Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We saw a '65 Mercury Comet Caliente last week, and before that the '65 Comet 202 and the '64 Comet Cyclone. No shortage of Falcon-based Comets on the island… but how about the Maverick-based Comet? Mavericks themselves, sure- a '70 and two 74s- but now we're going to look at our first Malaise Comet.

The Mercury Division couldn't do a whole lot to de-Maverickize the Comet, but they were able to get these distinctive taillights on the car. Sure, they hurt your eyes even after 35 years, but they're definitely of their time. I found this car less than a block from the '65 IHC Travelall.


The '73 Comet 2-door listed at $2,432, which was 102 bucks more than the equivalent Maverick (and $55 more than a 2-door base Chevy Nova). The 200-cubic-inch inline six engine was standard, but you could upgrade to the 250 six or even the (138 horsepower) 302. Now if I could only find a Comet GT!

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.