Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chrevrolet Corvair convertible

I know I recently posted a similar Corvair; as of late, these cars have been become my latest automotive obsession; as a casual observer of most GMs, I never really paid these little cars any attention until recently. While I am not quite a fan of the first generation cars, the second generation fixed everything I didn't like about the first. The tapered rear fascia, and more aerodynamic front fascia take away all the chrome excess that seemed, quite frankly, out of place. Gone are the chunky, off-balance lines of the the front fascia that made the first generation have the appearance of a pre-wrecked vehicle. While some may argue that the later cars almost look European, I counter with, "so what?" The styling is much cleaner, and the details are executed far better than those of the first generation car.
Usually, I give a car a good once over before I begin to shoot it; this Corvair was no exception. Parked just off of Lake, I knew I found something worthwhile when I caught a quick glimpse. I had to turn around and take a peek. I think this was the first example of this generation I shot, and despite my claiming otherwise, this might have been the car that got me hooked on these things. I stood there, barely taking in what I had seen. I tried for the best pictures, but I did feel as if I was in a rush for some reason or another.
This example wasn't quite as nice as the one I posted earlier, but I do understand that living in a fairly harsh climate does what it does to cars; no, this little gem didn't have any rust that I could see, but the paint wasn't quite as shiny as I would've hope-- then again, off-white doesn't need to be horrendously shiny. I also like the factory hubcaps on this example, though I think the slot-style seen on the maroon car I posted earlier looks worlds better. Granted, that one was a sportier model than this 140-series vert, but still.
I definitely have a soft sport for these later-series Corvairs, and despite their iffy driving dynamics, I don't understand why they get such a terrible rap. Sure, they're "prone to rollover" and have "handling issues", but I'm sure they're nowhere near as dangerous as a certain politician, who coincidentally knows nothing about cars, made them out to be. After all, he drives a Ford Explorer-- which as you may remember was subject to a recall insinuating that they would rollover at the mere hint of a flat tire. That being said, I quite like these cars, and I hope more and more owners cherish their babies and keep them alive for a new generation of car enthusiasts.

Minneapolis Strreet Sighting: Pontiac Catalina

For one reason or another, most of the big GM boats I see languishing in this city are of the Chevy or Buick variety, and perhaps an Oldsmobile a week; Pontiacs of any variety (at least the ones cool enough to shoot) are few and far between. Riding down a side street just across Lagoon Ave, I saw a little glimmer of what I thought were tailfins; I immediately sprang into action, thinking that some sort of Cadillac would greet me when I arrived. I was wrong; very wrong.
1959 was a good year for GM styling; the Cadillacs looked unmistakable, the Chevy lineup looked badass with its "slit eye" taillights and accompanying fins, the Oldsmobiles looked a bit goofy, and the Buicks simply looked mean. I think my second favorite 1959 GM lineup is the Pontiacs. They have the same badass look as the Chevys, but somehow the split-grille front end seems to suit this cars a little bit better than Chevy's chrome-laced fascia. Don't get me wrong, I do like the Chevy, but the Pontiac styling seems to fit this bodystyle a bit better.
As I stated earlier, 1959 was a pretty awesome year for GM styling; across the board, each GM lineup had their own styling cues, and while some of the vehicles could be called mere rebadges, casual observers wouldn't notice; unlike modern GM rebadges, each brand utilized their own respective engines, trannies, and little more than basic body structure was shared. While Chevy, Buick and Olds had a series of engines, Pontiac opted for a lone 389 with various setups for carburetors, and dealt with two different trannies to increase horsepower. I don't remember whether this car was motivated by a stickshift or auto, but whatever the case, it probably has enough power to pull the trailer I tried so hard to remove from the pictures.
As with all older cars in this state, it appears this classic Poncho is infected with tinworm; thankfully, although the paint is dry, drab, and there is a fair amount of surface rust, it doesn't appear to be too gone; for all we know, this could clean up with a bit of elbow grease. The badges are in decent shape, as are the probably-hard-to-replace hubcaps; even the glass (taillight lenses in particular) is in excellent shape, especially considering the age of this thing. The first thing I would do is get what little body rust there is fixed, and then do a decent wash, wax, and polish; depsite my love for aftermarket wheels on classic cars, I'd spiffy up the stock hubbies and rock em. A car like this deserved to be left stock, and that's exactly what I'd do.

Colin's Toybox: Hot Wheels Ford Maverick Grabber

This week, I bring you one of my favorite mass-produced cars, but in small-scale form, from legendary toy company, Hot Wheels. Like I explained last week, in the later half of the 2010s, Hot Wheels revamped their product line, and introduced a whole slew of models aimed to recapturing the generation of car enthusiasts they feared were lost. Out with the generic new exotics, in with cars that are destined to become future classic cars among their respective followings.
Like the Ferrari 512 I showed of last week, I've had these Mavericks for a little bit, and in a mass frenzy, I began opening my cars, so I could photograph them among their peers; I think I found another favorite Hot Wheels car-- this Maverick is awesome! As I have explained before, the Maverick is one of those cars that sparked my interest as a young enthusiast, and it's so great to finally to see one being made in scale. Yes, Hot Wheels did one in 1970, called the Mighty Maverick, but those are extremely pricey these days, even for a iffy one. Some thirty-five years later, Motor Max brand Fresh Cherries did a series of Mavericks, too. But, like most newer toy companies, Fresh Cherries suffered from distribution problems, and was eventually canned.
This Hot Wheels version is probably one of my favorite non-retro Hot Wheels to come out in some time; the choice of colors and wheels is pretty nice, although the colors look more like Mustang colors than Maverick colors, though this particular diecast represents a Grabber, so who knows. I do quite like the red and blue car, but I am not too sold on the gold scheme; I think I only bought it because it was a Maverick, and I had to have it. Either way, I don't have all the variations, and there are still many more being released this upcoming year that I want.
I dare say that despite the ugly tampos that plague some of their recent offerings, Hot Wheels is generally on a roll, and with cars like the Maverick being introduced, I don't see that stream of success ending any time soon. It's about time these cars got introduced to a new generation; thank you, Hot Wheels, for keeping the spirit of my youth alive.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Chevrolet Monte Carlo LS

I normally refrain from posting "donk" style cars, but unfortunately, I have posted a few on here; I don't like the overall trend, but there are some examples of the breed that don't deserve as much criticism as other cars in this genre. I don't like this Monte Carlo, though I will say the owner has done a remarkably non-half-assed job at least when it comes to coordination. However, he didn't quite pick a very good theme here; I realize this is Minnesota, and Vikings fans like the colors purple and yellow. And being a donkryder, their main object is to be considered "cool" among their peers.
I am in no way a fan of the Vikings (okay, I am a little bit, but overall, I'm not into sports.), and I am not really a fan of this Vikings-themed Monte Carlo. First off, the paint scheme is....coherent at least. But that's where my initial praise of this once-proud Chevrolet two door stops; the wheels are just....shit. Horrible design, horrible size, but I give the owner credit for not leaving this particular set of "me-toos" chrome. When painted, the ugliness isn't quite so obvious unless you're a pro at naming aftermarket wheels.
Despite the ungainliness of the vehicle mods, this 1980-1985 Monte Carlo appears to be in decent condition, although I'm guessing it started of as a baby blue vehicle, judging by the interior alone. While it looks alright from afar, up close, an observer can tell that this vehicle likely has frame damage; the door to fender line is so uneven it makes a Perodua Kelisa look like a well-finished little car; not exactly words of encouragement, are they? I also witnessed this behemoth start up, and rather than accelerate as smoothly as anything on giant wheels should, this thing sputtered and coughed, and had to be jump started; not exactly a fine selling point, if indeed this thing is looking for a new owner, now is it? Also, it doesn't appear that this fine example of Chevrolet's last RWD semi-luxury two-door has exhaust pipes, and it would seem that this thing would be sporting some. Maybe the owner ran out of the funds necessary to buy the "chrome pipes" that these rolling eyesores often sport?
I don't know, or care, why this example lacks so many items necessary for a car, but I do think that in this condition, regardless of audience, this will be a tough sell made even more-so by the off-putting paint scheme and wheel choice. I wish the owner the best of luck selling it, because nearly a year later, it's still languishing out front of the tire store on Lake and Park . Maybe the owner should simply give up, and park it in a lake.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Buick Roadmaster

Okay, bored of Buicks the readers probably are, so here's my last one for the time being. I do know that the Roadmaster sedan, and its wagon kin are by no means performance cars, nor were they intended to be such; Whereas the Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis were Ford's luxury rear-wheel-drive sedans of the 1990s, the Cadillac Fleetwood and Buick Roadmaster were GMs. Fitted with the 5.7 LT1 Corvette engine, these big bruisers certainly weren't slouches in day-to-day driving, but that isn't the point. These cars came out in a time when American excess still reigned in the car market.
Seen basking in the winter night, this big Buick is a rather nice example of Buick's most glamorous efforts of the 1990s; it's twin, the Chevrolet Caprice was used by police agencies around the world, and this Roadmaster was the choice for retirees and business types all over the US. Certainly, options like a leather padded roof, a choice of vynil roofs, simulated wire hubcaps (obviously shown here) and an optional gold package only aided its choice to its demographic. Long before the idea of riding big rim, and their popularity with lowriding hooligans, the big Buick defined "classy" for GM's upper-middle-class buyers who couldn't yet step up to a Cadillac Brougham or Fleetwood. Available in a host of elegant colors and interior trim, this car could positive be billed as one of the best kept luxury secrets on the used car market; unlike Cadillacs, the Roadmasters don't quite have the cult following that commands high prices--yet. As more and more of these barges start disappearing, I fear prices will skyrocket, not necessarily out of supply and demand, but more as an effect of various car culture groups snatching up all the clean ones they can find. So, in a way, sort of a supply versus demand type thing, but more in a way that the IROC-Z Camaros and Monte Carlo SS' are subject to; cult cars that have the price driven up as a factor of perceived collectability.
I understand that certain cars will command higher prices for car enthusiasts of all walks of life, but for now, the Roadmaster shouldn't; it is relatively rare, yes, but since most of them were babied since new, finding a pretty clean one shouldn't prove to be difficult-- okay, I lied. I can't find many near me on Autotrader or craigslist,, so maybe the rarity factor could be problem. Still, though, there is no reason that these can't be bought cheaply. For six grand with low miles, you too could have a badass luxury car that shares enough parts with a contemporary Corvette should you want something a little spicier to do a daily commute in. Nothing wrong with smoking a new Mustang GT while lugging four friends to church, right?

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Buick Grand National

Now, to bring back proper GM performance; in the introduction of the 1980s, performance was still on its edge. Ford had just reintroduced the 5.0 for the Mustang, and the Camaro and Firebird still had a V8 option; but there was a new--and growing-- trend: forced induction. GM implemented turbo technology in the late 1970s on a Pontiac V8 with just over three hundred cubes of displacement and from what I understand, this was a terrible decision at best; lousy power figures, and the reliability for a 2.2L Ecotec four cylinder did a great combination not make. However, not one to give up, GM tried their luck again, and this time with much success.
Launched in 1982, the two-tone Grand National would be the turning point for a new point in GM performance history; with the 3.8 V6 and a turbo, a new phenomenon was born almost overnight; people found ways to easily tune these cars to almost double their stock power numbers and still be streetable. Although the first of these legends had a rather tame 125 horses from a nonturbo 4.1 V8 (yes, that 4100 disaster), the addition of a turbo the following year made people take notice. By 1987, the stock GN was capable of 245 horses, and 355 horses, more power than contemporary V8s; as far as performance legends go, think of the turbo Buicks as America's Skyline GTS. Corny, I know, but they're both rear wheel drive, turbo-powered six cylinder two doors.
After doing a fair amount of research, I am truly stunned that I saw this car; in 1982, the Regal Sport Coupe was the option with two tone paint; crystal black with gunmetal gray midsection, and 2022 of these were produced. Rare enough, right? Just 50 of these Sport Coupes were adittionally equipped with the Grand National package that includes badging, special seats and steering wheels, the turbine wheels, of course, the turbo'd 3.8. The following year, these two-tone Regals would be dubbed the T-Type, and were a regular, less-rare production option. That means, in the dead of winter, in one of the least car friendly states, I saw a one of fifty vehicle-- probably a once in a lifetime event.
And what a beauty this thing was; I mean, I've seen this around from time to time, but never really had that chance to photograph it, and I do realize this pictures aren't the greatest. It doesn't exhibit in rust, and aside from the minor gripes about the leading edge of the hood, this rare best was impeccably clean, especially for a car that appears to be driven all year round.
Major, major kudos to the owner for keeping such an awesome car alive and well in this hellish state, and I applaud him for driving it-- but I can only hope it doesn't suffer from one of our idiot drivers. If there's one thing I would do, is fix the little area by the drivers' side headlight. Other than that minor niggle, this is a great car that deserves to be preserved, but also driven.