J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

My photo
Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Walkabout in Mar Vista

Our Southern California correspondants, Becky Smith and Craig Manning, live in Mar Vista, a wonderfully unknown neighborhood tucked in between Santa Monica airport and Venice Beach. Oh we miss Southern California and the layered assortment of aged vehicles parked on almost every block. Something about sun-faded near-originals, survivors that have lasted 30 years or more, warms the recycler's heart.
      We also appreciate well-restored cars & trucks though, to be honest, we find the most popular restorations--mid-50's Chevrolets--a bit...boring. Don't much go for the whole fuzzy-dice-on-the-mirror 1950s nostalgia thing: within Autoliterate's memory, Fifties Nostalgia commenced as an industry in about 1972, nearly forty years ago (remember Sha Na Na? and of course American Graffiti) and has lasted far too long.
        On the other hand you rarely see Plymouths as carefully tended as the 1968 Fury convertible Becky caught napping in Mar Vista last week:
     BTW, there seems to be a nice looking Fury convertible for sale at Car Gurus.

     Another find in Mar Vista: Craig Manning nabbed this SWB 1962 Ford F100 Custom Cab. We like everything about this truck. It's certainly been repainted: wonder if that turquoise was a factory color? If not, it should have been.


This 1959 Custom Cab was for sale in Vermont: looks like original paint, and may have been the original factory turquoise. The red wheels are great!

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