Late Summer Cars Part 3

9/1/22 to 9/17/22

Part 3 of the late summer cars.

9/1/22 - 2001 Toyota Tacoma 5MT (David)

This is one super clean Tacoma!

Above: (9/1/22) - 2001 Saab 9-5 Sportcombi (David)

This showed up one evening in my neighborhood. It's a pretty nice early model Saab 9-5 wagon. My affinity for Saab wagons is no secret on this blog, so you already know what I think about this car. It's a nice car.

9/1/22 - 1985 Chevy IROC Camaro Z-28 (Sam)

This is a local classic I've seen around the last couple of years. It's usually wearing a car cover, so I took this rare opportunity to photograph it while it was being driven. I think the fading light added to the photo.

9/2/22 - 1990s Ford Escort Wagon (Sam)

A rare sight these days was this Escort wagon on the highway. Since these cars are all but scarce nowadays, I decided to document this one. It looks to be fairly clean, too.

9/2/22 - 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Sedan (Sam)

Here's another rare sight these days. This Cutlass has been lifted and had a stereo system installed, but it's still out there rocking the streets. It's in really nice shape, too, with no visible signs of rust.

9/3/22 - 1978 Chevy El Camino (Sam)

This was part of a convoy of classics I spotted on the highway while heading down to school. It was in really nice shape and was bringing up the rear of the procession.

Above: (9/3/22) - 1959 Chevy El Camino Lowrider (Sam)

Next in line was this '59 El Camino that's had some fender skirts and custom grille added. It was pretty cool to see a first-gen El Camino followed by a last-gen, especially on the highway. I saw a lot of classic cars during this drive, but most of them were on the opposite side of the road so I couldn't photograph them. There must have been a meet somewhere that they were all going to.

Above: (9/3/22) - 1946 Mercury Hotrod Coupe (Sam)

Bringing up the front of the procession was this Merc custom ragtop coupe. It looks to have been lowered, and the convertible top has been chopped a bit. The perfect car to be leading the way for the others. On a side-note, I think a chrome grille, as opposed to a painted one, would really make the front pop, but I think the painted one still looks nice.

9/3/22 - Project VW Superbeetle at Elite Auto Specialists (David)

This classic VW was seen in passing on the way to my grandmother's house. It seems to be a nice driving project receiving maintenance at Elite Auto Specialists, an import car garage in Warwick. While it is very tough to date these old VW's, I believe this could be an early '70s Superbeetle. I'd have to see the front end though, in this case, I was unable to.

Sam: I don't think this is a Superbeetle, the taillights look too old. I think it's a late '60s Beetle.

Above: (9/3/22) - 1977 Chevy Corvette C3 L-82 (David)

Here's a pretty clean C3 'Vette. Yeah, it's been modified a bit, but I think the rims and Batman sticker look appropriate. The L-82 package was introduced in 1973 to signify that the car was equipped with the 350 CI engine, making 250 hp. The L-82 boasted some higher engine compression, forged steel crankshafts, and other upgraded performance parts. It was also designed to work strongly at high RPMs, which made it popular among Corvette buyers. For 1975 to 1977, the L-82 badge was mounted on the hood scoop, which you can see slightly on this car. The L-82 package ended in 1980, and dropped its horsepower rating by 20. Here, we have a very nice example of one.

9/4/22 - JDM Honda Acty Street G Minivan on Rt. 4 (David)

A true JDM car, these are not for sale in the US. I love these little Japanese minivans. However, when you think of JDM, this might not be what immediately comes to mind.

9/5/22 - 1949 REO Speedwagon Truck (Sam)

This was spotted the day after I got back on campus. If you remember the teal REO truck from last year, this one is its twin. They're both owned by Nomad Pizza, a local restaurant/caterer. This was their first classic pizza truck, and its popularity led them to purchase a second, restored truck from down south and turn it into a pizza truck. I'm sure I'll run into both of them again numerous times throughout the year.

9/9/22 - Custom Chevy S-10 Pickup (David)

This pretty clean S-10 was spotted in Connecticut. I decided to include it because it was in really good shape for its age. It has some aftermarket headlights and fog lights, with some louvres on its rear windshield. These S-10s are becoming slightly less common, so I like seeing them being driven and cared for.

9/12/22 - Chevy Monte Carlo on Washington St. (Sam)

I found this as I was leaving class one Friday. I figured these old 2000s Montes are uncommon enough nowadays to deserve a photo. At one point, my uncle had two of these (both running, driving cars), but he eventually sold them. I think he originally planned to swap the drivetrain from one into the other, but he lost interest. Regardless, it was cool to see this one out and about, even if it's not that old.

Above: (9/15/22) - Ford F-250 Service Vehicle Revisited and Restored! (David)

To help jog your memory, take a look back at the URI Campus Cars entry from Winter '22. You might have to scroll a bit, but a dilapidated version of this truck was once in this spot. Now, take a look here. What a glow up this truck got. I have to give it to URI, I did not expect them to restore this, but I'm glad they did. I was very shocked to see it at first in this condition, and I thought it was a different truck. I was proven wrong after checking back and seeing that they shared the same plates and the 4x4 decal on the rear end. I like how they kept the patina on the hood, as well as the faded decals. Congratulations URI, you've done good.

Above: (9/15/22) - 1994 Mercedes Benz E-320 (W124) (David)

We next come to another campus car, an early '90s Mercedes E Class. An interesting era for Mercedes Benz, as these cars retain some of the '80s design elements as well as the more modern designs seen on the late '90s and early 2000s cars. I guess that's why I like '90s cars a lot. They're a transitional period of design, from boxy designs to swoopy and curvy lines.

9/15/22 - 1998 Ford Mustang (SN-95) Convertible (David)

And here we have another '90s classic, an SN-95 Mustang. Funnily enough, the later SN-95 Mustangs became more boxy! You probably know what those look like, but I think its funny how I was just talking about '90s cars being a transitional period for car design, with cars becoming more swoopy and less boxy. Here we have the opposite!

9/15/22 - Honda del Sol (David)

I think this is the first del Sol we've had on here so far. The Honda del Sol was always a favorite of mine from the '90s Honda lineup. I'll see these around occasionally out and about, but never in as good condition as this example. The del Sol never caught on as well in the US market, and unfortunately, like the Ford Probe, that led to its demise. It was also front wheel drive, being based on the Civic.

See what I mean by colorful though? Wrap or not, this green looks great on this car, as well as the black rims. And for a car overshadowed by its predecessor, the CRX, I appreciate the owner for keeping it up. This is the nicest del Sol I've seen to date.

Above: (9/15/22) - 1994 Subaru SVX (David)

Another cool '90s sports car, the Subaru SVX is truly unique from the rest. If there is one car that culminates a lot of the cool and out of the box thinking of the '90s cars, its the SVX. The SVX, in its time, was a major flop for Subaru. In the early '90s, Subaru was making the typical boxy sedans and vehicles that didn't call much attention and weren't sporty or anything. In 1992, Subaru dropped the SVX, which was unlike any other Subaru at the time. It looked very modern for its time. It was low, swoopy, and had windows like a DeLorean. It was made incredibly well, with many features that made the car very practical for its drivers, while still retaining sports car attributes. It made around 230 HP and had a flat six engine, which was smooth and powerful. So you might be wondering, how does a futuristic looking car, with decent power and handling become a flop? Well, once again, look back at what Subaru was producing at the time. In the early '90s there was no Impreza STI or WRX, and Subaru wasn't yet known for its performance and rally racing success. Unfortunately, this is what caused the SVX to fail, and eventually it was discontinued in 1996. I think if the SVX were to come out today, it was be very successful, but here we have the age old case of an amazing idea made at the wrong time. Today, the SVX is still a weird car and largely forgotten about. I'm really glad to see that someone is caring for this car and keeping it on the road. These are truly great cars if you know what you're looking at.

Above and Left: (9/17/22) - Two-Tone Chevy Corvette C4 (David)

This is definitely the most colorful C4 'Vette I've seen so far. This '80s legend resides at a repair shop on the side of the road, and it occasionally changes location in the lot. I'm a fan of the two-tone paint job, which I'm pretty sure is aftermarket, but I can imagine some people aren't a fan. What do you think?

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