Modern smart phones are entirely too good. My Droid, for instance, has a 16 GB hard drive that is so big that I often forget about pictures I have taken around the city. I cleaned house a little bit recently and figured I would share. These vehicles were seen in and around Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Enjoy
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Strolling along in Greenwich Village, I stumbled onto this ’72 BMW 2002 sandwiched between two modern day compacts – a Ford Focus and Honda Fit. The three cars appear to have somewhat similar functional design elements – a tall greenhouse for good headroom, compact wheelbase for superior urban maneuverability, lightweight and fuel efficient, modest operation costs, etc. But something tells me that people won’t be cherishing and collecting Focuses and Fits 40 years from now.
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This vintage Trans Am spotted on East 37th is utterly fabulous in a Joe Dirt meets Tawny Kitaen sort of way. The t-top, gold paint and massive firebird arching its wings on the hood are priceless.
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Classic car enthusiasts banded together on Sunday morning for the First Annual Domenico Spadaro Memorial Rally. The day started with a 70 mile scenic drive through northern Westchester and Connecticut and concluded with a picture perfect display of cars in front of this beautiful Armonk, NY estate. The gathering was a big, triple carbureted tribute to Domenico Spadaro, the legendary wrench behind Domenick’s European Car Repair in White Plains, New York. Originally a Lancia dealer in the 1960s, the shop is famous for the expert service it provides all manor of European classics and is frequented by many automotive journalists, original manufacturers and celebrities. It is now run by Domenick’s sons Frank and Santo Spadaro.
Lots of eye candy after the jump and in the featured gallery
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One of our left coast readers caught this curiously camouflaged Jeep Grand Cherokee rolling around Beverly Hills early this morning. The masked over badges, blacked out body panels and manufacturer plates easily identify this baby as a test mule of some sort. The only questions are what are they testing and why are they testing it in Beverly Hills? The new for 2011 Grand Cherokee is already in showrooms which means that something entirely different might be lurking beneath that sheet metal. SRT-8 anyone? Please speculate after the jump.
Good spot Ryan.
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Pictured: Jim Campbell, VP Chevrolet Marketing, sitting proudly in front of his brand’s all-new Civic-fighter, the 2011 Chevy Cruze.
Chevy gave us an advance preview of their new Cruze last week in mid town. The global compact sedan will replace Cobalt in Chevy’s U.S. lineup when it hits dealerships at a base price of $16,995 this September. The athletic stance and clean lines wrap up a handsome little package and bear more than a passing resemblance to big brother Malibu. With its first rate materials and optional two-tone leather surfaces, the spacious interior is also a big part of the story in a segment that is shopped more for its low cost of entry than lavish interior textures and upscale passenger accommodations. Stand out cabin aside, Cruze will need all the help it can get if its fixin to do battle against perennial best sellers like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Both nameplates have spent many decades and mucho marketing dollars convincing Americans that Japanese quality and compact cars go together like peas and carrots. Chevy hopes 40 MPG, class leading interior room and the most standard safety features in the segment will help to open their minds to new alternatives.
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Tally up the cost of options on Mercedes’ new SLS AMG and the tab will easily crest $60k, about 1/3 of the vehicle’s $183K base price. Items like Bang & Olufsen sound [$6,400] and a Carbon Ceramic braking system [$12,500] are among the many high end extras adding girth to the already hefty bottom line. If you must spend a bit more judiciously, skip the Carbon Fiber Engine Compartment Covers ($5,400) and opt for one of the two matte paints ($3,900) like the one pictured here turning onto Madison Avenue. The matte paints, offered in “designo magno Allanite Grey” and “AMG magno Sylvanite Grey”, really toughen things up next to the more traditional finishes. Mercedes also offers a $12,750 hue called “AMG Alubeam silver” that transforms SLS into something the Silver Surfer might drive. Mercedes says the new process is used nowhere else in the world and lets the paint shine like liquid metal. As Chris Rock used to say, “Good lord that’s a lot of money”
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Perhaps one of America’s most easily recognizable automotive shapes, the Bel Air is about as patriotic as hot dogs, baseball and cheating on your income taxes. This well-maintained ‘56 coupe sports a tasty cinnamon and cream two-tone paint job and looks fantastic pictured here on Franklin Street in Astoria. Chevy made a pillarless 4-door sport sedan version of the Bel Air during the same model year, but I think the coupe is where it’s at. By the way, someone really needs to bring back hood ornaments as a colorful alternative to the recessed, less is more badges placed on hoods today. This one looks like a soaring eagle that mated with a jet airplane…awesome.
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Spotted this tastefully decorated American exotic just outside the Midtown Tunnel. We all know the Viper is a pretty hot car but this baby is on fire. Okay, the obligatory jokes about this god awful paint job are done now. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Look closely and you will notice there is an actual Viper head painted (or perhaps its a vehicle wrap) onto the hood to scare pedestrians and remind people of the vehicle make. I guess we should savor all the Viper flavor we can get now that the American muscle icon has officially ceased production.
Gotta love it!
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However arresting, rumor has is that these Mercedes SLR McLarens (now out of production) were never terribly successful in the sales department. And that the flurry of special edition models (722, Roadster, 722 GT, 722 S, Stirling Moss) were merely an effort to spur consumer demand enough so that Mercedes could make good on their contractual production obligations with McLaren. Regardless, the car is a real stunner and appears right at home in front of the well-to-do St. Regis on East 55th. In an effort to steal share from the “entry level” Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the world, Mercedes and McLaren have since decided to part ways in order to develop in house supercars of their own.
I found an ’06 with 815 miles on ebay for $120k in case you’re interested (they wanted nearly half a million for these when new).
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