Parking Lot Pimpin: Mazda Miata MX-5

 

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: 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: 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 :)