Peter Behrens's Blog, page 190

1972 Pontiac Grand Prix

A survivor, hanging out at  Cambridge MA garage. One of the personal luxury cars pioneered by the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.



 

1966 Ford Custom 500 sleeper

At AL, we like sleepers: plainjanes with some get-up-and-go. The Ford here was on the block at BaT. Power's from a replacement 427ci side-oiler V8 featuring a dual carburetor setup and medium-rise cylinder heads.  Here's a '67 Ford Custom 500 in PA, with dual exhausts... and how about this 1964 Chevy Biscayne 409 we spotted in Colorado Springs a while back?  Or this 63 Ford Galaxie 500 in Maine.

 

Massachusetts Work Trucks

AL likes trucks that mean business. Like this Ford F-350 with a Knapheide utility bed.

We've posted on s Boston tradition of old-fashioned lettering (looks like a circus font) and pin striping on trucks.See our post on Boston Truck Language.  It's certainly, but not exclusively, a Boston Irish thing, as in the GMC 2500 below.

1974 International Scout II Rallye

From Jonathan Welsh:
"International Scouts are my favorites among vintage sport-utilities, especially when decorated with graphics that scream "1970s." This Rallye version showed up in Montclair, N.J., but appears to have spent time on Nantucket based on the oversand vehicle permits and beach passes. Decades ago my best friend's family drove a '78 Jeep Wagoneer, its rear window edged with several years worth of oversand permits from Martha's Vineyard. He explained that those things were status symbols. Today the old truck probably generates more envy. How it must stand out on the ferry, surrounded by the latest luxury crossovers. Here's a piece I wrote a few years back about collectible SUVs. Good for a chuckle, perhaps. https://www.wsj.com/articles/vintage-suvs-the-new-status-symbol-1479401867

AL: here's a Scout II in Maine a while back. Another in Miami. A wedding Scout in Colorado.


 

Gord Downie and the 1967 GTO

Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip. Thanks to Eva H.D. for this.

Montreal 1940

 

Unknown photographer. Montreal police photograph. I think that maybe a police car--check the lights on the bumper. It was in a series of photographs of gambling dens and bordellos in 'wide open" Montreal of the era 1920s-50s. The Black Cat cigarettes advertisement...me ma, Frankie O'Brien, smoked Black Cats.

1957 Pontiac Laurentian

 

Alex Emond, in Saskatchewan "In Elmwood Park, in Swift Current, there seems to be an afternoon gathering of older , retired guys that visit and hang out in a "socially distant" cluster . Maybe their regular coffee spot is down for now . One of these guys drives this 1958 Pontiac. Once we had negotiated a price ( just kidding) he let me take a few pictures . It's all stock, not hot rodded and in great shape . I'm sure it stays in a garage over the winter. Gorgeous. Cheers , Alex"

Dave Alvin. Highway 61 Revisited.

Thanks to Alex Emond for the heads-up. Great Dylan cover.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uFLQFyIYLg 

Crew Cab with Crew

From Reid Cunningham: "Apologies for not getting closer, but the crew was working and I didn't want to interrupt or get in their way. A crew cab Chevrolet that was actually carrying a work crew, configured for rail mode. Usually I see these on the road, it was a treat to see it on the tracks. If you look closely, it's Pan Am Railways, with the same logo as the old Pan Am airlines.
#A quick online search (Wikipedia was much better for this than the railroad's website) shows this is a New England rail company, Maine to NY originally ned Guilford. It seems to have not been a successful railroad, and bought the Pan Am trademarks in 1998 and rebranded itself. While rail traffic has doubled, it has shrank. It's now up for sale if you want to have your own railroad!"Sighted in Manchester NH, near the old textile mills downtown. The mills have all been restored and house Southern New Hampshire University, start ups, some restaurants and businesses. Intellectual property produced at the mills doesn't require a railroad for haulage."

AL: the wiki link is a good introduction to the impossibly tangled history of corporate shenanigans around railroading in New England. It reminds me of something my grandfather JJ O'O'Brien said--"Nearly impossible to make money operating railroads. The money was in building them."

Volvos, Volvos everywhere

 

from  CNN: 
"Oceanbird might look like a ship of the future, but it harks back to ancient maritime history -- because it's powered by the wind.
"The transatlantic car carrier is being designed by Wallenius Marine, a Swedish shipbuilder, with support from the Swedish government and several research institutions.
"With capacity for 7,000 vehicles, the 650 foot-long vessel is a similar size to conventional car carriers, but it will look radically different. The ship's hull is topped by five telescopic "wing sails," each 260 feet tall. Capable of rotating 360 degrees without touching each other, the sails can be retracted to 195 feet in order to clear bridges or withstand rough weather."