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Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. The BMW E24 is not exactly an endangered species, but it's such a good-looking car that every single one I see in Alameda qualifies for this series. Never mind that I have photographs of six Alameda 2002s stockpiled- it's 6 Series time again! This car is owned by the man I consider to be the King Of Alameda BMWs; not only does he have a '74 E9 on the street, he's got a turbocharged 745i and who knows what other droolworthy Bavarian steel in the garage and scattered around the neighborhood. We'll be seeing the rest of his cars soon enough, but today it's the E24's turn. He picked up this '82 633CSi cheap when its previous owner despaired of ever getting his PCH running. It needs some work, but the body is straight and it now runs just fine. It's tough to find an example of car-quality-per-dollar quite as good as...
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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's car is one I see frequently, and I've spent months wrestling with an internal debate over its eligibility for this series; sure, it's a quarter-century old and a great-looking car, but probably 98% of the diesel W123s ever sold are still on the road today and it's a stretch to call this one a survivor . Eventually, the rarity of the early-80s coupes in North America sold me; back in the early 80s, what self-respecting wealthy car buyer craved the sportiness of a big Benz coupe, yet was willing to put up with the 120 horsepower of a rattly, smoky diesel? OK, the OM617 was actually quiet, didn't smoke, and was probably the most reliable automobile engine ever made, but Americans who look for stolid reliability tend to want four doors. I'm not sure this is actually an '82; it could be as recent as 1985. The feds didn't...
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My DOTS-detectin' antennae are getting more sensitive every day; I caught the briefest glimpse of something red and vaguely wedge-shaped down a side street out of the corner of my eye while riding as a passenger in a car and made a mental note: Possible Fiat X-1/9! Investigate later! Sure enough, when I went back to that block later on, here was a red X-1/9 and not a Toyota MR2 or Pontiac Fiero (not that there's anything wrong with either of those two, but they're not anywhere near as rare as the Fiat). This ability comes at a price, as I now drive at a maddening 15 MPH in Alameda- the better to scan for interesting iron- and I'm sure my car is hated by the impatient types who don't understand that I'm on an important mission. I had the use of an X-1/9 for a couple of weeks when I was a teenager, and I recall thinking "Cool! Italian sports car! This will be much fun!" Then, a few minutes into driving the thing, I thought "Damn, this thing is miserably...
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I must admit that the Mazda 626 has spent its entire existence without really registering on my personal automotive radar screen. A generic-looking Mazda sedan with no rotary? Yet the first-generation 626 sold quite well and gained a reputation for reliability... and now most of them are gone forever, fed into the ravenous jaws of The Crusher. So even though it's no AE86 or RX-7 , this car has earned DOTS status by surviving everyday use for 26 hard years. 1982 was the last year of rear-wheel-drive 626s sold in North America. And, hey, it's the much-coveted Luxury edition! The 626 Luxury sedan listed at $8,895 in '82, nearly $2,500 more than the '82 Chevy Cavalier sedan. This one is pretty rough, covered with battle scars and daily-driver glory. The mismatched wheels add to its tough-veteran appearance. galleryPost('DOTS82Mazda626', 12, '1982 Mazda 626 Down On The Street'); First 200 DOTS
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After reading Paul Niedermeyer's (aka PaulN's ) recent essay about the Corolla's 40th anniversary , it seemed only right for me to go with a Late Malaise Corolla for today's DOTS car. After all, the last generation of rear-wheel-drive Corollas really cemented Toyota's now utterly dominant reputation for reliability among North American car buyers, and sightings of these machines on the street have (finally) started to get somewhat rare. Even after 26 years, this car doesn't look all that archaic. Nothing flashy, but also not Toyota Bland (the seriously bland Toyotas came a bit later). <<img alt="82_Corolla_Rr_LH.jpg" src="http://jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2008/03/82_Corolla_Rr_LH.jpg" width="478" height="266" /> Some of these cars are getting hooned drifted to death nowadays, but not in anywhere near the numbers of their younger AE86 brethren. It's sad to think that we won't see many of these Corollas on...
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We've seen 240Z and 280Z so far in this series, but how about the Late Malaise 280ZX? I see a few of them in my travels on the island, but this '82 280ZX Turbo kept catching my eye. It's been in the same spot in the West End for several months now and clearly hasn't moved for quite a while. However, it has 2008 tags, so I'm guessing it hasn't been abandoned. This one is very close to being a true beater, but it's not quite there yet. The '82 Turbo's engine produced a respectable-for-Malaise 180 horsepower, 20 more than the Camaro Z28's 305-cube V8. And this one has some snazzy pinstripes! Do you suppose the owner of a car with the license plate MO GIGI has anything in common with MO REES across town? And T-tops, for that true Malaise sensation. Do the Datsun T-tops leak as badly as the GM ones? galleryPost('DOTS2280ZXTurbo', 19, '1982 Datsun 280ZX Turbo Down On The Street'); First 200 DOTS
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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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I promised more Malaise Era Mercedes-Benzes not long ago, and it's been a few weeks since the last one , so this morning's DOTS will be a Benz hailing for the Late Malaise year of 1982. Yes, yes, we know- Mercedes-Benz never really succumbed to full-on Malaise, but we're talking era , not the Malaisitude of a specific vehicle here. I spotted this car just a block from the 1950 Pontiac Chieftan convertible and right near a couple of vintage Porsches you'll be seeing later. This 380SL is a driver, still doing its job and looking pretty sharp. The paint is starting to oxidize a bit in the California sun, but there's no rust and no missing parts. Of course, since it is a Mercedes, even minor repairs probably cost staggering sums. I've seen these things go for a few hundred bucks at the San Francisco towed-cars auction, no doubt because of the fear of repair costs. But, dammit, it's a V8-powered sporty Mercedes-Benz! Now I want one! galleryPost('DOTS82380SL'...
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