Last Cars Reviews Blog: down on the street

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1982 Honda Accord LX [Down On The Street]

Автор: SharaMoore | среда, 30 сентября 2009 г.

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Here's a little car that's nearly extinct in rust-prone areas.

We saw a '77 Accord in this series not long ago, and it was startling how many readers had never seen a first-gen Accord on the street. Now we're going to look at an example of the early 2nd-gen Accord, which was still quite small (2,076 pounds) and was the first Accord to be built in North America. Horsepower was up to 76- yes, those weight and power numbers would be considered laughably small nowadays, though these cars drive just fine- and Honda's rep for reliability was really getting entrenched in the American consciousness by this time.

The price back in 1982? $8,449 for the LX, or $1,050 more than the base Accord hatch. Clearly, the cachet of the LX badging wasn't enough to stop some vocab-challenged vandal from keying "ASS" into the hood paint.

First 400 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

1963 Chevrolet Chevy II Station Wagon [Down On The Street]

Автор: SharaMoore | воскресенье, 30 августа 2009 г.

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Hooray for old Detroit station wagons! You don't see many small Detroit wagons these days, since the Vista Cruisers and Country Squires sold in such greater numbers back in the pre-SUV era, so I was very happy to spot this bright yellow, Moon disc-equipped Chevy II (or maybe it's a Nova- hard to say with the emblems removed) parked downtown.

You could get your little Chevy wagon with a 153-cubic-inch four-cylinder- whoa, a four-cylinder in a 60s Detroit wagon? Call the HUAC! You could also get a 194-cube six-cylinder; sorry, V8 fans, you had to wait until '64 for an optional 283 in your Chevy II.

Even though this wagon's owner is clearly a salt-flat-crazed hot rod hoodlum, the single exhaust suggests that he or she has kept the four or six under the hood. Parts runnner? Daily driver?

First 350 DOTS Vehicles • DOTS FAQ

1973 Mercury Comet [Down On The Street]

Автор: SharaMoore | суббота, 25 июля 2009 г.

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We saw a '65 Mercury Comet Caliente last week, and before that the '65 Comet 202 and the '64 Comet Cyclone. No shortage of Falcon-based Comets on the island… but how about the Maverick-based Comet? Mavericks themselves, sure- a '70 and two 74s- but now we're going to look at our first Malaise Comet.

The Mercury Division couldn't do a whole lot to de-Maverickize the Comet, but they were able to get these distinctive taillights on the car. Sure, they hurt your eyes even after 35 years, but they're definitely of their time. I found this car less than a block from the '65 IHC Travelall.

The '73 Comet 2-door listed at $2,432, which was 102 bucks more than the equivalent Maverick (and $55 more than a 2-door base Chevy Nova). The 200-cubic-inch inline six engine was standard, but you could upgrade to the 250 six or even the (138 horsepower) 302. Now if I could only find a Comet GT!