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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 we're going to check out a car that proves what a small world this really is; I was over at the parents' place the other day- yeah, I'm still on speaking terms with them in spite of having been given a girl's name, since it's that name that's given me the gravel in my gut and the spit in my eye- and my mom asked, "Have you seen that race car parked down the street?" Race car? Sure enough, parked about five doors down from my childhood home, here's the El Moto Loco VW Golf from the 24 Hours Of LeMons SF race in May. One day you're scraping fenders with a car on the race track, and a few months later it's lowering the property values in your parents' neighborhood! These guys had some great Lucha Libre costumes, and they'd probably have made a run at People's Choice if it hadn't been...
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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. I've finally found a Ferrari on the island; sure, it's not even 20 years old and the Mondial isn't the most beloved of Ferraris, but it's the real thing. I was going to save this car for a special occasion, but it seems appropriate that we continue to honor Pininfarina in the wake of Andrea Pinafarina's death. To be honest, I can't swear this is an '89. The Mondial T convertible was made until 1993, and the lack of license plates means I can't check the state smog check site . But we know it's no Fierrari, because the Mondial wasn't loved enough to inspire Fiero body kits. You Ferrari experts can show your stuff now by pointing out the details that nail down an exact year on this lil' red devil. Depending on the model year, the V8 in this car delivers between 296 and 312 horsepower- pretty decent for a 3...
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When I posted the DOTS Bonus Edition Abandoned Oakland Camaro , I wasn't prepared for all the emails I got pleading with me to add third-gen GM F-bodies to the Eligible For DOTS list. I'm still not 100% convinced they belong in DOTS proper, because they're still pretty common even in rusty parts of the country, but we'll give it a shot for today (and those of you who wish to make your feelings known on this important issue can go ahead and vote in the poll below the gallery). I picked this '89 RS, which was parked near the Bay in Alameda's West End, because it's so, well, Eighties . The Rally Sport designation had become more or less meaningless by the time George Bush Senior took office... oh, wait- it was always pretty much meaningless. Seeing the USS Hornet (and San Francisco) in the background reminds me that the Camaro was once the car to have for sailors stationed at Alameda's now-closed Navy base. You spent 9 months at sea in the Enterprise or Coral...
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Now that we're in an 80s mood , let's keep our Members Only jackets and Vuarnet shades on for one more day! By 1989, Alfa Romeos just weren't flying off the showroom floors (though we can assume they were limping into the dealerships' service bays). In what appears to have been a desperation move, the Alfa marketing wizards decided to capitalize on that really popular Dustin Hoffman movie , swapping out the "Spider" emblems for "Graduate" ones on their North American cars. After all, while the Alfa in the film runs out of gas, it doesn't actually experience any mechanical problems. Sadly, the rebranding move wasn't so successful, and Alfa Romeo retreated- temporarily- from North America just a few years later. I wish I could find more street-parked old Italian cars on the island, but (other than the '66 Lancia ) all we've got is a few Graduates. I've seen some more exotic Italian machinery roaring around the island's streets, but...
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