While I drive, my iPhone is usually tethered via USB to my car stereo so it can provide the soundtrack. That makes my iPhone a handy camera when a curbside classic rolls by. Whenever I see one and when I’m in a safe position (usually stopped at a light, though sometimes also when I’m rolling with no surrounding traffic), I’ll snap a quick shot. Such was the case with this ’68 DeVille convertible. Note the trailer hitch!
These, then, are all the old cars I photographed rolling this year. As you might imagine, I photographed many of them from the rear while stopped behind them at a light. This late C3 Corvette is a good example of that. Mister, your tail light is out.
I also got a derriere view of this Fiero.
And this Cadillac Allante.
And this dirty Mercedes-Benz 300 TD wagon.
I see this Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible from time to time as I drive to work, so its owner must live or work in the area.
I passed him so I could capture his front end.
Also waiting in traffic was this good looking Triumph TR6.
I passed this trailer-queen Barracuda while driving out to pick up my kids one day.
A couple months later, down the road a little from where I found the yellow Barrauda, I spotted this brown one getting off the Interstate under its own power. This is one of my favorite rolling-classic photos this year; I can’t remember the last time I saw a Barracuda being driven.
Another favorite is this 1951 Chevrolet coupe, which I found rolling in my sons’ neighborhood. It’s turning here into a driveway. Could this be its home? Every time I pass by, I crane my neck to see if I can get a peek at this car.
Photographing while driving means that I can’t take the time to perfectly line up shots, and that sometimes I just can’t hold the camera steadily. This final-gen Geo (Chevy?) Metro, which I photographed because it was in flawless condition, was very close to my car in bad early-morning light.
And sometimes my best efforts just miss the mark, such as when I tried to photograph this post-facelift Dodge Aries coupe.
Finally, this 1970 Buick Skylark hardtop sedan lives in my part of town. I’ve seen it out and about several times, but I never seem to be in a good place to get a photo of it. This über-noisy maximum-zoom photo will have to do.
Mister Skylark, rest assured: I will find you parked, and photograph you, and write you up right for Curbside Classic. It is only a matter of time.
CC effect strikes again!I’ve just been watching Stone Sour’s Say You’ll Haunt Me video with Corey Taylor being taken out of the boot of a black ‘Cuda by gangsters.I saw an identical brown one to the feature car in Blackpool in the summer when at the punk festival.It can’t have been a popular colour as I’ve never seen another.Whilst not my cup of tea the TR6 is a good looker,thank you Jim for another great feature
Yes, some of the “rolling classics” are most maddening. I have my own little collection of these. I have no experience with an iPhone, but my Android model is maddeningly slow in booting up the camera, and then reminding me to choose its HDR function just as I am ready to shoot. Arrrrgh.
Still, there is no thrill like seeing some of the very coolest old cars actually under power and in motion. Like photographing a cheetah or gazelle at full speed rather than while napping.
I am especially looking forward to that Skylark 4 door hardtop. I will confess that I have never seen that one, I am counting on you. The 4 door hardtop on that body is a style that I like more and more as time passes by.
Yes, I so want to bag that Skylark! I agree, the hardtop sedan style has grown on me over the years.
There’s also a light green early Gran Torino somewhere in the northwest-Indy/Zionsville area — I’ve seen it, but have never been able to photograph it.
+1 The 4-door hardtop is an endangered species — a very nice bodystyle, especially in Buick flavor.
I could picture that Caddy towing an Airstream back in ’68.
I don’t normally pay much attention to Saabs, but I saw a bright red sedan in beautiful condition in the crowded Target lot the other day (I paid cash), and wished I’d had the camera along.
…and the trailer hitch on the Caddy reminds me of the photo I saw on Hemmings’ blog a year or so ago taken in 1964 at Long Beach, WA, that showed among other cars a Corvette Sting Ray with a trailer hitch.
Some very good ones there. Hope you spot them when parked for a better look.
Last night on the way home from a Christmas party we passed a Chevette on the highway! I haven’t seen one of those in ages. It bounced around a bit so I think the shocks were shot, but the body looked to be in very good condition, from what I could see in the light of the streetlights. Pictures probably wouldn’t have turned out, too dark, and I was driving.
You win the internet for capturing one of the most beautiful DeVille Convertibles I’ve seen in a long time, good going!
Saw a pale blue cream top convertible Caddy recently getting gas a rather frequent event cruising in Caddies if memory serves no camera and a flat phone mean no pics unfortunately if its local I’ll see it again, Ive seen the same black 74 Dodge Monaco in the same place recently and will capture it next trip thru that particular burg.
I’ve always wanted the Internet, but now that I have it, I have nowhere to put it.
Doesn’t take any room at all. You can take the whole internet and put it in a little drawer. Like the one over there… No, the other one, next to Al Gore
If you’re not using it, might I borrow it for an afternoon sometime?
I’m chasing an original aquamarine first series Flavia coupe which I keep seeing, but am never in a position to shoot. Feels like Richard Dreyfus chasing the girl in the T-bird in American Graffiti. Nice Caddy.
My recent Flavia sedan sighting was a one-off, could not get the camera ready in time. First time I’ve seen a pre-Beta (& those are rare enough) Lancia in I dont know how long
Haven’t seen a Beta in years, although I bumped into a I/II Montecarlo (scorpion) hybrid recently. Most common Lancia around Melbourne seems to be the Fulvia coupe. I remember a time when every second Fulvia you saw was a Zagato. Would kill to see a Flaminia Coupe. And buy it.
That looks like an ’88 Fiero & possibly a T-top car — those are super rare. That tacky chrome emblem is covering up the two mounting holes where the original “Pontiac” script lived before it disintegrated into nothingness.
Thanks for posting it — I love Fieros.
I went to check for more photos of this Fiero but unfortunately I don’t have any. Bummer. I would have liked to see a side view. But I think you’re right about the T-tops.
Oh man that ’51 Chevy… I’m betting the wheels are something I wouldn’t like, but in this picture where I can’t make them out, it looks great! I wonder if the original Blue Flame six is still under the hood. Probably not, but in my mind it’s still there – with an O/D 3-speed behind it and triple sidedrafts like on the early Corvette. Being lowered slightly and lacking the wheel skirts that these are now always seen with (plus the black paint) makes it look like the European cars that were strongly influenced by American styling during the early 1950s. Almost like a coupe version of this Renault:
DeVille: Why is it that muffler men today don’t know how to cut off replacement tail pipes at a proper angle?
Cuda’s: I would almost KILL to have either of those!!
Chevy: I saw an identical car to this one, although it was outfitted w/ Torque Thrusts & RWL tires, WITH the fender skirts! I nearly self induced a whiplash turning to look at it!! It was Sharp!! 🙂
+1 on the DeVille tailpipe. Lol, I wish I knew, but they all look like that
+2 — a big pet peeve of mine! Shoddy exhaust work is so obvious too — it can be seen from far away too. Finding a “good exhaust guy” can be difficult nowadays.
My first thought:
The NEWWWW Allante!