Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ford Probe LX

With the sporty-car segment booming thanks to the likes of the Toyota Celica, Honda Prelude, and Mitsubishi Eclipse/Plymouth Laser/Eagle Talon, Ford knew it could not sit out. Still in their partnership with Mazda, they decided to give this market a chance-- but not without a controversy. Initially, this new sporty car was intended to replace the much-loved Mustang. A foul cry from enthusiasts, owners, and car magazines alike promptly forced Ford--and Mazda--to rethink the idea. Instead of carrying the famous Mustang nameplate, this new car wore a new name--Probe; and it had a twin--the Mazda MX-6.
Unfortunately, in the later 1990s, the sporty-car market began a slippery decline; the Eclipse lost its luster, the Celica became a shadow of its former self, and Prelude was replaced by the Accord coupe, and after years of dwindling sales, Ford finally pulled the plug in 1997 with that being its worst year--and the worst selling Ford car of that year to boot.
While the other cars I named would go on to have a vast community of enthusiasts and aftermarket support, the Probe--and the MX-6 received very little of either. Yes, there were Probe enthusiasts, and people did "rice them out", examples of such were few and far between, especially compared to the Eclipse and Celica with which it competed.
I do like the second generation cars made from 1993 to 1997, but I have to say finding an early first generation, like this 1990 or 1991 LX is truly icing on the cake for me. What could only be better? Finding a mint GT or--even better--a mint GT Turbo.








It seems as though my 1990s cars are horrible examples of the breed, and this Probe LX is certainly no different. Shod of it centercaps, and equipped with enough tape to qualify for the 24 Hours of Lemons, this once-sporty coupe has fallen down the totem pole even lower; when new, this LX was a modestly equipped vehicle with sporty looks. Now, this coupe is nothing but a beater. I will say this, however. Unlike most cars of this era, the Probe is only now just beginning to rust. I can't say that about the Ford Escorts and F-150s of this vintage, that's for sure.
I've always liked these, and this color was one of my favorites growing up. It's sad to see a childhood icon slowly succumbing to tinworm, but I suppose that's the fate for most of these cars. Aside from being raced on the Lemons circuit, this generation of Probe receives almost no fanfare. I sometimes wonder if I'm weird for liking these--I've always thought these were quite cool. I had a babysitter with one, and I--for whatever reason--absolutely loved it. Hers was this color, too. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, but I had tremendous fun shooting this little guy. Now, imagine my excitement if this example were a GT/Turbo!

Minneapolis Street Sighting: The Abandonments

Every so often, when scouting the city, I come across various abandoned vehicles; some are easily dismissed as crap, and I don't shoot them. Others beg me to stop and take a closer gander. This pair of classic American workhorses piqued my interest enough for me to hop off my bike and dig out my camera.
Trucks like this are usually found in Kansas, and not in Minnesota--at least not in the Twin Cities. Parked on Portland and I think 37th or 38th, this pair was sitting there for what seemed like eternity. It seems that this lot is a decaying dumping grounds for anything abandoned; I've seen dead Ford Tempos, a few Pontiac Sunfires, and a mid 1980s Chevrolet S-10, but never anything as lucky as this find--and nothing quite as cool since.














First things first, this is a relatively early Dodge pickup; I used Allpar as a reference site, and I have come up with this one as a 1941 model or thereabouts; this bodystyle was introduced in 1939, and continued through the 1947 model year. The chassis code for these trucks was WC for the basic 1/2 ton models, and WD for full-fledged one ton versions.
Las registered in 1974, this poor truck certainly has seen better days. Being off the road for more than thirty-five years, it looked to be in reasonably decent shape, especially for a Minnesota truck. Sure, it probably has some hidden rust, but what Minnesota truck left to the elements doesn't?
The paint is obviously shot, but the body itself doesn't look to be too far gone. All the emblems are there, and surprisingly, all are in pretty nice shape. Even the interior looks quite nice for its age. I'm no expert, but I'd say this Dodge would probably make a good restoration project if someone hasn't already snapped it up.













Next up is this 1967-1972 GMC pickup; for being nearly thirty years newer than the Dodge, it seems to be worse off; the bedsides are so caked with rust that they'd likely need replacement skins if a future owner wanted to have a functional truck. Amazingly, the rest of the truck looks no worse than trucks found in Kansas or Oklahoma; I guess rustproof hadn't gotten to trucks when this one was built. Aside from the bed, this poor GMC looks like it probably is a good starting point for a project, provided there isn't any hidden rust. It's got current collector plates, so I'm sort of miffed about why its just sitting there; maybe it's going to be restored, along with the Dodge. I base that theory on the fact that both trucks dissappeared about the same time, never to be seen again. I did find a rotten same-era GM cab, and a set of fairly rusty white trailer wheels commonly used on this generation truck so who knows.
This is a one-time, as I've never found anything this cool in that spot since--and believe me, I keep looking. I'm just glad I took out my camera when I did, and documented these two pieces of American history.