If I were a gamblin’ man I’d reckon there are more articles here about, and pictures of, cars in the Whitaker neighborhood of Eugene than any other place. I work in the Whit and travel around it often by foot, bike, and car, and the sights never cease.
To be fair, the first picture is from a car lot, but stay tuned and you’ll see just how CC rich this area is. A block north of the lot and I found this: (click pics for full size)
Old proto-SUVs aren’t that uncommon in Eugene. Here’s the grandaddy of them all, a Willys Jeep Wagon.
A Japanese take on the subject was just across the street.
With my zoom still fully enabled I saw this neat pairing on the next street.
The destination of this particular walk was a thrift store in search of shoes. There was a sea of lamps and microwaves from the generous remodeling (or closing) hotel, but natch for mens size 10 1/2. However, I did find a rather fitting (so to speak) shirt.
There was nothing else of interest at the store so I crossed River Road and found more CCs Darting about.
Rounded the next corner to head back to River Road and here they were again.
A rather odd pairing. A Dead-head with a Corvette?
I headed back towards the studio via the Willamette River bike path, and I had to keep Dodging other gems.
And then two distinct blasts from my past. My third car (and first stick) was a Krylon blue 76 Celica GT in 1995.
And possibly my favorite car ever, my loved and lamented 87 Integra. Can’t say for certain that this one is an 87, but it’s certainly a first-gen, and a fantastic car.
I was kind of hurrying back to the studio at this point but I couldn’t resist this pair.
I saw the second Toyota motorhome, a pop-up Chinook, a year or two ago and it had a For Sale sign with a price of $900. No sign *cough* of it this time around. I recall the interior of the canopy being in pretty sad shape, otherwise I would have inquired about it.
So that almost sums up my walk. I neglected more cars than I shot, which is typical in this area. Hell I couldn’t even get back into my studio without a whole ‘nother mess of CC’s. This place is a hotbed of rotating CCs, and I have dozens of shots from the past two years for a further write up. Stay tuned!
Can I change my answer to Paul’s “what wagon” question please? I’ll take the Willys!
Fun ! .
I pass though Oregon occasionally and I usually stay in those fleabag motels used by Logger and other Blue Collar types ~ the parking lot is always full of interesting rides .
-Nate
I love getting a good deal on hotels, but if the cops are doing regular rounds of the parking lot and/or responding to issues I go elsewhere and pay a bit more. Bullet holes are another turn off.
Even the Sherries in Oregon have an eclectic parking lot.
The Grateful Dead are getting back together for a few jams in Chicago (wish i could go) and their tickets are way over priced, so there are some Dead Heads that struck it big.
Those Toyota RVs are quite popular with Vagabonds and I saw a bunch in Fort Bragg as well as Seaside. Bit startling to drive up an old logging road and find about 6 of these RVs with their occupants gathered around like an old timey wagon train.
Southern Oregon seems to have a higher ratio of daily driven older vehicles than Portland which has more money rolling around and some image driven peoples. These are nice photos and perhaps someday I will own a vehicle as old as these.
That Integra is an ’88 or ’89. You can tell by the front lights. I had an ’88 Integra for a number of years and it was awesome. Too bad about the rust.
The next time I’m in Seattle I must take a couple of days and head south to Eugene, Oregon. It appears to be a hotbed of CC”s.
Probably pull a neck muscle or two trying to eyeball all the old cars and trucks. Kinda like that Valiant, small, practical and easy on the eyes. Probably has a nice, smooth slant six under the hood.
That Dart is sweeeeet!
I got to drive a 1st gen Integra once and loved it – an identical car to the one seen here, in fact. A tiny used lot had it for sale and I wanted it badly, but couldn’t scratch up the $$$ at the time.
It may be the least interesting car here, but that swb Mercedes w126 in the first picture looks really good from that angle. You can bow-wow all you want about the stupid chrome fender accents, but it just looks right. I say that knowing that Daimler Benz truly hated America in those days, so this is a 150 hp 380SE or a 120 hp 300SD.
Looking at the W123 300D, it looks like it’s in great condition. Even accounting for it being Eugene, it’s probably not been converted to run on used cooking oil – as a WAG.
I just want to applaud your truly terrible taste in puns. 🙂
Agreed! Many of us here at CC are always happy to see bad puns, by George. 🙂
I think Aaron65 needs that Dart to keep his Dirty Dart wagon company. It would probably not act out as often if it was more occupied with a playmate.
I continue to be amazed at the variety of old iron you guys in Eugene get to see on a daily basis.
A nice selection indeed. I’ve not seen a Celica of that generation in quite some time–impressive even if it is beater-grade. And that first pic–specialists in 80’s German and Swedish metal, I suppose? Late 70’s and early 90’s also make an appearance, but that could easily be 20 years ago.
Great collection of shots. I especially like the Land Cruiser (rode in many of those in Liberia in the ’80s) and the blue Celica liftback.
In the first picture I see no fewer than 7 Mercedes, 4 Vanagons and 2 Volvo wagons. Is it behind a repair shop for them furrin cars? Thanks for all the pics of iron we don’t see much of in rust belt New England except at car shows. PNW must run a close second to SoCal for preserved DDs. Nice!