Another member of the flock

Another Lotus has come home for the summer from wherever it migrated over the cold seasons (probably a nice heated garage), it promptly went shopping Uptown.

Midget, Or 'Little Car'

This cute MG Midget was in a parking garage downtown, the person who owns it must live in the apartments above based on the presence of an oil pan to catch this leaky buzzard's leavings. The leather tonneau cover for the cockpit really caught my eye.

This is a late 70s model add indicated by the grotesque plastic bumpers. Despite the bumpers I think these little British cars are just the bees knees.

South Valley Cycle Trail

There's a truly lovely bicycle trail along Albuquerque's bosque outdoor space, it runs fit approximately 15 miles the Rio Grande. The southern four miles or so run between the river and the back of farms or industrial/junkyard complexes.
We saw a really cool, but incomplete, Chevy Biscayne (I think), at least the straight 6 is still there.

The blue one, look at those fins!

As well as a several-layer-high wall of junk cars off in the distance.

 

The zoom will help us.

A little.

I truly recommend anyone local or visiting check out the with bosque cycle trail, the views and wildlife are outstanding, and the pavement and level course make it a leisurely and fun time.

Bird of Thunder

Ford's answer to the Corvette, still cool as heck. I believe this is a 1955 model, before they added the signature porthole windows.

Like a Rolling Buffet

Saw a vehicle transport on the highway, loaded down with cool wheels. From forward to rear of the trailer we can see a Range Rover, a sweet Ford Bronco, a late-model Camaro, a Porsche (Cayman I believe), and a vanilla Bel-air.

The Supernationals: the Hot Rods

Always one of my favorite and most under-represented kind of car is the hot rod. These pre-1940 cars were lightweight and cheap after the war, and in the late forties and fifties many returning soldiers looking for excitement got themselves an old Ford, Chevy, Dodge (or Other) coupe, took out all the unnecessary junk, tuned the engine for performance and went racing. Early hot rodders were considered a menace (the term 'hot rod' was a pejorative originally, referring to the high performance crankshafts being installed), due to their dangerous street racing, eventually many of them were forced to start early dragstrips and retreat to the salt flats to meet their racing needs. In the 1960s, following the rise of high chrome and fancy paint schemes from the factories, hot rodding moved towards the 'show car' mentality, hot rods were painted wild colors, given gobs of chrome (chroming the frame of the car even became standard eventually) and some were built with themes, Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth was one of the most influential and prevalent members of this time period. The hot rod culture has swung back and forth ever since, frequently depending on the economy to dictate which style is in fashion.

The 1932 Ford roadster is considered by many to be the epitome of hot rods, it was the first factory V8 available and sold in such great numbers that they were affordable all the way into the 60s. They are such an icon of motoring that numerous songs have been written about this one car, and they are still being produced as fiberglass replicas.

Commonly called 't- buckets' these cars were built with the body of a Ford Model T, which was essentially a steel tub with seats in it. These are good examples of the stripped down but still high dollar show cars that became popular in the sixties.

Here is an example of an excellent Ford Model A coupe, with a modern Chevrolet V8 powerplant in front.

Classic post-war influence.

A newer trend in hot rodding is the so-called 'volksrod.' As with the early trend setters, Volkswagens are affordable and easy to work on. This one has a chopped roof, suicide doors and the fenders have been removed. The moon covers on the wheels are a classic salt flat racing accessory.

Dig the upholstery.

This wild car is a perfect example of the excesses that come with purpose-built show cars. Every surface is either chrome or deep black. The 'body,' which resembles a t-bucket, is actually steel bars forming a cage, which is also fully chromed, a theme that carries over to the grill. The engine is another modern Chevy small-block, with a huge chrome supercharger and twin chrome carburetors.

Notice the mirror under the car, so you can see the various chromed and painted under-surfaces.

Outside the show we saw this cool themed hot rod, inspired by a hearse. The body is most likely fiberglass, the suspension is all chrome, the interior has a pleasant style to it, and there are many fun details such as the taillights to discover on your own. It's also for sale!

The Supernationals: Customs and Classics

Even more of the massive collection of cool cars from The Supernationals, featuring the classic sedans of coupes of yesteryear, like this 1937 Buick:

Originally a businessman's sedan, the owner has clearly restored the paint and interior, and added some flash under the hood in the form of chrome and modern electrics.
Just around the corner from the Buick was this gorgeous AC Cobra:

 In miles deep black with perfect red stripes, faux hub-bolt rims and side pipes, this Cobra is the epitome of racing cool.

Just check out that gauge cluster, and the fire extinguisher in case the gauges have bad news.

 The only thing I could possibly take exception to on an exceptional vehicle like this is the (in my opinion) questionable mural on the door panel. It's not my taste; but then, it's not my car either.

There were a number of attractive restorations and mild customs as well:

Prowler

Nicely maintained convertible Plymouth Prowler near Artisan's Supplies, great big wheels and the gorgeous purple paint caught my eye immediately. This is also the first time I've noticed the bulges behind the cab over the trunk, very attractive. 

I had the R/C version of a Prowler way back when they first came out, I thought they were the way all cars would look in the future, but poor sales shot that dream down. Too bad they never made a V8 version.

Sweet Jag...

Pretty sweet Jag-yoo-arr, very shiny, looks well taken care of, wish I had taken a pic of the gorgeous flip up fuel cap.

Poor little guy

MG Midget in Limeflower Green being towed. Spotted this same one around the neighborhood before, I believe it's a '73 based on the wheel arches and bumper. Love these little sports cars.

Greetings Starfighters

As an automotive enthusiast (anything that rolls or explodes really) I frequently take notice of rare, unique, exotic or just interesting vehicles out in the world. After many years of this, and the rise the cellphone camera, I have quite a collection of photos of whatever has piqued my interest on the road or in the lot. Check back often for some OK, some not so good, and some actually decent images of anything and everything I see out and about.