Ahh, the Avatar. Those of us who comment frequently know our online friends’ avatars like we can pick out a well-known brand of peas or dish soap from the supermarket shelf. But the pictures are quite small, and do not always show their details well. This hit me recently when commenter DaveB made a reference to his avatar as being from a 1967 Chevy brochure. “Interesting”, I thought, mainly because I had never taken a good enough look at it to place it as a something from a brochure. And also because he shares with me an early car-owning life with a ’67 Ford, an experience that was evidently not powerful enough for either of us to choose as avatar material.
My avatar was the first one I ever chose for anything, which I did back when I used to get my Curbside Classic fix on TTAC. It is the cover page of the brochure for the 1959 Plymouth.
The JPC Fury after a wash and wax along side the maternal ’74 Luxury LeMans.
I might feel differently if I were to live with one for a year in 2016, but my memory from 1979-80 is that my ’59 Plymouth Fury was one of the most pleasant cars to drive I had ever spent time in and it remains one of my very favorites. The car just fit me, and I enjoyed almost every minute with it, right up until I jilted it for the Tawny Gold Metallic ’71 Scamp that I saw on the used car lot at Bill Gaddis Chry-Ply in Muncie, Indiana in the late spring of 1980. I was so fickle then.
I have owned lots of cars since and have loved lots more, but two things keep me from changing my avatar (OK, three things, if we include inertia): My ’59 Fury was delivered to its original owner on the very day I was born in 1959 and this model was the topic of the very first CC piece I wrote (if accidentally) here on this site.
So, what say you show off your avatar, and tell us the story behind it? And if you don’t have one, what a great day this is to go to your profile settings and upload a picture. Then you can tell us all about it.
My 89 Crown Vic wagon ….
Prototypical airport car, at that!
For J. P. Cavanaugh…a freshening up of the photo of the car that inspired his avatar..
From one of the avatarless…
Something easy to see and avoid.
Maybe a poison dart frog would have been better.
ribbit… ribbit …
Perhaps the avatar in your mind is not the whole but only a small unique detail.
Mine’s just the same one I use everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Just cooked it up from a sketch sheet I did.
A student from the Maryland Institute of Art was doing a photo project of people with interesting cars. Naturally my GT Hawk qualified. She took some shots in color but also took several in black and white. Being a 1963, I thought the B&W shots were very appropriate. And I also thought that the grille shots are most common—what is another distinctive feature of Studebakers in general? The shape of the front door vent windows, of course. And there it is….
My avatar appeared on an economic report I received during the Great Recession.
Even thought the U.S. dollar is stronger these days (at least from the perspective of the exchange rate), I’ve simply never gotten around to changing it, and have now grown rather fond of it.
Mine is blank because I don’t know how to create one, I imagine I would have to register first, which I have tried to do a number of times.
I put in my username, email address, click on register, then nothing happens,
any help appreciated.
Try to login, and pretend like you forgot your password, and ask it to send you a new one. That usually works.
I had a similar experience trying to register a few months ago Paul, and then gave up. Thanks for the tip. I’ll give it a try if it fails again.
Yep, that worked, thanks for that
I’d have used a picture of myself as an avatar if such a thing were possible; however, my image does not show up in photos or mirrors for some reason. I’ve also taken to sleeping during the day and avoiding garlic. Anyway, I settled on this stylized Imperial eagle set against a background of my favorite color.
Mine is from a cross country trip with a buddy in 2010. This beauty caught my eye outside of one of the old diners along Route 66 in New Mexico.
A 1996 print ad for the Lincoln Town Car. I came across it on bing one day, and I thought that it was dynamic and cool looking enough to use. Plus, considering my car is a Cadillac Eldorado, I’m always a sucker for irony.
Mmhm, Matchbox cars….
My avatar is the Heavy Chevy I got for joining the Hot Wheels Club about 1970. I had been fascinated by cars since I was 2 or 3, but the arrival of Hot Wheels totally sealed the deal. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/miniatures-toys/tcoal-from-tonka-to-hot-wheels-the-golden-age-of-toy-cars/
Mine is a picture of my 93 Mustang GT that I recently finished restoring. Only problem was the picture was way to big and so all you see is a bright red dot. I have thought about changing it but seeing as how I was forced to sell the Mustang just months after finishing the restoration, I just keep it for sentimental reasons.
Led Zeppelin tour poster cropped to omit a few details. Fantastic artwork from arguably the best band ever.
Well, no account yet, maybe later. I’m thinking of a “S80 2.5D” rear script…
Mine is a pineapple sketch from an old book on Queensland. No real reason, I just like pineapples.
My avatar is my 1975 16′ Cygnet Deluxe travel trailer. Of course, the WordPress site sees fit to not let me expand the image out to the full camper. It’s currently a small piece of the siding somewhere near the water inlet…
Mine is a license plate I used to have on my car, which also relates to my username, which relates to one of my hobbies (license plate collecting), which is also shared by a few fellow commenters.
My current avatar is a shot of a 1971-3 Plymouth Duster I saw in my church parking lot. I just thought it was a really neat shot. Of course, I am probably going to change to either my first car/current ride/personal CC of a 2001 Subaru Outback, or a “STOP” sigh with a “Hammer Time” sticker on the bottom that is at the end of my street sometime soon.
My avatar is, and has been, just me.
It’s a publicity shot taken eight years ago…wow how time flies.
If I change it, it’ll have to be something Chevy-related, ‘cuz that’s how I’ve rolled since before I was old enough to drive. A few MoPars, a couple of Subarus, one Ford…that turned out to be three Fords too many if ya know what I mean!
I must say, 35 years ago, a white ’59 Plymouth two-door wagon from California somehow turned up in the scrapyard a cousin once owned near Brattleboro, VT. Absolutely rust and dent-free as I recall. Maybe I’m just romanticizing the moment. But I thought about making a cool driver out of it, until I considered that I already owned and was caring for a ’57 Chevy daily driver…
But seeing that ’59 Plymouth mug one more time brought all those memories back for a moment…
Here’s a song I was playing on the radio at that time. (WCFR-FM/Springfield, VT) Seems to fit…
Mine is my 1961 IH Scout 80. It’s been a labor of love since I found it for sale 3 years ago, but she is rolling now. My Yorkie LOVES to ride in cars, but the scout is to tall for her to jump in so I always have to pick her up to put her in it. This particular day the dash was getting rewired and she was whining to get in, so I put her on the hood. She sat patiently like, OK, When are we leaving? Reminded me of the Nissan “Dogs Love Trucks” ad campaign. Not my first old car, but my favorite so far having owned a 66 Plymouth valiant (ROCK SOLID) and the 1964 Mercury Park Lane Breezeway (all original with 60,000 miles, wish I could have kept that one)
Sorry – forgot to post a blown up version so you can see it better.
My avatar shows the headlamps of a ’63 Skylark convertible that my sister and I chipped in and bought together in 1983 or so. The car had already lived a hard life and needed a lot of TLC to keep running (and passing state inspection), but, boy, was it ever fun to drive with the top down. But that’s true of any convertible, right?
I don’t remember if I used a photo of our car to make the avatar or if I just cheated and grabbed a photo from Google Image Search.
Mine is the one model made by the one car company I ever worked for, for a period that was all too short.
You guys managed to sell more vehicles than Preston Tucker did, which is something.
I still occasionally still see them on the road. Our local transit authority bought some for its paratransit service.
Saw one on the road in NJ about a month ago that appeared to be privately owned and driven. Only one I have ever seen.
I meant to ask, what the heck is that thing? Baltimore City’s MTA has a few of these, and the only identifying markers I see on the back are three letters, like APV or MPV or AVG or … I can’t remember, but nothing that says “Ford of Europe” or “GM of Zimbabwe” or whomever build this thing.
One would surmise that from your screen name that it is some sort of Volkswagen product, based on their catch phrase of the late 80’s or early 90’s.
We covered it here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/on-the-go-outtake-mv-1-lx-as-rare-and-exclusive-as-seeing-an-aventador-in-traffic/
Thanks Paul, and after reading your write-up, it all makes sense now. The Maryland MTA logos on the ones here in the Baltimore area also say “Mobility” on the side, which totally makes sense as this is our transit system’s handicap accessible division. I found this pic of one on the web.
Ah HAH! Grasshopper makes incorrect reference between personality and public face. Much like CB handles weren’t always accurate, or even related to reality. Maybe handles should get a QOTD of its’ (their?) own.
The too-long gestation period of the MV-1 made it uncompetitive in it’s initial Panther format of 4.6 and automatic. It was better reimagined with a V6 which was more efficient, and didn’t suffer from being underpowered.
Alas and alack. Best intentions etc.
Wouldn’t be the first time I made that incorrect association between avatar and screen name. See my reply to LTDan above. I had a similar incorrect association with him seeing the letters “LTD” and a Chrysler Penstar.
Your QOTD idea is a good one. Mine’s a little self explanatory. My name is Rick and I have a 2007 Mustang. Mustang Rick was already taken, so I had to think of something.
Thanks to you and Paul for the information on these vehicles. It was kinda driving me nuts. Now I am better informed, which segues nicely into the “Grasshoppa” reference. I come to this site to learn from the masters. I have learned much including today!
Last time I was in downtown Chicago I saw at least three of those, before that another while getting a uber ride home from O-hare my driver almost crashed right into one merging onto I90
They’re built on top a Crown Vic chassis I believe, maybe 4.6 engine too.
Mine is a picture of the decklid emblem on this.
My avatar is BMW Isetta that was let loose inside the BMW Welt. I liked how the photo came out and decided to use it as my automotive avatar. In addition, I was about four years old boy when I rode in one in 1970. The door that opened outward stuck to my mind to this day.
PS I am travelling in South America at the moment so I don’t have access to my computer for a bigger image to upload here.
Omega Man. I loved this movie as a kid. Charlton Heston firing an automatic weapon at mutants from an LTD convertible. I thought, only guy left on planet, take any car you want at any time, fire lots of rounds, what’s not to like?
Never thought of using my first car as an avatar. Even though “Cougar” is my given nickname on several other boards having to do with travel. The name was first used in my 1971 senior year high school book by classmates signing my book and referencing my car. In fact I can walk into a bar or nightclub in the Philippines and there will be at least one person in there that says Cougar, sort of like Norm.
The avatar in use is the plane I started to restore in 1999 for a museum. Consequently my online nic relates to that plane a 1945 General Motors TBM-3E Avenger. At this point in time the exterior of the plane has been done for 13 years now with only stencils needed on the exterior. The interior is on hold as there are more important issues dealing with the exterior of the ship. However, I have everything to go inside from original to actual NOS parts I acquired over five years. Once I get the time that will be done including a full rebuild of the hydraulics so the folding wings can be manually opened and closed from the cockpit.
I started my flight training at Stone Mountain Airport near Atlanta, Georgia , which was subsequently closed and sold for the ’96 Olympics (I had to finish my training at Gwinnett County Airport).
There was a rough-looking TBM on the ramp that disappeared a few weeks before the field had to be cleared of aircraft (I’m positive it went out on a trailer). Always wondered what happened to it…
Look something like this? Have the serial number and we could track it down. No doubt someone or some museum has it.
Don’t have a s/n, but if I dug through my old photos (in multiple boxes in the attic), I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a photo of it somewhere.
Cool, TBM is one of my favorites as Ol’ Great Uncle Arch had them flown off his aircraft carrier CVL-29.
We were on a family road trip out east, took a wrong turn and drove by Moncton airport. I saw a sign that said “Forest Protection Ltd” and I said to my family “Hey, that the company that uses Avengers to fight forest fires” and just like that there was a row of TBMs next to the hanger.
Now one of the FPL Avengers is here in Hamilton, I should go check out how the restoration is going 🙂
Okay, okay. Now I have an avatar. Self-explanatory.
Well played. 🙂
As always, late to the party…
My first avatar here was a South African market Chevrolet Firenza (UK Viva body) with the Can Am Spec (Z/28 to us North Amerikaners) 302 ci motor in it. It was obscure enough that no one ever recognized it.
But this post got me thinking, what should my online presence be? I have several Facebook friends who are also on here and they see my “real life” adventure and misadventures, at least the ones I’m willing to share.
So, in the interest of being open I decided to use one of the least flattering photos I have of myself. Which coincidentally is my FB photo. It’s a photo I took by accident trying to figure out how to use my forward facing camera on my phone. This was after a 5K run/walk (and I ran/walked it, too), but at least my mouth isn’t hanging open on this one. All of my other fotos have my mouth in some sort agape pose.
But, I am wearing my Joe Cool (TM) sunglasses…