Parking Lot Sighting: 1972 Mercury Comet GT

Note the rare Dodge Dakota Sport Roadster pickup visible in the background.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: 1932 Ford V8 Roadster and 1937 Ford V8 Coupe

College Cars: 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Berlinetta Aerodinamica

This is College Cars, another look into the automobile collection of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Today we're looking at a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Berlinetta Aerodinamica.

This magnificent machine was developed to race at Le Mans. Well, it appears that this exact one wasn't, but it's a rebody to match the one or two original Aerodinamica coupes built on the 6C 2500 chassis - the latter of which was rare enough in the first place at only 33 examples built. All were created for the purpose of racing, and the original Aerodynamica(s) appear to have been vanished after 1940. This is one of a precious few cars of this type left, and it is really one of a kind. The only other vehicle like it that I know of is an almost identical grey 1942 car that participated in the 2013 California Mille road rally. My few photos do not really do this beast justice.
This rare Alfa was purchased by AAU at the 2010 Gooding & Company Amelia Island auction for $748,000.

Parking Lot Sighting: 1974 Ford Maverick

Parking Lot Spot: 1989-92 Infiniti M30 (Nissan Leopard)

The Infiniti M30 was the Japanese auto industry's first try at a personal-luxury coupe for the US market, and being rear-wheel-drive on the R31 Nissan Skyline platform, was ostensibly an excellent alternative to the Ford Thunderbird, Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Riviera, Audi Coupe and Mercedes-Benz 300CE.

Its undoings were being narrower than Americans were used to, being the flagship of an unproven brand, having no options and no manual transmission option, and sharing more parts with the concurrent Maxima and 300ZX than with the Skyline, along with spotty distribution, and it remains a very rare car, with roughly 12,000 made for the US domestic market only. Infiniti never returned to the personal luxury market, only returning to coupes with a rebadged CV36 Skyline in 2008 as the sporty G37 Coupe.

This is one of only 3 known M30s in Eugene (one being a maroon coupe and the other being a black convertible). In 3 months of knowing this car's existence, I have not seen it move once. Perhaps I might make an offer on it, buy it and restore it at some point.

Classic Ads: 1971 Buick Skylark Custom

In 1971, Buick advertised their cars as "Something to believe in". Apparently believing in your Buick will make you a surfer and more popular with the ladies. Or at least you can trust that it won't rust underneath from being parked on wet sand 30 feet from the ocean.
The '71 Skylark Custom was marketed as a luxurious midsize car at a relatively low price point. Being based on the low-priced Chevelle probably helped keep costs down. The Buicks were available in a variety of trims and powertrain combinations, and offered features not available on other cars in its class. What do you think? Does Buick give better reasons to buy a new car than anybody else?

This ad appeared in the Feb 5, 1971 issue of Life magazine.

Parking Lot Spot: 1988-90 Toyota Corolla SR5 AE92 (Sprinter Trueno)

It is refreshing to see an AE92 that is not a GT-S, has not been riced and has not quite been driven into the ground, the two-tone grey color scheme reminds me of a JDM Sprinter Trueno (the USDM AE92's basis, as with the USDM AE86) and is rather eye-pleasing, and the well-worn but not junky look is pleasant, with the prospect of this car being restorable as J-tin demand increases only adding to the appeal.

Parking Lot Photo Shoot: Nissan R33 Skyline GT-R

Dealership Photo Shoot: 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Photographed at the former Kassabian Motors in Dublin, CA.

Parking Lot Sighting: 1976 Chevrolet Nova Concours Cabriolet

Note the stock wheels in this first picture, later replaced with Chevy Rallies.

Classic Ads: 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe

I get a very East Coast vibe in this 1966 ad for the Lincoln Continental coupe. The lighthouse, people shooting clay pigeons, it all shouts Martha's Vineyard to me. And that's fine, because rich people live there and those are the sort of buyers who would drive a big Continental luxury coupe in 1966. When was the last time you saw a man with a gun in a luxury car ad?
The '66 Continental's biggest update was of course the handsome new coupe body, but it received a refresh front and rear and a new engine displacing 462 cubic inches. An 'automatic temperature control system' (air conditioning?) and stereo tape (8-track?) AM/FM radio were now available.
Now that I look at it, the Continental coupe has a passing resemblance in profile to a Ford Galaxie. This would be remedied in 1968 when the car got a more formal roof with smaller quarter windows. In my opinion, this early coupe style is far more attractive.

This ad appeared in the March 4, 1966 issue of Life magazine.

College Cars: 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Speciale

This is College Cars, a recurring feature on the auto collection of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Today we look at this 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Speciale, a best-in-class Pebble Beach Concours winner.

This is the only long-wheelbase T150 'Lago Speciale' believed to have been built out of 16 cars in this series bodied by Figoni & Falaschi. It has an interesting history - originally commissioned by a French banker, a later owner raced the car at the 1948 24 Hours of Spa. He won first in class. The car received a restoration many years later and in 2011 won First in Class and was nominated for Best in Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This is a truly amazing car, and is valued accordingly. The Academy of Art University picked it up in 2010 for a mere $4,620,000.