1961 Ford Thunderbird, Schermerhorn Street and Clinton Street

This is without a doubt my favorite space-race cruiser. Its powerful (for a tank), big, two-door, two-tone, and most importantly, rocket shaped! Whereas the Cadillacs of the era stopped with Soyuz fins, Ford started with the enormous circular taillights like a Saturn V rocket and ended with the pointy nose cone at the front end. Ridiculous and brilliant. Cars like this let Brezhnev know who wore the pants in the cold war.

1961 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, 23rd Street and 3rd Avenue

Despite the poor quality of this photograph, this Cadillac is in amazing condition. A testament to its enormity is the fact that the piddly camera on my iPhone was unable to capture its great bulk, particularly the evocative tailfins. Not a particularly rare car in and of itself, it is nonetheless a brave feat to own one in New York. Oddly enough, a virtually identical one can be seen in the East Village from time to time. Similarly, the Fiat 124 shown below also has a companion car in white that can be seen in Cobble Hill. With millions of motorists in New York, it is refreshing to know that not only are vintage cars still on the road here, they exist in sufficient numbers to ensure duplicates. One hopes that the trend will last through the winter, but many of these models will take their usual place under cover in garages.

1988 Mercedes 560 SL AMG, 6th Street and 2nd Avenue

I was intrigued by the AMG badging I saw on this car. AMG was in its infancy when this car was made, and really hadn't emerged as a brand like it is today. Most likely someone put a subtle body kit and sporty trim in the interior and an AMG badge on the boot lid, but perhaps this is one of those fabled, legendary models? If true, it would be an exceptionally rare car with epic performance for its day (and even for today), and given how much of it is original, and how well it's cared for, it may not be completely beyond the scope of reason. The vigil has begun in order to interrogate the car's owner.

2008 Maserati GranTurismo S, 54th Street and Ninth Avenue

I personally find the Maserati Quattroporte to be a bulging and ungainly looking car, looking as though it was designed hastily. By contrast, the Granturismo is pretty much excellent from every angle. Pininfarina designed, and largely based on the platform for the Ferrari 599, I think the Granturismo is one of the better looking cars on the road today, and this S version has the larger 4.7 litre V8 (as opposed to the normal 4.2).

1959 Land Rover Series II, 17th Street and Third Avenue

This is certainly an exceptionally rare sight in New York. Its natural habitat is either a farmer's yard in Surrey or under a cover in Connecticut. By comparison, the Defender 90s in their peacock colors, still flecked with salt water from the Hamptons are a common sight. The Series II had a very limited production run, just three years, and was purely a slightly modified and modernized Series I. That curve running along the top of the fenders to the tailgate is a cosmetic feature introduced here which is still in production today. This one's seen a lot of hard miles, but evinces the Series' reputation for near-indestructibility.

2009 BMW M3 Convertible, 13th Street and University Place

To see one in photographs or in magazines, the M3 looks rather ho-hum, much like a fast BMW should. In person, however, it looks truly menacing. Bulging and gilled like a shark, from the gaping maw of the front diffuser to the compact and vicious looking origami of the folding metal roof, this car is mean and purposeful in appearance. Oh, and this particular one has a Police Vehicle parking permit on the dash. What human even vaguely associated with law enforcement could fill out the requisition form for his permit without blushing?

2008 Rolls Royce Phantom, Smith Street and DeGraw Street

The world's most pompous and ridiculous car, parked on a sleepy, restaurant filled street in Carroll Gardens. Seems oddly at home here (although the solid silver spirit of ecstasy bonnet mascot has been thoughtfully retracted into the grille).

BSA M20, Third Street and Second Avenue

This is a perfect example of a classic bike which looks much better with a well-worn patina of age. It is clearly a hard and regularly worked machine, still performing after 50 years with a good dressing of aftermarket parts and non-stock bits. Kind of like an old, patched armchair. This is the best of classic motoring. Worn, loved, and used.

2004 Land Rover Discovery G4 Edition, Houston Street and Orchard Street

This is a limited edition Land Rover Discovery released to commemorate the G4 Challenge, a highly-touted off road competition, organized by Land Rover, and staged across four continents. The G4 editions were top of the range models modified and strengthened for competitive off-roading. Just 200 G4 Discoveries were produced. All were painted this rather ghastly color, so you'll know one if you see one. There are some Land Rover Freelanders (LR2s) knocking about that are bright orange as well, but these are unrelated to the G4 Challenge.

1950 Dodge Meadowbrook, Tompkins Square Park

The white bread of post-war Dodge models, was simply a product of postwar demand and surplus of materials. At the time, cheap and unremarkable in every way. Perhaps the equivalent of the Mercury Grand Marquis of the last decade. And yet, someone has preserved one and still drives it regularly. It has become remarkable and charming in the way that our plastic American cars of the 1990s never will.

1978 Fiat 124 Spider, Second Street and First Avenue

One of the first inexpensive sportscars available in America, came standard with dual cam engine and disc brakes. Almost completely unaltered through its entire production run from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Based mainly on the wildly successful Fiat 124 sports saloon still in production (sort of) as the Lada.

1973 Volkswagen Type II Transporter, Court Street and Warren Street

Seen with a note on the windscreen asking for permission to film the car. Does that include transportation to The Island? This car is one of the best for amplifying the noise of that air-cooled engine, almost as good as the bathtub porsches. Surely one of the most enjoyable sounds in motoring.

Citroën 2CV, Second Avenue and St. Marks Place

The medical number plates seem to indicate the East Village's only hipster MD. It is consistently parked at an extremely busy intersection, serving only to emphasise the 2CVs misleading sense of fragility. These are rugged little trucks, originally tested by having a crate of eggs put on the back seat and then setting off at speed across a freshly plowed field.

1960 MGA 1600 De Luxe, Southampton

Seen in Southampton's 4th of July Parade. A British classic on an American holiday.

1974 BMW 2002tii, William Street and Maiden Lane

A harbinger of the M3, and even of the hotter versions of the 1-series today, the 2002tii was a fuel-injected, sportier variant of the normal 2002. That said, the mechanical fuel injection system was exceptionally temperamental. Hence this car is quite rare. BMW were always best at small, fast, light sports coupes. This one's a regular in the financial district; perhaps still with its original banker owner?