Peter Behrens's Blog, page 14

"Driving in Southern California" Soti Triantafyllou.

 

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From Los Angeles: Driving in Southern California, by Soti Triantafyllou. Patakis Publishers. Athens, 2024. Translated from the Greek by Eva H.D.

What do I mean by "people like me"? I don't know. Perhaps those who were born around 1957 and grew up dancing to rock'n'roll and driving cars up and down and all over. And who, although they tried to understand ontology, threw themselves passionately into road-ology. ~I have an irrepressible inclination to flight; wanderlust; like the ramblers of the 17th and 18th centuries, but on wheels. The ephemerality of changing locations gives me a feeling of exquisite freedom; anonymity; limbo; I never had a goal or a destination. Perhaps it had to do with the manifestation of a primal instinct, of the nomadic hunter-gatherer — I have no idea. Later, little by little, I began to become aware about the emission of carbon dioxide and about my monstrous imprint on the planet: was I, I wondered, taking a greater toll on the environment than other people did?My prolonged stay in the American heartland contributed to this realisation: even though I was forever complaining about American wastefulness, the fact that I overused enormous SUVs for short trips and minor errands made me feel guilty. Besides, on the American roads, the traffic is by now so dense that it is no longer a question of the "open road"; so, what's the point? To find the freedom and emotional release of speed I'd have to get away from the northern hemisphere.Many people in the West today feel that a war has been declared against private vehicles — and this despite the fact that the economies of a number of countries depend, at least in part, on the automotive industry. Some, mainly Americans, marshal their libertarian spirit and accuse "big government" and bureaucracy for the multitude of regulations and prohibitions that make driving slow, boring and excessively costly. In their eyes it appears to be yet another conspiracy: mainstream politics makes private vehicles "impossible" in order to force everyone to get packed onto busses. But the war on cars doesn't play out this way: mainly, it's the cities that lead in measures restricting the use of private vehicles as an answer to traffic congestion and pollution. There are indeed taxes, restrictions and prohibitions, speed limits and strict parking rules: the vision of the 21st century city is car-free. That said, for the time being, it’s limited to Europe and is very slowly disseminating to the rest of the world: the car-free trend did not arise in America, where most trends are born.  Although I agree that car-free cities are a natural consequence of the situation on this planet, I am admittedly heartsore that road trips now seem to be a thing of the past. I concede that the mythical road trip can end up in a big bottleneck or that the magic might be lost when you’re forced to drive at 80 kilometres an hour; nevertheless, there is something in me, something that makes me spring from my desk chair and alight again and again behind a wheel. The roar of the engine, the sound of the tires, even the sound of the wipers affirm for me that I’ve landed in the right place; in a moving system that I control – even if, as Mario Andretti said, when you maintain complete control it means that you’re not going fast enough.Here's another AL post on Europeans and road trips. And photographer Jarrod McCabe's winter Massachusetts-to-Montana trip in a 1971 F-250. AL driving Banff to Big Bend in a 1951 Chevrolet grainer. Evan Ryan's desert road trip. And--Banff to Texas again–"what does a cowboy have for breakfast?"                                        

Capitol City A's. Marfa, Texas

 

Basha Burwell caught the Capitol City A's out of Austin, Texas on their jaunt to Marfa. More Ford Model A posts here. We caught another Model A and Model T herd on the road in Canyon, Texas a while back.

1951 Chevrolet, Grasslands National Park.

From Alex Emond, in Saskatchewan: "I had a bit of time off this week so I went out to Ponteix for a little r&r. This Chevy looks like it must be registered - parked on the street . I see Ti'Lapin written on it - "Little Rabbit". Lot of francophone types in Lafleche. Great to see a 74 year old beater on the street . Here's a few shots from the East Block of the Grasslands National Park . Not a soul in sight . On the road back to Ponteix , from the East Block < I stopped into the store on McCord , Saskatchewan . Years ago I ahd done this sketch of the store and I dropped off a copy of the watercolour. It was "Friday/Pie Day" so I bought a pecan pie. Sweet!"

AL: for another Chevy of the era, see our Suite 50 . And we posted a 1951 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery a while back.

1996 Chevrolet 1500. East Rochester, New York.

 

From Reid Cunningham: "I was in East Rochester NY and ran across this 1996 pickup. The last years before they all started to bulk up and become objects to inflate our egos. Clean lines, handsome and practical. I hope your spring is progressing well.
(I applaud your fellow Canadians for standing up to our bulked-up, inflated ego in residence the White House.)

Jeep Comanche 4wd Wheelbarrow

AL caught the truck on a blue day in Blue Hill, Maine. We posted another 4WD Comanche from NH. Another 4WD Comanche in Denver.

International, and Chairs. La Cruz de Huanacatxl, Mexico

 

both photos by Craig Manning.

1964 Land Rover Series 2A 109

From Markus Anstadt: "An original-condition 1964 Land Rover for sale in Denver. No phone number on the sign, go knock. Also included a photo of the modern version in a Denver neighborhood."

1962 Chevrolet C10, Colorado Springs. And a 1929 Dodge. Maybe.

Henry Behrens caught the Chevy riding low in COS.Then this sprightly little unit rolled past..Best guess is a ...1929 Dodge?

1964 Datsun (160 HP wheelbarrow) Santa Barbara, Calif.

And you understand we mean no disrespect when we call a truck a "wheelbarrow". The opposite, in fact.Sized for the job, no oppressive faux-macho, functional, cheap...i.e., the role trucks used to play in North American culture until they became snorting, hulking festivals of ersatz masculinity. The Ford Tremor, for example. Even the name makes me...nervous. The Raptor...maybe they should call it the Chicken Hawk? The Ram Heavy Duty Rebel. (You know what kinda "rebel" those marketing folks are channeling---and it sure ain't today's despised campus rebels, it's the Civil War variety. Johnny Rebs, who bravely fought a war, on behalf of masters who hated them, to preserve an institution that consigned them to poverty–hey, hang on, does that remind you of anything...like, the news?

Volkswagen Type 2 Bus. Santa Barbara, Calif.

AL loves survivors. BTW, have you read our post, "He Made the Beetle Huge"?  1968 was the year of the new bus, in North America, anyway.