1986 Toyota Cressida Wagon

Posted January 23, 2014 by The Professor

I haven’t seen one of these in a while, but this one is in great condition. This was the predecessor to the Lexus; you can tell that Toyota was already leaning towards making a new brand, as they created a whole new Cressida logo.

For some reason, Toyota likes putting more wipers than usual on their cars. Both this and the ’90s Camry wagon had two rear wipers, and the present-day FJ Cruiser has three front wipers.

On a side note, I swear you could serve dinner on that rear bumper.

Santa Monica, CA

Photographed February 2012

1992 Subaru SVX

Posted January 22, 2014 by The Professor

The SVX never really caught on, partly because it looked so odd and partly because it was so expensive. Just look at those side windows…They may look cool, but are very impractical in everyday driving. The only other car I can recall that had windows like that was the DeLorean.

It was also only available with a 4-speed automatic, stunting the performance from its boxer-six engine; not only that, but the slushboxes were notoriously unreliable. Just 14,257 were sold in the US and it’s rumored that Subaru lost up to $3,000 on every one sold.

Portland, OR

Photographed August 2011

1967 Plymouth Barracuda

Posted January 21, 2014 by The Professor

Not the early ’70s Barracuda that’s most familiar to people, and not the original ’64-’66 model either. This is the 2nd-generation Barracuda, made from ’67-’69. The 1st-gen was heavily based on the popular Plymouth Valiant, even using many common parts. However, while the 2nd-gen was still based on the Valiant, it was completely redesigned with a specific model range. The 3rd and final generation was a completely separate model.

To debunk a common assumption–the Mustang did not come before the Barracuda (the ‘Cuda came about two weeks earlier).

Westside Village, Los Angeles, CA

Photographed May 2013

1981-82 Chevrolet Caprice Landau

Posted January 19, 2014 by The Professor

Most cars with “Landau” in their name have a vinyl roof of some sort; it seems that this one’s is restricted to the rooftop, which looks like it has a different texture. This 1981 model likely has the 5.0L V8, unleashing all of 155 horses under full throttle; or 31 horsepower per liter. Compare this to the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG of today, which makes 355 horsepower from its 2.0L turbo 4, translating to 177.5 horses per liter. That’s over 5 and a half times as many HP/liter! And it gets better fuel mileage!

But that vinyl though…

Portland, OR

Photographed August 2011