Saturday, September 3, 2011

cruisin'


The season of Cruise Nights is drawing to a close.
It is an expensive hobby, keeping these old classic cars in good condition, only to be driven to various parks and parking lots for the sole purpose of showing off. Many times, you'll see a car pull into a spot, the owner get out and set up a lawn chair, then sit in it reading a book. At a quarter to eight, they pack up book and lawn chair and drive off. Other people are more engaging. Many seem to meet up with friends and fellow collectors they know from the circuit. 
Still, I enjoy these nights of admiring and sighing at the designs of older models. I don't know a lot about cars, but I am learning. I take photos and look up the history and stats on the internet when I get home. For the most part, you often see the same cars (not literally the same, but the same makes) and I can now recognize when there is one that is a rare colour or has a slightly different grille. 
To amuse myself, I try to get creative by concentrating on different aspects of the cars each time. (one can only have so many pictures of cars that one has no idea what to do with.) One time it might be the tail lights and fins, another time the door handles... I still have to work on getting good shots of the dashboards. I don't generally decide what the focus will be until I get there, but with this last cruise night at Pier 4, I was a wee bit disappointed when the old police cars that were to be on show materialized in ... one car. From there, I chose to focus on photographing the make and model names.

a Studebaker Commodore















It wasn't intentional, but once I had sorted and cropped and uploaded them onto this post, I realized they all were joined letter font.

SundayStills, where we could post anything we wanted.....

21 comments:

  1. I like the Chrysler logo best - very stylish.

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  2. Who would have thought that the sight of that "BelAir" would rocket me back into my history?
    We had a series of Chevrolet BelAirs when I was a kid.
    The snazziest was electric blue with flattened fins over the taillights...

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  3. VS, I love to see the lines in these old cars.. There was a different design philosophy around then.. Individual looks and feels.. sometimes with the modern cars they all look alike.

    They have a show every summer here of old classics and the same takes place as you describe... we always go..
    ... we have been working for many years on an old '66 Volvo P1800 Coupe.. .. Never got it done.. too many irons in the fire... love those little cars tho.

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  4. jabblog: yes, isn't that one an unusual beauty!

    June: the BelAir is my favourite car - I am drawn to them every time.

    Gwen: I am often fooled when I try to guess what make a newer car is nowadays. I much prefer the individualized look. and those curves....!

    Gail: thanks!

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  5. I really enjoyed your photos this week and your writing about the cars!

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  6. Very different, definitly potluck. :)

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  7. Very cool, I've never heard of an Angelina..:-)

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  8. Great idea! Stylin!

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  9. Judy: thank you

    Dibear: I like to be a little unexpectedly different!

    Ed: the Anglia is a British Ford

    danardoyle: these are stylin', for sure!

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  10. When I was first married in California, we had a Chevy Bel Air. That really dates me, doesn't it?

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  11. Nice shots. I kind of like the Anglia one best.

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  12. Nora: I am envious! What colours?

    SAW: the car that went with it was pretty cool, too.

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  13. Very cool photos. Love the 'theme'. : )

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  14. Oh, it was just a plain white one with a blue interior. You could sit on the front seat with three people. No seat belts, of course.

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  15. I love old cars. I always jump in my seat when I see one on the road. I should keep my eye out for an old car show around here.

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  16. ramblin': I like to make up themes, if Ed doesn't give us one!

    Nora: I do like the two toned ones, and those bench seats were the best!

    Geewits: I have been tempted to follow one, or two....

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  17. Unusual subjects but they've worked so well.

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  18. Two tones cars are the best and worth fixing up and keeping a hold off. Back then we just traded it in for a Chevy Monte Carlo, a very ugly car I now think. Those were the design failures in the auto industry. The ones you don't keep.

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  19. I also know stuff all about cars but I know what I like! There used to be a Collector's Day here for old cars and they were fab to see all made up and restored...I suspect it will be awhile before we see things like that here again but great to be able to come here and see anyway!

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  20. Mari: thanks. I might have thrown a few people off with this one!

    Nora: yes, sometimes taste for design is a little off!

    Saj: glad I could make your day - even with just the names. I bet you can still get a picture in your memory...

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  21. Those are really great shots! Funny how they are all joined up writing - to the best of my recollection, our "car names" now are printed letters, mostly lower case, I think.

    Perhaps the designers never learned joined up writing!

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