Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Model A pickup

When I'm shooting vehicles on the street, I tend to go after stock-appearing vehicles for the most part; however, a scant few vehicles begin to pique my interest in any condition. Like a majority of other car geeks, I've always been intrigued by hot rods--if they're done right. Normally, old Fords are the cliche hot rod or street rod--and they still are, to an extent. For this reason, I'd likely shy away from them--at car shows. On the street, these things truly do fascinate me. Like a Ferrari parked on the street, hot rods do leave me with an impression be it good or bad. Whether its a '50s style rat rod, or a gussied-up fiberglass body with monstrous wheels and a generic V8, these old Model As can be done up in a variety of ways. I've seen coupes in damn-near every fashion, and the roadsters and rumble-seat convertibles aren't that hard to come by, either. It's fairly rare that I do see a pickup, though, and usually when I do, it's been hacked into a rather distasteful amalgam of a roadster with a pickup bed. Not quite what I hope for when the phrase "Model A pickup" enters my head. Thankfully, the only roadster-pickup I've seen in person was quite tasteful, as is the only true pickup I've seen in person.












Patina; you've gotta love it. On most hacked-up crapfest hot rods, patina is way overdone--to the point of being straight-up ridiculous. On certain examples of the hot-rod genre, it work--quite well. Doing away with the typical off-shades of red, maroon, gray or black primer, this Model A replaces the generic "in" hues with a nice shade of blue-green that may or may not be a factory color. Like so many other "period" hot-rods, this truck has been decked out in a shop-truck manner, complete with door decals emblazoning the shop name. Again, like most of the traditional "shop truck" hot rods, this example of Ford's first popular truck is done up in such a way that I can't even tell if it really does duty as a hauler, or if its just done up like this in a vain attempt to be cool. Regardless, I quite like it; I've always dug Model As, and I've always dug hot rods for some reason. If they're true to the original meaning of what a hot rod is, then I have no problems with them. Now, if thing was sitting on a set of Boyd wheels and wearing a fluorescent paint color, then there would be a hell of a problem. But it isn't, so there's not a problem. The wheels on this guy are damn near perfect; I'm no expert at being original with regards to what wheels I'd slap on vehicles, but I do like these. These stock Ford wheels give this Model A a rat look, but keep it looking classy as well. No doubt that the bigger meats help, too. I'm not too sure of possible handling, but I'm sure it rides and handles much better than something of this nature on previously mentioned Boyd wheels would ever do. I will never grow tired of proper hot rods; they're a part of American culture that I cannot ever seem to hate. Bling-rods? Yes. I detest those. But traditional hot rods? Vehicles like this Model A prove once again that traditional hot rods are the way to go when customizing a 70 year old vehicle. They've stood the test of time for a reason.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

I'll be honest--as a car spotter, most modern cars leave me with shivers, and not in a good way. They're boring, either mind-numbingly fast, or just painfully slow. All electronic driver's aids, and wretched company fascias let casual pedestrians know what company took your money and in return gave you a soulless appliance that just happens to haul ass, and drink gas. The art of building cars is largely left to big-bucks supercars, and grand tourers, but even those cars are largely lacking in soul, in driver involvement, and most of all, a glorious engine note.
Aston Martin has not forgotten this; sure, they build the Rapide--which is hideous, but every premium brand is building a four-door "coupe", so why not? It allows Aston more business, and gives them more money to focus on building the cars Aston likes.
In the Aston stable, there are quite a number of cars, but this "entry level" Aston is what I will focus on today. Launched in 2005,the Vantage was initially offered in V8 trim. A short while later, a convertible was offered as well, called the Volante (Aston speak for roadster). In model year 2008, a much faster, much quicker V12 Vantage joining the ranking of the model range, and sent the V8 Vantage S into the middle of the Vantage totem pole. Fear not, though, the Aston V8 Vantage S is far from just a pretty face.
With 430 horses on tap, and a hair over 360 ft/lbs, Aston's middle-ground supercar can run with the best from America and Germany. Unlike its American and German competition, the Aston V8 Vantage doesn't quite have the wild model range the Corvette and 911 do. But that's not the point. Astons are fairly rare, and each one is special. Chances are, you won't see multiple Astons in the same day on the same block.









With cars this new, I really can't "rate" the condition, nor can I talk about blemishes in the paintwork. What I can judge is the paint color; here, the gray looks absolutely fantastic. Understated is what works best for these British brutes; having something like an Aston in a bright, brash color would be an insult. Yes, these cars do make a statement, but unlike Porsches, Astons need not be flamboyant. The exhaust snarl speaks for itself.
While I despise the wheels on the V8 Vantage, and the DB9, I adore the rolling stock on this Vantage S; brutish, without being hideous. Good sense of porportion, mixed with a slightly classier 5 spoke design--and they don't look generic, nor do they pass for aftermarket cheapies. Aston has perfected the GT car, from engine and gearbox, right down to the massive rolling stock. A 911 this isn't; it's much more special.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Impala

There's really not a more common vehicle here in the Twin Cities than Chevrolet's venerable Impala nameplate; it's a vehicle that's been used as a police car, a taxi, a beater, and now that they're reaching collector status, the Impala nameplate is becoming (or has become) a hit with other motoring crowds. The donk guys like them, because well, the name has instant street cred, the lowrider guys like em too- for the same reason. But it's quite often to find examples that have been tastefully modified, no matter what genre that modifications fall under.
Spotting a custom Impala isn't difficult--I know this; but spotting and shooting the right one can be. In a metropolitan area whose streets are riddled with loose car parts, potholes, bikers, and salt, many classic vehicles eventually succumb to damage--either from everyday driving, or as the result of motorists--or bus drivers who are simply to ignorant to keep an eye on their surroundings.
Not many have stood out over the years, but there are certain years that keep sticking out and beg me to find more examples; like 1958, 1961, the 1962s are the last year of Chevrolets that I dug almost the entire sedan and two door range. Fortunately, these aren't homie favorites yet, so finding clean ones should be easy. Or should it?











I've been car-stalking this clean '62 four door for quite a while now. When I first saw it, it was almost all stock, save for the club sticker. Still is, save for a nice lowering job. Unlike most "club" cars, this Impala hasn't been hacked into a relic of its former self. Wearing a period color, and sporting stock wheels and hubcaps, this classic four door appears that it could've been customized when it was brand new. I'm sure it probably has an airbag suspension, but who cares? It's clean, it looks very nice for what it is, and it doesn't look like a clone of every other customized Impala, four door or not.
I give the owner kudos for sticking to a basic, yet classy look; if this Impala had any other wheels, I'd simply pass it by. Same thing with the color; the brown really sets it off. I don't see many brown cars, and if this were any other color, I'd pass it by. It's not often that I shoot Impala four doors (because honestly they're either beaters, or donks), but it takes the right car to get me to notice. I'd say the owner of this clean '62 definitely made me notice-for the better.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Oldsmobile Cutlass F-85

Here in the Midwest, Oldsmobiles tend to be somewhat common; I've seen a boatload of models spanning the brand's extensive history, but even so, a few models have escaped me until recently. The Cutlass moniker has been used on a vast array of drive configurations
and bodystyles; but what some Oldsmobile enthusiasts may not know, is that the Cutlass didn't always start out as a "economy luxury car.
The F-85 was supposedly labeled as a "sporty variant", but with a meager 215 cube V8, it was anything but. According to Car Life magazine, 60 miles per hour came in a rather bleak 14.5 seconds, and it tripped the quarter mile in just under 22 secods. Hardly performance by anyone's standards. As luck would have it, the F-85 moniker was dropped after the 1964 model year due to faltering sales.
As the years went by, the Cutlass got bigger, and bigger, and the absence of a smaller Oldsmobile Cutlass was quite evident. With the rise of fuel-conscious cars appearing in the 1980s, GM saw room to add what would become one of the most widely known (and successful) addition to the Cutlass lineup--the front-wheel-drive Ciera. Produced from 1982-1996, this bread and butter medium-compact made up the bulk of Oldsmobile sales during its entire production run; it would also represent the first "little" Cutlass in about 20 years since F-85 ceased production.










As readers can plainly see, this example wears quite the patina; rust and faded paint adhere to this vehicle like a fruit fly does a restaurant wall. Although most "patina'd" cars are quite deliberate, this alley-parked F-85 doesn't appear to be an act of deliberate "weathering". Rather, it looks as if it was freshly pulled from an outdoor resting spot.
The paint appears mostly solid, and the surface rust appears relatively minor; the trim, too, is in fairly good shape considering its age. I doubt trim pieces for a first-generation Cutlass of any sort are very easy to find. All the glassware (including the headlights and taillights) are in impeccable shape and free of any sort of damage. As far as I'm concerned, this particular car would be a great restoration candidate; no immediate damage, rust isn't overly ruining the metalwork, and its complete enough that restoration shouldn't be too difficult.
I've never seen one of this generation till now, and I think it needs to be saved. Even though the 1968-1972 cars are more common, and the 1978-1988 cars catching up quickly, there's still room in the Oldsmobile hobby for a few of these; I just wish more people would think of saving these.

New Cars 2013: Dodge Dart

Small cars come and go. Dodge's history with pint-sized motoring has been somewhat lukewarm; first the Omni, and its successor the Neon, and along came the Caliber. All earned a reputation as a "terrible car" for some reason or another. The Omni wasn't a terrible car aside from rust issues-- my grandma had one, and they were quite common when I was a child. Neons, too, proved to be too-little, too-late. Yes, the car was hailed as a wonderful car, even byTiff Nidell, but once age set in, Neons started to fall apart. Leaking headgaskets, dying transmissions, and paint so thin you could scrape it off with your own fingernails (I tried on a junkyard victim), Dodge's 1994 entry into the small car world came up short.
In 2007, the aging Neon was replaced by a funky hatchback intending to do battle with the GM-Toyota collaboration Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix, as well as the Ford Focus ZX5 and Mazda 3. Unforunately for Chrysler, all of these alternatives proved to be better built, more fuel efficient cars. Competition, 1, Dodge 0.
Come 2013 model year, Dodge has a new--and very different outlook. Gone are the psuedo-crossover vibes that the Caliber was digraced with. Out with the cheap, Maisto-like build quality, too. The new Dodge Dart looks amazing in pictures, and in person it looks no different. Taking its name from yesteryear, it's clear Dodge is quite happy with the original nameplate. Fitted to a small car produced from 1960 to 1976, its clear the the first incarnation of the Dart was a success. After all, it spawned variations including station wagons, convertibles, and even muscle car versions; it was offered in a variety of colors ranging from mundane to wild, as well, and offered a bevy of interior choices to boot. Can the new one do the same?
Yes. Yes it can. For starters, the new car is available in a wide variety of wild colors; shades of oranges and bright blues and greens let customers know that Dodge (or should I say Fiat?) is looking after younger buyers? Like the car that first bore its namesake, the new Dart will have a good selection of performance parts from Mopar available quite soon. And here's one more thing--as with its 1960s muscle car forebear, the GTS trimline returns on a hotted up Dart.
Inside, interior materials are vastly better than anything ever turned out in the past ten year by Chrysler; the dash is soft-touch, the seats and steering wheel feel catered to the cars' occupants, and from my quick seat-time in one, not a cheap plastic surface mars the whole interior. Job well done, here.
With fuel efficiency in the high 20s in city driving and about 40 on the highway, the Dart isn't quite the fuel economy leader Chrysler was hoping for, nor does it fall to the back of the pack. Instead, the 29/38 rating is just about in line with other compact cars. To aid in the fuel-efficiency, a small turbo four is offered to boost driving fun; a normally aspirated four is also available, but I would skip it if you're any sort of enthusiast. I would also skip the chintzy (and very 2000s-era-like) hubcaps, and go straight for the alloy or aluminum wheels instead.
After playing second fiddle for more than a decade, Dodge has quite a bit of catching up to do--and with the Dart, they should be able to catch up just fine.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Fairmont

Ford has had its fair share of shit cars, be it by reputation, or by choice. In the Malaise-era, carmakers were scrambling to produce low-cost cars-for a low cost. Platform was nothing new to Ford, and during the Malaise-era, the blatant rebadging of Fords to Mercury was ever apparent. Billed initially as a low-cost medium-sized car, the Fairmont was the result of slipshod engineering--and build quality. I've never seen two Fairmonts with identical panel gaps--even in commercials. And the styling was.. well, for Christ's sake just look at it! Squares here, squares there, squares everywhere--except the wheels obviously.
To add to the Fairmonts not-all-that-redeeming characteristics, it was a choice as a baddie car in car chase movies--and it gained a starring role in many an episode of "Dukes of Hazzard". But not all was bad.
Since it shares its platform with the Mustang (and quite a variety of other cars), pillaging some junkyard speed parts should be no issue; fitting them shouldn't be a hassle either. Fixing the ever-so-common rust however... no one makes reproduction parts for these cars, and that's a shame because I'd hate to cut up a clean car to save a shit one. On second thought, just start with a clean car in the first place--well.. okay, maybe not. I have a thing for the two-door; it's a nice, cleanly designed (for its time) simple little car that be force-fed quite big power numbers. Any big engine will fit in the bay, and the addition of stickier rolling stock only sweetens the deal.. But what about the four doors?
Often overlooked by enthusiasts and hot-rodders, the four-doors were Ford's bread and butter vehicles. Available only with the six cylinders, they were common with criminals, detectives, and other markets where fleet sales mattered, and engine output did not. But is that the point of the Fairmont four door? Probably not. Vynil seats, monotone paint, and black stock wheels (because steelies sounds too boring, right?) mark this sedan as a basic, likely ex-fleet or rental car. It'd be a good bad-guy car, too, or maybe even a good sleeper.. Or maybe I'm reading too much into this plain-jane sedan.








On the surface, this Fairmont appears to be a beater in awful shape; but considering the lack of surviving Fairmonts, this example is one of the cleaner ones I've seen--that's pretty sad in itself.
Tired brown paint compliments the rusted steelies well; with the addition of the broken trunk badge, this four-door seems like it'd be the perfect "cheap used car" about ten or so years ago. Today, this thing could pass merely for a "beater". Not a good fate for what used to be a popular car.
I like the overall appearance of this old Ford even if it is a bit messy; it obviously could stand a bit of a clean up, but what for? In this shape, it's destined to be scrap metal before long. Ironically, even though this is the Maverick's successor, I see way more Mavericks than any Fairmont. Maybe the Maverick was a better built car?
I don't know, but one thing's for certain; I'm glad I shot this turd when I did. It's not quite the most exciting I've shot, but in a city where classic cars often succumb to horrible modifications if not rust, a good spotting is a good spotting.