Mercedes W110, Hicks Street and Old Fulton Street

Jaguar XKE, 13th Street and Gansevoort Street

Land Rover Series II, Second Street and Prospect Park West

Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, Third Street and Eighth Avenue

 

Summer's here.

Ferrari 360 Modena, Second Street and Eighth Avenue

1956 Ford Thunderbird, Second Street and Seventh Avenue

Cadillac Series 75, Slack Street and Penny Street

 

As always, exceptions to my regional remit can occur in remarkable circumstances. This hearse or possibly ambulance was recently discovered in the woods very near my house in Vermont. The dog is also named Bentley.

UPDATE: One of my neighbors has sent me an account of the car's story from one of its drivers. I can make no assurances as to its accuracy, but it's just too good not to include here verbatim. Please note that the Neil referenced in this tale is Neil Young.

"That car is the one Neil and I drove from Needles, California to Nova Scotia when we were writing Powderfinger. Was an awful winter. We dumped the heap somewhere in New England and thumbed the rest of the journey. Some chick who smoked dope and had nice legs picked us up and drove us to New Brunswick. She was from southern Iowa as I remember. She smelled of butter, sweet corn and

sensimilla. I smelled of woodsmoke and wine. Neil ditched me in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. I headed on to Newfoundland where I eventually  helped E.A.Proulx write The Shipping News."

Ford Bronco, Sixth Avenue and President Street

1964 Studebaker Avanti, Caton Avenue and Rugby Road

 

The last gasp of Studebaker, a great defunct Indiana car manufacturer along with Deusenberg and Auburn. It was a remarkable car in several ways, but ultimately the final act for a venerable firm. The preceding Champion and Starliner models became enduring classics, to name but two, and Ray Loewy was again called upon to knock together this strange fiberglass car to wow the public at the 1962 New York Motor Show. Sadly, labor strikes, price wars between GM and Ford and high production costs ultimately meant that out of the planned production run of over 20,000 cars, only 4,600 made it out of the factory, with just 809 produced in this, its final year. The company itself limped on for another couple of years, then closed its doors.

AEC Regent V, Court Street and State Street

 

Like many people with only a passing familiarity with British buses, I immediately assumed this guards red example was an old London Routemaster. However, this is not the case, as perhaps a cursory glance at the radiator would have told me. It was made sometime between 1954 and 1969 by the Associated Equipment Company, essentially a British-Leyland owned factory for British Transport. Despite what the imaginary route on the destination blind and the 007 bus number might make one think, this bus would only have been sold to operators outside London itself.

C1 Chevrolet Corvette, Bergen Street and Flatbush Avenue

Lamborghini Murcielago, North Fourth Street and Berry Street

Bentley Mulsanne, 48th Street and Madison Avenue

 

The new Mulsanne in the flesh, and good lord is there a hell of a lot of it. Looks quite good in person, but the vestigial auxiliary lamps, creased wings and high beltline won't age well, I don't think. In styling terms, all Bentley have done is stimulate the cottage industry of Chrysler 300 imitators. I'm sure none of that really matters much when you settle in, feel the aristocratic Bentleyish whomp of the doors, and surge away. I had this sensation in a Turbo RT once and it's terribly nice.

Fiat 500, Henry Street and Kane Street

 
This should count as an alternative fuel vehicle since it can be wound up with a giant key.

1964 Ford Galaxie, Smith Street and Baltic Street

Slightly donked out with those wheels, but otherwise largely unmolested.

1962 Mercury Meteor, North Fourth Street and Metropolitan Avenue

Porsche 928, Metropolitan Avenue and Havemeyer Street

   

1929 Ford Model A, Bond Street and Union Street

1939 Ford Deluxe, Roebling Street and Fillmore Place

BAE Systems M1083 Medium Tactical Vehicle, Grand Army Plaza

 

Full to the scuppers with bottled water and enroute to victims of the hurricane. Part of a convoy of six others.

Series II Land Rover, Fort Greene Place and St Felix Street

 

I know I tend to be a bit biased and feature Land Rovers every now and again, but a long wheelbase series II with an axe, hi-lift,  and snorkel would be interesting enough to merit inclusion without taking into account that this particular example appears to be an ex-Austrian fire rescue vehicle. It also, weirdly, has both Alaskan and New York plates.

Honda Civic, 24th Street and Lexington Avenue

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, St Mark's Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue

Chances are if you see a newly-wedded couple getting their photos taken in Grand Army Plaza they got a lift in this. 

1970 Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB, 47th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue

Spotted this big chap parked up outside the offices of JPMorgan (formerly the Bear Stearns building) in midtown. I spoke briefly with the chauffeur, and while not inclined to disclose much about the owner, he did say that his staff referred to the car as 'the guillotine' due to the vigorousness with which the hydraulically operated trunk lid closes. 

1963 Ford Falcon, North Seventh Street and Wythe Avenue

Again, a vintage daily driver in my neighborhood. 

Willys Jeep, 52nd Street and Madison Avenue

I had to go to work on Veteran's Day, which is of course an unspeakable chore, but on the way I saw a full NYPD pipe band playing in Grand Central Terminal, and afterwards spotted this fantastic convoy of WWII era vehicles. Clearly they'd been participating in the parade over on Fifth and had turned off the route. Once the halftrack at right turned onto Madison, the remaining five or six jeeps broke with it and drove in the traffic like normal cars. That is, if normal cars used a hand cranked siren instead of a horn. 

Morris Minor, North Third Street and Kent Avenue

An unusual find in a Brooklyn parking garage, to say the least. 

1972 BMW 3.0CS, North Fourth Street and Berry Street

 

It has been an extraordinarily slow summer for The Cartorialist, but it's all made up for by seeing one of my all time favorite vehicles, the BMW 3.0CS. Not quite as rare or desirable as the CSL, but common enough to be used as a daily driver, and what a joyful experience that surely must be. In my opinion the best looking BMW ever made. Hunter green, tan interior, and seemingly mint condition throughout. 

1964 Ford Galaxie, North Third Street and Wythe Avenue

The black Galaxie on the opposite corner from my apartment is significant in a particular manner. This is actually a filming location for the upcoming Men in Black sequel, and the black Galaxie is apparently part of a time-travel subplot as the 1960s-era MIB-Mobile, proven by the repeated takes filmed of Will Smith and a young version of Tommy Lee Jones driving up, running into the diner, and subsequently departing in it. In addition to the three Galaxies on site, there were more than 20 ancillary vintage vehicles, among them a superb Studebaker, a vintage New York City bus and that tandem bike covered in lights.  

Volkswagen Microbus Concept, Javits Convention Center

I went to the New York Auto Show today and was distinctly underwhelmed. In looking at coverage of shows in Singapore and Geneva, I got the impression that this was a place to unveil startling new concepts and showcase creativity. Rather, it was a huge showroom floor, and amid the people in spiky hair smearing the door handles of Range Rovers I saw few gems. The highlight for me was this microbus concept, which likely won't be made because of the baby Tuareg VW just launched, but what fun. 

1983 Alfa Romeo GTV6, 46th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue

A great 80s Alfa - racing credentials and good looks. I think this is the best one from the 80s. Bit of BMW 5-Series, bit of Lamborghini Espada, but all Alfa personality. I still need to tick Alfa off on my petrolhead bucket list, possibly a good candidate, and quite rare.

1971 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe, Jane Street and Eighth Avenue

Whenever I see these C3 Corvettes, I don't think of mullets and splintering fiberglass, I think of the fact that all the Apollo astronauts had them. I rather like that it was co-opted by them.

Unknown, North Sixth Street and Bedford Avenue

Another matte black rattlecan special, but I can't identify it. Any ideas?

North Third Street and Berry Street

Snowpocalypse, Blizzaster, Snunderstorm, whatever you want to call it we've been getting fairly pasted of late, and, predictably, Brooklyn is always last to be dug out. There's a Volvo on my street where, even a couple of weeks down the road from this storm, it is only now starting to emerge from the snowbank. Not really a post as such, just apologies for the lack of interesting things to see.

1993 Chevrolet Suburban, 44th Street and Madison Avenue

Apologies to all for not posting in months. Given that this winter in New York smashes all records for snowfall, it's no wonder that nobody's getting their cars out. This DIY headlamp caught my eye, though. "There, I fixed it!"

2009 Nissan Skyline GT-R, 11th Street and Fourth Avenue

 

First of these I've ever seen in person. Ho-Hum. But rare.

1955 Cadillac Eldorado, North Fifth Street and Bedford Avenue

 

Marvellous. Full of happy hipsters. 

2009 Cadillac DTS Custom, 50th Street and Second Avenue

 

Always nice when the commander in chief takes a cruise through midtown on his way to the UN.

Citroën H-Van, North Moore Street and Hudson Street

Another H-Van! How brilliant! This one is a streetside emissary for La Colombe Torrefaction, so hung over models in town for fashion week can enjoy an overpriced espresso whilst tottering down the frightfully smart cobblestones of TriBeCa. I particularly like the mismatched wheels.

2010 Mercedes-Bens SLS AMG, 63rd Street and Third Avenue

Simply staggering. I wonder if its looks will age as well as the original SLR? One of the coolest things I read about this is that if you roll it, and the car is upside down and stationary for ten seconds, the doors have explosive bolts fitted which will detonate and literally blow the doors off. Unless you're an astronaut or fighter pilot, the words 'explosive bolts' are rarely used.

1951 Studebaker Starlight, Commerce Street and Seventh Avenue South

Something of a Greenwich Village landmark, so no surprise it should crop up here eventually. The beloved mascot of the Caliente Cab Co. restaurant.

1988 Yugo, 13th Street and First Avenue

Ahh Yugo. The butt of all car jokes since its introduction. Basically a crap Fiat slightly improved by Serbians and sold to us Yanks as the next beetle. Famous for being driven into lakes in movies, blown off a bridge by a stiff wind (true story), and having a timing belt that fails every 35,000 miles, blowing up the engine.

1996 Alfa Romeo GTV Spider, 47th Street and Park Avenue

I have no idea how this car is in America. I've never seen one in the states, ever. These materialize for sale every once in a while on Canadian want-ad sites, but to my limited knowlege was never offered by US dealers who pulled out of the US market in 1995. On a side note- please Alfa, come back. I would kill to buy the Brera 3.2 that replaced the GTV.

1967 Pontiac Bonneville Hearse, South Third Street and Wythe Avenue

I've never even heard of a Pontiac hearse, and this example has carted a lot of corpses in its day, judging by the faded paint and cracked leatherette roof. Also judging by the alloy wheels and fat Bridgestones, someone's looking to turn this into a bit of a muscle car. I particularly like how on the rear wings the chrome letters spelling BONNEVILLE were selectively removed to leave EVIL.

1979 Ferrari 308, St. Mark's Place and First Avenue

I think this would be an extremely pretty car if the federal government hadn't interfered and slapped a chunky bumper on it. Rather like putting Burt Reynolds' moustache on Natalie Portman. A fun and accessible entry point into vintage mid-engined motoring.

2009 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, 68th Street and Third Avenue

I have only rarely seen Gallardos, but seeing one on a flatbed is a new one for me- likely being delivered. This example sports a flat black paint job with matching flat black wheels. After a bit of research discovered that the black wheels are an optional extra costing $4,460, and the matte black paint job weighs in at an eye watering $26,600.

2009 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 46th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue

People bang on about modified suspension geometry being one of the things that finally makes this a proper supercar, but the most astounding reviews of this car are expelled from the mouth of Lord Clarkson: 'Enzo fast.' I spotted the secondary double glazing on the engine cover from a distance. It did look good being helmed down Vanderbilt by a happy man with grey hair and a pot belly.

1994 ИМЗ-Ural, 71st Street and Second Avenue

 

I spotted this after coming out of Grace's Marketplace with a hundredweight of overpriced organic veggies and juices to soothe a hangover, and even through one bleary eye behind a smeared glasses lens I was able to pick out that fuel tank shape and kneepad, and the passenger seat. A vintage BMW is one of my favorite things on earth. It was only when I got closer I realized it was a Ural! Great story behind these- the Russians basically knew the panzers were coming in 1941, and didn't have a good bike for the Red Army, so they just bought up a few used R-71s from some Scandos and started cranking their own out (the Krauts rather sniffily packed up R-71 production in 1942). The factory had to be moved to the Urals during the siege of Moscow, hence the name. They've been making this reverse-engineered BMW copy ever since.

1982 Ferrari 400, 65th Street and Third Avenue

More often than not the 400 is seen as being a bit of a head scratcher from the house of the prancing pony. It looks like part Jag and part Daytona, but the front is really more Rover SD1. This has appeared on several compilation lists of bad cars in the past, but despite the malaise looks at the front end it seems rather promising. It  was Ferrari's first automatic, with a three speed (!) from Chrysler (!!) as an option, but this one has the five speed manual, mated to a gorgeous 4.8 litre Ferrari V-12 putting out 335 horsepower. Not only that, but the 400 was never imported to the States, making this grey market example extremely rare.

1985-2000 HMMWV, 26th Street and Madison Avenue

Is there any way to tell these model years apart? I've seen photos of the new Oshkosh M-ATV which will be replacing the venerable HMMWV, being designed to deflect explosions from roadside bombs. It's an extraordinary vehicle, and supposedly much safer for troops, but certainly doesn't have the terrific Tom Clancy/Jerry Bruckhimer action star look of the HumVee, along with a hint of the DNA of Willys Jeeps. I'm sure we'll be seeing these in service for decades, though.