T.S. Eliot once stated the Mississippi River had made a greater impression upon him than any other part of the world. As one who has lived within a mile of the Mississippi for the bulk of his life, I identify with Eliot as the river has always possessed a certain magnetism.
That does temper what seems to be my thirtieth trip this year to that Mississippi River town of St. Louis. Oh well; at least my hotel room had a good view of the Jefferson National Expansion Monument, better known as the St. Louis Arch. Taking advantage of having two blocks of two hours and a good set of walking shoes, I strolled around a six square block area downtown to check things out. So let’s harvest the fruits of my trusty blue camera and recap my exploring.
This Suzuki Kizashi prompted a double take upon my parking in the hotel garage. I had never seen one and it is quite an attractive car.
Any Suzuki automobile is a rare sight, yet this one is particularly intriguing as it was a competitor to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Production numbers have been tricky to locate, but I cannot imagine very many of these were sold in the U.S. given the spotty dealership network. With a 2.4 liter engine pumping out 185 horsepower, it certainly sounds as if it had potential. Sadly, the Kizashi was only available in the U.S. from October 2009 until Suzuki’s withdrawal from the American market in 2012.
This lineup of taxi cabs is symbolic of the passage of time. On the left is the Ford Crown Victoria, the ever less frequently seen darling of police and taxi fleets throughout the land. Strong as an ox, durable as an anvil, and as ready to work as a rented pack mule, the Crown Victoria is under appreciated (or misunderstood) by many.
Behind the Crown Vic, the two-tone green creation is the Chevrolet Uplander. A minivan yearning to break free of stereotypes, the Uplander really didn’t aid in GM’s minivan sales woes. Having driven a few, these are comfortable in the drivers seat, but that’s about it. It was also mimicked by other divisions, as we shall soon see.
The canary yellow Chrysler Pacifica is a CUV based upon the Caravan. And, speaking of the Caravan, there is an orange one behind the Pacifica. All variations of the Chrysler minivan from the last ten years were thick on the ground as cabs, painted every color under the rainbow.
Parked in the same spot the next day was this Uplander sibling, the Buick Terraza. Upon taking this picture, I looked around and saw two more in taxi livery. As this location is close to three hotels and a block from Busch Stadium, cabs were plentiful.
Right before rain cut my walk short, this Saturn Relay taxi was parked in front of my hotel. There was at least one more Relay that was relaying passengers, in addition to the Pontiac version of this minivan I spotted blasting down 4th Street.
Getting back to the Pacifica, it was the first one I had spotted in a while. Production of these ended after model year 2008.
Pumped up about having seen the hacked Pacifica, my second walk revealed this one parked around the corner.
This Pacifica was found a few blocks north. So much for thinking these are starting to become more sparse.
Sometime ago, Brendan made a comment about the styling on some car, comparing it to an E350. After some thought, I chuckled upon realizing he meant a Mercedes E350 like the one seen here.
The first thought that sprang to mind upon reading his statement was the other E-350, the one with a hyphen and where the word “styling” doesn’t really apply. It all boils down to mindset, although both are capable of hauling a lot of fanny.
After assaulting your senses with that butt-ugly van, here’s another Mercedes to make up for it. This is the first car I shot after leaving the hotel and it made me fairly optimistic about what else I might find in my journeys.
Despite it being a 190E (CC here), it did make me think of a white 300E Paul has written about (here). It’s a bad cliché as this car is from Georgia, but this Mercedes is a real peach.
Sitting at the north end of my journey, this Buick LeSabre amused me greatly. Any time a car has a rear door window held up by duct tape, the look of having been waxed with an orbital sander, and a Club anti-theft device on the steering wheel, something seems mighty inconsistent. That said, a person cannot be blamed for wanting to protect their property.
Kia Rondo. The name sounds like either a type of movie actress or a medical condition.
Lest you think I’m being mean to Kia, the name Kia Sedona does have a warm, inviting sound to it. It would likely make a fine family taxi.
Parked behind the Rondo was a Volvo V50, a different hued twin to the car I had as a loaner a few months back (here). A little bit blue and a little bit gray, the color was quite pleasing if not overly vibrant.
It was starting to get windy and clouds were blowing in from the west, so I didn’t want to get too far away from the hotel. Facing east toward the river was this Pontiac GTO based upon the Australian Holden Monaro. These are quite the runners; a youngster in one around here wanted to race my Galaxie sometime back (and I kept up with him better than either of us anticipated).
It was lunch time, and there were hungry people lined up to purchase a meal from this old Ford fire truck turned food truck. It was previously seen across town here.
Desperately needing a pitstop, and aiming to loop around by the riverfront on my way back, I stopped at the old courthouse. Operated by the National Park Service, the courthouse has seen a lot, such as the various trials of former slave Dred Scott back in the 1850s. It now houses a museum.
Not having visited here for a number of years, I took in the exhibits. One of them was this St. Louis automobile from around 1905. There was very little information provided.
Another transportation-related exhibit was this 1859 Studebaker. Rumor has it they redesigned the tongue that year and began substituting cotton seed oil for whale blubber to lubricate the bearings in the axles.
Walking toward the riverfront, I passed the studios of KMOX radio and KMOV television. With the mild weather this year, they likely haven’t had to use this new Chevrolet Silverado to chase very many storms.
Behind the Silverado, the various bridges over I-70 were being rebuilt. The bridges serve both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, connecting this area with the Old Cathedral and the Arch property, and are being rebuilt to enhance pedestrian mobility. Construction traffic was brisk, as was this Volvo. Having seen more Volvo trucks than cars while growing up, hearing the word “Volvo” often prompts to me think truck first (not unlike my initial thought about the the E350).
There generally isn’t much traffic on the street that lies between the Arch and the river, although I lucked out. This Ford F-550 intrigued me; not only does it have a fully enclosed utility bed, it also has an aerial lift–quite an unusual combination. This rig will be doing hard work for many years to come. I can also see the initial purchase price for a new one pushing six figures.
Oh, I almost forgot about this Mercedes ragtop just outside the old courthouse. It would be a great ride to cruise Route 79 north or US 61 south as both parallel the river providing an abundance of terrific views.
Lastly is this contrast. Leaving the old courthouse after my pitstop, I spotted this buggy and the Dodge Charger with U.S. Government plates. With St. Louis celebrating its 250th birthday this year, this area has seen a lot of buggies over time. What a long way horsepower has come!
Having grown up in the suburbs west of St.Louis. and scheduling a visit “home” in just over 2 weeks, I enjoyed this article. Thank you for the “gearhead’ tour.
Some great finds Jason! That’s funny about my E350 comment. It’s funny where the mind goes.
That black and yellow Breckenridge Materials mixer truck brings back memories…I worked their claims for several years, and Breckenridge invariably rolled over a half dozen mixers on job sites or in road crashes every summer…you could count on a $30,000+ repair each and every time, and a bunch of downtime.
Count me as another who would immediately think that E350 means Econoline.
I always had a fascination with the Chrysler Pacifica. All of the advantages (and disadvantages) of the Town & Country with some more car/CUV traits. The earlier ones could be optioned quite ncely, later versions were victims of cost cutting and were not as nice. I continue to keep my mind open to the possiblity of finding a nice low mile unit owned by elderly folks. Then I hear Canucklehead screaming into my ear. 🙂
Love the ’59 Studebaker. Let me be the first to make the crack that there is not that much fundamental difference between the 1859 and 1959 versions. Except the 1859 is probably less rust-prone.
The Studebaker gives new meaning to the term “Wagonaire”.
LOL!
I do believe the bed on that Studebaker is actually taller than on my F-250… a point we’ve collectively quibbled about here on CC before.
“It absolutely disgusts me how high wagon beds are these days!”
Well, they were all four-hoof drive, which would explain all that unnecessary height.
Manual transmission, too (1:1 final drive).
Unfortunately, they were not emissions-compliant.
I too, love the Pacifica. Almost pulled the trigger on a clean fire mist blue one with nice leather. The tranny was slightly flaring on upshifts, I still may have bought her if I got a decent discount to put towards a trans rebuild.
This a nicer area of St Louis, not near the famous “honkey lips” scene with the Family Queen Truckster Brougham Wagon.
The scene from Vacation you refer to took place just across the river, in Illinois. That said, this area isn’t Mayberry as there was a distinct homeless population just west of the hacked Pacifica.
Thanks for correcting me!
If you’re ever in the market for a Pacifica, check the front subframe. A co-worker of mine bought one used, I think a 2005, and within about a year his mechanic informed him that his front subframe was very close to rusting through. This is on a nine year old car in southern VA where we don’t have a lot of salt. Evidently that was a known problem with certain years of Pacifica where a certain spot didn’t get galvanized properly and became a rusty spot waiting to happen. If he had noticed it a little earlier Chrysler would have repaired it, but evidently it was past their timeline for warranty/recall repair and they told him to take a hike. Even for a used buyer, that’s a lousy job of standing behind your product! He hiked down to the Mazda dealer and now drives a 5.
Also, a Saturn Relay? That’s a rare bird. Can’t remember the last time I saw one of those. The Buick Terraza is an uncommon one too. And what the heck is a Terraza exactly? All it brings to mind for me is terazzo floors.
That’s plain bird-brained that the would fluff-up galvanizing such an important part, and then not life time warrantying it. I understand that they also used early biodegradable Mercedes electrical components and plastics. Often these items would start biodegrading well before landfill time. But I still love them, solid body, S- Class style gauges and dash, good handling/ ride, and the mod retro look.
Check out the Ford Windstar recalls on broken and corroding rear axles and sub frames. They ground my axle to the bare metal, brushed it with anti corrosion goo and put clamps over the spots. How confidence inspiring!
At least one person died in a resulting accident.
Ford was going after Dana Corporation (supplier) for the financial damages.
As fast as a terrazzo floor? No, that can’t be what they meant…..
+1 on cradle rust danger, a co-worker got a very nice low mileage (locally owned in NW Ohio). It looked like new. Sadly, he didn’t put it on the hoist.
First oil change, he was completely shocked at the poor condition of the engine cradle. The Chrysler dealership it came from was ‘just as surprised’ and ‘couldn’t really do anything’.
This just further destroy’s Chrysler’s image of quality in the mind of the public. Modern cars to not have their engines fall out when you drive over a speed bump too fast.
Wild! I have a friend who made that exact transition – Pacifica to Mazda 5. Their Pacifica ownership (a loaded 2004/pre-decontenting) was a disaster.
Being a music geek, I keep waiting for Hyundai/Kia to come up with more musical names for their vehicles. They already have the Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Forte and Kia Rondo. (Sonata and Rondo are both classical music forms.) How about the Capriccio? or the Fugue? the Sonata-Rondo (the ultimate crossover, perhaps?)? Better stop before I get too carried away.
They also seem to like naming vehicles after places. There are the Santa Fe and Tucson from Hyundai, and the Kia Sedona. (During a recent visit to Sedona, I noted the presence of a Kia Sedona. And I have seen a number of Tucsons here in Tucson. I wonder how many Santa Fes there are in Santa Fe….)
Kia Crescendo (Gets louder as you drive)
Kia Sforzando (“With sudden emphasis!)
Kia D.S. al Coda (“Takes you back”)
Kia Fermata (You’ll want to hold onto it for a long time)
ba-dum! I’ll be here all week (try the veal!).
The Kia Glissando: smooth, but tends to slide during quick stops.
Based on my test drive of a first-gen Excel years ago I’d say Hyundai Vibrato.
Kia Pesante: Drives with weight and deliberation, but in a good way.*
*Yourexperiencemayvary.
You guys are priceless!
Daewoo Coda: End of the line.
Those are all plausible!
I forgot two more that actually exist:
Hyundai Accent
Kia Cadenza (with a little practice, you can always spot it coming and going!)
When Chrysler built a Newport, I wonder how many were sold in Northern Kentucky (specifically Newport KY)…at that time it was “sin city”, sort of a mini-Vegas. Something tells me that killed sales of Newports in Northern KY and Cincinnati.
I love these photo collections from walks around a city. I have done a few myself, such as the one focused on “Detroit Compacts of DC.” It is remarkable to see the diversity of cars on the streets in a major city, when one has one’s eyes open to them rather than being preoccupied with other business.
The historic courthouse used in the Dred Scott case being currently a museum, including a St. Louis car and a Studebaker wagon, is quite a transformation. I have seen older courthouses still in use in some parts of the country and overseas. The lack of information about the St. Louis car tells me that someone from CC with an interest in Brass Age cars needs to step in and enlighten the National Park Service so that they can improve the display!
Regarding the Kia Rondo’s name, it strikes me as a failed attempt by Kia to duplicate the success of rival/corporate cousin Hyundai’s success with its Sonata nameplate, which has been in continuous use since 1985. Unfortunately, their branding people chose a far more obscure and less appealing musical term than Sonata.
The courthouse is also being used as the business office for the Jefferson National Expansion Monument. It is here they keep the archival information about the construction and history behind the Arch. The first two floors are museum area, with two courtrooms showing how it was furnished back in the day.
I have to admit that despite seven years of music education, I had to research what a “Rondo” is. Looking it up tempered my statement about it.
While I haven’t looked it up, I am wondering if I have covered every St. Louis brand automobile on public display. Looks like I need to inform the National Park Service about their display!
Rondo probably seemed like a great name to executives in classical music obsessed Korea, who did not realize that few people in the rest of the world would have any idea what it was!
I have been to St. Louis only once, and if I go again, I will have to make the old courthouse part of my visit. Sounds like the museum has a lot of interesting exhibits.
Hey I know that hotel, I’ve stayed there a couple of times when I have been in St Louis for the FIRST World Championship. Unfortunately I’ve not be able to any more sight seeing than the walk between the hotel and the Edward Jones Dome as my days are very full between needing to be at the event site at 7am and dinners/meetings in the evening. One of these years I need to book an extra night on my dime and see a little more. I had no idea that there was a museum right across the street.
Yes, this was the Hyatt. I’ve also stayed at the Drury Inn that is almost next door as well as the Hilton at Busch Stadium. These are the three hotels I referred to; all are terrific.
I have been to 46 states, but not Missouri, it just kind of happened. Great article and nice photos.
For years I was that guy putting a club on my rough around the edges Voyager whenever I stayed out of town overnight.
The bumper cover on my folk’s 05 Sedona had a peeling paint problem and I saw a few Kias in Montana with that same issue. Overseas the Sedona is called a Carnival and I think that name is cooler.
I find the work truck grill on the Econoline nicer than the fancy grill.
When I went to New Orleans I was blown away by the taxi scene because I was used to New York City where the rules are so strict.
I saw a mid-2000s GTO bend its rear axle at a safe driving course during the slalmon by sliding into curb. It is too bad they did not sell well, but unlike the 05 Mustang the GTO was not retro at all.
The Kizashi does look nice and some people have the AWD version for driving up Mount Hood. Perhaps I will buy a Kizashi someday.
The Mercedes Benz from Georgia is a bit of an odd sight. Usually cars that old are not seen so far away from their home state.
In 1968, at the tender age of 15, my parents let me fly out to Iowa to visit old grade school friends and stay with the Mennonite farmers, and then take the bus down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where a friend and his family had moved recently. The bus trip was memorable, and I remember Hannibal distinctly, as it was a break, and we could get out for 15 minutes or so.
But the highlight was the arch, which was still quite new then, and we went up in it, in those little cars/gondolas that kept tilting jerk by jerk, to keep itself mostly upright.
The views from the top were stellar, and one can look straight down, because of the angle of the windows, which is quite substantial. One can see both bases of the arch from the windows. And the thing sways quite noticeably. Very memorable. Is it still open?
Yes, the Arch is still open, it is a US National Park, for one thing.
The Arch is still open and there was quite the line the day I was there.
Interesting factoid: The elevator system in the Arch is quite the novel system and its original design used the interior of a ’60 Falcon as the starting point.
Another factoid: My father-in-law was on a federal grand jury at the old courthouse in 1963. On the day the last piece of the Arch was installed, the judge called a recess so everyone could watch its completion.
The construction across I-70 is the first phase of a radical transformation of the Arch grounds. The parking garage is being demolished (which IMHO despite the noble intentions of the anti-car urban planners who designed the remodel is still going to come back to bite the NPS in the ass) and the museum at the base is being completely rebuilt.
I did not know that; I had simply thought the bridges were being overhauled due to less than currently ideal construction for those with mobility challenges. This is good to know – thank you.
Can’t forget the Dorris automobile, met Frank Dorris a couple of times, he was grandson of the founders of the company and lived in Wentzville MO. He owned a couple of Dorris cars that I saw…the cars were built in S. St. Louis, down the street from the Ford plant on Laclede Ave.
I lived in STL for nearly 25 years, and never went up in the Arch…there was a wind warning the day I visited, and they warned that people prone to motion sickness should not go up…
Those Pontiac GTOs got a lot of flak for looking too plain, but I think that’s their best feature. They would be great to use for rapidly eating up highway miles…so long as you have a good radar detector.
I lived in St Louis for 35 Years. I do miss the cool attractions. Thanks for the jog of the memories. I think that Vintage car in the old court house is a “Moon motor company” car. Moon was based in St Louis.
Yes, Moon was also based in St. Louis. This particular car is a St. Louis as seen on an engraved brass plate on the doorsill and a company logo on the side of the car. My pictures of them were poor given the lighting, thus not included here. That was my only indicator of the manufacturer.
The transportation museum there stated there were 20-odd different brands of car built in St. Louis over time. It could easily compete with Indiana, but the time periods were somewhat different.
Ruxton and Gardner? C’mon there, JS – I have the obscure Indiana cars in hand, someone else needs to take up the cause for the Missouri-built cars. Ahem, Ahem.
If I am right about Ruxton, it may have been the coolest of all of the St. Louis products.
JP, I grew up in Illinois. So, I’ve only been in MIssouri (officially) since 1996. That’s not very long to learn about a new land, like learning the differences between a hill-billy and a hill-william. However, I do like your inspirational idea.
Good read, and a nice contrast to my East. St. Louis write-up a few years ago.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-roadtrip-east-st-louis/
You wouldn’t have caught me saying this 10 years ago but the LeSabre is just about the best looking car there, so lean and contemporary and completely Buick. Wish the interiors were styled differently though, those haven’t aged as well.
Love the color combo on the E320 convertible. Mercedes got the styling on the coupe and convertible just right, usually one has to suffer for the other. The white 190E with the black interior is eye catching and rare, usually the interior color on the white is the light gray or Palomino at least in CA. Maybe dark interior colors are more popular in MO.
Haven’t seen a Pacifica in a while. The failure of that car surprised me. It was the right size, certainly attractive, had three row of seats and a very nice interior. Maybe it was too soon for the lower, more car-like styling. Design-wise it looks like a brand new car.
Last time I was downtown was a trip to Culinaria, a “foodie” grocery store at 9th and Olive owned by STL’s dominant local supermarket chain. The store is at the base of a parking garage with lots of long-term contract spaces. We parked next to a Fisker Karma (the first and to date only one I’ve seen in person) that appeared to have been abandoned. It was covered in a layer of dirt so thick you could write in it, which a number of people did to the back window and trunk lid.
The idea of abandoning a Karma boggles the mind. Considering how expensive they were, and not that long ago…
Maybe the owner is on a long trip? That, or maybe he or she stopped making payments and stashed the car somewhere in hopes of delaying or escaping repossession!
Judging by the lack of hood scoops I’d say the GTO is a 04 with the 5.7. The real runners were the 05/06s with the 6.0, that extra 50 horsepower makes quite the difference. It’s too bad the trunks are useless though, the bland styling is easy to get over with the power and I’d really be interested if they had some practicality back there.
It’s also highly unfortunate that they look like oversized Cavaliers. Bland can be overcome but being too close to such a regrettable car is a far worse offense.
(Considering that they do not, as far as I know, have Cavaliers in Australia, that one is on the US styling team for not giving it more visual identity.)
I always taunted my friend who had one that it looked like a Sunfire. His was silver and in a very unfortunate coincidence for him, a silver Sunfire parked right next to it while we were hanging out in a parking lot. The resemblance really was uncanny and the look on his face was priceless lol
In it’s defense though, I think there’s a lot of similarities in the Monaro/GTO styling to the 94-98 Mustang as well(I’m 99% certain Pontiac copied the roofline for the sunfire). The body sculpting and overall shape of things is very similar if you ignore the inconsequential details(grilles, side scoops, ect. That still doesn’t excuse the problem that a 2004 car looks like a 1994 but it’s a bit more flattering. Now that Cavs and Sunfires are mostly junkyard boulders the GTO actually looks pretty ok without the comparison.
Once in the late ’70’s till the mid ’80’s GM manufactured the Vauxhall Royale and the Opel Senator / IDA Opel Kikinda and the Monza. These had been the GM flagships in Europe at that time. The platform was the same for the 4 door Senator and 3 door Monza. Engines were 2.8, 2.5 and 3.0 Litre and Steinmetz’s 4.0 Litre InLine 6’s. The sporty Monza were discontinued but the Senator continued its carrer till 1993. South Africa had its own Chevrolet Senator. Korea had its Daewoo Royale, Royale Prince, Imperial, Super Salon, Prince and Brougham. As well as in Australia Holden has manufactured its siblings like the Commodore, UTE, Statesman, Senator and Caprice till the mid ’00’s with V6 and V8 engines. In 1993 Opel/Vauxhall started to manufacture the all new Omega 4 door sedan and station wagon which replaced the Omega Mk1 or A both with the Senator and as is the all new Vauxhall/Opel Omega became the new flagship of GM Europe. No Coupé at all. Later when Holden decided to manufacture the 3 door coupé Monaro again, Pontiac has chosen it for its GTO! Basicly the Monaro/GTO is the direct descendant of the Royale/Monza. Vauxhall has finally included it as by the same name while the Opel hasn’t. If Opel would follow that stream it would be the “New Monza”…but they didn’t. Of course the Monaro/GTO is also a direct relative of the Cadillac Catera as it was the badge engineered Opel Omega 4 door sedan but only with the Opel’s 3.0 Litre V6. The Monaro/GTO has followed the aussie fashion and they are equiped with V8. The Vauxhall Monaro / Pontiac GTO was also marketed
for example in Kuwait as the Chevrolet Lumina Coupé! The 4 door Opel Omega (aka Holden Commodore) were also exported to Brasil as Chevrolet Lumina V6. Etc., etc.
The Vauxhall/Opel Omega = Holden Commodore has nothing in common with the North-American Chevrolet Lumina. Only the name Lumina has been chosen for South-Africa, Kuwait and Brasil…
They are not bad in the back seat because only the rear overhang was shortened for the coupe (not a 3-door Szilard), the wheelbase is the same as the 4-door sedan’s.
Thanks for the reminiscence-trigger Jason, we had a meal at the Italian restaurant in the background of the taxi shots. The river was in flood, so where you have the construction work was underwater when we were there and the large fountain near the court house had been dyed red for some reason. I’m not sure I took any CC photos in the short time we were in STL but did see a lot from the Arch.
Went out without a camera on sunday for vittles at local supermarket parked right behind a RHD Chevrolet Lumina badged Holden Commodore, Ebbetts, Skyliners local Holden agent sticker on it, I knew there were some here I just dont see them very often, By the way the Commodore has had no connection with Opel since about 04 totally different car.
Very enjoyable article – last time I was in this area was 1981 while waiting for a 48 hour delayed flight out of St Louis Int’l to Japan for a military assignment.
Jason,
Did you stay at the Drury Inn? That garage shot looks familiar. Had a great happy hour.
I was at the Hyatt, although I did stay at the Drury about 18 months ago.
Every Drury has a terrific happy hour!
I’m pretty sure Drury Inns are based in STL…I have never stayed at a bad Drury yet.
You are quite correct as there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. They are based in Cape Girardeau (or were at one time, anyway) about 100 miles south of there. They are a very business savvy family, a trait that is very admirable as they also own a bunch of restaurants (or did at one time, having worked at one of them).