Every anonymous car on the street has a backstory, and sleuthing it out can be part of the fun. Especially if you’re already into British mysteries and cop shows. Sometimes the clues are obvious, like parking permits, bumper stickers, or dealership badges. Other times you just have to MSU. So, since every old car has a past life, let’s look at the faux pedigrees of three.
This ’90s Nissan Sentra GXE looks like it has been sitting at the bottom of an aquarium. I don’t think it originally came in that shade of lavender, but the moss and lichens actually seem to work with that color. Judging by the tabs, this thing has not been running in over a year. But that doesn’t matter!
This Nissan is serving its purpose as a makeshift billboard, admonishing passersby to “Question Authority,” “Do Small Things with Great Love,” and “Think Good Thoughts.” Admirable sentiments all. The “HPU” sticker on the rear window could mean this Sentra was once on the Island of Oahu, where the driver attended Hawaii Pacific University (most likely as a Poli-Sci major with a minor in Social Work…). Maybe, with a little bleach…
This mid-’90s Nissan D-21 Hardbody is a long, long way from its original showroom. The dealership badge is for Pete Moore Chevy Geo in Pensacola, F-L-A. How this nice little ext-cab ended up in the “Fourth Corner” is anybody’s guess. The guy who bought it new was probably a flyboy from Naval Air Station Pensacola who got transferred to NAS Whidbey, just down the road from here. After retiring from the military, he moved out of Oak Harbor and found a sleepy little house in Whatcom County, far from the drone of the Growlers and Super Hornets.
When the second clutch started giving out on the Hardbody, he parked it for good, right in front of the house. Every once in a while, a kid knocks on the front door to ask if the truck is for sale. Flyboy, who is totally deaf now, always says “no.”
I’m finishing off with the ’80s Dodge Ram Van since I know J P C likes ’em. This Ram 350 was once owned by the US Forest Service, whose door signage is still visible in the right light. For the sake of the story, let’s say this Ram Van was stationed near the Columbia River in Southwest Washington, where the ranger driving it somehow became obsessed with finding evidence that D.B. Cooper really did jump out of a hijacked jetliner in 1971 (on a flight between Seattle and Portland). Bundles of cash had turned up in a nearby drainage creek, which drove him to seek out more clues. Finding nothing, the ranger started tracking Sasquatch instead.
When the contractor who presently owns the van bought it at a state surplus sale in Olympia, the only thing he found in the cargo area was a magnifying glass and a plaster-cast print of Bigfoot.
If you fell for any of these schlocky stories, then you might also believe in the guy at the end of these colored eggs.
Now do you believe?
I know every car has a story, but these stories are masterpieces! Thanks for making my morning. Oh, and thanks also for teaching me a new meaning for the TLA MSU, which will never make me think now of my wife’s alma mater in East Lansing.
Go Spartans! Thanks for the nod. All this cabin fever has me down the rabbit hole a bit…
Talk about contrasting Nissans, the only real flaws on the Pickup are on the aftermarket wheels and bumper. While on the car the only thing in decent shape is the (aftermarket?) wheel cover.
Nice work to whoever did the eggs and bunny.
Yeah, the lady that did the chalk art is a professional illustrator of children’s books. You can tell by the quality. Almost hated to walk on it!
That bodystyle Sentra did actually come in a light purple, but I can’t tell if the photo car is a horrifically faded example of this factory shade, or a respray.
Wow, that is some purple, horrifically faded or original. My guess is a respray in the same vein as the old “Earl Scheib” jobs you could still get in the ’80s-’90s.
Ah, Swede buddy. I wondered what you would turn up next. Pretty likely story on that little Hardbody. I went to high school in Oak Harbor in the ’80’s, and yes, the military guys drove stuff like this. Mostly mini trucks and about any imaginable combo of ’70’s-’80’s Camaro or Firebird. I had a Chevelle.
Happy Easter.
Hey Oz, my first car was a ’66 Chevelle Malibu. Dark Green with the White top (always mistaken for a black-and-white when I would pull up to a party…). Happy Easter
Sounds kinda deja vu… did you ever hit the cruise strip in Mt Vernon with it in the ’80’s? I had a Jade green ’71 Chevelle with 5 spokes with knock offs.
My friend got a Sentra GXE just like that as a hand-me-down highschool ride. It emerged on the other side of a year and half of his use much worse for the wear (he wrecked it several times). Even in this cost-cut generation (rear torsion beam), there’s still a lot to like. It was surprisingly roomy and refined on the road (compared to my ’90 Civic especially) and even with the automatic the G16 was a peppy motor. Interior was still classic straightforward Japanese design that I miss so much these days.
I bet the mossy Sentra would be perfect for a high-schooler looking for their first ride. I’ve lusted after cars in much worse shape than the lavender Nissan…
Great stories… these make me think of a road trip that I took with a good friend of mine 20+ years ago where we kept ourselves entertained throughout the day by making up the life-stories of the people who we passed on I-81. Some car-and-owner combinations just seem like a great fit.
My first thought on the Sentra was that its owner parked it under a tree in a friend’s back yard while she went off to do a year of studying abroad (for a Poli-Sci major with a minor in Social Work, of course), and just returned because of the Virus. I question whether she’s noticed her car was dirty at all.
And terrific sidewalk art – it’s good to have an artist in the neighborhood at times like these.
The title of this entry had me hoping for an Oasis-themed CC; maybe “Do Small Things with Great Love,” and “Think Good Thoughts” were unknown-by-me efforts flushing out later albums by those lovable Gallagher Bros., but it was not to be. Rather I’m being extolled to chdckout misscarigages ot Justife likr 1
That mossy Sentra looks like someone decided that a coat of gray primer would be an improvement over what was there before. That stuff would likely make a great planting bed for the moss.
Yes, I am loving the Ram window van.
Well, thankyou, Mr Dead, I’d never heard of the DB Cooper story, and ain’t it a doozy. I am still off down a long and circuitous rabbit hole. Not allowed to leave the house much, so most happy to off lost in virtual space.
Turns out the subtitle of CC could sensibly be “Every Story Has A Story”.
Cheers!
Wow, I was surprised to hear that, I think DB Cooper is sort of our analog to your parts’ Dingo Ate My Baby, deeply ingrained in society.
The Boeing Flight Museum even has a figure of Mr. Cooper standing next to their 707 display plane, pictured below with my son, who knew of him and wanted to be in the picture with some of the loot.
Happy hunting, there’s a lot of info out there, with just one crucial bit missing…
Oh, I’ve worked out where he is, just not telling. He seems nice.
I don’t even remember hearing about this as a kid, and I was (nerdily enough) quite aware of current events and news stuff, though perhaps a bit lacking perspective aged four in ’72! I’m sure even a four-year old boy into planes and cars would be aware of that tale, though. I suppose the world was narrower then.
But honestly, I always assumed the hijacker-leaving-the-plane gig was pure Hollywood invention. Mind, given that Hollywood’s level of true originality is close to zero, they had to have got the trope from somewhere.
It’s a truly ripping yarn by any standard. And yes, I’ll be out there a while.
That sidewalk artwork is really impressive. It is as great as the grime on that Sentra is foul.