A sweet little gen1 Integra; now that’s worth a stop and shoot.
Here’s how it looked as I first approached it. Hard to believe it’s been 35 years since it graced us with its presence.
Someone repainted this old Nissan/Datsun.
Here’s a nice two-some from the ’90s; a CV for Dad to drive to work and an Odyssey for Mom to haul the kids. And they liked them so much they’re still driving them. Or something like that; or not.
A gen1 Kia Sportage. They seem hard to kill, because there’s a surprising number of them still around.
The inevitable diesel Rabbit. With some vintage company.
Old Chevy Step Van; early ’70s perhaps?
The final Metro, at least in the US.
A bright yellow Super Beetle.
One of the last Subaru Justy’s still in action.
This looks to be a FWD version. Too bad.
And another Beetle; a very flashy one in front of one of the many newer houses in town that often sprout up from the remains of where a modest little house once stood.
A Scout II. Oh, we’re firing on all our cylinders today.
One of many VW Vanagons (T3). The only reason I stopped for this one was because it’s got a For Sale sign in the window. Let’s back up and see…
Only $19k? What a bargain.
Another gen1 Prius in front of a rainbow Peace flag. A wee bit stereotypical.
That would be a Z car in the garage.
Aw shucks…I really liked these Accord coupes back in the day. I didn’t stop for several sedans.
And a gen1 Mercury Sable, with those nice alloy wheels. Not many of these left around.
Somebody likes red cars.
The light on the Supra’s bumper is making it look bigger than it usually does.
A slightly battered but still running gen2 Accord.
And another Metro, 5 door this time.
A well-weathered W126 Mercedes.
Dodge pickup pointed skyward.
Another old CC from a decade ago. It looks slightly more weathered than it did a decade ago, but it’s aging gracefully.
No need to ID this one for you all.
That’s enough for today. See you in Part 4.
Nice finds Paul. Do the local used car lots reflect the same tastes or do most of these type of vehicles change hands privately if at all?
No. Lots hardly ever deal with cars older than 15 years or so. If they change hands, then privately.
Thanks Paul. Can’t wait to see Part 4! Love the red Supra.
Those nice alloy wheels are hard as hell to clean.
Ask me how I know…
Ha! Remember all too well trying to clean brake dust from those lace alloys. That appears to be a GS trim, same as our 1990 model, which was painted Currant Red. Probably the nicest styling of any car my wife and I have owned in 45 years.
Gen 1 Tauruses and Sables have disappeared from our area (Charlottesville, VA), despite our relatively mild winters. Most of the others pictured are gone as well (exceptions being Crown Vics, gen 1 Prius, and M-B W126s).
Our 1977 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL had Bundt alloy wheels. We had to use the thick “pipe cleaner” to individually clean the holes and scrub the crevices. Plan on at least 30 minutes and many litres of water for all four wheels.
Again I’m drawn to that Super Beetle like a moth to a flame. Never having owned an air cooled VW is one of my great automotive regrets.
Those Integras were wonderful cars. My former brother in law had a well used one as his first car in the early 90’s, and I occasionally happily loaned him my ’90 Accord EX just so I could hoon around in it for a day or so. His was tired, the A/C had given up long before then, but it was still a joy to drive on a nice day with the sunroof open. I haven’t seen an unmolested example in at least a decade.
I also like the shape and styling of the last 3-door Metro more every time I see it. Last night I ordered a Doordash delivery and the driver rolled up in a very nicely kept 2010 or ’11 Hyundai Accent 3-door. I couldn’t help thinking it’d been a while since I’d seen a clean, purposefully designed little hatch like that, having no “sporty” pretense about it, no “retro” styling cues, just an inexpensive utilitarian little runabout. It too drew me in at first sight.
I daily drive an old aircooled vee-dub not far to work and now work from home.
I promised myself I would do all necessary (and unnecessary) work on it and after almost two years still really enjoy every drive in the KG. Slow and noisy it may be, but it keeps up with traffic well enough if you drive it properly (there’s fun in that!) and can sit at 70 on the freeway if necessary. It takes me shopping, swallows a mountain bike and is really not as impractical as you would think.
It has been reliable, cheap to run and charms more people than any other car I’ve ever had.
You should go for it….
The Integra is an “LS Special Edition” — with the Special implying the white monochrome treatment with white wheels. The small badge on the lower-right of the rear end says “Special.”
I had forgotten about this white special edition, maybe because these were overshadowed in my mind by other Honda white monochrome cars of the early ’90s, like Preludes and later Integras. Neat to see this one.
These 1st generation Integras are getting mighty rare. The last one I saw was this ’88 LS that I spotted in New York last year:
Wow. That’s a pretty rare sight in that condition in that locale. I’d bet $$ that one’s a “Manhattan Special”. It’s probably out most of its life in garage parking, rarely used by its (likely) original owner only when it’s absolutely necessary to drive anywhere. Otherwise it’d be rusted, beaten and most likely fitted with insane spoilers and butt-ugly wheels by its 8th or 10th owner by now. Great catch!
It may well be (or have been at some point) a Manhattan Special, but I actually took the picture in the Hudson Valley city of Beacon. Regardless, I was mighty surprised to see a good-condition 1980s car up there.
Ooh, Supra, then Dodge pickup and the Integra if I’m too late for the other two. Walking around like Eugene is like going to Craigslist and searching 1970-1990…but better.
I had the “automotive hots” for a new ’83 Supra in the worst way.
If the terminally greedy Toyota dealer hadn’t wanted retail sticker PLUS “additional dealer mark up” of $600.00 I would had signed on the dotted line.
Although that Dodge pickup is appealing, the Gen1 Odyssey still makes my heart go pit-a-pat.
“Darling, does this lighting make my rear bumper seem big”?
Asked no one of any husband…
Oh, that red Supra! I really wanted one for my imaginary garage back in the day. Also love the red Volvo 850 wagon, complete with wiper/washers for the headlamps. That gen-4 Accord coupe would have followed the red Supra in my mature-me garage. I agree with the others about the attractive shape of this Metro…so under-appreciated when new.
Lots of fun to see so many attractive oldies on the regular. Are these found city-wide or only in the more established parts of town?
My sister had a 5 speed Accord coupe identical to the one in the picture, only selling it about 4-5 years ago! Her previous experiences with Hondas led me to purchase my ’89 LXi (first car ever bought with >140k miles!), and my Dad to get an ’89 SEi. I never really cared for the 4th gen styling, though, it looked like a sedan minus two doors, and NO MORE pop up headlights, LOL!! 🙂
Wow, a nice original condition untouched Gen 1 Integra which is almost worth it’s weight in gold. So many have been bastardized.
I sure hope that Supra has the 5 speed. Those cars were quite fast back in the days.
Just waiting to see what Justy will say about that Justy. 🙂
Some great spots, Paul.
Paul can I do one of these for you? It all looks so familiar — although the green IH pickup was the only one that immediately jumped out to me as a familiar South Eugene friend. Today I saw a white early 1980s Accord coupe hatchback in immaculate condition. What a practical, sporty car with superb mileage.
Sure! You’re set up as a Contributor, so just help yourself.
What a remarkable place for cars. I wish the Mid West had the kind of climate that permitted that auto diversity. Colorado is another place where it is common to see 20-30 year old cars still on the road.
If I could afford to live there, I’d have to drive an old car just to keep a roof over my head. The mortgages would eat up my budget. Here I can have a nice house, pay only 40% of what it would be sold at on the West Coast, and have enough left over to drive a new car whenever I wanted.
Besides the tough weather four months out of the year, I suspect that affordability has something to do with this?
Paul what is your opinion? You are the man who’d have the insight regarding the cost of living and the plethora of classic cars in your town. I’ve often wondered about that.
The cost of living? I sold our house in extremely expensive Los Gatos, CA and turned it into a dozen houses here. They earn me a very comfortable living. So maybe I’m the wrong person to ask. 🙂
The median price of a house in Eugene is now $351k, up 7.3 in the past year, and forecast to go up 5.2% in the next year, according to Zillow.
If you’re going to come, better do it sooner than later! 🙂
That median price is double Springfield Illinois’.
We have folks arriving from the West Coast and buying the biggest houses here, and then building even bigger houses out on the prairies surrounding Sangamon County.
I can’t afford Oregon prices, except perhaps in the Eastern Slope.
You still see quite a few of those generation accords, in varying conditions, but they seem to hold up well. There is a coupe like this one down the street from my house that he still drives daily.
That 1st gen integra looks great for the age. I haven’t seen one since my mother owned one when i was in high school. She got her driver’s license later in life and picked up an 87 grey 4-door as her first car at an auction. That was the family car and the one with the working A/C (father still drove his 88 2 door Sentra, no A/C) so that was the nicest car we had, even though this was around 1998 lol. Sadly she totalled it a few years later (right as I was told I would get to drive
it, as I just started driving). It was the first car that I had actually driven, aside from the drivers ed taurus.
Memories