|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » Alameda » 1978 ( RSS)
-
|
Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today we're going to check out a 30-year-old Detroit car that's an honest-to-god daily driver and parks in the heart of Alameda's downtown. It's got its share of bumps and bruises, but it's managed to survive the hoonage that has killed off most of its second-gen F-body brethren by now. It's also managed to survive the owner's temptation to build a phony Burt Reynolds-esque Trans Am clone, and for that we should be thankful! It's not a Sky Bird Esprit , just a plain ol' Firebird. In '78, the price tag on one of these with a Buick V6 was $4,545, which $1,254 less than the Trans Am's price. That's quite a bit of money for a few acres of decals and- we're not kidding here- just 75 additional horsepower over the V6. I've always liked these Pontiac rally wheels, because they look very similar to the...
|
-
|
Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. It had to happen, sooner or later; somewhere on the island, a Cordoba was waiting- soft Corinthian leather and all- for my camera. Now that day has arrived, with this '78 located in the 1950s-vintage part of the island landfilled into the Bay. Generally, houses in such neighborhoods have garages, which means the DOTS pickings are much slimmer than those in the neighborhoods full of houses built during the 1880-1910 period, but this Chrysler still lives outside after 30 years. First, we must watch the Ricardo Montalban ad that started it all. In Cordoba, I have what I need! Plastic "gold" Cordoba medallions may be found all over this fine personal luxury automobile. Weighing in at a portly 4,021 pounds and motivated by a thirsty 318 or 360, the Cordoba wasn't quite the ideal machine for a time of fuel-price insecurity. By '78...
|
-
|
The Saab-loving conspiracy theorists still seem to think I've purposely excluded their favorite cars from this series; after all, in a city where there seems to be a Volvo 240 for every five citizens, wouldn't you expect to see a lot of Saabs as well? Well, no; in these parts, a Volvo in front of your house 25 years ago made a statement about your beliefs, while a Saab just said, uh... well, that you drove a Saab. Thus, old Saabs are scarce ('90 and newer ones are plentiful, of course), and it took me months just to find this somewhat boring '85 . But now you suspicious Saab-o-philes can rejoice, because I've found a pretty straight 99 in Alameda's West End! This car sold new for nearly 8 grand, only about $1300 less than a BMW 320i and almost $1500 more than a Volvo 244. Yes, it's a 4-door. I swear I'm still combing the island for a showroom-condition Saab 93, but until I find it you're going to have to take what Saabs you can get. Anyway, this car is...
|
-
|
Six months since the last DOTS Datsun Z? What's going on here? Since they don't really rust here, I think the shortage of early Zs on the street has something to do with their hoon-friendly qualities; most of them were wrecked, blown up, or otherwise hooned to death. We know they can take a lot of punishment on the race track , too. I've found a few of the early-80s ZXs I might go ahead and shoot, since now I know we have fans of the Late Malaise Zs here. I spotted this Middle Malaise Z parked just a few spaces down from the beateriffic Toyota AE86 . Naturally, the first thing I thought was "track down the owner and see if he'll sell it for under $500," because this beast has 24 Hours of LeMons written all over it. Of course, that was before we found the $100 Volvo . This 280Z has been hit, Bondoed, hit, Bondoed, and then hit some more. The owner finally gave up on the whole rear bumper idea, opting for a devil-may-care bumperless treatment. Now the big tailpipe...
|
-
|
So we had our Favorite Detroit Malaise Car poll last week, from which the '78 Cadillac Eldorado emerged triumphant (the combo of a 500 cubic-inch engine and T-tops proved unbeatable). But what about Malaisemobiles from across the waters? This poll includes the rebadged imports sold by Detroit as part of their "if you can't beat 'em, put your name on 'em" strategy of the era, in addition to straight-out imports. Jump like a UH-1 leaving the roof of the US Embassy in Saigon to see the contestants! Note: Since we've got two apiece '74 Porsche 911s and '77 Toyota Celicas, I'm choosing one apiece (yes, we have two '78 Colts, but one is a sedan and the other is a wagon). Now on with the Malaise! 1973 BMW 3.0CSi 1973 Capri 1973 Datsun 610 1973 Ford Courier 1973 Volkswagen Thing 1973 Volkswagen Squareback 1974 Porsche 911 Targa 1975 Datsun B210 1976 Honda Civic 1977 Toyota Celica 1978 Dodge Colt 1978 Dodge Colt Wagon 1978 Honda Civic 1978 Jaguar XJ...
|
-
|
With the Malaisetastic '80 Plymouth Fire Arrow that we saw yesterday on my mind, I got to thinking about the meaning of the Malaise Era, specifically about the American-built vehicles sold during that period. Not captive imports like the Fire Arrow or quasi-domestics like the Capri, but real Detroit (or Kenosha) machinery. And, yes, I know that Jimmy Carter never actually uttered the word "Malaise" in his so-called Crisis of Confidence speech in 1979; what started as a joke term for the cars of the 1973-1983 period has now hardwired itself into my brain). Then I realized that I've forgotten the quasi-tradition of having a Friday poll for the readers to vote on their favorite DOTS machine of the week, so I owe you some DOTS poll action. That means it's time to jump like the late-70s inflation rate to pick your favorite of Alameda's Malaisewagons! Looking at these cars, I realize that I've been remiss in not photographing early-80s Detroit iron on Alameda's...
|
-
|
It's been several months since the last time we saw a Colt down on Alameda's street, so I was happy to discover this '78 Colt wagon parked on the same block as the '66 Volvo Amazon . These rebadged Mitsubishis used to be just as common as Corollas, Chevettes, Pintos, or any other Malaise Era economy car. These days, though, almost all of them have gone to The Crusher. With a few decades between us and the time of Malaise econo-cars, it becomes possible to notice the goofy little Japanese styling touches that are lamentably absent from most Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere machine these days. 1978 was the last year of the Galant-based rear-wheel-drive Colt. Bumbeck claims the Astron bolts right in to the RWD Colt, and we're all for that idea! It's hard to make out the text on the warning label affixed to the rear glass, but it seems to be along the lines of "You'll suck carbon monoxide if you drive around with the hatch open, fool!" Oh yeah, it's...
|
-
|
What car best sums up Malaise Era so-called performance cars than the late-70s Trans Am? Sure, there's the whole Burt Reynolds thing adding some camp value and general notoriety, but this car would be a caricature of its time and place even if "Smokey and the Bandit" had never been made. The scoops! The flares! The great big engine that wheezed out less power than the base 4-bangers in today's boring econo-sedans! Yet still, just like America in the gloomy post-Watergate/Vietnam/oil-embargo period, there was still some optimism to be found in the Trans Am's lines... if you looked for it. No, this car wasn't quick (in factory trim). But, just like its Z/28 sibling , it looked quick. California Trans Ams came with the Olds 403, an engine more or less synonymous with the word "Malaise." 185 horsepower, on a good day; they had to use nitrous in Burt's car to do burnouts in the movie. Scream, chicken, scream! This car is rough, though not rusty. Try to imagine it back in '78, with its Firebirdly...
|
-
|
We sometimes forget that you could still get enormous freakin' Detroit land yachts well into the Malaise Era, gas lines and Middle East unrest be damned. This 1978 Cadillac Eldorado is an excellent example of such a car; the '77 Continental we saw a few...
|
|
|
|