Minneapolis Street Sighting: Isuzu VehiCROSS 4WD

I love Japanese vehicles, and I tend to make that known here on The Automotive Way; unfortunately, around Minneapolis, most of the Japanese vehicles I see are of the garden variety-- typical Honda Civics, Toyota Camrys, and the occasional Suzuki Swift, and for light trucks, the standard of my sightings is the typical Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier that has somehow escaped being hacked into a minitruck.

As a young child, I was fascinated by oddball Japanese makes, and I still am. Isuzu is a make I have always wondered about, because when I was growing up, I noticed that a vast majority of their products had been rebadged for other brands--or were in-fact cheaply badge-engineered versions of vehicles sold by other makes. Case in point, the Isuzu Trooper and Acura SLX, and the Chevrolet S10/GMC Sonoma and Isuzu Hombre. But what happens when Isuzu churns out a vehicle nothing like anything else available? The result is this--the VehiCROSS.  Although the mechanicals are pure Trooper, the styling is all its own. And it looks--well, see for yourself. I like these, but many potential customers found the styling quite polarizing; as a result, production was extremely limited, and the VehiCROSS is a scarce find today.

I have seen a scant ten or fifteen throughout my life, and most of the ones I've seen have been silver like this one; they also came in black, white and yellow, with green and red being even more rare than the normal colors.

I adore this example; yes, its quite dusty, and yes it could use a good wash, but I applaud the owner for not letting it rust. All the appropriate trim and badges are in place, including the much-gone 4WD badge on the tailgate. I am sad that this example suffers from suburbanitis and it will never see a dirt road in its life. Then again, I haven't seen this one since I shot it nearly three years ago, so I don't really know what became of it.

I like these, and because they're quite scarce, I'm glad I shot this. I haven't seen it since, and I haven't seen another VehiCROSS since. I would love to find another one someday, and do a better shoot of it.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Toyota MR2 Spider

I've written about Toyota quite often here; I love the company's old philosophy for making good, fun, driver's cars, and other carmakers did too. Hell,Lotus built off the "MR" idea for their Elise/Exige duo, and the idea of building a small, lightweight, fun-to-drive car still rings true today--for Lotus. The Toyota MR2 has been around since 1985, and died in 2007 after a drastic change in 1999. When the third-generation car came out in 1999, the hardtop died, and the MR was turned into a convertible. It was also marketed as kind of a poor-man's Boxster, and used a high-revving 1.8L four used in the contemporary Celica and Corolla. In its favor, the little guy only weighed a smidgen over 2000 pounds; while not an overly quick vehicle, Toyota's MR2 was not slow by any means.

 As the years wore on,and US crash regulations hindered vehicle styling more and more (raising bumper height and ride height requirement, adding stricter door re-enforcements, etc.), the MR2 gained a raised ride height, a weight gain,and an increase in MSRP, thus making the choice between this and a Boxster even easier. In 2005, when the MR2 earned its last year for US sales, there was talking of Lotus bringing over the Elise, which--well-- why have the MR2 when you can have a Lotus?

In any event, these cars are still coveted today, and the aftermarket potential is quite broad; back in 2004 and 2005, when the import-tuning scene was at its peak, the MR2 was a hot choice; there were even examples featured in 2Fast 2Furious, as well as Tokyo Drift. Recently, though,  I have not seen a nice one around.

While I do quite like the MR2 in general, this one leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.While I generally approve of JDM-style modifications, I am not quite a fan of everything done on this example. I adore the white and black combination, and the Panda license plate is quite cute.

The overall appearance, with its little stickers and one-too-many badges clinches it for me. If the owner left off the stupid sticker, the TRD badge, or the JDM front badge, it would be nearly perfect.

I don't see these much anymore despite being relatively new. I liked these when they first came out, and I still do. For that reason alone, I hope I can shoot a cleaner or at least, less molested example.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Econline

I just now realized; despite claiming that the Econline is a "rare beast" in my parts, I've featured my fair share of them over the years. Not surprisingly, a majority of the ones I've featured have been either rustbuckets, or aging daily drivers that need to be restored. I have never featured a custom Econoline until now.

During the 1970s, long before minitrucks, and pavement-queen hillbilly trucks roamed the streets, a different  kind of custom truck scene was in full-swing" the custom van era.  Vanners would buy the latest and greatest from America's top-three brands (Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford) either fully customized from the dealer, or they could buy a stock van and do it themselves? But what about the beginner vanning enthusiast? That's where vehicles like this one come into play.  I'm no expert on paint styles and decal styles, but the Ansen wheels and raised white-letter tires suggest that this Econoline has worn this scheme for at least forty years--if not more.

So, will these custom vans be looked at like hot rods are today? Only time will tell, but I can already see a jump in custom vans on the streets. Presence? Yes. Common?  Not quite.

Sporting what I assume is a factory color, and period-correct tape stripes, this seems like it'd be more at home in a California home video than parked on a deserted sidestreet in the middle of the snowiest city in America. But rest assured this one doesn't get driven in the winter.

As I explained up top, these tapestripes could've been applied sometime in the early 1970s; same thing with the choice of rolling stock.  While I don't really approve of the painted-over chrome, it kind of suits the 1970s feel this owner was going for (or has kept); believe it or not, I can see this van parked next to a 1967 Cougar or 1964.5 Mustang done up the same way.

I am glad I shot this one when I did, though, because I haven't seen it in quite awhile. Here's hoping that a) its still on the road and b) that it still looks like this, patina-be-damned.

Boise Street Sighting: Ford Model A

As a longtime fan of post-war cars, pre-war cars are another item entirely; its not that I don't like them, per se, I just don't really know very much about vehicles made before 1940 or thereabouts. I do have a few favorites, though, and those all come from the Blue Oval. One of which is the legendary Ford Model A

In the early days of the automobile, Henry Ford made a killing in profits, mainly when he introduced the assembly line. His first major fruit came with the introduction of the Model T, and even though it was produced for eighteen years( 1908 through 1926), its successor would really put Ford on the map forever; like its Model T forebear, the A was also available in a wide range of bodystyles, and since so many were sold, and back then, cars had to travel much rougher terrain than their modern counterparts, the Model A doubled as the first successful SUV.

Coming in a wide range of bodies, the Model A truly was a car (or truck) for everyone. Two doors, Four doors, convertibles, pickups, you name it, one was available. It really is odd to see one model range be this comprehensive, but, really, up until the 1980s, that was the norm, and in Europe, its still common for a model range to be this comprehensive.

In the early days of hotrodding, Ford's venerable Model A proved to be a successful platform; likewise, the "A" was also a popular choice for auto restorers as well as enthusiasts of all ages. Case in point? The early As have been a staple in the Hot Wheels lineup since the 1970s. 

I hardly ever see vehicles this old, so I'm not going to whine about the condition too much; most of the Model As I see are either well-kept, decently restored, or have been chopped up and turned into various degrees of hot-roddisms.  This pickup is the antithesis of all that.

Baked in rust-coated stock body panels save for what looks like an aluminum hood, this old truck is in "as-used" condition, and would likely pass as a "used truck" in this region as late as the mid-1970s. After all, used late 1950s trucks are somewhat common in the dry Idaho climate.

Now, obviously, everything is stock, and the interior is about as bare-bones as it gets, but make no mistake, it is a truck--and is likely still a workhorse, even to this day.

I shot this in winter 2010 I believe, and I have not seen it since. I am glad I shot this for two reasons (besides the fact that I only have seen it once); I like roadster pickups, and this is a nice change from the rodded ones I see here at car shows.

Boise Street Sighting: Chevrolet Camaro

As a car aficionado, I try to steer clear of putting cliched cars on this blog. Part of that cliche criteria includes leaving out--or not shooting-- certain vehicles that are commonplace in damn near every subculture of the automotive hobby. I realize that Camaros and Firebirds are everyman's muscle-car, as is the Ford side with its Mustang and Cougars, and will continue to be so for quite some time, but there are certain versions of every single one of the mentioned cars that tickle my fancy.

Growing up in Kansas, I was inundated with images with third-gen GM F-Bodies slathered with various redneck and/or NASCAR stickers. As I got older, the beater third-generation turned into a beater fourth-generation, and then, slowly but surely, the amount of beater F-Bodies tapered off into near extinction.   Fear not, though, a part of the country exists where ever F-Bodies seem to thrive--not in large numbers, but they thrive nonetheless. Unfortunately, the surviving cars aren't quite what I would call Concours material.

First off, I realize there are a few things that aren't quite "right" with this particular car; I love the color on this one, and I do like the base steel wheels as opposed to the popular Rallye wheels. But those are the only pluses I'll give it.

Upon closer inspection, is this even a legitimate SS? Sure, it has the badges, but they're off-center and tacked in odd places.  Also, the much-loved "SS stripes" are not quite straight either, not to mention their piss-poor condition. Although I realize that the SS package wasn't strictly about power, I don't think I've ever seen a second gen SS with a padded vinyl roof. Shame, really, because honestly I like this application.

I don't recall what the interior looked like, but I can only imagine; the Idaho sun probably cracked the dash to shreds and decades of Bubba driving probably ripped the seat to bits. This poor Camaro definitely deserves more.

I am glad I shot this, because I have not seen it since; or maybe I have seen it because its been restored and I didn't recognize it? Or--worst case here is, it would up in Jalopy Jungle because Bubba didn't know how to fix it mechanically?

Either way, this poor muscle car definitely deserved a better fate than being left out in the sun to dry-rot.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible

I have always been a sucker for some muscle cars, but like all automotive enthusiasts, I have my favorites; from a young age, the Oldsmobile Cutlass has been a nameplate that I've always loved, no matter what the bodystyle. Even the dowdy Calais from 1985-1991 was sort of a "do want" car for me as a child. There was one particular generation of Cutlass I never cared for, and that was the final generation of the nameplate; in 1997, GM decided to slap the much-heralded name onto a non-descript four-door midsize almost-economy car. But, I can see the logic. It was almost an exact clone of the Chevrolet Malibu. Just as it was 25 years prior to that car's introduction.

 Like its front-wheel-drive counterparts, these 1970s A-bodies could either be had in economical forms (base, six-cylinder, automatics) or muscle car forms (455 cubes and a four-speed sticks), and could be had in a variety of bodystyles (also like the modern front-wheel-drive counterparts). While no real muscle car, the step-down from the 442 was still a nice looking car, and certainly had more attitude than its modern-day counterpart.

 As far as GM's A-bodies goes (and this also holds true for their FWD counterparts) I've liked the Oldsmobiles the best, and this convertible is no exception. I've liked the convertibles more than the fastbacks, but I think I like the notchback best. However, I have not seen a notchback in the flesh, so this one has to do.

I dig the triple white scheme, and the color-keyed rallye wheels are icing on the cake. Oddly enough, the black-on-white collector plates look like they were made with this Cutlass in mind. Paint finish is great, as well as trim, though there are a few things that bug me a bit. First off, this example looks like, while it is pampered, it is also a daily driver. Unfortunately, this Cut has earned a little bit of road rash, but on the plus side, it looks easily fixable

Inside, all was well, too, but there was one glaring problem; the alignment was a bit screwed up as evidenced by the off-canter steering wheel; other than that, the interior was in as nice of shape as the exterior, and its one place I'd gladly plant myself for a nice roadtrip.

I don't see many Cutlasses, but when I do they fall into two categories--half-assed donks, or redneck beaters. I'm glad I was able to shoot a nice one--at nighttime no less. I hope I can find a nicer one now that I know what I'm doing with my camera :)