(first posted 2/14/2017) Car spotting in a Catholic High School student parking lot
The location is University High School (Uni) which was located across the street from the University of San Diego in Linda Vista. Alas the property was sold and my alma mater was torn down for condos in 2008. Had a great view of the Pacific and Mission Bay from my school. Given the jackets, this is warm and sunny San Diego you know, this picture is most likely shot in January – February of 1971 my senior year. I count at least 39 cars that can be identified although five are Beetles and four are Mustangs which was a most common sight.
It looks like your typical collection of cast-off Mom-mobiles that kids usually end up driving.
That Henry J is intriguing. Less ‘moms old car’ and more ‘starving student’.
At least it has a trunk lid! 😉
I’d like to know who drove that Kaiser J..probably some Science teacher )
Boy those were the car days. That was my senior year. We had a teacher who drove a 442 and I kept a ’48 Chevy hidden in a forest for those night time perambulations boarding school students were wont to take 🙂
Todays high school students have Tik Tok and lame jelly bean shaped slushbox machines in the parking lot. Of course they dont know what they’re missing.
I’ll take the brand-new Road Runner in the way back, plus both of the hardtop Mopar wagons, please! Another awesome shot, tbm3fan. Thanks for sharing it!
That’s exactly what I was thinking…Road Runner and those two side by side wagons.
Failing that, maybe the ’57 Dodge wagon way in back. Guess I’m in a mopar state of mind today.
Any more pictures anyone?
Stay tuned. I have some old pictures like this up my sleeve.
I found a slide of my 1965 Vette yesterday going through some old slides I found. It’s the only picture of the Vette that I have from 1974 – 1976 when I owned it. I’ll scan it into a jpeg and post it soon.
I am kind of surprised how new the cars are given this is California, but then again, cars did not last as long back then.
Back in 2008 I usuallt drove an 87 Caprice Estate or 95 Voyager to school in Newfield, NY.
So many Wagons! I guess it’s true what they said about Catholics having lots of kids! (joking)
no joke. grew up catholic in a catholic neighborhood. we were the only ones w/o a wagon, we had only 2 kids.
I’d make a joke about how if this was Lake Wobegon it’d all be Chevys but LW never had a Catholic high school.
Chrysler wagon at right for me, please. Or the Road Runner if Spiff changes his mind. Great pic.
The Road Runner certainly caught my eye. I always liked those.
One of the more obscure cars that I like is the ’60 Dodge Station Wagon. I see one partially hidden from view by its younger sibling wagon.
I also like the ’62 Impala across the aisle near the Bug.
What’s the large Mopar wagon in the back (upper left)? A ’57 DeSoto or something?
It’s a ’57 Dodge. Across the way, the second vehicle up, next to the Datsun pickup is a big ’67-’68 Plymouth Fury that looks to have woodgrain. Just above it… is that around a ’69 Road Runner?
And, check out the “REAGAN” bumper sticker on the Fairlane wagon at left! Googling reveals that he had just been reelected to the governorship of Cali in 1970. He had called out the national guard on protesters earlier in 1969. Shadows of what was to come! Wonder if that was the kid’s car or the parents’?
Great stuff!
Ah, I thought that Plymouth was a Chrysler. Thanks for the correction. I’ll take it anyway.
It looks like a 1968 Sport Satellite next to the Fury wagon. Road Runners had a slightly different deck lid trim strip with the Decor Group.
Naw, it’s gotta be a ’69 RR, bronze paint and torquemaster wheels, or I’m walking on by.
I’d love the Volvo 122s (Amazon). I also like the VW Westphalia Campmobile.
I just thought up an intersting way to gauge the year of a given street or parking lot scene: the ‘average year vs real year’. I.E. A given lot in 1970 might be 1966 “average year”, based upon the overwhelming vintage of vehicles parked in it. A 1970 lot in more affluent trappings? 1968.5!
Looks a lot better than the high school lot down the street, I can actually tell the cars apart!
A fella was parked up across the street from my apartment the other day with a gorgeous Amazon he had done some very nice work on. Twin carbs with velocity stacks, Cibie bumper rider spots and an RAC badge, and overall a really clean car. I was very jealous.
Love that Chrysler hardtop wagon. I had to force my eyes to keep looking at the other cars…
The Chrysler hardtop wagon caught my eye immediately also.
In my mind, I always associated these elegant hardtop wagons with an “upscale” Mother of that time period, perhaps from Westchester county New York, Bel Air, California or uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. She would be dressed in high heels, long white gloves, a fur collared leather coat, smoking Pal Mal cigarettes, heading out to the specialty snacks store to pick up a platter of bourbon balls, oyster patties appetizers or some other type of delicious nibbles/finger food for that night’s suburban cocktail party.
And 25 years later she’d have those big square glasses with the arms that connect to the frames very low and a monogram on one lens, and she’d be driving an M-body Fifth Avenue.
These kids were lucky to have any car at all. In 1964 most of us just used the family car on weekends and after school (if we could get it!).
Well, after all, this pic IS from SOCAL (southern California), the “car capital” of the USA.
That ’71 Road Runner way in the back is getting a lot of attention, but I think that delightful two-door Amazon in the foreground is more to my taste!
This is ‘The Queensway’ in Ottawa, Canada from 1971. I like the GM ‘Buffalo’ bus headed in the opposite direction. Not sure of the car immediately behind the Oldsmobile convertible.
Full-sized sedans was standard fare, like in much of North America. And overhead directional signs that spanned all lanes, were yet to come. Also note the obsolete (and dangerous) median design.
Humber Super Snipe followed by a Datsun 510. Great combo.
Awesome Don! Thank you.
Question now is, the black car next to the 66 Chev, and the two cars behind it.
My guess: Austin 1800, VW Type 3, Opel or Austin Farina
That’s not a Cortina to next to the Chevy?
Seems too wide for a Cortina to me. Plus it looks like it’s got quad headlights
Definitely right on the Austin 1800, Don. I did wonder if the one in between was a Renault Caravelle/Floride, but it lacks the step up in the middle of the bumper which it has even with over-riders. The back one of the trio is an Austin A60.
OK, I can see that’s an 1800 by the bonnet badge. At first I thought VW squareback behind it but there’s either a grille or a bumper guard crossing in front. It’s hard with the way a long shot squishes things. How about an MGB GT?
The car in front of the Chevy and the 1800 is a ’62 Olds.
I was hoping it might have been one of my favourite unicornians with quads
Bernard’s call on the Caravelle might fit
I also think the not-a-type3 is an MGB GT. I never knew the Austin 1800 was imported to Canada.
Austin 1800 VW and Austin A60 Cambridge.
Great photo!
Agree on the Austin 1800, but I see a VW 1500 behind it, not an MG. The license plate is clearly above the bumpers, which makes this a rear-engined car. Nobody would put the number plate right on the grille of an MG, which would also sit a lot lower than this car.
Puzzled about the black car behind it. Probably not Opel. Not convinced by the Austin Farina either. Fiat 1100? Early Datsun?
Looking again, the rear of the trio might be the Morris Oxford s.VI version. I think there’s a (round) badge is on the top of the bonnet rather than than rectangular one on the grille.
I thought I spied a landcrab! Didn’t know those were sold here, or were they marketed in Canada but not the USA?
Yes,the one at the back looks like an Austin Farina/Morris Oxford.
Great to see an Austin 1800. They were sold in Canada but were rare. I had one as my first car. It was great in snow but it rusted remarkably quickly. Mine was a 1965, but I had to scrap it in 72 as it disintegrating from rust.
Great shot. Interesting to note how many of the Chevys were Bel Air (or Biscayne) models with the dual tail lights on each side instead of the triples for the Impala.
As I’ve said before in another post, premium luxury cars were relatively rare in Canada’s major eastern cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal). It was not especially common to see Lincolns, Imperials or Cadillacs. It was notable in fact. Or top trim levels on standard cars. Most cars would not have air conditioning when this photo was taken. Lower trim level standard cars were very typical.
I don’t know if others notice this with these older photos. Following too closely was endemic at the time. Drivers seemed to have had less awareness of their braking distances. This would have been a 50 MPH or 60 MPH road, I am thinking, at the time.
4 Mustangs, 4 Beetles. Seems about right. The Jocks vs. Squares is in full effect.
Love the ’54 Buick hardtop in the back. 17 years old. A rarity for the times.
I went to high school ’65-’69. 35 years later my kids went to the same high school. When I went there you couldn’t find a parking spot within a 4 or 5 block radius of the school, When my kids went there you could actually find a parking space in front of the school. When I went there nobody’s parent’s drove them to or picked them up from school, when my kids went there was a 5 bock line of cars dropping off or picking up their kids. Also enrollment was down to 1\3rd of what it was when I went there, 1100 vs 3500.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is that kids hardly play outside anymore. I drive truck for a living so I see a lot and it’s like a nostalgic breath of fresh air to see kids out playing, because it’s such a rare sight. We got a foot of snow the other day and I drove by the best sledding Hill in the area. Thirty years ago there would have been 100 kids having a ball. Today that hill was empty. On a Sunday afternoon. It’s no wonder there is a juvenile obesity problem.
Yes!
My Mother would literally push me and the other 3 kids out of her kitchen door.
“Go OUTSIDE already! Turn of that dayumed tv! Get some fresh air! Go climb a tree! YOU KIDS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!”
‘Course we lived in a “The Wonder Years” type of suburb. How times HAVE changed!
I was a senior in high school in 1971 also, and our parking lot across the country in North Carolina looked about the same: lots of parents’ cars, station wagons, big American sedans, a few (very few actually) muscle cars (I think they were called “super cars” back then). Interesting how few foreign cars there are in a Cali lot in ’71. I drove a Hillman Minx and my older brother drove a Mini Cooper, unusual choices in the early 70s, especially in the South. But my dad had a garage that specialized in British cars, so it was natural for us. Things would change in a few years, rather dramatically as we all know.
‘Dad, why does he get the Cooper?’
Are you Dave Barry?
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950102&slug=2097399
I too, was a high school senior in 1971.
I still really like that ’68-’69 Beetle with the Alabaster throne seats. I can hear it now.
I could be tempted by any one of the Buicks; the early ’60s Special/Skylark on the left, or the Electra a little farther up, or best of all, that ’54 on the right.
RE: “hear it now”.
Yup! The sound of a burning out VW bug muffler will forever be ingrained in my mind. (Pfffft-ffft-fft-ffft…..)
Senior class of ’73 here.
That Electra belonged to my best friend’s father. However, since the Dad worked on the tuna fleet out of San Diego at the time he was at sea often in that brutal job. Hook and line back then. So my friend got to drive that car to school. Mom drove the newer 1968 Mustang coupe with the 289-2V, auto, no console, in Lime Frost.
At the time the student population numbered just over 600 only St. Augustine was smaller as they hadn’t gone coed.
When I first saw the picture my first thought was “that sure looks like the parking lot at my school -Uni. I went there from 1975 thru 1979. There were separate lots for students and faculty. Student parking was first come first serve. My senior year we actually had assigned parking spaces. It was pretty cool that no matter what time I arrived, my space was there and available. By the time I graduated enrollment was about 1100 students, a small school compared to the high schools of today.
Corvair convertible hiding on the right; Buick Special 4 door tucked in there on the left.
Mopars wagons! 1957 Dodge Sierra, a 1960 Dodge Polara hardtop and 1963 Chrysler New York hardtop, how often did those come together?
Owner of the ’51-’52 Henry J, worth just about zero as a twenty year old used car? A poor student teacher or a skinflint business manager.
And how about the 1965 or later large body Chrysler (or Plymouth or something) one on the right?
’68 Plymouth Sport Suburban.
This Mopar and a ’65-66 Ford station wagon dominated the driveways of my (almost) upscale, suburban tract home neighborhood outside of New Orleans, LA in this time period.
I “threw” my around my house paper route by what car was in the driveway, as the tiny house numbers of the time were impossible to read before dawn, so I memorized the cars more than the house numbers.
Ford and Mopar station wagons ruled the suburbs wayyyyyyy back then.
Anyone else notice the Fiat 600 behind the Ford wagon?
no sunroof. doesn’t count. it’s san diego for god’s sake!
I spotted it too, and wondered: how did that get there?
Yes.
Wow, we’ve got a “Class of ’71” reunion going here….
This *immediately* takes me back across the decades. If I didn’t see the topography/palm tree there at the top, I’d swear this was somewhere in Great Lakes flyover territory.
For Cali I somehow would have expect more imports, even in 1971.
Teddy: “cars did not last as long then.” Indeed: I’ll bet HS parking lots now have plenty of 15-20-year old cars that would hardly catch our eyes as an “old car.”
A non-car detail: at about 9:00 in the pic, those woolen jackets (heavier than shirts), “CPO jackets,” which were having a vogue then (now a “vintage clothing” item on eBay).
Thanks a bunch, TBM3FAN—I’ll have to go through an old HS yearbook and see if there are any parking-lot photos now!
We called them Pendletons.
As far as foreign cars there are two missing from the shot that were driven by classmates. One drove a Honda 600 which was once picked up and carried to the back parking lot. Dave, I had nothing to do with it. The other was a mid-60’s Jaguar XKE Coupe driven by Jeff. I still remember who drove what 45 years later. Oh, no one in my class had the Kaiser and the lot was mostly the Class of 71 cars and the school just went coed.
Honorable mention has to go to Father Byrnes who drove a 1970 Charger 440 RT. When we had our semi-annual nighttime car rally and you saw a car flash by you, on La Jolla Blvd., it was no doubt Father Byrnes
It Looks Like Alot Less Americans are Driving Domestically made vehicles now(i mean from Big3,not foreign brands assembled in USA).All Old Pictures that i have seen from USA shows how popular GM FORD CHRYSLER products used to be.
I was a sophomore in ’71 and my school (in Northern California) didn’t have a parking lot. Not many students drove, the faculty parked on the street. Our principal drove a Beetle, at least one teacher had a Saab 96, others drove an original style (’65-66) Mustang, a Valiant convertible, ’65 Chevy wagon, etc. so this lot looks about right, though I too would have expected more Japanese cars. Though in hindsight, I only recall one, a Corona, at my school.
In San Diego it was Datsun who became big in the time from 1970-75. Their Roadster, 240Z, 1200, 510 and 610 outnumbered Toyota easily. I know I test drove the Z, the 510 and the 610 but never pulled the plug. Then came 1976 and the Honda Accord.
That ’53 or ’54 Buick looks really “old” but it’s 18 years at the most. It sure looked older in ’71 than a 1999 does today.
Only in Cali would even the HS parking lots be that big…
This is very American and to me in mid-late 1970s Israel was like something from another dimension (we knew kids our age drove such cars to school in the US but for us this was surreal). Not many families in Israel had two cars back then and most parents would have needed the car anyway, so the chances of driving to school in dad’s, say, Peugeot 504 on a regular basis were slim. I remember practically only 3 kids who had cars in my HS; one who used his mother’s Beetle, someone who had a Subaru 360 and the son of a local Mafioso who had – wait for it – a 1966 Rambler Classic 770 which in 1977 Israel was akin to a 2006 Cadillac CTS (if it makes sense) in today’s terms. I did however manage, after much groveling to get my dad to release our 1976 Cortina, for the final day at HS, but that was it…
If this was January-February 1971 in the parking lot at my local high school (Titusville, FL), you’d probably see me driving my folks’ yellow Fairlane 500 wagon. Something like this…
Realizing this is SOCAL, where rust wasn’t a factor makes sense when taking into account so many cars in the 10-15 year old range. From my recollection, my North Jersey HS student lot averaged only 1 or 2 cars older than 10-12 years in age. I’m thinking demographically the areas are similar, but the energy crisis that hit shortly after this pic, coupled with the prolific use of salt on our roads meant that most of our cars in the mid 80’s were around ’77 or newer. I can recall one classmate driving a ’72 Luxury LeMans, and one who drove a Mercdes 230 which *might* have been the oldest car in the lot, as it was probably a ’69 or so. V8s were few and far between unless the owner was a certified “Gear Head”, but most of those guys went to the Vo Tech HS across town. Because gas had only recently crested $1 per gallon shortly before most of us became mobile we were more likely to be driving 4 cylinder cars, with a sprinkling of V6 Monzas and Sunbirds thrown into the mix.
Unlike today one can see that trucks were not such a common sight. There are only two in this shot. There is a Datsun 610 truck and hidden behind the group of students, on the left side, a Slick.
Good observation (and again, your photos are awesome)! Seems like the cheap, compact pickup era has since come and gone. The Datsun 520 in the pic is probably at the leading edge of that era, but pickups today are neither cheap nor compact. These Datsuns were basic but bulletproof, though mine used to backfire through the carb when engine-braking down long hills (necessary with its fade-prone 4-wheel drums). The bubbling paint on the hood once alerted me that the carb was on fire — whoops!
The parking lots of our upper end public and Catholic schools don’t look much different from this vintage lot.
We have lots of hand-me-down CUVs and SUVs replacing those expensive station wagons of the past, and of course, there is that extra rich kid with a brand new Dodge Challenger or Mustang.
The one thing that is different, today’s kids are quite into the modern “wagons”, while the kids of 1971 would have much preferred a coupe of some sort over the family trucksters of the past.
Average high temp in San Diego in February is about 68 degrees F.
…and the locals are all in shivering in their coats and telling each other how cold it is.
So different from Australia back then.
What age could you get a licence then? In my state in Australia it’s 18, so you’d be in your final year of high school. For me that was ’75. We only had one kid who drove to school, and he lived fairly close so he didn’t ‘need’ to. Others would borrow a family car for a special occasion. Only ‘mature age’ students (those coming back to complete their schooling) had their own cars. Might have been different in a more affluent part of town,
Amazing variety of shapes and sizes in the photo, and almost all American too.
Kinda surprised there was only one Corvair. By the way, the Volvo looks like it does not have a California plate. What is it — Arizona maybe? Someone who just moved to the area maybe?
When I was in high school (class of 1976), one guy had a 1950-ish DeSoto. It stood out like the Henry J does here.
1963 Olds Cutlass on the right between the Tempest wagon and regular Tempest. I had 2 of them. One year only .
Fascinating snapshot in time. Looks like a lot of family type, maybe hand-me-down cars for the kids to drive.
We had a young female English teacher who had a brand new 1964 red GTO.