From a block away I was pretty sure I knew what this was. As I got closer, I said to myself, “Oh, it’s a Japanese-market right-hand-drive model.” When I stood next to it I found out it wasn’t the Mazda RX-7 I had thought it was. Instead, it was a seldom-seen (in these parts) ɛ̃finiRX-7, ɛ̃fini being the upmarket brand of Mazda which sold in the home market from 1991-97 (whe
When I first came across this mash-up of a 1951 Studebaker Starlight (see below)and a 1986 Chevy El Camino, I said to myself “Now, there’s something different!” And different it was, but it wasn’t until later that I discovered it wasn’t all that rare. It’s actually aStudeminokit conversion (details here) sold by a company in Florida, and a Googlesearch turned up
According to the trunk badge on this 1963 Buick LeSabre, it was bought at Dreis Bros. Beacon Motors Ltd., in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Your geography lesson for the day: Weyburn is the tenth-largest city in Saskatchewan (the only Canadian province without a natural border), whose capital is Regina, and whose largest city is Saskatoon. Weyburn is 70 km north of the US border with North Dakota. The bui
Saw this 1968 Ford Torino GTfastback last summer on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontarioat one of the weekly Cruising on the Qcruise nights. Considering that Ford produced over 172,000 1968 Torinos (and over 200,000 of the similar Fairlanes) it’s surprising that you don’t see many these days — even at car shows and cruise nights. What was even more surprising (to me anyway) was
The Alfa-Romeo Alfetta GTVwas in production from 1976 to 1982. This one was seen over the summer in Niagara Falls, Ontarioon Queen Street at a weekly Cruising On the Qcruise night. We never got a chance to speak to the owner to find out what year this car was, as he (or somebody with a key!) was just pulling away as we approached the car. Alfettas were also offered as a four-door sedan. The GTV wa
In typical Volkswagen cheek, the 1988 VW Vanagon/Camper GLwas advertised as “A large living room on wheels.”And it had “Plenty of space, but hardly any room for improvement.”This example, seen over the summer at a weekly Cruising on the Qcruise night on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario, could likely be one of the cleanest still in existence in North America. “A
This 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlois looking very-period correct in its Gulf Green paint job, vinyl top, and whitewall tires. This was the third year for Chevy’s personal luxury coupe, and the final year for its first-generation styling. The Canadian version of that year’s brochure took pride in telling us what the Monte didn’tcome with: “Sorry, no power ash trays.” &ldq
The 1967 Pontiac Firebird H.O.used the same basic body shell as Chevy’s also-new-for-1967 Camaro. Visually, the biggest differences were the very Pontiac-ish nose, and the taillight panel. But Pontiac had some other aces up its sleeve to differentiate the two. Or rather, some aces under the hood. One model was named Firebird 326, which used (surprise) their 326cid V8 — which was basica
No that headline isn’t a typo. There really is such a thing as a 1989 Laforza— we had the RealRidesAMC Spirit parked right next to it last Tuesday on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontarioat a weekly Cruising on the Qcruise night. The Laforza is an SUV which was manufactured in Italy (Laforza is Italian for “the force”) by Rayston-Fissore. The relative few that were exporte
The 1969 Ford Mustang SportsRoofwas still a pretty manageable size — bigger than the original models, but nothing like what was to come in a couple more years. Saw this very unmolested example a couple of nights ago at a weekly Cruising on the Qcruise night on Queen Street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Standard engine was still a straight six — pretty much the same 200cid unit that had be