Well, that’s hardly the first time four CCs have made it into one shot of mine. And three of these cars have been featured here before. Can you guess which one was the real catch?
The Isuzu I-Mark diesel had its CC here. I first shot it some years ago, and it’s still at it, although a bit worse for a recent accident. I’m wondering if it’s days are numbered. I’ll be very sorry to not hear it clattering around town anymore.
The Volvo 740 Turbo wagon is one of many here; I’ve shot this one before, but Jim Klein wrote his up here.
The remnant of a 1920’s car sitting on the grass strip next to Sam Bond’s Garage was featured here very early on, and I’m not sure it ever got properly identified. Maybe now that we have more readers, someone will ID it properly.
It’s this E12 528i that really caught my eye, as I’ve yet to find one on the streets here. The E28 is still plentiful, and we’ve done at least two here; a 528e and a 535i. But no E12, to date. I’ve added it to my to-do list, which keeps getting longer, not shorter. Sound familiar? Is there someone out there who had one of these, and would like to write up their memories with it? If so, send the text to curbsideclassic@gmail.com. I’d love to scratch it off my list.
I love these 528is, my favorite BMW sedan right after the Bavaria. I remember when the hood got the raised center and the 5-speed came. It was one of the first signs that the dark days of wheezy, gas guzzling, always-running-hot cars were finally over. I’ve seen two of these as DDs in the past year and it’s amazing how small they look today.
The link to the 20’s car takes me to the Volvo.
Ooops; fixed now.
My favorite T-car.
…And I thought we were going to read about the Model A….!
Nice collection of vehicles, but do not forget about the Astro/Safari or the Taurus which is probably an official classic by now. So what kind of colission do you think the Isuzu was involved in?
We had a first-gen Taurus recently, and these 2nd-gen are stil plentiful on the ground. And that Astro could be as old as late 80’s or as new as early 2000’s. I’d tend toward the newer (the trim and windows look pretty flush).
Cool E12; I’ve not seen one of those in quite a while either! I do remember a scene from the movie Snatch, though, where two of the characters are sitting in a very ratty E12 and one makes a comment to the other about being “in a car worth less than your shirt.”
sideways gate post
As a teenager at the time, I kind of liked those 80s cars that merged 70s styling with 80s blackout trim and design details. I was never a huge fan of the overly square two-box design hatchback cars of the early 80s. The Mazda GLC and VW Golf being the exceptions.
I was thinking it might be the Subaru Impreza estate you were leaning go towards
the one closest to the camera looks like the Isuzu-derived product we had here in the late ’70’s 1.6 4 cyl 5 spd ..quite a nice grunty car in it’s time ..often in bright yellow or lime green! 🙂
Theres a Gemini coupe around Napier in best bogan blak with a lung hanging out of the bonnet atop a V8 Rover
I never would have guessed this if not for the hint in the other article, but is the 20s wreckage an early sleeve-valve Willys-Knight? I was reading about them not too long ago, and it looks kinda similar to one I saw in a YouTube video.
I can’t remember seeing an E12 BMW in a couple years either. They used to be pretty common here, and I still see a few E9 daily drivers, believe it or not. Both seem to be much more rust-prone than their successors.
Here’s a close up that gives it away.
Ah, Sam Bonds. My band is playing a party there this Sunday.
Isuzu Gemini sold as a Buick Opel in mid-late 70s – replaced the German sourced Opel Manta when exchange rates made them too expensive. Good, sturdy, reliable little cars – had that typical 70s Japanese “thrum” when going down the road. Don’t think Buick sold a lot of them.
I always liked the BMW 528 but chickened out of buying one at the last minute and bought a Cortina instead
Love love the e12! I’ve almost looked at a couple for purchase in the past but neither was in good enough shape to even consider. Like another commenter, it’s up there with the Bavaria for my favorite 4 door BMW, but I’m not exactly sure whether it’s the styling, or the reputation they had at the time for performance. Probably both.
My father was a mercedes guy at the time, and I lusted after these stick shift, gas engined, six cylinders at the time (rather thank automatic, diesel, 5 cylinders), but when my dad finally bought his first BMW, it was highly unreliable. It was a black, 1984 533i (e28) with a stick and was so awesome, except when it stalled and died every few weeks with no explanation and required yet another tow and another new engine management computer. Eventually they either fixed it or it became less frequent, but it wasn’t long before dad went back to a 1986 Mercedes 260E.