AMC Eagle

from Jonathan Welsh: All of my car-crazed friends in middle school wanted their parents to buy the American Motors Eagle when it arrived for the 1980 model year. And why not? There was nothing else quite like it on the market. It also made competing family cars like the Ford Fairmont and Chevy Citation look hopelessly scrawny. Who would have thought almost everyone would be driving similar-looking "crossovers" a few decades later? The Eagle lasted until 1988. This one looks like an '86 or '87.

AL: another Eagle, a while back, in Mar Vista (LA). And another in Manchester NH.
 

 

Fix It Again Tony

 

from Don Culbertson, in France: "There is a dealer in classic Fiats in Bedoin, France. Voitures Tres Mignon."  Plus Fiats de Culbertson. 

South Park, Colorado Fiat. And a 1972 Fiat 600 in Paris a while back. 

Nissan Figaro, Maine

 

From David Rivard: "Ever seen one of these? Not me, until today. At Pepperell Cove here in Kittery Point. Wikipedia says they only made 20,000+ and sold only in Japan ('in Nissan Cherry stores')".AL caught one of these in Vancouver a while back, where there are plenty of Japanese-market imports.Michael Moore spotted another Fig in North London

Straight Outta Jalisco: 1978 Ford F100 Ranger

 

California light! Photos by Jill Goldman.

And here's a 1980 F150 Ranger up in Saskatchewan.

c. 1990 Dodge D250 flatbed

 

From Matt Sheehey in Northern Virginia: "I came across this beautiful Ram flatbed last night in an industrial neighborhood in Fairfax County, VA.It’s a great truck for hauling countertops. I especially like the new paint job. Take care and enjoy fall in New England"

AL: our iconic Dodge D250 is down in West Texas.

1953 MG TD

 

from Greg Phillips, in the North Country: "On a picture perfect day at Clare and Carl drive-in, Plattsburgh, NY. Since the late 1940's this place has been serving up Michigan sauce adorned hotdogs and the customary sides.
"The story of the sauce and its name remain a mystery to me, but I did get some background on the MG out front. I knew I could always research Clare and Carl at a later time, however I only had this one chance to chat up the fellow in/on the MG, which I did. Notice he is sitting "on" the car while the tonneau cover provides a surface to spread out his lunch. No roll down window to hang the tray from?
I instantly smiled when the owner's first words were, "it's a 1953" which happens to be my birth year. Next revealed was the fact that this was his second MG, the first being when he was in High School. We didn't talk tech stuff except that it was underpowered with it's 50 something hp engine.
Being of similar age and both having had MGs in high school we briefly shared stories of nostalgia before enjoying a Michigan red hot on a beautiful New York day."

AL: here's a 1952 MG TD in Maine.. And another we caught in Quebec.

AL: Quand j'etais jeune a Montréal, les Michigan Hot Dogs étaient une big deal en Québec.

AL: The novel The Red Car by Don Stanford lit the MG fire in me when I read it in sixth grade. Crazily unavailable unless you're willing to part with a couple hundred. 

EVs and the Neutral Problem

 "Cars break down.We all know this is true. As someone with decades of experience driving barely-operable shitboxes, I have lived this truth many times over. One saving grace of dealing with broken down cars is that they’re almost always still able to roll, the bare, absolute minimum you can expect from a car, and as such were at least able to be pushed out of harm’s way. This isn’t the case with electric cars, though, and I think this is a real problem..." Read the piece on  Jalopnik

Anthony Schmidt, photographer

 

from the blogosphere: "None of these are REAL cars, they are photos taken by 13-year-old Anthony Ryan Schmidt. He is autistic and his passion is photographing miniature cars.The last couple years his mother made a calendar to show off his best work. You can order a copy here"

Volkswagen buses

These babies were all at The Beetle Shop in Belfast, Maine last spring.