In-Motion Classics: Clearing Out The One-sies And Two-sies Of 2020

1986 Honda CRX

Much more affordable back in those days would have been something like this first generation Honda CRX.  This seems to not be an Si version, but someone painted the cladding black along with the body but kept the red stripe.  The wheels are I believe from the accessory catalog, I don’t think these were ever standard on any Honda although the Prelude had something similar.  It’s shocking how tiny these appear nowadays.

Later that summer I noticed the Impala from earlier again at the other end of my street along with another one.

Around the corner on I think the same walk was a Covid-Camper conversion van of the sort popular around here these days, with massive bumpers, ride height increase, 4WD, roof tent with a set of racks on top of that, etc.

In August, this little BMC job (I can’t tell them apart, but I know you can) and a Ford pickup tried to be closer than they appeared but never got any closer to me than this.  It’s like looking back in time…

Silverado Stepside

Turn of the century Chevy Silverados are of course all over the place here, but not the stepside version, and the single cab short bed is rare as well.  I’m not wild about the color but it’s nice to see out and about.

Late August brought some rain and a little Suzuki Samurai Toad.  Like the one earlier this one looks original as well but with the soft top and what seems to be an original spare tire cover.  These guys were headed north on I-25 outside of Denver.

Saab 9000

The beginning of September brought this sighting of a fine late 1980’s Saab 9000.  These too aren’t around too much anymore, even in a Saab-town such as ours.

Mercedes 300td

This looks like a very late W123 in a great color and in fantastic condition.

Mercedes 300D

And yes, it’s a 300D turbodiesel (US only) with the Bundt wheels.  This one has a third brake light but I believe production stopped in the middle of 1985 to make way for the W124, so perhaps it was added later.  This may be the one to have these days, as new as possible and in as fine a shape as possible.

BMW 2002

Just a few miles up the road I passed this mid-70’s BMW 2002 automatic.  It’s possible that this guy and the Mercedes 300D has both been at some sort of event together.

Nissan Sentra Wagon

I can’t recall the last Datsun/Nissan Sentra wagon that I’ve seen.  This one had both name badges as they did for a while during the transition.  Not in perfect shape but perfectly driveable, also apparently a new-ish owner judging by the plates, but missing the rear wiper and sporting a few minor dents.

Pontiac GTA

I knew exactly what this was even from a distance due to Jason Shafer’s write-up on the Pontiac TransAm GTA a few months prior to this early October sighting.  Another new purchase for someone, albeit with expired temp plates, this one looked outstanding waiting to turn right near my house.

Pontiac GTA

No, the right brake light bulb didn’t just die, it was actually signaling to turn and I caught it during its cycle.

Ford F200

Here’s the big brother to Paul’s truck that I came across at the gravel yard while I was loading a ton of it for my shed base.  This is apparently the color that Paul’s used to be before someone painted it yellow.  Like Paul’s, this one is still in use and in this case dropping off a pile of brush.  These trucks seem to be all over the place all of a sudden, everyone is pulling them out of the barn and dusting them off.

Oj jeez, speaking of pulling stuff out of the barn, what kind of a two-fer do we have here.  It’s hard to tell if this load is going to the junkyard or the restoration shop.

Maybe both, the XJ-S is not for the faint of heart and being towed backwards behind a flatbed is not how one in good condition usually moves about.

I’m not kidding when I say all this 50’s stuff looks to me the way current mid-size sedans look to many of you, all exactly the same.  Dodge? ’56? Restorable?  Most likely, and with a good color combination.

I don’t think I’d take a 5-year-old kid in the back seat of a Willys on the freeway with a 75mph limit and moving much slower than that, but whatever.  At least it looks in good (modified) shape.  This was a couple of days before Thanksgiving, and yes it was very cold out, no more than upper ’30’s.  It had to be miserable in a Jeep, er, Willys.

Toyota Cressida

I’ve been seeing this green Toyota Cressida about town for a while now but never stationary and never in the same area so it’s been eluding me.  Finally I caught up to it at a light.

Toyota Cressida

I’m a big Cressida fan, and this one seems to be local to our town judging by the old dealer tag.  It had a few dings but otherwise looked in great driver shape with full hubcaps, and all the late 1970’s gingerbread that Japanese cars had at the time.  This one is near the top of my list of cars I keep an eye out for when passing parking lots and other places where it might be captured in greater detail.

Jayco Chevy Camper

As with Chevy pickups I am also becoming a fan of this generation of Chevy vans, and this Jayco camper using a G30 chassis is very nice.  I spied this at my favorite grocery store and was going to take more pictures, however on the driver’s side of this rig is a large picture window with the man and woman occupants sitting at the table inside eating lunch, so never mind, I’ll just move on.  This doesn’t look particularly old although the G30 was last produced in 1996, and was in excellent condition.

Ford F200

Mid-December brought a bit more snow and crappy weather and while on my way to Boulder I passed this F200 in a fabulous color.

Ford F200

The driver looked a little cold and a little cramped, to be honest.  But he was moving right along and the truck was obviously outfitted for work and in fine fettle.  You can’t seem to kill these things, they’re like the Toyota of their day…

Mitsubishi Delica

The next day brought this at a traffic light.  We too get the Japanese imports out here of course and the Mitsubishi Delica is one of the most popular.  This one was a little more modified than most.

Mitsubishi Delica

Big wheels, mudflaps, and excellent graphics.  I think the owner “modified” the wheel arches with some tin snips to make the tires fit.  This thing absolutely took off when the light turned and was moving rapidly by the time it came alongside me, the picture not being cut off anywhere was pure chance.

FJ60 Land Cruiser

A few days later back on I-25 was this FJ60 Toyota Land Cruiser, all decked out in overlanding gear as so many of them are around here.

And finally from my front yard is this poor shot of something very old and very loud that came up my street being chased by a bunch of little kids.  It stopped at the Stop-sign and then accelerated with far more verve than I would have expected while the driver looked behind him to be sure the kids had not caught up.  It then kept going and disappeared around the next corner never to be seen again (so far).

Well, that’s my 2020 of one-sies and two-sies in review, thanks for coming along and letting me unburden myself.  Let’s see how 2021 plays out in regard to more of these.

 

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