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You know what we haven't had in this series? Donks! Oakland, just across a narrow estuary from Alameda, has a fair number of donkified GM cars , but the trend seems to be dying out. In any case, donkmania never got very big in Alameda, where old-school musclecars and lowriders seem to be the customization themes of choice. Here's a rare Alameda donk, which I shot next to Alameda High over the winter (no, it doesn't rain here in June). The car parked on that block every school day, so is it a teacher's car or a student's? Not sure if a student could afford 24s, but how many teachers would slap sparkly "24" emblems on the pillars? The '69 Continental that parks just down the block could well be a student car, though it's summer vacation now and the Lincoln is still there. As we know, most Jalopniks prefer a dekotora to a donk , but there's no need to get all riled up over a '76 Regal 4-door with 24s if you don't groove on the donk thing; wheels...
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We've only seen two trucks from our favorite farm equipment maker so far in this series (the '48 KB-2 and the '80 Scout ), but those aren't the only International Harvesters on the island. Here's a '76 Scout II (equipped with a warlord-style camouflage paint job) that I spotted in the same East End neighborhood as the '84 Plymouth Reliant . Though the overall look of this truck is incongruous in a neighborhood full of crypto-Mission style turn-of-the-century bungalows, but wait until the Final Days are upon us and the atomic fire rains from the skies! Then this Scout will be full of freeze-dried food and ammo, headed at top speed for the compound in the mountains and leaving the rest of us to fight over charred rat carcasses in the rubble. And what better soundtrack for that drive to the compound than a little Bad Religion? Or maybe it's just an especially menacing commuter vehicle with single-digit gas mileage. galleryPost('DOTS76IHCScout', 14, '1976...
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Almost two months since the last Cadillac? That just seems wrong , given how many old Cads still roam the island. That's why today's DOTS machine will be a Malaise Eldorado, similar to the '78 Eldo we had a while back, only this one's a convertible instead of a T-top car. Back in '76, there was a lot of hoopla over the Eldorado convertible being the Last American Convertible ever . As it turned out, it was the last convertible for less than a decade, but back in the Malaise Era you had this palpable sense that everything good was being taken away. The 500-cubic-inch engine in this car was rated at 190 horsepower, which is on the depressing side... until you consider its grunt-tastic 360 ft-lbs-o-torque. This example is in such nice shape that I'm sure the owner doesn't care about the leisurely performance and single-digit gas mileage. I found this car in the East End, mere yards from the '56 Willys Station Wagon (which is visible in a couple of the photos...
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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...
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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...
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Nothing seems more emblematic of Malaise Era cars than what happened to the Mustang as the 70s progressed. First Ford went into Bloat Mode, piling on gingerbread and ever-larger bodywork on the once-sleek Mustang, then ditched the platform completely and produced the Pinto-based Mustang II starting in 1974. The Mustang II was actually a more sophisticated machine than its predecessor, but it was underpowered, suffered from crappy build quality, and (perhaps worst of all) looked like a cruel killjoy parody of the once-sporty Mustang design. In a sense, the Mustang II told America that the good times were over- now get ready for 120-horse V8s, Nixon's resignation, and the Fall of Saigon, suckaz! Note to designers: Put a huge horse emblem on the grille, so everyone knows it's not a Pinto. You hear me? Not a Pinto! Oh, wait... the Pinto had a horse emblem, too. Also, those scoop-like indentations in front of the rear wheelwells let you know it's a Mustang. Some things never change...
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I'd been keeping my eyes open for one of these on the street in Alameda for quite a while (we see one in a driveway behind the '50 Pontiac Chieftan , but driveway cars aren't, like, on the street ), so I had the camera out and shooting before you could say "defunct automobile manufacturer" when I saw this '76 on Alameda's main drag. Not only is it a Pacer, it's the coveted X model! And in great condition to boot. The Pacer was supposed to have had a GM-built Wankel under the hood, but The General canceled the program (after a billion or so bucks down the drain) and AMC was stuck with a car that no longer had the oddball powerplant that would have justified the crazy styling. The Pacer X was the "performance" version, though in the Malaise Era that meant tape stripes and not much else. When I photograph these cars, I'm always careful to set the camera's zoom so that there's minimal distortion of the car's lines. However, this is absolutely impossible with the Pacer- a photograph from any...
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Since we went with a monstrously huge '78 Eldorado for yesterday's DOTS car, let's find an example of the other extreme of the Malaise Era automotive size spectrum (sorry, haven't found a '79 Midget on Alameda 's streets yet, and the Honda 600 is pre...
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