Princeton University Parking Lot Recon

Sam: From seeing all of David's parking lot recons, I decided to do one of my own.  I biked on over to the visitor lot one day towards the end of the semester and documented any interesting cars I came across.  I still have to visit the student lot, which may have more interesting cars in it.  Stay tuned for another parking lot recon within the next year because I plan on checking that lot out eventually.  

Above: 2004 Mercury Marauder 

After the Ranger, I discovered this clean Marauder in the staff lot.  At a glance, this might come across as just another Grand Marquis.  In fact, one of my friends even called it junk when I showed the photo to him because he mistook it for another grandpa Marquis mobile.  However, being the weirdo that I am, I find every panther platform Ford interesting, so I was already at attention the minute I saw the rounded front end of this car.  Discovering it was a Marauder made it all the more interesting.  This example was pretty clean, too.  All I would do is clean the brake dust off the rims, give it a wash and wax, and then hit the road.  

Above: 1984 Oldsmobile 98 with a 307 CI V8 

And now my favorite find of the expedition: a 1984 Olds 98.  I was pleasantly surprise to find this old boat lurking amongst the CR-Vs, Camrys, and Volkswagens in the lot.  I guess I have a soft spot for all the unloved 4-door land yachts and other full-sized boats from the thrilling (automotive) days of yesteryear.  This particular car, although worn and dirty, is still going at it.  The paint may be a little dull, the vinyl top  and bumper fillers starting to crack, but this 98 is still complete and in possession of a good interior after 38 years of service.  Try to get that much life out of a brand new car today.  Sure, this car does technically have an ECU to control the motor, but it wouldn't be impossible to convert it to a carburetor if replacement ECUs become scarce.  Plus small block chevy parts are plentiful, so there should be a reliable source of parts to keep this beauty on the road for a long time.  On a side-note, I did notice a camera inside the car while I was photographing it.  I'm not sure if it was a dashcam or for surveillance purposes, so I gave it a thumbs up several times.  I want the owner to know I'm an auto enthusiast appreciating their car and not a potential thief.  

Above: Riced Out Honda Civic Hatch in the Visitor Lot

Next, I happened upon this riced out Civic hatch.  To be totally honest, this is one of the nicest, cleanest modified Civic hatches I've seen.  It's not your typical ricer with three different shades of paint (of which one is usually applied with a paintbrush) and tons of negative camber.  This is a legitimate custom done by someone who knows how to paint a car.  The paint was in nice shape, and whoever painted the car did a great job laying it down.  While original Civic hatches of any generation are an extremely rare sight, I consider these next on the list.  Professionally-built and modded Civic hatches are also pretty hard to come by.  Therefore, I have to give this one my seal of approval.