Last Call: Automotive Eclecticism Makes Me Smile

Peter Tanshanomi

/comment

Comments

Driveway Team Roll Call!
Caravan! …Cavernous Interior: GO!
Prelude! …16 Valves: MAYBE!
Stealth! …Twin Turbos: NOT BLOODY LIKELY!
Yugo! …Still Reasonably Functional: YES!
I drive past this house on my evening commute each day, and the interesting mix of cars in this guy’s driveway always lifts my spirits. None of them are all that remarkable (although a Yugo that’s still driven regularly is a bit unusual). Together, however, they’re sort of a Fantastic Four, each with its own unique strength, yet still somehow rather disfunctional. Along with the four-car garage, this selection of rides screams car guy!
I once took a closer look and discovered a yellowed issue of Hot Rod on the Yugo’s package shelf, which was in itself a weirdly wild juxtaposition. This guy and I would get along fine.

About

Peter Tanshanomi

Peter Tanshanomi

Tanshanomi is Japanese [単車のみ] for “motorcycle(s) only.” Though primarily tasked with creating two-wheel oriented content for Hooniverse, Pete is a lover of all sorts of motorized vehicles.

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  1. CptSevere Avatar
    CptSevere

    I really want you to show up there with a six-pack and a smile. These people have good taste in cars. The Yugo proves that. At least they have a sense of humor, you've gotta give them that.

    Reply
    1. regalregalia Avatar
      regalregalia

      That sounds like it should be made a hoon holiday, "bring beer to a likely hoon day"

      Reply
      1. coupeZ600 Avatar
        coupeZ600

        I concur, a splendid idea1

        Reply
  2. sam Avatar
    sam

    I wish I still had my lineup. 1st gen rx-7 next to a second gen predlude next to a mint maroon k-car next to a 4-door 67 chevelle. I like this guy cause he can park his cars evenly spaced and keep them all running.

    Reply
  3. Jim-Bob Avatar
    Jim-Bob

    Is it wrong that this post made me go directly to Craigslist to try and find a Yugo? Sadly/fortunately, none were available in my area.
    (Some men dream of owning exotic sports cars. I dream of one day having a car collection full of the worst cars in history.)

    Reply
    1. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      Start living that dream. It is so very worth it.

      Reply
    2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
      Peter Tanshanomi

      If you can find room on that list for a Renault 8, I'm totally willing to go there with you.

      Reply
      1. jim-bob Avatar
        jim-bob

        There is room for a lot of different cars on my list, so if I knew what that Renault was, it would probably be there too. So far, my list has the Trabant 601 at the top followed by the ZAZ 965 in second. I would also love a 2CV, a Renault 4, a Lada 2101, an original Mini ( awesome and awful in equal measure- all in one car!), Honda N600, Toyota Publica, etc. There are, of course, cars that don't suck on my list like the '69 Chevelle SS396, Datsun PL 510 and AE-86 Corolla, but none of them are supercars. As much as I like some of them (like the Miura), I really can't say I like them enough that I would take one of them over a whole fleet of oddballs.

        Reply
        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Renault8.jpg"&gt;
          <img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Renault_8_20070520.jpg/800px-Renault_8_20070520.jpg&quot; width="500">
          It's a horrid car by every possible objective measure (basically a warmed-over and re-bodied Dauphine). But I love it. The retro-funky-fresh body lines and the details like the sliding rear windows just warm the contents of my pericardium.

          Reply
        2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          And extra points for mentioning the Honda 600. Oh, yes please; in any configuration — N, S, or Z!

          Reply
  4. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    There's a valuable lesson here. Depending upon when in their lives these vehicles were acquired, it is entirely possible that this fleet cost less than the price of one new economy car. If you can wrench, there's no reason you can't enjoy variety in your automotive life, even on a budget.
    IMO, this collection is begging for the addition of a pickup, preferable with 4WD. Your gonna want something for the snow and to haul greasy parts to and from the junkyard.

    Reply
    1. Mechanically Inept Avatar
      Mechanically Inept

      The minivan will do fine for winter and parts hauling duty. That's what I use mine for. The interior has already been trashed by years of carpooling, so what's a little grease gonna do? Just put some plastic down to cover the carpet.

      Reply
      1. bzr Avatar
        bzr

        If you can haul a motorcycle in a minivan, you can haul anything in there. Maybe even another minivan…

        Reply
      2. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        I'm biased. Over the years, the fleet has ebbed and flowed. At those times when it has been down to one, that vehicle has more often than not been a pickup.

        Reply
  5. SSurfer321 Avatar
    SSurfer321

    Growing up I had a neighbor down the street that always had a Vette in the garage, daily drove a Chevy 1500 SS truck and toyed around in a metallic blue Yugo with blue flames up the hood/fenders. I wholeheartedly agreed with his choices.

    Reply
  6. lilwillie Avatar
    lilwillie

    The owner just needs to build a proper deck on his garage roof and he could enjoy the view.

    Reply
  7. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    While I do appreciate eclectic automotive taste none of these is really to my personal liking, but to each his own.
    This picture couldn't help but remind me of this classic poster: http://blog.room34.com/wp-content/uploads/underdo…
    Although this might not be that high of an education level.

    Reply
  8. engineerd Avatar
    engineerd

    The thing that makes me the most jealous of this picture? The 4 car garage. In fact, that's almost my dream house: garages on the first floor and living space upstairs.

    Reply
    1. JeepyJayhawk Avatar
      JeepyJayhawk

      Put me down for one of those please…

      Reply
    2. P161911 Avatar
      P161911

      If these are the 4 cars sitting outside, what is the garage hiding? More 4 wheeled treasures or just big piles of junk?
      Technically I could have a 4 car garage with my house now. It has two garage doors in the basement and each side is deep enough for two cars. But if I did that I wouldn't have any room for tools, workshop, and the rest of the junk. I do keep my 77 Corvette project buried deep on one side in sort of a garage within a garage. I built a large platform over it for my wife to store her stuff/junk. The Z3 gets to park behind that. It doesn't help that we are both pack-rats/borderline hoarders.

      Reply
      1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
        Peter Tanshanomi

        My house has a 14×35 tandem basement garage. But the Town Cow, the F150 and the 300 all sit outside — thanks to three PWCs, two motorcycles, a bunch of parts, a shelf full of lifevests and coolers, and a Gravely ZTR mower.

        Reply
      2. Mechanically Inept Avatar
        Mechanically Inept

        That's why it's nice to have a separate garage for all your cars and car-related stuff. I have a buddy who's a GM engineer, and he's got a garage that he built a few years back. It's got two seperate garage doors (the smaller ones), a lift, an air compressor, all the tools in the world, and it's heated. It's also got an Evo MR and a newer Harley in it. It's nice because you can keep all your regular junk in the attached garage, separate from your car junk (or junk cars).
        This works if you've got a large property and a space for the second garage, Otherwise, a four-car garage would be nice.

        Reply
        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          A separate garage also prevents your SO from complaining about epoxy resin fumes and fiberglass sanding dust migrating into the house.
          Don't ask me how I know that.

          Reply
      3. Mechanically Inept Avatar
        Mechanically Inept

        And I'll bet that the garage just has a bunch of junk in it, and possibly one car that is newer than all the others (I.E. the wife's car). During the winter, we park two cars in the garage, but during the summer, it's just the newest car that goes in there. Otherwise, it's a pain in the ass when you want to get a bike or some gardening equipment out, and a car gets scratched.

        Reply
        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          I've seen the driveway completely empty more than once, so I am thinking at least three of them can go into their assigned bay.

          Reply
  9. JeepyJayhawk Avatar
    JeepyJayhawk

    I'm envious of his reasonably flat working driveway.

    Reply
  10. Straight6er Avatar
    Straight6er

    One day I too will have a house with the garage square footage bigger than the living space.

    Reply
  11. Daughrity Prom Dresses Avatar
    Daughrity Prom Dresses

    My My styling tips for petite women – Pants or trousers should be of proper length i.e. it should cover up the ankle at least, capris or shorter pants is not good choice for shorter women.

    Reply