Gas Classic: 1989-1993 Mazda Protege

1989-93 Mazda Protege

I still see a few of the first generation Mazda called the Protege in the U.S.  Of course these were called the 323 before Protege, and were known as the “GLC” before the 323.  Many times I will see another car within a few weeks after I post something on this website.   This time I actually found two in the same parking lot at the same time!  These photos were all taken within 30 seconds.

1963 Ford Thunderbird

1963 Ford Thunderbird

The Krispy Kreme Cruise-In is the show that keeps on giving.  Today I present this almost perfectly restored 1963 Ford Thunderbird.  Although it is not quite my cup of tea, I had never seen this year before in person and it was probably in factory delivery condition.

1961 Nash Metropolitan

1961 Nash Metropolitan

UPDATE:  This was posted Sept. 23, 2008.  It is not and was not my car, so don’t bother asking about it.

This car was the SMART of it’s day.  It was tiny and got up to 40 mpg back when gas was ultra cheap and cars were huge.  I found this nice 1961 convertible at the Krispy Kreme cruise-in, and it’s for sale! 

SOTS Goes Racin’

Autocrossing

Well not really.  But sort of.  A couple of weeks ago I took the “Saturn Rocket” out to the local SCCA Autocross.  For those that may not know, an Autocross is where they use traffic cones to set up a track in a large parking lot.  The cars run the track one at a time and are timed with electronic timing lights.  You get several attempts and cones that are run over add to your time.  If you go completely off course the try does not count and you loose that chance.

Gas Classic: Chevy Cavalier

Chevrolet Cavalier

First generation Cavaliers are finally getting rare around here.  This is an early one that came in the the very common I-Don’t-Care Beige.  Despite being about 25 years old, this one probably has under 100,000 miles because these things seriously fell apart quickly.  I looked at numerous used ones back in the mid-90’s and they were complete junk even then.

Gas Hysteria

North Dakota Gas Station

In case you don’t live in Alabama there was a run on gasoline last Friday, a few days before Hurricane Ike hit Texas.  Our wonderful media breathlessly reported that the refineries had shut down, wholesale prices were up to $5.00 per gallon, and they “did not know when more gas would be available”.  While technically that was true, it wasn’t the whole story.  What they didn’t tell was that gas would most likely be available, at a reasonable price, within a week at the latest.  By Friday afternoon there were lines at the stations, which were charging between $3.99 and $4.99 per gallon for regular unleaded.

1968 Chevy Nova

1968 Chevrolet Nova

Since my first car was a 1972 Nova, you can imagine how happy I was to see this beautifully restored 1968 Nova at the Krispy Kreme cruise-in.  I talked to the owner and got the full story.

1955 Plymouth Wagon

1955 Plymouth Stationwagon

I went to the Krispy Kreme Cruise-in again last weekend, and found some more gems like this 1955 Plymouth Wagon.  The genuine hospital scrub aqua color fits this surf wagon themed Plymouth perfectly.

1989 Trans Am 20th Anniversary Edition

1989 20th Anniversary Trans Am

Today we have something fairly rare and special.  For the 20th Anniversary of the Trans Am, Pontiac stole some serious GM parts out of the warehouse and slipped them into what otherwise appeared to be a standard white Trans Am GTA.  What’s so special?  How about a turbo 3.8 liter V6.  Sound familiar?  It should, it’s the engine from the legendary Buick GNX.