Spotted is Globe Drive writer Peter Cheney's weekly feature that takes you behind the scenes of his life as a vehicle and engineering journalist. In coming weeks, we'll also highlight the best of your original photos and short video clips (10 seconds or less), which you should send with a short explanation. E-mail pcheney@globeandmail.com, find him on Twitter @cheneydrive (#spotted), or join him on Facebook (no login required). All photos by Peter Cheney unless otherwise noted.
Executive Parking Fire lane? What fire lane?
I spotted this BMW outside a Home Depot in the Stockyards district here in Toronto.
Save the Whales
Moby Porsche
The earlier 911s develop significant aerodynamic lift at high speed. This
humpback-sized tail should help.
Vintage Cool
All Original, Some TLC Required
Reader Rod McCrimmon and his wife Marilyn spotted this beater
Buick Skylark in Honolulu. No one knew how to make a rusty car better than
Detroit in the 1960s and 1970s. And the purple wheels are a nice touch (if you
like that kind of thing.)
Redneck Engineering
Reader Bill MacMillan
noticed this Buick off Interstate 66, in the Shenandoah Valley. Bill was struck
by the amount of work that had gone into the homemade front bumper: “The wood
was skillfully dressed – surfaces nicely planed and smooth, edges 90 deg. sharp
and square, license plate centred
and level, etc.,” he writes, but wondered what the weight of that massive wooden
beam would do to the handling. There was also the intimidation factor: “We only
shook our heads as we imagined being hit by this battering ram.” Agreed.
License Plate History
My good friend and Globe librarian Paula Wilson spotted this vintage picture of former Ontario premier Bill Davis while she was combing through the archives. Taken in November of 1972, it shows Davis with the province’s new multi-year license plate (until these came along, you had to get a new set of plates every year.) The multi-year plate also introduced the new provincial logo: “Keep it Beautiful.” Speaking of which: how about that pinstripe suit?
Back in the Day
My friend Bill Brack (shown sitting on the wheel
of the #85 car) gave me this vintage shot of racing at Mosport speedway back in the 1970s. Bill, who
lives in Toronto, had quite the racing career: he was a multi-time Formula Atlantic champion, and raced
for BRM and Lotus in Formula One.
That Seventies Thing
My friend Pete Brock (the guy on the right in this picture) is one of the
world’s great gear heads. (Among his long list of accomplishments is designing
the Shelby Daytona coupe and running the BRE
racing team. Pete sent along this picture of friend Steve Liebenow and his De Tomaso Mangusta, a 1970s supercar classic. Very cool!
Mystery Car
I spotted this on the autobahn during my road test of the new Porsche 911S. Does anyone know what it is? (I don’t.)
Autobahn Oddity
Flamed Detroit vans were a common sight on the interstate back in the 1970s.
But I shot this one on the German autobahn in 2014. Go figure.
The Woodstock Spirit Lives
As you may know, VW has killed off the Kombi microvan. I
spotted this hand painted Westphalia version in Kircheim, Germany.
Two Classics (One Driveable)
Queen Street West in Toronto is always an interesting place (my wife teaches
at a school nearby.) This classic Ford pickup looked super cool parked in front
of the wall-mounted Elvis-mobile at the Cadillac Lounge.
Duelling Budgies
Everyone has their own vision, and it is often expressed on our cars. But I
have no idea what these angry-looking bird heads are supposed to mean. They got
my attention, anyway.
The Big Wing Lotus
I just traded in my Lotus. Here are my current and previous cars, parked side
by side in front of the dealer. As you can see, the new one has a gigantic wing
on the tail. (If I decide I don’t like it, I can bolt on the smaller wing in
five minutes…. we’ll see.) I’m now working on graphic designs for the car. If
you have any great ideas on that front, please feel free to suggest.