We took a recent quick trip to Portland for a wedding, and to visit our kids who both live there now. The morning dog walks around the neighborhood of our son’s house revealed the wealth that is the Oregon curbside and driveway scene. This 4WD Tercel wagon isn’t particularly unusual, but its trailer hitch and the adjacent boat made me wonder if it had led a hard life.
Here’s another boat and tow rig, from the opposite end of the automotive spectrum. The boat is a Supra, no less. And here the trailer is hitched to the Jeep
A close-up of the Barbie Jeep. In real life its wrap looked much pinker than in this early morning photo, with a tinge of wildfire smoke sunrise.
The house and its Mercury Mystique driveway occupant are both a little worse for wear. The 24V V6 badge was still intact. Our son said the house is occupied.
A Chevy Impala fan lives here. In fact more than just Impalas, as the other car in the driveway was a late-model Chevrolet crossover. But not interesting enough to include in the photo, and it wasn’t gold.
This is the first Concord, or any Hornet in fact, that I’ve seen for years. Not my favorite color and trim, but it looked to be in very good condition.
This 1972 Chevy truck was in the driveway of the house that also had the pink Wrangler. But unlike at the two Impala house, I couldn’t crop out the SUV in the driveway.
Another truck, this Ford F250 looked a lot more work-ready than the Silverado above. But the two tone paint jobs on both are so emblematic of Seventies and Eighties pickups.
This was an eclectic assortment. Hidden behind the Ram pickup was a Scout II. Bonus points for any CC’ers who can recognize the greenhouse of the car peeking out behind the Astro van.
I’ll let you guys tell me the exact year of this Cadillac. All I know is that it’s rear wheel drive, it’s big, and it’s missing only one of the plastic bumper fillers.
I’ll end on a bright note. The Gambler 500 windshield signage says it all. It was not actually hitched to that trailer.
Nice collection. That Hornet, is actually a Concord. Colour on the Jeep, might be described as ‘salmon’.
Looks like someone corrected the post to read Concord. Thanks. As for the Jeep, as I wrote it looked a lot pinker in person, at least to my eyes, but I agree it was a bit salmon-tinted. Appropriate for the PNW. At least one of our dinners that weekend was barbecued Pacific salmon.
Great pics! Refreshing variety of colours, is great to see. People not hesitant to express themselves.
Always like the Fiat 500s, but that shade of green is a bit off. Maybe it fits the mindset of the area…Portlandia???
Also, I see a lot of brown lawns..has it been that dry in the northwest or is this seasonal??
Lived in Oregon for many years. The summers are very dry, unlike the image of Oregon having constant rain – which is pretty correct for the other seasons.
It was hot all weekend until we left Monday morning. 90’s Fahrenheit with a peak of 106°F on the drive up. That’s mid to high 30’s Celsius. The heat didn’t surprise me but actually the mostly brown lawns did. That’s something I’m used to here in California but I thought there’d be more water available in Portland.
The cool weather grasses we have always go dormant by mid-summer or so unless they’re watered. The whole West Coast has a Mediterranean climate, meaning dry warm summers and cool wet winters. The only difference is that the transition from one to the other happens sooner or later depending on how north or south.
BTW we just got a nice rainfall here yesterday and this morning, which is a bit unusual but not out of the ordinary. And it looks like cooler weather is in the forecast for the foreseeable future.
I was poking around a few buildings on campus when the storm hit. Some of the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard here. CSB was shaking while I was having lunch.
I think that shade of green may be part of the 1957/Retro Edition, offered in Bianco (white), Verde Chiaro (light green), and Celeste Blue (pastel sky blue).
The Tercel 4WD seems to be the vehicle most closely approximating the durability and long-lasting-ness of the concurrent Toyota Pickup. Even when riddled with rust and age they still seem to move and haul whatever load they are tasked with, often far in excess of what one would consider a reasonable load.
That Concord/500/Sentra trifecta has to be one of the odder assortments grouped in one driveway…The DiNoc Splashguard Trim does the Concord no favors but at least the owners are out ahead of the pack in getting their Christmas decor sorted. Only 128 shopping days left!
And the Sultan of Brunei’s rig at the end somehow speaks to me.
It appears you had a fruitful walk, thanks for sharing, this genre has long been one of my favorite things at CC…
Portland is Curbsidelandia. I used to get up there more often and always found lots of grist for the CC mill.
Those Tercel wagons have become icons of the brand as well as CC. When they’re all gone we’ll just have to shut down the site.
In case anyone is curious and still looking at these comments, the mystery car behind the red Ram and Astro van is a Saab 9-5.
There’s a two-Impala house near us as well. Happens to be an impeccably-maintained house with equally clean Impalas. I often wonder what the owners will replace them with when (if) the time comes.
I like that two-tone green F-250.
I wonder if that 9-5 is the one I traded in on my current Legacy sedan? They didn’t give me much for it, most dealers are terrified of owning a Saab. Especially after GM snuffed them, but even before that they were unloved.
On the other hand, owners tended to love them, except for the horrible resale values.
That ’72 Chevy truck looks just right.
The DeVille is a 1980 model. I have always wanted a Cadillac or Lincoln.
Thanks!
Photo #4: Worse for wear
Have two houses in our neighborhood who are entering the “worse for wear” phase. Both have very elderly owners who are falling behind on maintenance. Since there are no derelict vehicles in the driveways and we live in a unincorporated neighborhood, the tendency is to look the other way.
Both would be diamonds in the rough for a young couple.
I live pretty close to Portland. What neighborhood or area is this in? Portland has so much verity when it comes to types of content