Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chrysler's TC by Maserati

In the 1980s, Chrysler was in trouble, so was Italian carmaker Maserati; Chrysler had economy cars, Maserati had luxurious sedans that oozed class, and Maserati was struggling to broaden its US image. The pairing seemed natural, right? Shady reliability, crappy dealer network, and a lurid base platform-- what could possibly go wrong?!?
Unfortunately for Maserati (or for Chrysler depending on how you look at the situation), not many US customers were fooled into paying double for a coachbuilt Chrysler LeBaron. Before you bemoan me, and say I have no respect for fine Italian motoring-- well.. this thing is neither fine, not very much Italian. I'll leave you to be the judge on the styling, because I like some parts of it, yet I can't quite look at this and not see its generic Chrysler roots. Granted, the interior is a bit nicer, and the exterior does look slightly more formal than that of the Chrysler on which its based, but that isn't saying much. I would call this the 1980s equivalent of the Ford Fusion/Lincoln MKZ sedans. Different styling, and different dynamics, yet you can't help but know they're the same car beneath the skin.
Like other Turbo variants of Chrysler products, these Italian-American bastardizations may creep up in value, but since they're often forgotten, prices should stay quite low for some time to come; that's good news if you're seeking an offbeat classic from a marque with rich heritage, but bad if you bought one with the intention of scoring a killer profit. So, would you fall for this offbeat Italian, or is this TC just another ill-fated pseudo luxury car?

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

I know this "sighting" is kinda lame.. but I rather like this car; yes, I realize I have lambasted "donks" and "hi-risers" to no end on more, but if they're done well and not a gaudy trash-heap, I don't mind them as much; case in point here. Take a clean Cutlass, put some nice wheels on it, and don't lift it very much. I like the stock paint, stock interior, and not hacked to hell bodywork. The wheels, too, are pretty nice, IMO; just your basic 22" IROCs with a mild lift. While I dig the wheels on this example, I would how it would look with a set of Forgiatos are maybe Asantis.. hmmmm.. could possibly look even better than this thing... Maybe..

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevy Bel Air

Okay, so this wasn't exactly on the street, but c'mon.. how often do you see non hotrodded four door Chevys, much less non hotrodded plain jane Chevys? If you answered almost never.. you're correct. I spotted this clean example outside a service station in my nieghborhood and had to take a peek. On the surface, it appeared very nice, so I went in to have a closer look; my inspection paid off. This Bel Air (which is a 1960 model) was honestly one of the cleaner cars I've seen in this state; no bondo, no rust, and no apparent weathering. The paint looked clean, the hubcaps were all there, and in pretty good nick, too. Same for the interior; something tells me this particular Bel Air is simply a well-kept daily driver owned by someone who appreciates classic cars. Now only of more owners would share the same views. I only wish more example of these bygone cars were kept in their original state instead of being hacked up into hotrods and otherwise.
While a four door base model isn't really my thing, I appreciate this one for what it is; a peek back 50 years (.. what? really?) into what roamed the streets of Minneapolis' past. I can just picture this thing sitting at the stoplight of Lake and Hennepin being flanked by an olive green over white 1951 Ford convertible with minor surface rust on the left, and a ratty 1936 Ford pickup that has since had its bed removed on the right. Oh how Uptown would've looked much cooler-- and had better cars to spot.