By Jeff Glucker
My wife and I walk our dogs every morning. As I ramble through the neighborhood, I mentally take stock of the random assortment of vehicles. Some are parked on the street, and others only occasionally show up when a garage door is open. But I unknowingly automatically catalog all of them, from the mundane to the magnificent.
I’ve seen two old Mustangs in great shape. There’s an old Camaro also in perfect shape. Someone has a Chevelle with a 572 between the fenders. A new anniversary edition Z just arrived. There’s a dude with a well-built Ranger that’s ready for Overland adventure. A couple have been slowly building out their Ram Promaster into a camp vehicle. Someone has a drift-prepped old BMW 5 Series. Another neighbor who I know works for Kia keeps a lovely Porsche 911 (997) in their garage. There’s a Model T in another garage, and a street-parked Rambler sedan with a roof rack for surfboards.
Do you keep track of the random cars in your own neighborhood?
It’s ALL trucks.
For me the problem is so bad that my friends make fun of me when I see some cool old junk in the street and can tell them exactly where it lives. This has led to a few projects finding their way into my garage, my favorite of which was my 1968 VW Bus that spent 25 years in a garden shed 100 yards from my front door. Recommissioning that thing put my house on the radar of the other people keeping track of what’s parked around the neighborhood and made more than a few friends.
I certainly do, there is a nice 911, a couple of doors down. Other interesting things here and there. Always interesting to see who has updated to what
Let’s see… all within a few blocks from my door, there’s a Volvo collector, 5 cars, all running and spotlessly clean, plus an amazing ’52 Chevy pickup in forest service green). Another guy building his 240 Turbo out on the street. A 60’s Ford pickup buried under a huge blackberry bush (only the driver’s door mirror is visible). A ratty ’65 Pontiac Catalina airport limo. An all-black Audi S5 RS Avant (I’m not much of an Audi fan, but this thing is so very sleek, shiny and evil, -and- it’s a wagon, thus undeniably cool).
Then there’s the Datsun roadster that sat in one spot on the street for so long that the asphalt sank underneath its flat tires, and the flat black ’60 Ford Falcon two door, with a V8 and tomato red interior.
Yeah, I’ve noticed a few.
Correction: It’s a 1962 Ford Falcon.
Just noticed that a neighbor has some kind of 20’s vehicle in their garage. can’t believe I didn’t notice it until now. . . now I must know what it is! 🙂
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My neighborhood doesn’t have very cool cars. My neighbor friend has a late-model WRX that sounds good, and down the road there’s a nice black Cayman S and a slightly modded Toyota 86 (though it’s unfortunately yellow). But for the most part, these aren’t “car people”. Pretty mundane stuff.
Someone two neighborhoods over, but on the same cross street as me, had their garage door open one day, revealing a Continental Mark II. I’m somewhat familiar with that model; there’s been one in my parents’ garage for about 40 years.
But the one up the road disappeared a few years ago. I’m not sure whether someone sold the car, the house, or both.