As San Francisco is an interesting place for spotting unusual (or at least old) cars, so are Oakland and Berkeley. And for people who live where interesting cars are a not-too-uncommon sight among the hoardes of Priuses, Accords and F150s, you owe it to yourself to not forget to appreciate where you are. Our first car is a 1973 Pontiac Catalina coupe. Wait, you say, Pontiac? Sure, they’re an orphan brand now, but there are loads of those still on the streets! Well, with attrition, some of the less-popular versions of the General’s platforms have become as rare as cars that had much-lower sales numbers when new. Who knows what engine this car has in it – anything from the 350 to the 455, with a less-than-impressive horsepower range of 150 (boohoohoo) to 250 (meh).
Posts Tagged ‘2000’
RustyButTrusty on the Street – Pontiac and BMW 3-fer
February 24, 2014Fiat Day – 1979 Fiat Spider 2000
January 30, 2014Number nine on the Sports & Exotic Car roadster list is the Fiat 124 spider. As with its Alfa cousin (brother-from-another-designer?), this Pininfarina/Tjaarda designed car is an underappreciated classic. While there are tangible differences between the Fiat and Alfa (Alfa uses a fancy cast aluminum hood release, for example), on a higher level these are both competent, comfortable roadsters with excellent, raspy twincam fours and five speed transmissions, as well as easy-to-use tops. You can find this 1979 Fiat Spider 2000 (which, by its chassis code, is actually a 132) in Amherst, NH for $4000.
The Other TC – 1968 Rover 2000TC
November 7, 2013Like the Italians, the British seem to have had limited success with their sedans here, outside of the luxury class. Sedans from Rover, MG and Triumph never sold particularly well, even though they all had their merits. With some hindsight, it’s not all that surprising, perceived quality issues aside – American buyers were generally looking for power, style and space, and were not concerned about fuel economy, while British buyers’ needs were dictated by the relatively depressed post-war economy and high cost of fuel. Either way, that did not keep British manufacturers out of the honeypot that is the North American market. You can find this 1968 Rover P6 2000TC for sale in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, CA for $2950.


