Minneapolis Street Sighting: Plymouth Fury III convertible

As most of you know, my Plymouth sightings are far and few between; however, most of Plymouths I do spot are Furys—and in turn, most of those are top-tier Fury IIIs. The basic car was sold primarily to taxi fleets and police agencies, and later would gain notoriety for use as film vehicles that would get blown up or crashed in 1970s and 1980s TV shows, like CHiPs and Dukes of Hazzard.

Stepping up a notch got you such conveniences as power steering, stereos, air conditioning, and on hardtops, a vinyl roof was available.  Since this car is a Fury III, its saddled with air, power steering, and it likely had whitewalls with styled hubcaps when it was new.

Power for these big Mopars came in a choice of engines, ranging from a meager 225 slant-six all the way up to the big-boss 440. Given that this is a top-tier model, I highly doubt this one is burdened by the 225, though I have no idea, since it lacks the corresponding badging.

As with the other Furys, this example is extremely well-kept. Unlike the last Fury III I wrote about, which was a sedan, this one sports a set of modern American-Racing wheels versus the stock hubcaps. On this car, the modern rolling stock works; despite my wanting to see more older cars on original rolling stock, these wheels work. I couldn't imagine this Fury with any other rolling stock.

On the outside, this car is very nice. I am usually not a fan of generic red or burgundy cars, but for some reason (probably the black interior and minimal chrome) the hue suits this car perfectly. The badges are nicely preserved too, and I'm glad the owner didn't go the typical route and shave them.  Based on my top two angles for front-quarter shots, the proportions make it seem like big Mopar is moving forward even when its stationary—and the modern wheels further enhance that illusion.

Inside, this thing is set up for modern life. Yes, the interior is mostly stock, but like a vast majority of classic cars, this one sports a modern head unit which likely has iPod capabilities. Quite useful for going about life now. Other than the headunit, nothing seems out of place in this interior, and I quite like that. My favorite part is the huge speedo; for some reason, it vaguely reminds me of the unit in the W110/W111 Benzes. I wonder if that's no accident?

I am glad I did shoot this Fury; while not my favorite car by a longshot, I am glad I did document it; sure beats shooting another cliched donk or generic beater classic with no hubcaps, no?

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Alfa 1600 Spider

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: Pontiac Fiero

I know I am back on the subject of cliche cars, (and yes, all three of these cars posted recently have been cliched, so what)but I happen to like Pontiac's little "halo" car of the 1980s. I have written about the little Pontiac dozens of times, as its probably the most commonly feature 1980s poster-child on this blog. I can't help it--I love these!

What I don't love is the reception they got when new, and nor do I love what happened to a vast majority of these little sportsters. Unlike their main competition (the Toyota MR2), these Fieros were subject to much abuse; everything from being hacked up into horrible replicas of Italian cars, to being used for scrap fiberglass did these cars in; it didn't help that they supposedly had engine fire problems when new, either.

As a result, most of the Fieros I see around are tired, and are probably on their last legs. Nevertheless, I still love them so, even if they're seen as crappy cars by most. 

First off, this example is far from the nicest Fieros I've seen; I wouldn't call it the worst, because, well, it's still a Fiero, and not a hacked-up replica. The paint color is pretty nice, and far from common, and the two-tone looks decent- albeit from far away.

Up close, though, is another matter. No paint peel, and no orange peel, but the finish itself was sort of...flat.  I didn't care for the generic Pontiac Racing badges, though I suppose its better than being debadged. I do, however, quite like the blacked out wheels; they compliment to lower accenting quite well.  Aside from minor rear damage, this is a clean Fiero, and I am glad its still on the road.

I am glad I shot this, though I haven't shot any Fieros recently. I have a long supply, and I think with the exception of two, this is one of the nicest ones I've shot in my career as a photographer.

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