Minneapolis Street Sighting: MGA 1600 hardtop

As I can attest, each day brings new surprises, and new cars. Every day, there are places I head off to in hopes of finding that day's "prized" find. Be it a rubber bumper MG, or an Austin Healey 100-6, British cars are now more appealing to me than ever. Growing up, I was never all that interested in British roadsters, but as I matured, so did my taste in cars.
The car that did it for me was the Triumph TR-6. From there, I began delving myself further and further into reading material that focused on England's best; I started watching more and more "Wheeler Dealers" too, and found myself liking the British car scene more than its American counterpart.
Over the last few years, I have gained great appreciation of roadsters of all walks of British life, and I have to say that MG is now one of my favorite makers, and the MGA eclipses the MGB in terms of my favorite vehicle from that group.











Parked outside of Quality Coaches, I've seen this red one before; this is the first time I've had the opportunity to shoot it in depth, and man, am I glad I took the opportunity. This little guy is awesome! I normally detest red cars but not in this case! A rare time when red does indeed work, this is. All the chrome is intact, too, and it helps set off the red-- I strongly feel that a black MGA wouldn't have the same effect on me. It helps that the chrome is in great shape, as are the factory wire wheels. The luggage rack is in astonishing shape as well, ensuring that this classic MGA is owned by a careful enthusiast.
If I had an MGA, this is exactly how mine would look-- well, minus the luggage rack. To me, having a luggage rack--while useful-- brings down the joy of this car. This is not a camping or vacation car; this is a car you buy to drive. If you desire a camper, get one, but don't try to turn an MGA into one. It won't work.
I'm glad I spotted this little MGA when I did, because I haven't seen it since; well spotted, and well shot, this little British roadster certainly my day!

Colin's Toybox: Tomica Toyota iQ

By now, reader should know I'm a diecast junkie; I collect almost everything and anything. I have long had an interest in JDM cars, so it's natural I would develop an interest in JDM toys as well, right? Yep. You're correct.
I have long known about Tomicas, but unfortunately, I've been too scared to try using my debit card to buy internationally. Thankfully, this past spring, my aunt and uncle changed all that. They went to Japan, and brought me back several Tomicas, most of which are Kei cars.
The first one to be showcased is this little Toyota iQ. We do get this car in the states as a Scion iQ, but somehow the Toyota marque rolls of the tongue more fluidity. This model is white, and like the real thing, the taillights are silver-- a sharp contrast against the red norm. Like the real car, this Tomica version is quite small; I dare say it comes across as rather "cute." Just like my AutoArt MR-Spyders, this Toyota iQ certainly is one of my favorite "cute" diecasts. Would I get another? Absolutely! I don't like the real car, but as a toy, it's freaking adorable!
This is by far one of my coolest small-scale acquisitions, gift or otherwise!

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Volvo 144S Automatic

When it comes to foreign cars here on the blog, my favorites tend to hail from Europe, with a few exceptions. I hardly ever shoot BMW E30s anymore, and even the BMW E28s tend to get my attention these day. Over the course of my shooting, I've noticed a severe lack in Swedish cars. Why? To be honest, my Saabs here are cookie-cutter 900s with the same wheels, and the same dumb cut-spring mods, and random stickers here and there. Volvos, too, have sort of left me feeling indifferent about them-- until recently. I've noticed a growing surge of pre-200 series Volvos, and this is the first one I've shot.
The 140 series came to the US in 1966, and lasted until 1974. The range consisted of the 142 (two door), 144 (four door) and the 145 (a five door); a few years ago, before I took shooting seriously, I ran across a vast quantity of 140s. Unfortunately, most of them have been killed, or have simply been put away. This 144S Automatic is the first one I've seen in quite awhile, so I took the time to diligently shoot it.












Unlike most of the Volvos in the land of 10,000 lakes, this yellow 144 hasn't seemed to age much, if at all. The paint is still in great nick, all of the chrome is in place including the gas filler. One thing I really liked about this car is that I can tell it's owned by someone who cares for it dearly. Not only is the whole thing in great shape, its been fitted with Volvo accessory mudflaps--surely not a common sighting by any means.
By far, the 144 is rarer than the 200 series cars, especially here in the rustbelt; I haven't seen many in a few years, but I hope I can score more. I really like these, and this well-kept yellow one fits the bill quite nicely. A stout car in stout condition, I really enjoyed shooting this. Surely, I'll be able to find more, and shoot them in the same detail.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Cadillac Allante

Taking a break from Cadillac's most legendary name this side of the Fleetwood, I end Cadillac week with one of my favorite GM cars of the 1990s-- the Cadillac Allante. This, like Buick's Reatta and Oldsmobile's Toronado Trofeo, was one of GM's many attempts to sway buyers of European cars into their showrooms. Featuring bodystyling by Pinninfarina, the Allante looked differently (and remarkably better) than the rest of the stable.
Introduced in 1987, the new convertible competed with the bigwigs, the Jaguar XJS, the Mercedes SL (in six cylinder and eight cylinder guise), and the godawful (but somewhat loved) Chrysler TC by Maserati in the premium convertible segment. At $55,000 give or take, the Allante seemed like a no-brainer, considering it was vastly cheaper than its main competitors other than the TC. Over the course of its run, though, not many were sold. Production ended with 1993 being the Italian-American's best year. Even so, less than 5,000 cars were built that year. The pine green color, and the Northstar badging on the taillights mark this one to be on of the final cars, and to me, the color combination is one of the best looking.














I love shooting Allantes; they're almost like a guilty pleasure to me. I've always loved them, and since they're not quite common, I try to shoot each example with pride. I quite like the green this car wears; it suits the luxurious image quite well. To me, darker colors compliment beige interiors better than whites, and silvers. It just seems...right. The badging on this example was damn near perfect aside from being dirty. The rest of the trim looked great, and this is definitely what I would consider a "time-capsule" car.
The only gripe I have--and this goes for quite a bit of my street sightings with aftermarket wheels--is those wheels. I'm not sure what my stance on them is yet. I don't love them (they look cheap), and I don't hate them (because there are far worse choices), but I would strongly prefer stock wheels. Though, I will say that because of the wheel choice, I would wager that this Allante is driven by an older person, which would suggest that mileage is quite low, and this is a babied example. Not that great now, but the low mileage would definitely make for a bigger profit when selling the car later on.
These aren't money makers quite yet, but I would wager that these very well will become "modern classics", and will creep up in value just like the same-era Fleetwood Broughams.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Cadillac Coupe de Ville

The Cadillac Coupe de Ville has always been known as a big, stately car; or has it? In the wake of the rise of front-wheel-drive, Cadillac's second-most-popular nameplate fell victim to the trend. Up until 1984, this big Cadillac had been just that--big and rear-wheel-drive. A wide range of seating capacities, cavernous trunks, and a multitude of paint colors coupled with a handsome variety of wheelcovers (hubcaps) ranging from plain to pure-luxurious excess (read tacky) has been with Cadillac's volume seller is all about. Nearly thrirty years after its introduction, the Coupe de Ville's heritage would be turned into mush. Gone were the days of tailfins, excess chrome, and a stonking footprint, and in their place, a much smaller car took on the role as Cadillac's volume seller. In 1985, a plan to change Cadillac's mainstay heritage was set in motion, and continued until the day the DTS was killed in 2010. Since its 1985 introduction as a relatively small car, the deVille lineup stayed front-wheel-drive, but continued to offer a V8 power. Over the years, the de Ville would again grow to larger-car porportions, but the front-wheel-drive trait would stick with it.













Ironically, even though the Coupe de Villes were never "base" cars, this example surely looks the part; outside, it gives away no hint of luxury--the cheesy-ass hubcaps look more Toyota than Cadillac, for one. Second, this shade of gay seems lnke something I'd find on a mid 1980s Honda Civic rather than a pretentious luxury vehicle. Those two nuances aside, this little Coupe de Ville is actually a nice car.
I hardly ever see these, and when I do, they're affected by tinworm--badly. This one appears to be stuck in the "1991 used car" phase; relatively low mileage, minor nicks but nothing major, and all factory trim is in place. I doubt one can say that about many FWD GM cars of this era.
I never really liked these, and I was hesitant to shoot this one, but seriously how many of these are still left? In the rustbelt, probably not many.

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Cadillac hearse

Everyone knows that Cadillac builds great luxury cars, but what some people associate Cadillac with is service cars; for decades, Cadillacs have been the choice of car for funeral-homes, nursing homes, limousine agencies, and governmental folks. Obama drives one, the funeral-home near me has a few, and even the airport taxi service uses a few. However, none of the contemporary Cadillacs hold the amount of class an older model displays.
I usually go for pre-1970 Cadillac service cars, but I almost never see them; I do see quite a bit of 1977-1996 ones, though, as well as post-facelift DTS', but those are rather ugly, and not worth shooting in any way, shape or form. I usually like these with the wire hubcaps versus the plain aluminum ones, but these will do for now--kinda. I'm not sure what brand of coachwork this one is, so I'll make it easy and simply call it "Cadillac hearse"; it does no harm, without being ignorantly wrong.









With all due respect, this is an older set of photos; they're not very good; I know that. I haven't seen this once since, or I would've reshot it; from what I can tell, the paint looks very nice, especially for a decommissioned hearse being used as a personal vehicle; the hubcaps, too, look quite good. No visible marks, curb scuffs, or any sign of damage anywhere would suggest that the owner takes pride in his or her vehicle. One aspect which I found quite saddening, though is the appearance of rust slowly making its way through the metal, particularly under the hearse roof. While it was probably just cosmetic at the time I shot this, I can almost guarantee that rust was--or will be-- the immediate downfall of this poor hearse.
I love finding hearses, but sadly I didn't know much about hearse when I shot this. Hell, back when I shot this, my car knowledge wasn't what it is now; obviously, my photography wasn't either, hence the semi-blurry, and not very detailed pictures.
Overall, I wish I would've shot this better, but alas, I can't rewind time. I am glad I at least documented this hearse though.