Minneapolis Street Sighting: Pontiac Fiero

I've written in depth about Pontiac's ill attempt at a sportscar numerous times, and I really don't like rehashing the story every single time I feature a Fiero; I will say this, however. Despite the horrible rep the car garners from Toyota MR2 loyalists, the Fiero really isn't a terrible car. Sure, it has its shortcoming, but what (GM) car doesn't?

First conceived in the early 1980s, the P-car was GMs attempt at making a supposed sports-car for the masses; arguably, they didn't fail--completely. Rather than build a genuine sports-car, GM built a sporty-car that happened to get somewhat decent fuel economy.  But more importantly than that little disclaimer, is the Fiero helped Pontiac earn its driving excitment in a way that hadn't originally been planned.

Since the Fiero is mostly fiberglass and the body is made up of composite peices, the car is a popular donor for almost any sort of kit car imaginable; from Lamborghini knockoffs to GT40 knockoffs, Pontiac's little economy car with sporting pretensions started a fad that would be insanely hard to ignore.  Even thirty years after the car's on sale date, people are still hacking up what's left to make a replica of a car they'll never afford.

After reading wikipedia and scouring various forums, I have decided that this particular car is a Formula model. Fitted with 16" wheels and the bodykit from the GT, this represents the not-quite-sportiest model in the lineup, and the monochromatic paint scheme certainly reflects that. Despite the minor blemishes in the front bumper, this example is fairly nice indeed.  I love the dark blue (faded black?) hue and I think it resonates well with the tan interior. Aside from the missing rear louver (cover?) this is one of the nicer non-GT Fieros I've seen, and I hope it stays that way.

These cars are almost guaranteed to have a cult following for years to come. I just hope there's enough Fieros left to see one as the years roll on. I am almost certain that stock Fieros could be the next big "legend Pontiac". We'll just have to wait and see.

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.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Mustang convertible

In the beginning of the 1960s, the idea of an affordable sporty car was mostly a foreign concept, with exceptions made by the Chevrolet Corvette, as well as the AC/Shelby Cobra-- scratch that. Those aren't really what I would call "affordable", and those two certainly weren't practical vehicles by any means.

Whether you are a Mopar nut, a GM guy, or a died-in-the-wool Ford fan, you can agree that 1964 was quite a big year for the automotive landscape in the US; that year marked the launch of three very successful (but very different) performance-oriented vehicles.  On April 17 of that year, Ford launched a vehicle that has not missed a single beat-- the same cannot be said of its current (and longtime) rival, Chevrolet's Camaro.

After going through it's ups and downs, the iconic ponycar is going to be redesigned this upcoming spring to celebrate its 50th birthday; something that cannot be said of its Mopar rivals, nor can be said of its Chevrolet rival either.

I was going to walk readers through a brief history of the Mustang, but I realized that would take quite a while, so I didn't bother.  Instead of shooting a nicer, popularly equipped model, or a model up in ranks like a GT or even a Boss 351 or 429, I chose to spotlight a lower-end Mustang that everyone can enjoy (and also afford.)

At first sight, this particular looked well-looked-after, and it was; no obvious rust or bondo, and no real sign of any sort of damage. Good. As I made my way around the car, my previous assumptions were correct. The paint looked immaculate, but was far from show-quality. Minor ripples and orange peel let me know this Mustang has been repainted at least once-- but the color is a fairly pretty color so I'm not complaining.

The hubcaps were a factory item, too, so no real complaints on that front either, though I would've preferred sportier rolling stock; then again, hubcaps provide appeal to older people--those same people are customers of the new car, too, so I guess hubcaps weren't a bad idea.  I could, however, do without the white-line tires; they just scream "geezer alert", as does the luggage rack festooned to the trunklid.

Inside, this example was clean as a whistle, though I'd be hard-pressed to identify what was stock and what wasn't. I can't really say much in that regard save for that it looked like a well-dressed interior, with the automatic, this pony was ready for cruising on a nice day, as opposed to lighting up a Christmas-tree at the local quarter-mile track.

I was glad I shot this car. Why? Even though first-generation Mustangs are extremely cliche cars by now--especially on the West coast where cars don't rust, I rarely see them outside of dealerships here; I'll take any example I can shoot, even if its a base-model destined to be a subject of Wheeler Dealers.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford F-100

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Porsche 964 Carrera 4

Out of all my entries here, I've only showcased a scant few classic Porsche 911s (well, the other two were 912s but still), and I have come to conclusion on why. Is it because I don't see very many? Nope, it's the polar opposite; I see quite a few, but most of the ones I see are all post-993, and are therefore deemed unblogworthy by me. I try to focus on classic, collector, or downright interesting vehicles, and I'm not quite sure a generic Porsche fits the bill as it should.

Throughout history, there have been historic Porsches in the 911 lineage, and with those, comes a hefty pricetag, and certain versions on the 964 are creeping up there, such is this all-wheel-drive Carrera 4. While no real "performance Porsche"--well okay, it is still a Porsche for crying out loud, it isn't what I would call a "high-end" car by any mean. Sitting above the C4 are the Turbo, Turbo 3.6 and the widebody race-car only RSR--which I'd have a snowball's chance in hell of finding on the street, much less parked in a busy metropolitan area. 

 To be honest, I'm not quite a fan of the 964 as I am the earlier 911s; as the saying goes, age doesn't always improve vehicles--in fact, age often impedes styling progress, as in this case. I do have a soft spot for the earlier 930 cars and the later 993 cars, but somehow the 964 seems.. almost generic. And with reason; it was designed during the most generic time in car design--the early 1990s. Save for a few specimen that languished as carryovers, most new-for-1990 cars were bland at best--including the iconic 911.

Although I am  not a real fan of this era 911 (964), I do appreciate that this one has been kept in near-showroom condition. And without soot on the exhaust, it appears to not be driven like a Porsche should--and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

I will say that even though I don't really like silver on 911s (okay, on some bodystyles it does work), the hue depicted here makes and otherwise bland vehicle look good. The widened (?) stock wheels help too, as does the lack of an obnoxious badging/trim, and altogether, the middle-of-the-road 964 has a very stately appearance.

As stated above, I am not quite a fan of these, but I respect them; I hardly ever see them, and usually when I do, they're fairly beat-up. I am glad I shot this, because it still remains a part of Porsche's history, and one that may very well be extremely sought after in the coming years.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Lamborghini Diablo VT