Yes, stereotypes are fun to reinforce, and in Eugene, it’s almost always so easy. These two are sitting at an attorney’s office; one parking spot is marked “CLIENTS”, the other is “RESERVED”. If you can’t make it out, you’ll just have to take a wild guess as to which car is in which spot. Here’s an accountant’s office:
In this case, I pegged the Datsun 710 (CC here) owner as being the CPA’s employee, not his client. Sure enough, when I complemented her on her ride, she told me she was not only the receptionist, but CPA’s daughter as well. That makes sense; how many Datsun 710 drivers would need a CPA? And quite the eclectic cars in that family.
Nice! What do engineers in Oregon drive? Probably Subarus..
In our office there used to be an unofficial competition to see which engineer could drive the worst car. I started out with an 85 RX7 but it was too terrible so I changed to an 88 Ranger with no options. The contest was declared won by a Chilean guy who did absolutely zero maintenance until his Taurus was dangerous just to look at.
Now they seem to drive Audis and full size pickups. I am running the 13 year old Focus but there’s no competition in the worst car department anymore.
Engineers drive affordable high-tech cars more than most. You’ll find a higher proportion of Priuses and Leafs among Oregon engineers than Oregonians in general. And the occasional Tesla. Also Miatas. Yes, quite a few Audis.
Mostly it’s the same mix of Camrys, Subies and pickups you’ll find in the general population around here.
I’d imagine that engineers would be some of the best to buy a secondhand car from. Besides choosing well-designed cars, they’d follow maintenance schedules better than the general populace. And use of synthetic oil and better quality replacement parts is likely high.
I’m no CPA, but while I was going to school (to become an engineer) I drove a 710 (4 door sedan, not a wagon). The 710s are pretty rare (I think the coupe is most rare, I’ve hardly seen any of them). Alas, I gave up my 710 for a VW Scirocco back in ’81, and have only owned VWs since then.
The 710 wasn’t an exciting car to drive, but it only failed to start for me during the blizzard of ’78 (up in Vermont back then…had to get a ride into school from my father that week). However, it eventually succumed to rust (plus back then I was interested in getting a FWD car for driving in snow).
Yes, as an engineer I endorse Miata’s, synthetic oils, and second hand cars. Yes I endorse maintenance schedules and old stock OEM replacement parts (a la junkyard).
The Miata is my only import, the other daily driver is a freebie N-body (final generation Olds Cutlass). The wife drives a current generation Theta-body Equinox.
As an engineer myself, I endorse Ford’s F-150, the Panther platform, and GM’s A-bodies.
Hi-tech ain’t all is cracked up to be.
Speaking of Su-Bah-rus, I find the lines on the Datsun (forward of the C-Pillar) very Subaru DL-like. And vice versa. Quite a mismatch considering the Charger SRT has at least 6x the horsepower as the Datsun. In spite of the totally different characters, I find the Datsun has the more intriguing design details. That curved body crease is quite attractive. The SRT is screaming a bit too loudly for attention, for my tastes.
There is a detail that I see on many of the Oregon cars, that says it is truly body rot free there. The original wheel well lip moldings are consistently fully intact. On rust belt cars, they are amongst the first bits to fall off or come detached at the rear.
The horsepower difference wouldn’t be six times. Over four times would be more accurate
Wow! What a once in a lifetime catch! (unless it was staged!) **KIDDING** I frankly like the one on the right to be perfectly honest! Safety, comfort, performance, but those luxuries come with a price.
I know the thing about expanding car sizes has been done to death here, but…. I’m sure Kombis used to be big?
I went for a ride in a friends 66 splitter recently and was surprised how small it is, yeah I remember Kombis being bigger.
No contest, it’s the Type 2 for me!
Your ‘Flying Fortress’ looked awesome.
Just have to say that I hate Escalades with a burning passion. They’re in extremely poor tastes, and forgive me for ranting, but they represent everything that’s wrong with consumer culture in the United States (McMansions, McDonalds, Bling, and Trashy Reality TV to name a few).
And for all the “status” they have and the price they go for, they’re no more luxurious than the smallest Chevy with leather.
+1 They went from being functional work trucks to domesticated snob appeal.
I’m sure some very nice people have purchased Escalades, but I cannot help but think “Poseur” every time I see one… I’m not trying to be glib here either.
Oh definitely, not all buyers purchase them purely for image. In fact my cousin who’s about 20 years older than me drives an ’09 black Escalade. But she actually has some reason for a car this size. She has 3 kids and their house is in the woods at the end of a 1/2 mile dirt driveway. They’ve always been GM people so her reason for the Escalade was more that it was a large Cadillac rather than an “Escalade”. And the reason it’s black was because that was the only color in inventory when she bought it.
That said, it’s not a very nice car for the price level. Literally nothing more than a $15-20K less Suburban.
I especially can’t see the point of a *black* Escalade.
One spouse wanted a Chevy pickup, the other wanted a hearse?
“…they’re no more luxurious than the smallest Chevy with leather.”
That would be the Sonic RS which is a pretty nice car (except that a Ford Fiesta ST is a real sports car for the same money and the Sonic RS’ leather is the only thing that’s not in a Sonic LT Turbo for $5k less…). I’d still take either one over an Escalade.
I also despise Escalades. Pimped-out, tacky Suburbans for way too much money. In no way a true Cadillac, just a disgraceful excercise in badge engineering for people with more money than taste. I see them driven by trophy wives who “needed” an SUV and of course hubby had to get them the “best”–hence a fool and his money are soon parted.
You might call them a big-ass, 60K Cimarron.
No thanks. Give me a ’14 XTS or CTS instead.
My uncle, a contractor, is definitely part of the “upper-middle class,” or in my terms, “as rich as I’d ever want or need to be.” I’m assuming that because of his clientele, he’s “required” to have a nicer vehicle. So he got a GMC Yukon XL, SLT trim (equivalent of Chevy’s LTZ). He optioned it out so it’s got everything a Denali has, minus the $10K premium. Otherwise, it’s possibly the best vehicle he could have in his situation:
–Very smooth, quiet, luxurious (for us rural types) and well-assembled, but underneath you can still feel that it’s a good, dependable truck platform.
–The 5300 moves the vehicle along nicely, even when packed full of luggage. Pulling a 25′ pontoon boat down the road doesn’t slow it down too much either.
–The interior is huge: sits 6 of us in high comfort or 8 of us in reasonable comfort. We also got 8′ lumber to fit inside with the gate closed.
–The 4×4 isn’t for offroading, but for getting through snow and pulling the pontoon up the boat ramp, it works admirably.
–Gas mileage? Probably no better than the mid-teens, considering how much city driving he does and how pass-happy he is on the highway. But when you also consider that the Galaxie or LTD his parents (my grandparents) owned back in the day got barely any better with less capability, it’s not a bad figure.
And he has a Smart Fortwo as an advertising car (has his business graphic on the side). He always drives it out to our farm when he comes to help with harvest, and it looks so out of place when it’s smaller than our Mustang skid loader. Terrible automatic trans, or so I’ve heard. I rode it in once. Once.
…But yeah, a true “luxury SUV” like the Escalade or Navigator is a contradiction of terms. Or at least, it will be once I’m emperor of the world…
I remember driving a new Suburban way back in 1998 or so, and deciding that it felt pretty much like a tall Cadillac. I’d suspect that the birth of the Escalade may have been brought about by GM execs having similar experiences.
I really need to let you know when I bring my avanti (1964), Packard (1958), or Studebaker Hawk (1961) over from Bend! They’ll photograph well next to anything you can find at the valley river mall.
Please do! Especially the Avanti. And I can think of a better location.
Let me know via the contact form or email me here: curbsideclassic(at)gmail.com
Probably the only “jewel beige” 1958 Packard left…
Welcome to Oregon!