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Please feel free to contact me at sealedb3am@gmail.com. If you want the post of your vehicle removed, just ask.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

In the same spot at the same time as another GM product from a while ago. This was the second time I've seen this car, and it's owner -- a nice guy.

Love the formal roofline, the way the vinyl in the roof traps dirt & moss into patterns, and gradually peels from the metal, the very long rear overhang. And how there needs to be a thin chrome strip surrounding everything. The door that covers the fuel cap is behind the licence plate. I thought that sort of detail disappeared in the '70s for safety reasons.

Monday, April 27, 2015

1954 DeSoto Firedome

Now the mystery car visible in the previous post.

Those giant chrome molars in the grill! And a miniature secondary maw with it's own little teeth in the bulbous extravagant hood, flanked on either side by those malevolent eyes. A dinosaur on wheels. Then there are the more moderate details -- the peculiarly modest tail lights, the odd shape of the "C" pillar, the deeply recessed front wheels, the great bulge of the rear fender to engulf the wheels. The chrome setting for the door pulls, the little cover for the keyhole (to keep it clear of ice?), plus continuous chrome at the base of the windows. This was the era of moderate fins and imagined stream lining to communicate speed.

Unfortunately could not properly capture the noble portrait of de Soto in the center of the steering wheel.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

1965 Valiant 100 Hardtop

No Plymouth markings on this car, making it the Canadian version.

Interesting items: The merest suggestion of fins leading to the vertical tailights, the barely visible front turn signals, the bulges in the rear fenders which reach out to integrate with the rear bumper, the chrome on the door frames and rain gutters surrounding the windows, the way the rear fenders hide the upper part of the tire. And then the humorous additions to the interior.

But what is that black car lurking in the background? Some may already guess from the tailight in #1. But you will have to wait until the next post to be sure.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

1970 Pontiac GTO

A little too shiny and polished for me, though this does provide interesting reflections. The GTO is a great car, one of my favourites from when I was a kid.

Interesting fenders with straight lines contrasting curved surfaces, the deeply recessed grilles bordered by squarish headlight surrounds, plus the ever important hood scoops & tachometer bulge.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Honourary Old Parked Car: 1996 Daihatsu Midget II Cargo

I debated whether this car belonged on the blog, seeing how new and shiny it is, but in the end I could not resist.

Only nominally a 2 seater -- there are 2 seats, 2 headrests, 2 seatbelts, but the people who rode together would have to be very good friends. Also, since it is so narrow, the steering wheel cannot be far from the center, so it is only slightly right hand drive.

Love the tapering front end, the space-agey seams & shut-lines combined with the old fashioned headlights and fenders, the silly-yet-practical spare tire placement, the way the door latches blend into the black paint around the windows. Oh and the single reverse light.

BTW, just above the fuel door in #1 they have mounted a business card tray, which has cards in it.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

1985 Pontiac Parisienne Brougham

A beige-y car against a sort of beige-y background on a kind of beige-y day.

Love the chrome lower body panels, which catch the dirt and salt, ensuring that few cars so equipped survive to this day. Also the gold colour on the roof and hood, standing in for a vinyl roof. And those aerodynamic mirrors -- sporty but so small, the exact same unit used on everything from Chevettes to Le Sabres. The fender skirts, the formal roofline, the hood ornament -- all echoes of a past which was more optimistic and careless.

Friday, April 17, 2015

1965 Ford Falcon Drag Racer

The first clue that this was something different was the writing on the windshield. Then you notice the wide rear tires (how did the owner fit them under there?). Then you see the seats, with 4 point seatbelts, and the steering wheel on the passenger seat. I imagine this is how drag cars spend a lot of their time -- mostly assembled. Looks like this car used to be off white.

Love the "moon" hubcaps, the brilliant chrome grille against the dark paint, the way the fenders extend slightly ahead of the headlights, the "speed lines" sculpted the entire length of the car, the way the rear fenders envelope the wheels. Not your average 60s family car.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Nice work done on this car to make it look so great. Sure, a little missing trim, but in excellent shape for an ancient but formerly very common car. There doesn't seem to be a dent in it.

This is not my favourite year for the Monte Carlo -- I think the first generation was the best (especially with fender skirts).

Still, it has those (totally useless but) dramatically sculpted fenders, that steeply raked windshield and formal roofline. The wheels are not original, but they have the correct feel. The ridges on either side of the hood leading to the turn signal enclosures, embracing the enormous looking headlights. The designers did an excellent job working within the limits of the then new laws about 5 mph bumpers etc. Only the taillights and trunk shutline between them let me down.