A Pickup

Autumn is in full swing and it's almost Halloween, so how about a vehicle that reflects the colors of the season? This 1931 Ford Model A pickup in cheerful yellow, orange and black is downright cute.

Van Man Review - 2012 Ford Transit Connect XL

I am a delivery driver by trade, working for a dry cleaner in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area. My typical day involves pick-ups and deliveries to homes and businesses, and I drive one of the company's fleet of vans. Over the past three years I have been behind the wheel of almost every truck in the fleet. So I thought it might be interesting to my readers to know my thoughts on them.

Oakland Street Sighting - 1978 Ford Fiesta

I have a friend who owns a 2015 Ford Fiesta hatchback. He loves all things Fiesta. This is is the ancestor to his car, the first year the Fiesta was offered in the United States. His mother had one of these as her first car. The 1978 Fiesta served as a stopgap model for buyers who wanted something smaller and more European than the aging Pinto, until the 1981 Escort "world car" arrived. It was a captive import that competed with the likes of the Honda Civic, VW Rabbit and Beetle, Toyota Corolla and Tercel, and Datsun B210 or 510.

Livermore Street Sighting - 1987 Merkur XR4Ti

It's the mid 1980s. You're a moderately successful professional in the market for a new prestige car. You could buy a Cadillac, or a Lincoln, or a nice Chrysler. But you want something a little more European, smaller, and sporty. You could buy a BMW 3 Series, but every yuppie buys a BMW. So you bite your lip and walk onto the lot at the Lincoln-Mercury dealer, past the squishy Grand Marquis and Town Cars, past the formal-roofed Cougar and hump-trunked Mark VII LSC with their thirsty V8s. On one side of the lot there's a shiny two-tone hatchback that looks like nothing else there. "What's a Merkur?" you ask the eager salesman who caught you staring at this strange car that says it was made in Germany. A four-cylinder with a turbocharger? The salesman proudly tells you this car shares its 2.3 liter turbo engine with the Mustang SVO and Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. You didn't even know you could get a Mustang with a turbo! So you test drive this unusual alphanumeric car. It ticks the boxes you're looking for. Alloy wheels, moonroof, rear spoiler, minimal brightwork, rear-wheel-drive, sport-tuned suspension, five-speed manual, and it pulls when you stomp the gas and the turbo spools up. You take a chance, sign on the dotted line and become the only person in your neighborhood with a Merkur XR4Ti.