What out of the ordinary cars did you see today?

[vinceg101]

I haven't been here in a while because of the photobucket hosting thing. Now that I moved on from those scumbags, I have new cars. These are from the last few weeks...

I would give certain body parts for this Synchro Transporter.
Was that being trailered by the Dodge?

[stuartinmn]

Someone parked this at the airport this weekend: In the flesh, an actual in the wild Tesla Model 3.

I saw a Model 3 in Minneapolis one day last week on my way home from work. The Model S is so common around here it doesn't even rate a mention, and I've seen a couple of the SUVs, but this was the first Model 3.

[Mike W.]

I haven't been here in a while because of the photobucket hosting thing. Now that I moved on from those scumbags, I have new cars. These are from the last few weeks...

I would give certain body parts for this Synchro Transporter.
Was that being trailered by the Dodge?

Looks like it might be. That engine in the bed of the Dodge might be a clue too.

[vinceg101]

Someone parked this at the airport this weekend: In the flesh, an actual in the wild Tesla Model 3.

I saw a Model 3 in Minneapolis one day last week on my way home from work. The Model S is so common around here it doesn't even rate a mention, and I've seen a couple of the SUVs, but this was the first Model 3.

Same here: it seems like all those very wealthy Eco-conscious Band-Wagoners that latched onto the Prius upgraded to the Model S as fast as they could. They are as common as a Mercedes C-class around here (or well, a Prius).
Just saw another Model 3 driving through Beverly Hills this afternoon, this time in black; I guess the first wave of them hit the showroom floors and into arms of those on the waiting list over the last few weeks.

[stuartinmn]

I'm actually pretty attracted to the Model S - I think they're handsome cars, with my driving habits I could go for a week on a single charge, and you can get them equipped with Ludicrous mode. However, used ones seem to hold their value pretty well, so I won't be buying one anytime soon.

[Karl Grau]

I would give certain body parts for this Synchro Transporter.
Was that being trailered by the Dodge?

Looks like it might be. That engine in the bed of the Dodge might be a clue too.

The engine in the Dodge wasn't related. The VW was being dropped off at Subaru specialty tuner shop for an engine swap. Apparently putting Subaru engines in Vanagons and Transporters is a 'thing'.

[topher800]

Apparently putting Subaru engines in Vanagons and Transporters is a 'thing'.

you mean it has more than both horsepower?

[stuartinmn]

At 4am this morning I saw a brand new Ford Fusion, still had dealer plates on it. That's not so unusual except that it was on fire, parked on the street in front of my house.

I woke up to the sound of a car horn honking continuously, and figured it was some idiot waiting for someone to come out of the apartment down the street. After the horn continued honking for several minutes I finally got up and looked out the window, and saw flames shooting out of the thing. The fire department showed up a few minutes after that and put it out. Don't know who it belongs to. I went out and looked at it before I left for work; whatever started the fire must have been in the interior, as it's fully melted down to nothing (and all the glass is blown out) while the rest of the body is almost untouched.

[Mike W.]

Looks like it might be. That engine in the bed of the Dodge might be a clue too.

The engine in the Dodge wasn't related. The VW was being dropped off at Subaru specialty tuner shop for an engine swap. Apparently putting Subaru engines in Vanagons and Transporters is a 'thing'.

I know it used to be, back in the aircooled days when I was into them, but I didn't know it still was.

[a]

I once saw a "legal" sand rail that had a VW I-4 grafted onto a bug transaxle.

[Foonfer]

Apparently putting Subaru engines in Vanagons and Transporters is a 'thing'.

Isn't it because Subaru, besides Porsche, is the only current manufacturer of boxer engines? The VW T2 doesn't have a lot of room above its engine compartment, it requires a motor that's pretty flat to fit in there.

or did I just fall for a "Captain Obvious" prank?

[Mike W.]

Apparently putting Subaru engines in Vanagons and Transporters is a 'thing'.

Isn't it because Subaru, besides Porsche, is the only current manufacturer of boxer engines? The VW T2 doesn't have a lot of room above its engine compartment, it requires a motor that's pretty flat to fit in there.

or did I just fall for a "Captain Obvious" prank?

That would make sense, to me at least. But I'm so out of the VW world I knew they went to front engine, inline design, I didn't even know which generation. I guess after this one.

[davintosh]

I once saw a "legal" sand rail that had a VW I-4 grafted onto a bug transaxle.

Swapping I-4 diesel engines into VWs has been a thing for a long time. And I think there were some South American Type 2 buses that came with I-4 diesels from the factory. I had a friend back in the early '80's who immigrated from Argentina, and he was pissed because he couldn't find a diesel bus in the US. He was a character.

[a]

Get a load of this old Poncho http://www.realclearlife.com/cars/ponti ... atalina/#1. IMO, other than the '59 Caddy , 1959 GMs were hideous. This one off was very pretty neat, The '59 El Camino is fugly , later ones were better looking.

[stuartinmn]

There's been a bit of discussion over on the Pontiac board about that 1959 'el Safari'. In addition to that one, there are at least two 1960 Pontiacs out there that were similarly converted, although they were done by private citizens and weren't factory built.

As for what I saw today, when I stopped at the gas station over lunch hour there was a very nice 1950 Hudson sitting at the pumps.

[a]

I read the article. The one off is half Chevy. Bed and roof. The doors' window frames were hand made. 389 trips and a dual range tranny ? The Pontiac front clip has the same style grill openings as the Chev. I never noticed that before. Looks good compared to the '59 El Camino.

[Mike W.]

Paging Slammin. A very nice Land Rover parked here in town. Must be a late one with a V8, unusual with the bikini top, but nice looking.

[zentropy]

Saw a Ferrari 812 Superfast in my town a couple of days ago. Wish I could have gotten a better pic, but I was driving and could only manage to snap this when stopped at a light. I generally don't like modern Ferrari styling, but this one looked pretty awesome, especially in the rear. And it sounded amazing.

[stuartinmn]

My cousin who lives out of state found a car here in Minneapolis he's interested in buying, so I went and checked it out for him. A 2003 Audi A4 Avant, with the V6, sport option, and a six speed manual which makes it kind of a unicorn. It was a pretty nice little car.

[gadget73]

This was last week, but I saw an active duty mid-90s Caprice police car, driven by a sheriff officer with a prisoner in the back. Its probably been 15+ years since I saw one of those in service.

[CGIdaho]

It wasn't today, but I saw a bimmaru awhile back at a car show. Guy put a 320i body on a Subaru chassis.

[stuartinmn]

This was last week, but I saw an active duty mid-90s Caprice police car, driven by a sheriff officer with a prisoner in the back. Its probably been 15+ years since I saw one of those in service.

That's unusual to see a Caprice police car still in service.

[BDKawey]

It wasn't today, but I saw a bimmaru awhile back at a car show. Guy put a 320i body on a Subaru chassis.

wish there were pics of said bimmaru but this is still cooler https://jalopnik.com/5837190/watch-a-su ... -the-track

[sail_or_drive]

Just south of the I5 Bridge over the Columbia River in Portland at 5:25 AM PST today, looks to be a "Cord Beverly" according to my short search of the internet.

[Beils]

Nice Dash!

[Dale3783]

An Auto Union Horche and a Mercedes SSK. No big deal.

[stuartinmn]

Parked next to each other on the street, a brand new Aston Martin and a 1957 Buick.

[e28Sean]

Didn't grab a pic, but, saw a preproduction camouflaged 8 series earlier today.

[sail_or_drive]

Some Americana on the way home the other day. Forgot that I took this back in early June.

[Foonfer]

Last night at about 10pm, driving back to NYC from PA on I-80, we caught up with a white M4 at the Delaware Water Gap. Managed to keep up with him through a good chunk of NJ. Obviously the M4 guy wasn't exerting himself too much. Not sure if he saw me and wanted to show off a bit, but a couple of times I was next to him he just gunned it for a second and shot forward like a rocket, pretty amazing stuff. Guy didn't seem to be looking to road race anyone or being a jerk, just seemed to be enjoying his ride on a beautiful night.

Oh but there's more.

After parting ways with the M4 and leaving I-80 for I-280, we were perhaps going through the Oranges when I caught up with something that looked to be an older car (remember this was late at night, I only had tailights and rough silhouettes to work with). The car seemed very large so I thought perhaps some 1970s Detroit land yacht, but the pattern of the taillights was odd. He was on the right lane, I was on the left going slightly faster, both of us were doing 70-ish. As I approached, saw he was riding with windows down - large guy, big hairy arm resting on the sill, MASSIVE steering wheel.

I let out several audible "WOOOHOOOs" - I don't think I had ever seen one of those actually moving, on the highway, among other lesser creatures. It was a 1980s/1990s blue Rolls Royce Silver Spirit!