ChromeFin

Circle the (Gita) Wagons

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 20:53:00 +0000

Heresy one might say. Another vehicle from the land of the rising sun has landed in the Chromefin garage... and a WAGON no less. Actually, a 2002 Altezza Gita, better know as the Lexus IS 300 Sport Cross in this continent. What drew me to such an unusual beast? This was Lexus' attempt to go head-to-head with the BMW 3-Series. Let's just say I missed the boat on one of these about ten years ago. Just seemed too impractical at the time and I wound up with an ES 300. Fine car... borrrring. But make no mistake, I have had my share of other Toyota's over the years, MR2's, Celica GT's and mostly loved the performance, handling and bulletproof nature.

This past fall, I kept noticing a silver Sport Cross parked in front of the local Trek store. One day I stopped to give it a closer look. I liked it. Went inside to find the owner. "Not for sale" he said. Told me he loved the car so much he was trying to find another for his dad. Rarer than hen's teeth around these parts it turns out. The following month, I spotted another Sport Cross in traffic and gave chase. Flagged this woman down at the stoplight and handed her my card. Same response, "not for sale". With that, the hook had been set. Lot's of reading and research over the Christmas holidays and more intrigue. Low production numbers (only 3,078 reached our shores from 2002–2005), 3.0 liter inline-6 lifted from the larger GS300 sedan, rear wheel drive, double wishbone suspension all around, Check. Buttery smooth acceleration and Lexus quality, What's not to like?

The first one that came up on my radar for sale was in Cleveland, about a 10 hour drive. The price was right and the Carfax looked great, but having grown up in the rust belt that is the Northeast, and having been spoiled these last ten years living in the deep south where most vehicles have never seen salt, I took a pass. The one pictured above I found a little closer to home in Charlotte, NC. Clean Carfax, just over 100k on the clock, optional limited slip differential and it had spent all of it's life in the south. Yeah, a stick would have been nice.. and, well, it's RED, and it's a WAGON. Buyer's remorse? None whatsoever. Everything's pretty tight and rattle free for a twelve year old vehicle. The wheel mounted e-shift system actually works pretty well. The trick is to keep the traction control OFF and the ECT Power button ON (more aggressive shift points). A sweet ride really, and I know I won't be seeing one at the next stoplight. Here's a Car and Driver review by Patrick Bedard from 2002.

Chromefin's New Website is Live

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 13:16:00 +0000

After taking much of 2013 to redesign the Chromefin website and migrate to a new platform. We are back. To check out our new look, visit www.chromefin.com. The blog function of the site will still be hosted on Blogger (www.chromefin.blogger.com), but you'll need to clear your cache to access the full site.

Look for bigger photos and a wider diversity of automobile related content. We appreciate your support!

Phalliform Perfection

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 12:13:00 +0000

I'd like to take credit for that title, but it was the great critic and historian of automobile design Robert Cumberford who uttered that descriptor upon the E-Types introduction in Geneva back in 1961.

My own frame of reference to this marvelous piece of machinery came about 12 years later. It was the early seventies in Winchester, MA and a british family had moved in down the street. While most teenagers around the neighborhood were wrenching on old Chevy's and Fords, here comes this new kid with an XKE convertible. A beater yes, but oh what a set of lines... and a completely foreign object under the hood. I honestly don't ever remember him driving it, just seeing that long BRG hood tilted up in the front with him underneath it for hours on end.

This barn find 67' XKE Fixed Head Coupe is pretty spectacular for what it isn't... restored. Despite the condition, it's classic lines speak volumes... and all for less than the price of a new Camry. Check it out at Beverly Hills Car Club.

"Smitty"

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Mom's pushing eighty-seven now, but she was quite the looker back in the day. Good taste in automobiles too.

Winter Comet

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:54:00 +0000

Snowbound. Comet, Montana.

Shopping is for the 'Birds

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:19:00 +0000

Okay, I know... I've stated here previously that I draw the line on what I consider a true classic at around 1971 or 72. Forgive me for the following post. I rolled out of the local Publix supermarket this afternoon and parked among a sea of yawn-inducing sheet metal was this time traveller from the mid-seventies... in mint condition at that. This 'Bird had lost 10 inches in length and a good 900 lbs. in curb weight from the previous generation Thunderbird, along with it's 460 cubic inch V-8 (the largest ever installed in a production vehicle by Ford). Still, with it's federally mandated bumpers, white landau top and blue paint, it was the sharpest grocery getter in the lot.

Havana Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Sully's Deuce and a Half

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Nestled between blocks of multimillion dollar beach and marshfront homes on Sullivan's Island, sits an overgrown lot with this rusting relic. An M35A, compliments of US Navy surplus by the looks of it.

The Chief Hangs Ten

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:05:00 +0000

I've noticed what seems to be a growing trend here in Charleston. Old vehicles being used in business establishments as touchstones to drive traffic and interest. Half-Moon Outfitters displays a British racing green old MGB GT that I can't help sitting in every time I walk in the front door. Mike's Bikes keeps a cool mid-fifties F-100 panel van out front displaying their logo.

Recently I stopped into Charleston Watersport for surfboard repair and took some photos of this 1940 Pontiac Woody that still sits on it's original tires in the front window. I spoke with Dave the owner who purchased it from North Carolina. It apparently had languished in a shipping container for years. They say it's only original once and this one while a bit rough, is all there. Crack the door. A smell of ancient leather, varnish and motor oil hits you. The headliner reminds me of the joinery one might find on an old wooden sailboat. The repair work on a rear fender with the exposed wood screws and flaking paint looks to me like abstract art on a canvas. The hood ornaments... iconic. Dashboard and steering wheel... frozen in time. Way cool.

Sea Island Auto

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:55:00 +0000

I was going to blog about a local business you don't see much of anymore... an old service station in town that always seems to have an interesting assortment of vintage iron in various stages of repair in their parking lot. I then stumbled upon a review on Yelp from a satisfied customer that sums up the flavor and history of the joint in her own words...

"Enter Sea Island Auto Service, a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina institution that's been around so long it "used to have a colored restroom," according to the owner. If we had seen the place before we decided to go with them, we might have changed our minds. But on the strength of a trusted friend's recommendation, we called Sea Island Auto, gave them directions to the car, and they towed and fixed it within two days, all without us ever leaving the house."  

I picked up the refreshed vehicle today (new battery and a new fuse, plus they tightened my alternator belt, whatever that means), and the charges were very reasonable. The whole place is kind of in a shambles, but charmingly so. Instead of the antiseptic waiting room you might find at a Mastercare or a Jiffy Lube, their office is chock full of memorabilia, manuals, and stray parts. The main counter was awash with sets of keys, and I had to hunt for my own, where's-waldo-style.   

Nothing too spiffy about their parking lot/junkyard either, much of which sprawls into a row of old car wash bays, but I still felt more comfortable with their humble business than with slicker national chains where I've been ripped off before.

Thanks Laura!

Some other vehicles featured on this blog serviced at Sea Island Auto include this old Caddy and an M175 Kaiser Jeep.

Roadside Riv

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:23:00 +0000

Found this good looking 63' Riviera for sale early yesterday on an outparcel of an empty shopping mall in town. Amazing how some crisp sheet metal that unmistakably screams "sixties" can rouse one out of their commuting slumber. $9,800 or best offer and it's yours.

"Bitchin' Tuck-and-Roll"

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:24:00 +0000

There's that line in American Grafitti where after borrowing Ron Howards ride, Terry the Toad tries to pick-up Candy Clark. "Bitchin' tuck-n-roll" she says. "I'll let you feel it" he blurts. I personally was never into Milner's '32 Deuce Coupe or Bob Falfa's badass '55 Chevy (see this post for another '55 that takes that title). Nope. It was the Impala that had this 12-year old lusting over it's styling. Flash forward to this 2010 ebay listing. It has seen better days. Often mistaken for a Bel Air, the Impala had the six tail lights to the Bel Air and Biscayne's eight. Also note the faux air outlets above the rear window which was only featured on the Sport Coupe. This one doesn't have the swank interior and mild customization of the movie version or the Saginaw 3-speed. Still, it evokes a time and place.

Fairlane Fever

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:06:00 +0000

Picked-up my new Verizon iphone the other day and driving back to the office spotted this beauty parked down on Shem Creek. Looks like a fresh restoration on a 62' Fairlane. Tried a few of the stock filters on this new camera app and pleasantly surprised with the results.

Deuce and a Quarter Deal

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:20:00 +0000

One thing this recession has done is produced some screaming deals in the collector car market. I'm not talking about investment-grade iron, but some really clean, driver quality classics that I would love to find a place for in my garage. I spend way too much time on a handful of my favorite auto sites then I should and I came across this beauty yesterday (I've posted before that I'm a sucker for early to mid-sixties Buicks). For considerably less than a new Malibu or Camry, you could pick-up this 63' Electra 225 for $14k and change. Still wearing it's original paint, an engine compartment you could eat off of, and room for the whole family in a 2-door no less. Check it out on Sovereign Auto.

Stacked

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:15:00 +0000

365 Days in an "A"

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:25:00 +0000

Interesting story in today's New York Times about one man's unusual choice of a daily driver. Turns out Jonathan Klinger, a PR manager for Hagerty Insurance took up a challenge from his boss. To prove how serious he was about his love for old cars, he agreed to drive his 1930 Model A Ford Tudor sedan for a year as his regular car. He put his 1993 Honda Accord and 1999 Ford Explorer in storage and began blogging daily about the experience. You can read it here.

A Winter's Tale

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:02:00 +0000

Interesting vehicle about 43 seconds in. Any ideas on the make or manufacturer?

the lost junkyard from Marc Reed on Vimeo.

Stance

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:14:00 +0000

There's nothing like the aggressive stance on a mid-sixties Mopar and this Plymouth Satellite HEMI has it in spades.

Road Trip

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:36:00 +0000

I first wrote about the guys at Mercedes Motoring last spring. Hardcore 70'/80's vintage Mercedes restorer's and enthusiasts, they also produce some really great photography. Check out some highlights of their road trips with classic Mercedes worked cleverly into their compositions here.

Caddy Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:11:00 +0000

It's best days far behind, this field-bound 1950 Sedan DeVille awaits it's fate.

Metro Babe

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:46:00 +0000

Not to knock the quirky styling on a 60' Nash Metropolitan, but these may be the best looking lines on the vehicle...

Ventura Highways

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:23:00 +0000

When's the last time you saw one of these Ponchos? I can't say I ever did. A 1968 Pontiac Ventura with the 428 big block and factory four speed? I'm loving the hardtop styling and aggressive stance. To say that Pontiac was at the top of their game in the late sixties would be an understatement. This vehicle is a low mileage original with just 32,850 on the clock. For the price of a new Camry, you could be hauling the family in this bad boy and never see another one on the road. Sign me up.

Point of No Return

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:08:00 +0000

Amazing that one can still stumble upon these forgotten (rusted) sentinels in a booming community like Mount Pleasant, SC. Just a block off the busy main drag of Coleman Boulevard sits this 1951 Chevrolet in an overgrown lot. Tantalizingly close, but surrounded by chain link fence and rusted padlock are an assortment of mouldering boat hulls, trailers and an old Mercedes. I'm identifying this as a Styleline based on the tail lamps and trunk badge but could be wrong. Far past the point of restoration, it's strong Chevy styling is unmistakable to the end.

Kaiser Muscle

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Mon, 24 May 2010 12:10:00 +0000

I came across this 1967 Kaiser Jeep M715 tucked behind a local auto repair shop in Mount Pleasant yesterday. The US Government purchased these trucks to replace the Dodge M37 (to my eyes, the badder looking of the two). This one runs, and the first $5,700 takes it away. Here's some downhill footage of the M715 in action...

Concour's Quality

noreply@blogger.com (ChromeFin) — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:59:00 +0000

Beautiful restoration on this 67' MGB Roadster by Joe DeMeo of Los Angeles. Bidding topped out at $26,600 on ebay.