It’s time to clean out my file of car pictures that have been accumulating through the first half of this year – all vehicles big and small that I found interesting enough to photograph. As usual with these photos, most end up being taken of a car’s back side, but I figure one rear photo is better than no photo at all.
Since I found these cars randomly, they’re only in chronological order, starting with this past winter. There should be something to interest just about everyone in this mix.
We’ll start with a pair of Cadillacs. This Light Sapphire Blue 1988 Sedan de Ville isn’t from Cadillac’s peak years, but it’s still a treat to see one of these that’s been well taken care of. I think the vinyl roof on these cars looks a bit clunky because the car itself isn’t big enough to benefit from that visual contrast, so it’s nice to see one without that option. However, without a roof covering, the “closed-in, limousine-style rear window” looks like an afterthought.
This car has the optional wire wheel covers, but the standard velour upholstery. Cadillac called that fabric Royal Prima… but don’t confuse that with Buick’s Primavera, or GM’s simple Prima II velour used on Chevys and Oldsmobiles.
Our next Cadillac is a 1991 Coupe de Ville. These 1990s two-door Cadillacs are rare enough that I’m willing to overlook the Cabriolet roof, gold trim and aftermarket wheels. Cadillac sold about 12,000 Coupe de Villes for 1991, accounting for just 7.6% of total de Ville sales. After an even more dismal 1992, the Coupe de Ville was dropped after four decades of production.
Though it seems like ancient history now, Northern Virginia had a brutal winter this year. In late January, a storm dumped about 8” of wintery precipitation, much of which was sleet, and it all froze solid almost immediately into what was dubbed “snowcrete.” Everyone from homeowners to County snow crews were caught off guard by this stuff, and it lingered around seemingly forever.
Obviously, old car sightings were mighty rare this winter, but three weeks after the big storm, I caught up with this 1979 Buick LeSabre. Clearly a daily driver, I used to see this car around town occasionally, but I haven’t caught a glimpse of it in a few years. That long rear overhang isn’t ideal for backing up to a mound of snowcrete.
When a car’s unusual enough, I’ll photograph it at night – such was the case when I saw this 1992 Toyota Cressida. Cressida was Toyota’s near-luxury offering, and in the mid 1980s, Americans bought about 40,000 of them annually. But this 1989-92 generation sold slower, with many sales siphoned off by Toyota’s own Lexus brand. Toyota estimated that one-third of 1990s Cressida sales were to existing Cressida owners, and a conservatively-styled, rear-drive sedan struggled to bring new owners into the fold. By 1992, only about 3,500 of these cars found homes in American driveways, and Toyota discontinued the Cressida after that year.
Eventually our snow melted, and by mid-March, interesting cars started venturing onto the roads again. I haven’t seen a Buick Grand National on the road in years, until I came across this one driving leisurely along a highway. I was a teenager when these were new, and the sight of a Grand National never went unnoticed among my friends – in many ways, these were more desirable among the teenage crowd than a Corvette. In this image, the GN was getting passed by a 2008 BMW M3, both powerful performance coupes of their respective days. Maybe I’m showing my age, but I prefer the Buick.
Most Jaguar XJ40s that I see these days seem to be immobile, such as in the back of gas stations or wasting away in a country field. This one, however, looked like it just glided out of 1991. I hold some affection for these cars since a 1990s Vanden Plas remains the only Jaguar I’ve driven. Back then, I knew a cute (and wealthy) girl who wanted to learn how to drive a stick shift. I taught her, in my car, and to thank me, she took me out to dinner in her mom’s Jaguar, and she let me drive. Never had a second date, but it’s still a fun memory.
A 1968 Dodge Charger R/T wasn’t what I expected to see in a shopping center parking lot on a chilly March night. I would probably walk by this car if I saw it at a car show, but for some reason, seeing it randomly in a parking lot made me awfully curious. This car was in beautiful condition. What amazed me the most, though, is that someone would park it in this particular lot, which has parking spaces so narrow, it’s hard to open your doors. The owner’s lucky that no one parked in this space right next to him.
Now for a very subtle, understated car (sarcasm): a 1984 Zimmer Golden Spirit. For those not familiar, Florida-based Zimmer Motor Cars rode a wave of interest in “neoclassic” car designs – modern vehicles with bodies vaguely resembling 1930s luxury cars. That wave crested in the 1980s; Zimmer was in business from 1980 to ’88.
In the Golden Spirit’s case, this was a Mustang underneath that neoclassical extravagance, with a 3-foot extension on the front. Selling for about $75,000 when new, Zimmer made a few hundred Golden Spirits and cheaper Fiero-based Quicksilvers. When interest in these kinds of cars started fading, Zimmer found itself in deep trouble, and the company declared bankruptcy in 1988.
A handful of Roadmasters still serve as daily drivers in my neck of suburbia, and this final model year 1996 wagon with a rooftop cargo carrier is my favorite. Somehow, the cargo carrier fits the car very well.
I’m not great with 1940s and early ’50s car identification, and this 1950 Oldsmobile 88 really puzzled me as I approached it from behind. Between the interesting two-tone paint combination, and the fact that I haven’t seen one of these cars in a long time, I couldn’t identify it until I was almost right on top of it. Of course, I should have just looked at the license plate! And so much for gray being a being a boring color – two-tone gray looks striking on this car.
This 1992 Chevrolet Corsica is a bit less stunning, but almost as rare. I can’t remember when I last saw a Corsica in the wild. This one – slightly battered and missing its wheel covers – is what most Corsicas looked like in about 2005, before they all seemingly disappeared. The Trailblazer ahead of it is basically Chevy’s Corsica equivalent of the current decade.
Now for two Mercedes-Benz W123’s. If an approaching car is coming slowly, I can sometimes whip out my camera quickly enough for a photo. Mercedes 240D’s usually don’t move too quick, so I was able to capture this one. I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of miles this car has on it.
This W123 – albeit a more powerful 300D – wasn’t driving slowly at all. In fact, it was moving rather assertively and passing every car in sight. Maybe it picked up steam coming down from the Blue Ridge Mountains and hadn’t slowed down yet. Regardless, these W123s are probably the most-often early 1980s vehicles I see around here.
YJ Wranglers aren’t exactly uncommon, yet this 1988 Sahara is particularly eye-catching. The Sahara was a $1,500 trim package that added a bunch of otherwise-optional equipment, but the real highlight was the two-tone khaki color scheme. I feel these were the best-looking YJs. I like the “Safety Second” sticker too.
Good things come in pairs, and now it’s time for two GM Colonnades. This 1975 Pontiac LeMans Sport Coupe is rare enough that I’m not even bothered by the tacky LED headlights.
Next up with have a 1976-77 Chevrolet Malibu Coupe – I just barely caught a glimpse of it as it drove by.
When I saw this Nissan Sentra from a distance, I assumed it was a high-performance SE-R, due to the rear spoiler. Those SE-Rs were great, but I was actually excited to see it was “just” an SE… older economy cars are virtually extinct these days. For those keeping score, SEs added the spoiler, alloy wheels, a tachometer, and upgraded seats with “sporty woven cloth trim” to the mid-range XE. Sort of a lookalike SE-R, and it fooled me for a few moments.
Now for something a bit bigger. When I drove up to the stables where my daughter rides horses, I didn’t expect to see a 40-year-old cabover waiting for me, but here it is! This Texas-registered 1989 Peterbilt 362 had delivered materials for a rodeo that was part of the “Freedom 250” celebration on Washington’s National Mall around July 4, and had used these wide open spaces 20 miles away to park the rig for a few weeks.
Now for the rarest vehicle in this collection. A relative sent me these pictures from a Bass Pro Shops parking lot, asking if I knew what kind of RV this was. It looked like an Apollo of some kind, but when looking for a photo match, I came up empty-handed. Some details, like the door shape, just didn’t seem to match any manufacturer.
The only clue was the name “Ellison” on the rear. Extensive digging uncovered that this was one of two motorhomes built by a Detroit-area man named David Ellison. He finished his first one in 1983, after working on it in his spare time for 11 years. The second one took a few more years to construct. From what I can tell, this rig is still owned by Ellison’s family and travels throughout North America. Truly impressive, and a remarkably well-designed motorhome!
I figured we should end on an amusing note. One of my favorite articles this year is Jeff Sun’s piece on Car Warning Stickers, and I think of that article whenever I notice a sloppily placed Student Driver sticker or any kind of parody warning sticker or sign. This Ninja rider takes the prize for the best I’ve seen. Well, at least I think it’s a joke.
I hope you enjoyed these random finds – I can’t wait to see what kind of randomness shows up for the second half of this year!
That Ellison is a real curio, its face looks almost aquatic. Great find
Its front end instantly reminded me of a Revcon motorhome of similar vintage:
Is that Roadmaster a Collector’s Edition, like this one I spotted about 6 months ago? Does anyone know if this was a factory package or just a dealer (or owner) add-on?
There was a factory Collector’s Edition of the ’96 Roadmaster, and also of the last RWD LeSabre in 1985, both with “Collector’s Edition” hood ornaments (maybe even the same one, by the looks of it), but I don’t recall a fender badge on either of those.
Thanks. Here’s the rest of the car.
While the Charger is my favourite here, the back end of that LeSabre sure looks out of proportion when hung out over the snowcrete. Reminded me of a dog with its head resting on an armrest.
Strangely, that 1950 Olds grabs my attention. Nicely kept car, seems like the sloped back end was the most common look of the big 3 in that era.
The colonnade Chevelle is a ’76 (the ’77 has little chrome squares on the taillights).
Years after he passed away I needed to access one of my dad’s online accounts, using some index cards where he wrote his userIDs, passwords, and “hints” to use if you forget your password. One of the latter was “first car you owned”, for which his response was “1950 Oldsmobile four door”. Now I had asked my dad several times over the years what cars he drove before I was born; I knew about the black ’53 Chevy and a ’57 Chevy he had as a company car, but he never mentioned a ’50 Olds. An Oldsmobile seems out of character for him, as all the cars he bought after that until the late ’70s were low-end models.
Thanks for the information on the Chevelle; I’d assumed to two years were identical.
Incidentally, my father’s first car was also a 1950 Oldsmobile, though in his case a 98 – in apple green, if I remember correctly. But despite the two of us talking about cars a lot, I’m really fuzzy regarding the other cars he had before he an my mom met. I think another Olds, plus a Mercury fit in there somewhere, but I have no idea about the details.
That Ellison RV is very impressive. It sure does not look homemade! It has a neat pointed nose which makes more stylish that the usual cube on wheels.
The Zimmer Golden Spirit is a ridiculous car but a great find! Hard to believe anyone bought them for the asking price when new.
I couldn’t believe those prices for the Zimmer either!
I was amazed when I figured out the RV was homemade – truly remarkable.
The ZImmer’s the one that looks homemade!
Very true!
Some very nice finds! I am amused by the Roadmaster’s cargo carrier: a huge car and yet still needs more space for cargo!
I am no expert on RVs but that Ellison looks well made; panel gaps, trim, paintjob.. looks like factory made
Of course I’ll always prefer the W123 over everything else.
But I do admire the Jag XJ40 and Cressida.
Where in Northern VA are you located? I live in Richmond.
Every time I see one of these Buick Roadmaster wagons I think of my uncle Paul in South Carolina. For himself he had been buying nothing but full size Buick wagons since the late 1950s. My aunt had been buying for herself two-door full size Buick hardtops since the late 1950s until she switched to Riviera’s. Uncle Paul was a big man who needed a big car to tow his large fishing boat as fishing and golf were his passions. I assume Paul’s Buick was a 1994 model as it was pretty new when he suddenly passed away just two days after my Dads funeral May 1995. His was white, and aunt only bought white Rivera’s herself, and I am sure it had every option available because that is how Paul road. That beautiful Buick wagon stayed parked in their garage for three years after Paul’s death before I convinced my aunt to sell it because you don’t let a car sit for years. Thanks for the picture memories.
PS: You are a better man than me. From Northern VA, down past Richmond traffic is so heavy, congested, I don’t have time to take picture’s of interesting cars as I am just trying not to get hit.
Good to see a fellow Virginian here! I’m up in Fairfax – land of traffic and countless other hassles.
Interesting, and sad, story about your Uncle Paul. I bet a whole lot of 1990s Roadmaster buyers were repeat Buick customers like he was.
An eclectic collection, my favorite is -of course- the Pete. It’s in my Top 3 of US cabovers, together with the Ford CL-9000 and the Mack MH Ultra-Liner.
I caught this 1995 Peterbilt 362 three years ago, it’s powered by a (four-stroke) Detroit Diesel Series 60.
I figured you’d like that Peterbilt! When I see the occasional cabover, it’s usually headed in the other direction on a highway, so I will thrilled to find one where I could get close to it.
Stealthy Charger looks like it is ready to chase something down, at least those smaller hubcaps should stay attached.
Maybe even all 4
Great selection! My favorites in order are the ’50 Oldsmobile, ’68 Charger (looks mean in black with the dogdish hubcaps), and ’76 Chevelle. The Ellison RV is quite a find as well.
We had the snowcrete here in Charlottesville also; what a pain that was! Photo shows our car immobilized at the foot of the driveway after getting it out of the garage. It remained there for a day or so before we could finally get it into the street. And for the first time that we’ve been in this house (since 1992), we needed professional help to shovel the driveway. (It couldn’t be plowed because of it being frozen solid.)
The snowcrete was miserable. It took us a week to clear our driveway. Part of our problem was that our driveway is gravel. Ordinarily, we shovel down to about an inch over the gravel, and the rest eventually melts, but this stuff couldn’t be shoveled, so we had to chop it out piece by piece with an ice chopper. But the gravel stuck to the underside of the freed snowcrete chunks, so we had to hand-scrape each chunk of the stuff, over the length of the 150′ long driveway. Ugh. At the beginning, it seemed like the task was hopeless. I hope to never encounter snowcrete again.
This is what we had to do with our driveway – cut out 18″ square chunks, and scrape the gravel off the bottom of each one. If I had the option to just hibernate for the rest of the winter, I would have.
Ours is gravel also, which added to the challenge, as in your case. The 2 men we hired tried as best they could not to dislodge too much gravel, but given that our driveway widens quite a bit near the garage, we had them toss the ice chunks on that side so that when everything melted, we could redistribute the excess gravel from the side.