The ice finally melted this past Tuesday, after turning our trees and bushes in a crystal wonderland for an unusually long time. It was utterly amazing when the sun came out from time to time. Here’s a nice drone video. So let’s finish up my Outtakes from our walk on the first day. Some of you won’t weep to see another Toyota take a hit, although depending on whether the body was actually bent much, this Tercel may well be back in service for another twenty years or so.
This gaily-painted Passeo makes a nice pairing with the crystal-encrusted tree. The “Mer-car-baa”, in case it wasn’t obvious.
This little green Chevette is almost buried under the bamboo. Our bamboo hedge laid over too, but it bounced right back as soon as the ice melted. Tough stuff.
That is a great drone video. We had a similar ice storm last year, deciduous trees didn’t bounce back as well as your bamboo.
Nice camo job on the Chevette.
Glad to see the damage wasn’t too severe. And hopefully not too many trees were lost.
Thankfully, the area where I live is rarely subjected to the severest forces of nature, but this event brings back vivid memories of the historical 1998 ice storm(s) that affected Ontario, New York State, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New England. As the freezing rain fell steadily for several days, it caused thick ice buildup, and significant damage and power outages that lasted for many weeks. The ice was followed by a prolonged deep freeze that lasted until March. Anyone who experienced it, will never forget it.
It was interesting to see trucks from various US North East utilities help with the power restoration in Ontario. And to see the military helping civilians cope as shelters were setup to care for those without power in the frigid weather. Easily, the worst weather event in my lifetime, in this part of North America.
That green Chevette seems peacefully at home under that canopy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1998_North_American_ice_storm#Meteorological_synopsis
I experienced the 1998 ice storm first hand, living quite close to the worst-hit areas.
At the epicenter, some 105mm (4in.) of ice covered everything, and brought down over 10,000 wooden electrical poles across Quebec, snapping them like match sticks. Close to 1,000 steel pylons carrying high-voltage lines also collapsed under the weight, many falling like dominoes.
For many days after the storm, all that ice started falling off vehicles, trees, bridge structures, buildings, street lights, signs, etc. Many streets and bridges had to be closed because of lethal falling chunks of ice. On highways, giant sheets of ice would come flying off moving trucks, which led to an immediate police crackdown.
My own home was without power for 13 days, while some isolated areas were without power for over 30 days, in January, in Quebec… I live in a heavily wooded area, and the damage to the trees was extensive. On my own property I spent a couple of days chopping the ice around the tops of the smaller trees that had bent over completely and got stuck in the ice. Clearing the debris of broken branches and fallen trees had to wait for spring, when the whole mess finally thawed out.
When it comes to ice storms, there’s a fine line between beauty and destruction. Just last winter, a brief ice storm followed by many cold and sunny days turned my whole town into a wonderful, glittering winter palace that reminded me why I chose to live here.
It was devastating. As sadly, 35 people lost there lives mostly due to freezing to death in the days and weeks after the storm. Or carbon monoxide poisoning, as people used generators to keep warm. I was impressed the federal government mobilized the military so quickly. It was the largest deployment of Canada’s military since the Korean War. They helped considerably during the disaster, and weeks afterwards during the massive cleanup.
I was in Ottawa at the time, and lost power for several days, as the city declared a state of emergency. Debates in the media followed regarding the vulnerability of the electrical grid in Quebec and Ontario. As utilities in each province considered the expensive decision to bury electrical transmission lines.
I kind of remember that storm since I was born in 1989 and was living in Central New York at the time.
Er…ruh…I’m afraid it still isn’t, to me. What?
Always liked those Tercels.
Me too, I remember wanting to buy a new one when I was in college but being too broke. Very nice styling on those coupe’s, certainly better than “the blob” that came afterwards.
I was also in college when the Tercel Coupe came out. It deserves serious consideration as the “Official Car Of Generation X” as our age group bought them in droves.
If we lived in Eugene we could all still be driving them.
I was such a buy-American stalwart then that when I graduated college (in 1989) I didn’t even consider a Toyota. I drove Ford, Chevy, Plymouth. I liked the Chevy I picked, but if I could talk to my then-self I’d say, “Try the Tercel, too.”
Well, here’s your chance to rectify your oversight from the past. Only $900…
I love how the only picture in the ad was actually taken at the State Emissions Test station.
http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5919257484.html
My “middle” sister had one, forget the year (1990?) she bought used after getting out of college. Back then, as the only “car guy” in the family one of my “jobs” was helping my younger sisters when they needed to purchase another car for some reason (some were totalled in hailstorms, some in accidents). Back then it was tough finding smaller cars with automatics (my sisters never learned to drive standard) and living in Texas with wide open spaces many of the ones I did find had lots of miles on them, plus the car had to look good to their “sense of style” so it often took awhile to find an acceptable one.
The Tercel came between her previous Ford Escort and the first of her 240SX’s (she still owns the second of the 240SX…the first one was totalled in an accident in 1998). Her Tercel was an Automatic, of course, bright Red with a black interior, pretty spartan inside, but what it did have was well made, except for the reason she got rid of it…the carpeting caught on fire, not sure, but might have been due to catalytic converter…she didn’t have it long enough for me to have checked out the exhaust system. She only had the car a couple of years. Wow, now I’m realizing that this is the only Toyota anyone in my family has owned….
The Chevette does look almost cozy in its bamboo canopy. As to the Tercel, the problem there will be the interior–seeing as how the branch broke the back window, they’ll have to deal with the back seat and carpets being thoroughly soaked, and drying them out might be a pain. Other than that, doesn’t look like much sheetmetal damage at all.
That, and finding a replacement back window might be a challenge these days.
When I lived in Terre Haute in the 90s we got about one ice storm a year. They were always remarkably beautiful. Once you got past the damage they caused, anyway. Here’s a story I wrote about one that happened where I played hooky from work and went out and took photographs.
https://blog.jimgrey.net/2015/03/09/what-the-ice-storm-could-have-taught-me-about-myself/
Jim, The ice storm lesson is an enjoyable read and the icy shots are great. Thank you for the pointer. I’m glad MAM got the point before he became an OM. But then it’s never too late for that kind of wisdom.
Thanks so much! After reading your wonderful COAL series, I take this as high praise.
Only God knows which car to hit that will fill Her quota of destruction vs insurance co’s bad Karma that will sync with ppls prayers for a reliable, safe, and prosperous Holiday Season.
It’s a win-win-win.
Toyota rocks… and then spits them out and drives.
My brother had a dark red tercel like that, the trim had fallen off the door and he replaced it with some electrical tape.
I hope the Tercel doesn’t get totaled because of the backlight’s co$t .
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Sweet photos that bring back many memories .
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-Nate
I’m glad to see the Chevette got a proper burial, about 40 years in coming. lolz
Guaranteed that Tercel will start and run just fine for many years more. I see local ancient Toyotas rusting, rattling, smoking, pinging and grinding along but never dying. It’s just like a Romero movie but with cars!