Like it is for Gerardo and our Antipodean contingent, the weather outside in Poway California is anything but frightful – 75 degrees (F) and sunny; we’ve had enough rain that the fire danger is low. I have lived here for nearly 30 years and I still can’t get used to being able to wash your car on Christmas day. Once again my family is taking advantage of a holiday to sleep in – and deservedly so. But I can’t sleep like that; my body’s clock is too strong. So this morning I took another walk around a different part of the neighborhood.
We are only an hour or so from the desert, so I wasn’t too surprised to see the pair of real SUVs in the first picture. I am always surprised by how many 1st generation Broncos there are here.
Here’s another one I saw up the street a few days ago.
Of course we’re not only close to the desert; we’re also only a few minutes from the beach.
I wonder if this will ever see the water again. It is looking kind of sad and lonely. (I didn’t see any snowmobiles, though you can get to the snow with a 45 minute drive. I have an acquaintance who makes a point to go surfing, skiing, and off-roading all on the same day at least once a year, presumably so he can rub it in to his family back in the Midwest.)
Across the cul-de-sac from the Bronco and Cherokee was this pair, distinctly more appropriate for the city.
Either one would be a nice daily driver, though the BMW would be a bit more fun, I suspect that the cost of maintenance would make the Intrepid more practical.
A block or so away I found this hiding. Obviously 60s and American, but beyond that, hard to tell under the cover.
A quick peak under the front of the cover gives a partial answer.Can any of you give a more detailed identification with this little info?
Here are some Christmas lights. This is truly a daily driver, and the owner has been slowly fixing trim pieces over the last year that I have seen it parked here.
Looks like it as a fresh wax job too. It’s parked in front of a relatively inexpensive apartment complex. Seems like the owner has his (or her) priorities straight.
In a more affluent part of the neighborhood, the Dodge would have been garaged, like this ’55 I saw a few weeks ago. The owner had just moved it out of the garage to get to his Christmas decorations. The Dodge is in better condition though, at least superficially. The “eyebrows” on the Chevy are rusting through, and it has a dent on the left rear.
A few cars down from the Dodge is it’s early 90’s family car equivalent. These are pretty rare here, as IIRC they weren’t typically Toyota bulletproof and didn’t have a great safety record.
Somewhat unusually for Southern California, someone has love for a GM vehicle that isn’t a Suburban or Tahoe. When was the last time you saw a matched pair of 90’s Oldsmobiles?
Are they both Intrigues? I am not up on my Oldsmobiles.
Up the street a little is another matched pair — I did say I see lot of Broncos! One blue, one green. The Broncos are both running, but the panel van is currently without engine or transmission.
One last stop at the local park, on my way home to start cooking with my daughter (Swedish meatballs.. yum!)
The Poway Midland Railroad has a 1903 Baldwin that they run a few times a month.
One of these days I’ll do a full CC on it. It’s had a fascinating life.
Hope you all have a great Holiday. See you next year!
Toyota Previas were a common sight in East London (UK, not SA), though genuine 1st Generation Previas were slowly diminishing in numbers when I left in 2013. A large number were actually Lucida or Emina ‘Grey’ imports, looking almost the same, bar differing grilles and lights (and at least two versions of each IIRC) apart from having a bulge round the front wheels instead of a lipped edge to the wheelarch. A big ‘however’ though – the Lucida and Emina were about 4″ narrower than the Previa, probably handy given the often narrow and always crowded streets.
It has been a long time since I saw a Previa. These were more common: the Toyota Picnic from the nineties. Often in a two-tone color scheme.
An acquaintance has a 1997 Picnic with a 2.0 liter gasoline engine. His daily driver, still going strong. Later on there was the Toyota minivan based on the Avensis, yet for Europeans it was more a maxivan.
The market has decided: CUVs based on B- and C-segment hatchbacks are the current bestsellers in Europe.
I tried opening both Olds pics to compare, but both are linked to the navy blue Intrigue pic. They both seem to be Intrigues anyway.
At any rate, I only need to head to the nearest Wal-Mart to see a pair of matching ’90s Oldsmobiles. Here in MN we have an uncanny love for these things. Maybe it’s a case of life imitating art (“Fargo”) imitating life.
Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a first-gen Bronco in the wild with the original rear fenders still in place.
Nice pic of the nicely kept ’56 Dodge.
The focus on the reflector button got me thinking …
The rear reflector had a brief time in the spotlight, so to speak. From the ’20s until 1940 it was just a segment of the taillight lens. In 1940 GM and Chrysler brought the button out as a separate element on the metal taillight casting. Then the 1946 Buick gave it a distinct role in overall styling. (The button looked like a little spacecraft that had gouged out a conic section of the fender while landing.) Through the ’50s both Buick and Dodge kept the button out on its own, while most other makes continued to use it as an element of the housing. I think the ’61 Imperial might have given the reflector its last starring appearance, the last time it affected the shape of sheet metal.
Since then it’s fallen back to the original role as a segment of the taillight lens.
I’ve always felt that, in its own quiet way, the original Bronco is a much more popular and more restored car (proportion of survivors to original production) than the original Mustang. And with the aftermarket support, putting a barn find back on the road isn’t all that more difficult.
Well early on in the Mustang’s life they gained popularity as something to hot rod and then wrap around a pole, or take to the drag strip and torque the unibody beyond use. The Bronco on the other hand was sold more so as a tool and while many might have been used up that way many people take care of their tools better than they take care of their toys. Being 4wd and more scarce also meant that they were out of reach of many purchasing their first car to wreck. The Bronco also benefited from the availability of replacement fiberglass tubs that have been available for decades and at a reasonable price that fit all of the early Bronco Replacement Mustang shells are a relatively new offering are expensive and only available for a limited year span of models.
A nice walk ! .
I am loving that Chevy Task Force Panel Truck ~ a mate of mine bought one in the mid 1970’s , an ex helms bakery rig , 235 i6 and Hydromatic Drive….
Nice .
I shoulda bought it when he tired of it .
-Nate
Those newer Oldses are indeed ’98-02 Intrigues. Ah, to be driving a black Oldsmobile at Christmastime…”I see Ralphie hasn’t put any bullet holes in it..yet…”
Thanks for sharing your neighborhood CCs. There seem to be numerous 1st Gen Broncos up here in NorCal as well.
As for the Olds, perhaps a ’66 Ninety Eight?
I would say you are right on the mark with the ’66 98.
There are lots of good CC’s in your neighborhood, that ’56 Dodge would be my choice. I really like the idea of having a nearly 60 year old daily driver, but where I live the hot Texas sun bakes them to death. There are few survivors that make it past the 30 year mark without some major work.
I remember sitting on the boardwalk, in Pacific Beach just down a few blocks from Grand in front of World Famous, watching the surf on Christmas Day. Almost tempted to go body surfing but 58 degree water does make one pause. This was 1972 and back then Poway was a one horse town with one gas station and places still had a spot out front to tie up your horse. I’d take that Poway over today any day of the week.
@tbm3fan – The rural character of Poway is indeed slipping away, though the town is still laced with horse trails and much of the town is still zoned to allow horses; much of the rest will at least allow a goat or chickens, which you sure wouldn’t see over the border in to Rancho Bernardo or Sabre Springs. Poway is still somewhat less homogeneous than most of SoCal, which is good, and the schools are still among the best in the state, even for less affluent students.
Wonder if that Intrepid has the infamous 2.7 Litre? I am surprised it is not suffering from UV damage like the BMW. So, when it comes to that house with the Intrepid and BMW how far up the hill is the property line? Do the houses up top have their property line come halfway down the hill?
Previas are rather common in Portland, OR and a number of them are owned by big fans kind of like how the VW Bus has achieved a cult following.
Last week at my girlfriend’s, I parked my 98 in between a pair of Aleros, and it occurred to me that in most places that would be unusual sight.
Back in 2012 when I had taken over my wife’s 2000 Olds Alero, there were two others in the same parking lot at work. So all three could be frequently seen within a few spaces. Ours is gone now, though I still do see Aleros frequently on the streets.
While it needs some TLC, I think that E24 6-series is my favorite item here!
Even though I live in “The Sunshine State”, Christmas this year was grey/gloomy-looking for most of the day with temps in the high 50s to low 60s.
Like the author’s family, I slept for most of Christmas Day…getting up for meals. As a consequence, I didn’t take my usual morning walk. The only notable car I would see yesterday was a early 90s Lexus 400LS.
First gen Broncos are my favorite SUV. Those are some fine examples you found.
Not only did I change the oil in the wife’s Corolla on Christmas Day, I washed it after. Living in NW FL does have its perks!