Peter Behrens's Blog, page 82

Volvo 240 Milford, New Hampshire

  From Reid Cunningham, in Milford, NH:  Autoliterate obviously loves old Volvos, so when I saw this one I knew I had to take a few moments for pictures.  As far as I can tell this is a base sedan.  By this point in the model life cycle for such a plain car the designers had really leaned into the black plastic.  The grill is one giant piece of plain black plastic, the window surrounds are all black plastic,  even the rub stip on the side has been reduced from chrome to black plastic. The interior matched, all black plastic.  It's an automatic,  so at least one option box had been checked.  Sedans are out, Ford has dumped all of theirs.  I can't imagine any of the other manufacturers producing such a plain, low-content car except for their smallest offering. I appreciated that the owner had kept to the theme by securing the Volvo emblem to the grill with cable ties, of...black plastic.  AL has posted many 240's...also this 1978  244 DL,not plainjane, upon in Maine. There are several 240's extant in the Cambridge Volvo pack.

Volvo 740 Wagon, Cambridge, Mass.

The 700 series Volvos ran 1982-92 and the wagon was a much better-looking car than the sedan, which was "styled like angle iron through a wood chipper.      "Wait, that’s cruel. Maybe . . .an Aston Lagonda through a wood chipper."


 

Porsche 911 reimagined, and those schlubs back in Stuttgart

Teke Wiggin had a 911 in Santa Cruz in the early 1990s.

And then there is the 911 as reimagined by Singer Vehicle Design...

According to Dan Neil, in the WSJ, For Porsche fanatics, such a car lives at the end of an impossible, aspirational rainbow, right next to their pot of FU gold. Imagine, a fully modern, daily driveable vintage 911, with a flat-six engine rapping and wailing at over 7,000 revs, meshed with the perfect five-speed (or six) stick shifter—a car with all the charisma of the classic design but twice the performance, rebuilt to standards of precision that make those schlubs back in Stuttgart look like cave dwellers.

 

1973 Ford Bronco

From Reid Cunningham: Milford, New Hampshire. This Bronco was stunning. Obviously a very recent and complete restoration.   The window sticker was interesting. This was a very heavily-optioned vehicle;  the options together were almost half again as much as the base Bronco. The green paint and matching green interior were a real standout. 

AL: we posted another first-gen Bronco a few days ago.

 

Mid-Seventies BMW 2002, Cambridge

 

from Yona Shapiro:A pristine example of the BMW 2002 4-speed, right here in Cambridge, Mass. With those large plastic bumpers at the front and rear, this is most likely a 1974, 75, or 76, the last three years of production.

AL: we caught another 2002 also in Cambridge a while back. Also this one. And a 1968 BMW 2002, up in Maine.

Working Trucks: International Harvester Loadstar boom truck; the desert; and Suburbia

These are from Michaal Moore, out in the northern Nevad a desert. AL has a fondness for Loadstars going back to wheat harvest days in Alberta. And how about this Loadstar 1700 from the 70s, a USAF veteran. Working trucks...

…or not working. From Michael Moore: "Seth ’n’ Sonny’s ‘burb after an ill-fated moonlight attempt to find a camping site. We’re calling that part of the High Rock country “Suburbia” from now on, though they hope to extricate it [and salvage its Diesel] soon.Then a couple of vintage trucks from my son, visiting the Military Museum in Amman, the first being a restored Long Range Desert Group vehicle, New Zealand livery...

And more of that I-H boom truck,

Work Trucks: 1972 Ford F-350 Sport Custom

From Jonathan Welsh: I think this one has lots of work left in it. Spotted in Berkeley Heights, N.J. displaying a "for sale" sign. It is a 4x2 with a 390 c.i. engine, 36,062 miles. No price listed.

New Mexico Morgan (and Morgan Plus 4)

  Bill Burleson caught the Morgan in downtown Santa Fe. We have posted on the Morgan Super 3. We saw another racing green Morgan in Carlisle, Mass. a while back. And we posted one from Virginia with a bonnet strap.

See  Motor Trend's review of the Morgan Plus 4. Photos below.

1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer

  From Markus Anstadt:  Spotted in Denver. Looks original, down to the faded fake wood. Owner stated that he loves the car, even at 8 mpg.AL: we posted a 1974 Jeep Wagoneer from New Jersey a while back. A 1972 Wagoneer in Maine. And a 1964 Wagoneer--these babies were around for a while--in Colorado Springs.

Volvo V70 5-speed

 

From Yona Shapiro, in Cambridge, MA: "An ultra-rare Volvo V70 with a 5-speed manual transmission. With the energy of a 240 and styling cues from the 850, this is the last generation of Volvo wagons with three pedals.z"