Jenny wished she had stopped by the grocer to grab a Heinz product of any sort, since 57. I can’t say that I’m in disbelief- more like a quiet amusement at the number and where I am, and plotting where I want to be at 58.
I was awake at 6 A.M., excited to see what Gran Turismo would gift me. Honestly, this is the only gift I expect, for I truly dislike a fuss being made over me, very much like my father in that respect. This cost nothing, in effort or expense.
I may have done a lap or two around the ‘Ring, and repaired back to the sack because I could.
Second wakies, I thought that it’d be nice to head on over to the California Automobile Museum and see what was being shown- after bopping biscuit, our youngest foundling cat, a spry eight years old.
I was very pleased to see that an exhibit of Japanese cars held the entry. I’d heard about it a few months earlier, in a somewhat…no, very dismissive tone when I asked a docent what the next exhibit would be at the fathers’ day drive in June. I asked of his age and he responded with a figure in the late 60’s. I countered with the fact that I was excited because these are the cars that I had grown up among, like the tri5’s and other large American stuff that he could get six for a dime at a junkyard.
He walked off, maybe thinking about what I’d said, and I’m returning us to the present with this shot of the exhibit as we walked in-
I thrilled at the display, meager in my opinion, of significant Japanese cars from the major manufacturers of Japan. From this point, I saw Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, and Honda. Getting closer, we see:
The Toyota Sport 800. Without this jewel, no 2000 GT, no Supra, no Celica; just boring reliable transportation appliances from The Big T. This was the first sports car from Toyota, opening up a new line for the fledgling company founded in 1937.
There was a Mitsubishi in the display, a Unicorn- The 3000GT Spyder VR4; a car truly ahead of its time.
Debuting in 1990, the Mitsu was so far ahead of its time, never mind stupidly expensive, that the take was a bit low. I think I saw only one at the service station I worked at in Eastern Sacramento, at Bradshaw road and 50 and that was at an unspeakably early hour of the morning. On a Sunday, seeping over from the Saturday. The woman who drove it caned it a bit onto Eastbound 50, me entranced by the sound of that V-6 and the way that the red coupe hurtled into the night. Yeah, I was a bit envious.
When I first saw the Subaru SVX, my then conventional brain didn’t quite know what to make of it.
Like the Mitsubishi, these cars weren’t widely accepted but I think more because of the unconventional Giugiaro styling and no manual option for the transmission. I really didn’t become a fan of Japanese autoboxes until my 94 Mazda Protege LX, a hotrod that could give the Rabbit GTI of the Era a good run. Anyway, I didn’t think much of the SVX, or Alcyone until I asked a certain M. Swig what he was driving on the morning of 1 Jan 2011- He pointed his out:
We now know that Subaru, like most Japanese makers are to be disregarded at your peril.
There’s a 360 lurking there as well, an O.G. Kei car with a 356 CC two stroke engine and a whopping three gears- Hey, it was enough to get one around, and cheaply.
Behind the 360 is a game changer of no small import- The Lexus (Toyota) LS 400.
To me, the LS 400 is very much like the Sport 800- a car that defined a line of vehicles for Toyota, demonstrating to the world that one could have world-class luxury and reliability that put the Europeans on notice.
And notice they did. Mercedes built the 400E in direct response to Toyota’s shot, but it was still a Mercedes and still subject to a rigorous maintenance schedule that the car’s warranty depended on. I had a 400E. A good car but not so good that I needed to keep it; it left as soon as I could afford something else. Here’s my old crock:
Yes, the replacement is Japanese- an Infiniti G37S; it was what I was looking for when I bought the Benz.
Moving around, there’s a Honda(Acura)NSX, a supercar that has gone over 400.000 miles without major anything. Let’s see yer Ferrari, Lambo, Bimmer or other status bucket do the same. Don’t believe me?
There are Miatae, as well as a Skyline but they hold only transitory interest for me.
A lovely Mister two and an Acura (Honda) Integra are there, but we know how good these cars still are, so I won’t go much into them.
Wandering through the usual collection, I snap photos of my favorites, like the home made R.V. built on a Cadillac chassis, or Tony Hogg’s Cobra:
Walking past the Motorhome, I see a car that I’d seen forlorn behind a fence:
It was the Cressida, brought in from the elements and treated to a battery charge and some needed attention.
I snapped this pic, and noticed also an Isuzu Impulse deeper in the shadow of the theater. Common cars when I was a young man, but pretty rare now.
Going around I saw the evergreen GM EV-1 that the Museum has had for ages, the doorstop shaped non-operational green Countach that (maybe) belonged to Malcom Forbes, but still had a busted something or another, making it the Perfect Italian Paperweight, and other things.
After speaking with a new docent for a while, my knees were shrieking, so I went to sit down and rest a few, after which I wandered up to the front to see what goodies were for sale at the magazine racks.
Goodies were definitely had, but more importantly, I made the acquaintance of the young man who sold us the tickets when we arrived.
Going through the price tags of the magazines and books, we happened upon an ad for the first gen Celica Supra. We all oohed and awwed and I was asked if I’d seen the Cressida, since same powertrain.
I had and he asked if I’d like to see it closer. I wasn’t gonna turn that down…
He’d brought an Eagles cassette to test the stereo and said that it still worked. He expressed dismay at the attitude of some of the older members of the staff, regarding the Cressida as just another piece of junk, and I shared that lament with him, coming hard up against what many in the lifestyle decry as gatekeeping, or worse.
I’ll say it now, and I’ll keep saying it- There Is No Correct Car. There is simply the car you like, and you’re not wrong for liking it. We gravitate to the cars that have had an impact in our lives, and for me it began with an MG-TF that my Godfather owned and used to drive to work in the fields of Delano, Ca. I crawled into the car as an oversized 12 year-old and marveled at the starkness, the simplicity. Later there was my uncle and his ’55 Bel-Air, followed by a 210 and then Road and Track and Jenks and D.E.D.jr, and Purdy and…
“What about the Isuzu?” I asked, nodding towards the Impulse
“You’ll love this” he said as we walked over. “The owner had it in storage and pulled the gas tank. Drained it, and pulled it.”
He raised the hatch, and there it was. Dang. The last time I saw that, I was punching holes into them and sinking them into heated solvent tanks. I marveled at how clean the Isuzu had been kept and clicked a few more shots:
I lamented that we never get the cool twin cam engines here for these cars- the 200SX also comes to mind, and how these Malaise era cars will make someone very happy.
He handed me his card and I tucked it into my wallet, bidding him well and heading off to Alaro brewhouse for lunch and a beer, followed later by dinner at Mattone and dessert and gifts at the Craines, where tiny hats were stacked upon my head. Look:
Port and coffee were had, then away to home at midnight. A good weekend.
The Department Of Past Issues 