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.

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

1970 Mercury Comet

Better know as the Ford Maverick. We've posted this car before, but it looked great on a green-gray rainy spring day in Cambridge.  HEre's a 1962 Comet from Vermont. And a 1964 Comet Caliente from Saskatchewan. A 1964 Comet Caliente was at Motorland a couple years back.


 

Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Ford F-250 Cambridge.

 

A large wheelbarrow? Maybe we're stretching a point. Wheelbarrow trucks are small, plainspoken, utilitarian. The Ford F-250 is many things, but not small. Rare to see that single seat cab, though--except in coastal Maine, where lobstermen have single-seat trucks and use the longer bed for hauling traps.

Monday, May 29, 2023

1972 International 3/4 ton

 

From Michael Moore, in Northern California: "Pretty basically brutal survivor…all there and looks to be about a 1972 3/4 ton longbed."

AL: We posted an R-120 from Saskatchewan a while back, and a 1956 S-120 in Taos.




Sunday, May 28, 2023

1983 Ford F-250, New Jersey

 

From Jonathan Welsh: Ford's take on the squarebody went on and on, but these early-80s models are my favorites. I stopped to look at this one and found out an old friend from elementary school owns it. Fits well with her garden and landscape design business. Just look at those plants!

AL: here's another F-250 of that era (sort of) with an extended cab. And a c.1970 F-250 in Maine. And this F-250 in Marfa. And then there was Jared McCabe' winter cross-country trip in an F-250.





Saturday, May 27, 2023

The Volkswagen Scout

 


From the WSJ: BERLIN—After decades of trying to sell German engineering to Americans only to end up with a tiny slice of the world’s most profitable car market, has a new strategy: Pretend it is American.
Inspired by electric-truck startups like Rivian and the buzz around Tesla’s planned pickup, the European car giant is about to relaunch the defunct Scout brand as an off-road electric vehicle made to Americans’ tastes...
Here's another VW Scout piece at USN.


Dodge 150 Power Wagon, Avon Hill, Cambridge

 
Okay, we've posted it several times before. Still our favorite truck in Cambridge.





Friday, May 26, 2023

1986 Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio Verde

                                            

From Yona Shapiro: This limited edition ~1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio Verde with Bosch fuel injection was found street-parked in Cambridge, Mass. Note the Pininfarina design and yellow duct tape...You've got to do something to protect from New England winters!
Autoliterate: we posted an Alfa Spider Veloce from the mid-Eighties a while back, out in Manitoba. And nother Spider, same era, in New Jersey. And since we're speaking Italian, how about this Lancia Fulvia?






Thursday, May 25, 2023

2 VWs, Marine Layer rust.

From Markus Anstadt: "I spotted these original air cooled VWs around the beach in California. The Beetle has the large sunroof with a redone interior. I can't imagine towing anything with the bus..."

Autoliterate: we posted a nice bus of this era, from Reno. And many a Type 1. Try our search widget for Volkswagen.

                     







Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Chevrolet Black Widow Lifted Truck

 

Well, at BlackWidowTrucks.com they say "The Black Widow gives you an incredibly classy platform to make the world around you take notice." Kind of impressive in its gargantuan over-the-topness. Not for the shy--or maybe especially for the shy?  Lifted trucks? 

I must admit, refreshing to see here in Cambridge, Massachusetts, turf of the Tesla. And the Black Widow tag goes all the way back to a '57 Chevy 210...


"The 1957 Chevrolet Stock Car Competition Guide is incredibly detailed and lists every single part number and modification needed to convert a 150 utility sedan model into a track champion Black Widow."

But back to the monster truck:










Tuesday, May 23, 2023

300K+ Land Rover Defender, Cambridge MA

From Yona Shapiro: "This 1990s era Land Rover Defender, found in Cambridge, Mass, has over 300,000 miles on it, according to the original owner. Notable features include the black exoskeleton and V8 engine."
Autoliterate: we posted a Denver Defender with issues a while back. And here are some more Land Rovers from the 'hood.