1972 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Saturday, September 11, 2011.
It has been said of me that my Canon camera and I are inseparable. I am very protective of it, and treat it with the utmost care. It is true that after I had rediscovered my love of taking pictures almost exactly ten years ago (after having taken many photographs as a teenager), in the years immediately following my first, major purchase of a new camera, I took it with me everywhere. Sometimes, my photographic subjects seemed to appreciate my zealous documentation of many random moments. Others, including some close friends, have looked visibly annoyed as I clicked away. (It’s always fun, when looking back at pictures from years past, to find the one salty face in a group full of smiles.)
1979 Pontiac Catalina. Memorial Day Monday, May 28, 2012.
There are many things I enjoy about living in the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago’s north side, where I have resided for over a decade now. It is handy to public transportation (both buses and the CTA “L” trains), Lake Michigan (where I spend many hot, sunny summer afternoons), many restaurants and bars representing a wide array of cuisines and ethnicities, and educational institutions (including Loyola University’s Northshore campus).
Perhaps one of the biggest, unexpected benefits of living in an area that generates a lot of traffic is direct access to North Sheridan Road, which has yielded some of my most intriguing subjects for some of my essays here at Curbside Classic. Some days, it has been like manna from heaven, as multiple car sighting on the same day have left me with more pictures than I can write about at one time. The speed and motor memory with which I have learned to un-shoulder the camera strap, remove the lens cap, and fire away several usable frames of a moving car has led one of my friends to liken me to the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Quick Draw McGraw. I’d like to think my voice doesn’t sound quite as dorky (it may, which is fine), but I like the comparison to that lovable, cartoon horse.
1963 Chevrolet Impala hardtop coupe. Monday, June 11, 2012.
Sometimes, though, I feel my words get in the way of what the cars can say more clearly and directly, themselves. Without further ado, please allow me to continue to present, in chronological order, some of the choice finds that I’ve photographed while in motion on the stretch of North Sheridan Road between Foster Road (5200 block) and Granville Avenue (6100 block), with a little light commentary.
1968 Chevrolet Impala hardtop coupe. Saturday, July 14, 2012.
It is fascinating to me that only five model years separate the ’68 Impala shown directly above, and the ’63 Impala directly above it. The looks of both cars couldn’t be more different from one another. There are some cars from 2013 that still look basically “new” to me. I’m old enough (mid-40s) to remember annual model year changes and when they stopped, and I still miss the excitement of seeing what tweak, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, would be made when the new models would debut in the fall.
1976 Pontiac Grand Prix. Saturday, November 10, 2012.
Next up is another beloved GM hooptie: a Colonnade-era Pontiac Grand Prix. A fun challenge when photographing vintage cars has been to try to compose or crop the image to give the illusion of a “period” photograph. I was quite pleased with this image, looking as it did like a still from a TV movie or show from the ’70s.
1986 – ’89 Alfa Romeo Spider. Saturday, November 10, 2012.
“Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson…” I photographed this Alfa Romeo Spider and the above Grand Prix on the same day, while waiting at a local bus stop. While I was never really fond of the black, rubber duck-spoiler on these cars, it is a testament to the skilled designers at Pininfarina that this basic design lasted over a quarter century and still looked decent at the very end of its run.
1953 – ’55 MG TF (replica?). Tuesday, June 11, 2013.
So, what do you think? Is the above MG TF a replica (as I’d assume), or the real thing? I’m not a Carfax-stalker (truth be told, I don’t know how to do that, and don’t really want to know), but given the pristine shape of this example and the fact that the lady behind the wheel was driving it during evening rush hour traffic leads me to believe this car is a beautifully-done knockoff.
1977 Volkswagen Beetle “Champagne Edition” convertible. Memorial Day Monday, May 26, 2014.
What is not to love about a classic Vee-Dub, especially a latter day convertible special like this “Champagne Edition” in Alpine White?
1982 Chevrolet Corvette. Sunday, April 12, 2015.
Nineteen Eighty-Two was the end of the line for the long-lived C3 Corvette. I like both the two-tone treatment and color scheme, and feel they successfully took the overall look of this ’82, dated though it was, into the high-tech ’80s with aplomb. These wheels help.
1975 Triumph TR6. Sunday, July 24, 2016.
Sometimes, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with drivers or passengers in some of these cars while stopped at a light. An exchange of mutual enthusiasm for their car can snowball among all parties, and then all of us leave the intersection with smiles on our faces when the lights change. This nice couple seemed especially appreciative that I had asked them about their car and took a few pictures of it.
1992 – ’95 Porsche 968. Sunday, July 9, 2017.
The Porsche 968 was new right around the time I had started college. I remember thinking that while it was still cool (being a Porsche), not enough exterior changes had been made to modernize its look or distinguish it from the preceding 924. the 968 also struck me as being an automotive “Lazarus”, having been raised up after the 924 (on which it was based) had been buried four years prior to the 968’s debut.
1979 – ’80 FIAT Sport Spider 2000. Saturday, September 16, 2017.
Our final In-Motion Classic for today is this lovely, latter-day FIAT Sport Spider 2000, finished in a shade of blue not unlike the color of nearby Lake Michigan. It may well have been that I had seen it while walking to the beach on one of the last, warm, beach-worthy days of 2017. I’m not 100% sure of the model year of this example, but it looks very similar (including its wheels) to one I recently wrote about.
I don’t always have my camera on me, as sometimes I just don’t want to worry about what might happen to it if I leave it unattended or potentially exposed to unwanted elements. Ironically, some of these times have resulted in missed photographic opportunities or rare automotive sightings. No matter. I can’t photograph everything, and sometimes the joys of living a well-balanced life requires the sacrifice of not being “on” with my camera all the time. I hope you have enjoyed my finds, and I promise to always try to keep an itchy shutter-finger.
Always good to see old-cars-on-the-street pictures!
Replicas often have cheaper (or more modern) things like rear lamps, instruments, bumper / overriders, wheels. All these details on the MG TF seem correct that it is a genuine car.
Regarding the Fiat Spider with the bra – do people really use these bras? They look awful and I would feel embarrassed driving a car with one.
Do people really use these bras
They were “fashion accessory” in the late 1970s and most of 1980s. Whether they actually protected the paint from stones and sticky bug carcasses is a question of advantage outweighing the disadvantage or vice versa. Sometimes people didn’t remove the bras right after rain: this often left cloudy stain on the paint. Sometimes the bras didn’t stay on properly, causing the rubbing damage. Sometimes the summer sun heated up the black material in the bras, leading to premature cracks underneath.
Eventually, you could see the “suntan effect” outline between covered (looking new) and uncovered (looking tired and worn out) sections.
I lived through the “bra era” and still remember the smack-the-forehead moment when I found out that you were supposed to take these off after every rain. That was when I went from “I want one for my new GTI” to “That’s just crazy”.
Seriously? I had one on a car that I removed for winter, but that was it. Every rain storm? Taking that fool thing off like twice a week would have worked for about two weeks then it would have been back in the box with it.
I used a bra on my 86 Mazda 626 for some years. No problems with it flapping in the wind as it was a snug fit. Don’t recall taking it off before it rained and generally it only rains during the rainy season in Northern California. The biggest issue with the bra was it’s tendency to get stolen. Twice, when parked on the street and that ended my bra period and I went au natural.
I’ll admit, I had them years ago on a few of my cars when I lived in places where lovebugs were prolific, but I only used them when the bugs were thick.
Nowadays the clear decal bras seem to have taken the place of the black vinyl ones. Haven’t tried one of those, but I’ve seen (or rather, barely seen) some that are done well.
clear decal bras
I have seen them turning bit yellow and cracking over the time. Once they did, they are PAIN to remove without ruining the paint. When I shopped for the car, the salesmen were doing the snake oil song-and-dance about the virtue of clear film protection. I told them off: no thanks.
Thank you, Dion. And I am guilty of having accessories my ’88 Mustang with not even a whole bra, but just that top part on the leading edge of the hood. It’s all I could afford in my early 20s, IIRC. It didn’t mess up the (white) paint, but I remember thinking it looked good at the time. Like my nose ring and multiple ear piercings. LOL
Thanks, Joe! As usual both your photos and writing are a joy. Safe travels, brother! 🙌🙌👍
I loved this compilation. My random thoughts:
I had kind of forgotten how every old GM car eventually suffered from a case of droopy front springs.
I had completely forgotten about Quick Draw McGraw. I can’t forget how his presumably Mexican sidekick always called him QuickStraw.
The 1965 model was the one that separated “modern Chevy” from “old Chevy” in my youth.
My guess is that the TD is the real thing. Those are certainly not VW wheels.
I feel like an outcast because I have never quite been onboard with the Alfa Spider. There was always something a little “off” about the design in my eyes. The Fiat counterpart, however, is just right. Sorry Roger Carr, but I would take the Fiat Spider over the Alfa Spider any day.
JP, the most shocking thing about the Alfa Spider to me was how the chopped, “Kamm” tail of the refreshed models provided a near complete transformation of their looks. I love the original round-tail models, but I have warmed to the Kamm ones of the early 70s.
That ’63 Impala has ’64 hubcaps on it
Great post, Joseph!
The is a nice area up there. My sons and I have gone up there just to cruise around a few times, taking Lake Shore Drive and then zig-zagging our way down through the Loop and back to Indiana. There are often some interesting cars to look at.
I think I saw that white Beetle convertible on I-80 the other day. (I thought of Huey Hogg from The Dukes Of Hazzard) There can’t be that many of them around here.
Regarding the bra comments, I always thought the negatives outweighed the positives.
A friend once bought a car that had one, and when he removed it the paint underneath was completely gone. Just primer left. But at least the primer was completely bug-free.😉
I always look forward to your writing and pictures. You have an engaging zest for life.
Thank you so much.
I have often wanted to take a road trip while using the non-expressway routes, just to take in some old Americana. There just never seems to be enough time.
And I had completely forgotten about Hughie Hogg! And I watched a lot of “Dukes Of Hazzard”.
T series MGs, the quick guide:
TC: Tall upright looking wire wheels, vertical grille
TD: Disc wheels, vertical grille
TF: Wire wheels, smaller diameter, sloped back front radiator.
Dan, thank you so much for the pointer. I will amend the photo caption when I have access to a proper computer.
Thanks for another great post, Joseph! Always great cars or writing or both.
Triple play today!
First up, the white ‘63 Impala, looking very similar to my dad’s (the white with red interior one that inspired my screen name.) Always nice to see one out & about in such original looking condition!
Plus the ‘68 Impala that reminded me of the one owned by my best friend in high school. (His was white with a blue vinyl interior.)
Finally, the Fiat Spyder reminded me of the ‘72-ish Spyder one of my roommates had when we were 20-somethings. (Red with black interior, a LONG time ago.) Nothing like early fall motoring with the top down and the heater blasting, listening to that sweet DOHC 1.6 mill winding through the gears!
It’s comments like yours that make a contributor like me love writing for this site. Hearing about some personal connection, often seemingly random, makes the effort all worthwhile.
Joseph, at a future CC meetup, you should host a seminar on your quick-draw methods. I’m always amazed by your in-motion shots… my own success rate at these is about 15%.
My own favorite shot among these you’ve shared with us today is the Porsche 968. It looks like one of those shots where the main subject is colorized and the rest of the photo is in black & white. I’m not a huge Porsche fan, but I really love that picture.
Remember in Blazing Saddles how quick the Gene Wilder character could draw his gun? That gives you an idea of Joe and his camera. I saw it in Detroit. It was an amazing thing.
I think one secret is to use a real camera and not a phone. My phone camera is so slow to wake up and decide to take a picture I have all but given up on these kinds of shots.
Yes, I’m sure a good camera is a big ingredient to success here. Although I have a “real” camera, it’s not an SLR, so in the time it takes me to turn it on and try to autofocus it, I’m sure Joe could take about 6 shots with his own camera.
Haha!! Eric, I would very much like to do that and have no issues with spreading the knowledge!
I do take most of my pictures with my SLR. There have been only a handful of times that I used pictures taken with my phone for a post on this site.
The logic in my phone’s camera does not make it easy to get a decent or clear shot of a moving car.
Excellent, all of them! My favorites are the big Cadillac, then the Alfa of course. The Bug is great too, as is the TR6. Heck, I like them all I guess. And they are all in frame too, it’s not just about being quick on the draw but getting them lined up correctly…I sometimes have trouble with that when they are just sitting there up on blocks and unable to move!
Nice bunch of photos. You must have a massive archive of car shots you have taken over the years. I’d be willing to bet you have an equally huge cache of non-auto photos, too?
It is amazing how fast car appearance evolved in the 50’s through the 60’s, and somewhat into the 70’s, but it was slowing down after the early 70’s. These days, each generation of a car lasts 5-7 years and they don’t change much at all within that time (not withstanding a mild midcycle facelift). Even when the next generation comes out, the visual difference is often not that substantial. It takes at least 10 years for a car to look stylistically old now, I think.
5-7 years was an eternity in auto styling back then. As seen in your 63 to 68 Chevy comparison, every year brought noticeable change and by 5 years on, the car is completely different.