Reader ronian42 had a terrific suggestion on my recent post about spotting old cars parked. I complained that this year I’ve found an overwhelming number of cars, far too many for a single post about them at the end of the year. He said, then why not post about them more often, like quarterly or monthly? Brilliant! My annual list of old cars parked is well received, and posting the spotted cars more often will spread out the fun.
I’m going to make a couple of catch-up posts, and then I’ll start posting early each month the cars I found the previous month. I’m not sure whether I’ll do it on a set day each month, or whether I’ll just slip it in on whatever day I can manage.
Let’s start by looking at January, February, and March of this year. To be featured here, the car has to be 20 or more model years old. Given that cars don’t change very much from one model year to the next anymore, it’s possible that some of the newest of these cars might be less than 20 years old. But they went into production more than 20 years ago.
1982-87 Chevrolet El Camino. This trucklet is pretty much always parked in front of some row houses within walking distance of my house. If I ever buy an old car, I’d consider one of these. They’re quirky but cool, offer modern driving dynamics, and have good availability of parts.
1983-85 Ford Econoline 150. This is the short wheelbase version of the Econoline, which went out of production after 1985. I believe it is from no earlier than 1983 based on the grille and headlights. I spotted it at Kroger in Zionsville.
1991-93 Mercury Tracer. My, but do I love this body style of this generation of Tracer/Escort. Dad had a four-door hatchback Escort from this era and it was the best car he ever owned. He drove it for a very long time. Spotted in front of a breakfast and lunch joint around the corner from my house.
1992-95 Toyota 4Runner. With basic maintenance, a 4Runner of this generation will run 300,000 miles or more. They’re just incredibly hardy. Spotted in the parking lot at Lucas Oil Stadium in Downtown Indianapolis.
1996-2000 Plymouth Breeze. One of the three “cloud cars” from Chrylsler, the others being the Dodge Stratus and the Chrysler Cirrus. They differed mostly in trim and options. I test-drove a Stratus when they were still being made and I liked the way it drove. It wasn’t ever going to be anything more than a normal family car, but I found it to be a very competent one. Spotted in front of the Dollar Tree in Whitestown.
1997-2001 Jeep Cherokee. Still plentiful on the roads due to a combination of being reaonably well built and having a fanatical fan base that keeps them running. Spotted at the Walmart in northwest Indianapolis.
1997-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue. When these were new, I thought that GM had finally created a mid-sized automobile that could compete with the Japanese at least on styling. I still have no idea how well built these are, except that I still see one on the road from time to time. Spotted at the Whitestown Meijer.
1997-2004 Buick Park Avenue. I knew someone who bought one of these new. I rode in it a time or two and just did not like it. The seats were too pillowy, which meant that I rolled around in them on every curve and turn. Blech. But for the demographic these were built for, they were perfect. Spotted at a shopping center in Whitestown.
1997-2004 Buick Regal LS. Spotted at the Whitestown Meijer. I swear, half of these were this color.
1998-2000 Toyota RAV4. These first-generation RAV4s were funky “cute utes” but have evolved into the normal vehicle for everyman. I spotted this one at a shopping center in Whitestown.
1998-2000 Toyota RAV4. What, another one? Spotted in the parking lot at Lucas Oil Stadium in Downtown Indianapolis.
1999-2000 GMC Yukon Denali. Spotted at Goodwill in Whitestown. The grille on this one has been customized, but its basic design was fitted only to Denalis among GMC Yukons, and only in 1999 and 2000.
2000-03 Chevrolet Malibu. Funny that it’s parked next to a later Malibu, and one that outclasses this car in every possible way. Spotted at a shopping center in Whitestown.
2001-02 Honda Accord. Man, did I want one of these when they were new. I’ve always liked coupes and this one looked good. It cost more than I could afford, and I needed four doors by then anyway thanks to having three kids. Spotted at Meijer in Whitestown.
2001-04 Chevrolet S-10. I didn’t pay much attention to these when they were new because I thought they were unattractive, and I’m not a truck person anyway. I was surprised to find out in researching this one how late they were made. Spotted at a gas station in Whitestown.
2003-04 Pontiac Vibe. I owned two of the Toyota version of this car, the Matrix, and loved both of them. They were good economy cars that could carry an enormous amount after you folded down the rear seats. Spotted in the parking lot at work in Downtown Indianapolis.
2003-04 Pontiac Vibe. Another one! Spotted at Lowe’s in Zionsville. This is a higher-trim version than the previous one; low-trim versions got gray body cladding and high-trim versions got body-color cladding.
2003-05 Toyota Echo. These were dreadful little cars. This was in the parking lot at a gas station in Zionsville.
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