TomTom collected data from its Tele Atlas business system GPS data to determine what streets were "congested." In order to qualify a driver has to travel at only 70% or less than the posted speed limits. And while cities like Los Angeles and New York make the top five, it's actually Seattle, Washington at the top of the pile with 43% of the roads considered congested. Full details in the gallery.

Rank: 20th
City: Houston, Texas
% Of Roads Congested: 23%
Population: 2.24 million

Rank: 19th
City: Portland, Oregon
% Of Roads Congested: 23%
Population: 557,706

Rank: 18th
City: San Juan, Puerto Rico
% Of Roads Congested: 24%
Population: 422,655

Rank: 17th
City: Long Island, New York
% Of Roads Congested: 24%
Population: 7.45 million

Rank: 16th
City: Phoenix, Arizona
% Of Roads Congested:
Population: 1.57 million

Rank: 15th
City: Austin, Texas
% Of Roads Congested: 25%
Population: 757,688

Rank: 14th
City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
% Of Roads Congested: 25%
Population: 1.54 million

Rank: 13th
City: Fairfax County, Virginia
% Of Roads Congested: 26%
Population: 1.02 million

Rank: 12th
City: Boston, Massachusetts
% Of Roads Congested: 27%
Population: 620,535

Rank: 11th
City: Atlanta, Georgia
% Of Roads Congested: 27%
Population: 537,958

Rank: 10th
City: Oakland, California
% Of Roads Congested: 28%
Population: 645,345

Rank: 9th
City: Alexandria, Virginia
% Of Roads Congested: 28%
Population: 140,024

Rank: 8th
City: San Jose, California
% Of Roads Congested: 29%
Population: 948,279

Rank: 7th
City: Washington, D.C.
% Of Roads Congested: 30%
Population: 591,833

Rank: 6th
City: New York, New York
% Of Roads Congested: 31%
Population: 8.37 million

Rank: 5th
City: San Francisco, California
% Of Roads Congested: 35%
Population:

Rank: 4th
City: Montgomery County, Maryland
% Of Roads Congested: 37%
Population: 808,976

Rank: 3rd
City: Chicago, Illinois
% Of Roads Congested: 37%
Population: 2.85 million

Rank: 2nd
City: Los Angeles, California
% Of Roads Congested: 38%
Population: 3.83 million

Rank: 1st
City: Seattle, Washington
% Of Roads Congested: 43%
Population: 602,000

I've got the DMC-12 on my mind these days, after seeing Evil Clint's DeLorean doing pace car duty at the 2009 Arse Freeze-a-Palooza 24 Hours Of LeMons. Yes, Clint has his Northern Irish import running just fine now!

So, on to the cool shots taken by Brownie for us:

This was parked a few weeks ago on 7th Avenue, between 12th & 13th. Circumstances were such that I was only able to take 3 shots, and in retrospect they're not the 3 shots I would have taken if I had more time to think about it. Also, it was at night and I didn't have a flash - c'est la vie.

But whatever - it's a DeLorean! It's a much smaller car in real life than I imagined. The photos do not do justice to how ridiculously small it looked in comparison to 7th Avenue traffic - the minivan in the first photo looks tall next to it, but in person it seemed like the DeLorean might get run over.

"These new plates, in the official colors of the State of New York, will help maintain highway safety, reduce the number of unregistered and uninsured vehicles on our roads, and generate $129 million in General Fund revenue over two years, which will help address the State's financial crisis," said State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles David J. Swarts yesterday. It's that $129 million that people are taking issue with.

Where most private owners will only be responsible for one or two cars' worth of $25 fees, small business owners fear the "plate tax" unfairly targets them. It's hard to understand the kerfuffle over a $25 fee, but multiply that by a fleet of, say, 300 vehicles and you begin to understand the objection. An anti-new NY plate site has already sprung up, NoNewPlates.com, where over 57,000 people have already signed a petition opposing the plate's implementation.

Rather than simply representing a permanent increase to registration fees, the new plates are controversial because they're being added as an additional one-off cost for all motorists. Albany is perceived to have manufactured the need for them, suddenly citing visibility concerns with the old plates seemingly out of the blue (and white).

The plates will begin rolling out in March next year, and will be mandatory with all new vehicle registrations and renewals. The state already raised general license and registration fees 25% in September.

Bracci was given 56 tickets for that wild drive, police said. He was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, unlawfully fleeing police, resisting arrest and criminal mischief, among several other offenses.

Good grief is there anything he wasn't charged for? [Democrat and Chronicle via AOL News]

Rust seems to have taken a few bites out of the Pontiac, but it hasn't surrendered! Here's what Nuyear68 has to say about his finds:

Not necessarily an island that time forgot, but still a home for some neat DOTS candidates. Here's a 1965 Oldsmobile Starfire convertible. Pretty low production, it was the last Starfire ragtop, with the 1966 coupe being the end of its run until unceremoniously brought back as a dinky hatchback in the 80's (I think).
This one sports wheels from a 1972 Olds, and the neatest feature of this car is the side exhaust outlets at the rear of the fenders.
Must be an Olds guy who owns this, notice the nice Olds 98 Regency coupe in the driveway.
Rust hasn't forgotten this oldster I spotted here on Staten Island. It's a 1952 Pontiac - plain jane model with not too much trim, but a real neat chrome treatment up the deck and down the nose.

Yup, there's a 2010 Ford Mustang sitting right behind the General's beefy bitch of a pony looking to grab some gullible New Yorker looking to take a weekend getaway for a mere $725. Yes, just like the Camaro at Avis, the Mustang at Budget's no cheap steal of a deal.

There are cars whose whiny sound would benefit from the addition of Al Pacino’s booming baritone to their exhaust note. The Porsche 928 is definitely not one of them. Powered by a 5-liter V8, it’s got boom aplenty with a classic grand tourer shape to match it. Still, the 928 is one of the cars which appeared in Scarface and if you’re selling an example in these derelict economic times, you might as well make note of the celebrity connection. Especially here in New York City.

The car is parked mere yards from Jalopnik’s New York City headquarters and there is only one thing wrong with it: the seller is called Toby as opposed to Tony. Otherwise, it appears to be a fine cruiser.

If you do purchase it, try and not make much of its less than spectral motion picture history as an accessory to score with women: the 928 is the car Al Pacino’s character Tony Montana purchased to impress Elvira Hancock, played by Michelle Pfeiffer—to no avail.

I sincerely hope the American flag draped over the luggage area comes with the car.

[ myfoxny]

Manhattanhenge (sometimes referred to incorrectly as "Manhattan Solstice") is a biannual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main street grid. The term is derived from Stonehenge, where the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices. It was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. It applies to those streets that follow the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which laid out a grid offset 28.9 degrees from true east-west.

At sunset, a traveler along one of the north-south avenues on the West Side looking east can observe the phenomenon indirectly, being struck by the reflected light of the many windows which are aligned with the grid. An observer on the East Side can look west and see the Sun shining down a canyon-like street.

As with the solstices and equinoxes, the dates vary somewhat from year to year. This year, one of those days was yesterday — July 12, 2009. We took a few moments out of our day and went over to 42nd St (it could also be seen over at 34th and other cross-streets, but 42nd gets the awesome Chrysler Building in the viewfinder, and who wouldn't want that? Anyway, the lovely folks over at Rocketboom were there as well and got us the following epic video. Take a look:
[info via Wikipedia, Hayden Planetarium]

Photo Credit: Ray Wert's uber-ninja phone

Click here for a bigger view.

According to Jennifer Morales, her father had been incomunicado since the beginning of May. She'd even reported his disappearance to the NYPD, but it wasn't until recently he was discovered dead in his minivan. A city marshal discovered George in his Chevy Venture as he was attempting to tow the car away due to the load of tickets which had been issued for repeated parking violations. You stay classy New York. (Hat tip to Chad!) [WCBS TV]

After the city sealed off Broadway to traffic at Times Square and at Herald Square, from 35th to 33rd Streets, where it intersects with the Avenue of Americas, that might be a logical question. Especially when on Monday — Memorial Day — the Times Square Alliance, a group that represents local businesses, set out 350 lawn chairs and 26 chaise lounges.

While you shouldn't expect to see traffic-limiting measures such as the Times Square shutdown to hit places like LA or Detroit with their limited mass transit options, in other large cities with a developed alternative to appliance-driving, expect to see more of this.

And you know what? We're OK with it. That may seem anti-auto to some, but frankly, we're sick of cars being ruined by commuters. This desire for independence while commuting has turned cars into something more akin to refrigerators — a commodity. So in a time when once-proud automakers have developed into milquetoast shadows of the icons they once were, we're happy to see commuters forced to look at alternatives to their Camccordibus and taxis. Get off the roads and onto a bus or subway, you McDonald's breakfast sandwich-eating, 7-11 big gulp-drinking cows — they're for enthusiasts. Or, as is the case on this small patch of asphalt in the Big Apple — the lawn chairs. [via NYT]

Photo Credit: Marc Isler @ Flickr

The Transit Connect occupies the same territory as the old-as-nails Econoline van, but manages the same job in a smaller, lighter, friendlier way. That old Econoline is a hulking beast of a vehicle, stuffed mostly with tried-and-true F-series pickup truck parts. It's reliable and completely foolproof as it's been constantly developed since the early ‘60s, but it's a massively wasteful leviathan of a vehicle that's difficult to maneuver through our ever-tightening urban jungle.

Enter the 2010 Ford Transit Connect. It's light, readily steered and is comparatively frugal at 22 MPG city and 25 MPG highway. The maximum load height is a useful 52 inches with only a two-foot unloaded deck height. Cargo capacity is voracious, at twice that of the Chevy HHR panel van (135 cubic feet behind the front seats). The total length is 167 inches, shorter than a Ford Focus, but there's a crazy 1,600-pound load capacity. Still, the Transit Connect may be a bit small to supplant the traditional pickup truck in the working American's mind. At 72.6 inches long, the load bay is too short to accommodate full-length pieces of lumber, ladders and pipes, which poke comfortably out the back of a truck.

In and around Manhattan's crowded streets, the Transit Connect drives as easy as a comparable front-wheel drive hatch. Sure, in comparison to the European Focus on which this Transit is based, the ride is firmer and you can feel the height in a smidge of bodyroll, but it's still a more capable and easier-to-drive vehicle than the American psyche has been trained to expect from cheap compact cars. Rearward visibility is incredible, even in side-windowless panel trim; which is completely due to the huge side mirrors and large rear door glass.

The brakes are confident and responsive, even while hauling the maximum allowable load. Power output from the 2.0-liter Duratec is more than sufficient at 136 HP and 128 ft-lb of torque, helped by four well-chosen gear ratios and smart autobox programming. Ford doesn't quote a 0-60 MPH time, but we'd hazard a guess at something in the 10-second range. Sadly, a manual transmission won't be available in the US market. Front and rear sway bars control bodyroll during brisk handling - even through the wonkiest NYC traffic roundabouts. The turning circle is a minuscule 39 feet, so U-turns are a cinch.

In addition to the fundamental rightness of the basic Transit Connect platform, it comes with a host of optional electro-wizardry, including DeWalt's ToolLink system. Using RFID tags, the system keeps track of what tools are inside of the vehicle at all times, so you can know if you've left your spanner at the job site or your tool belt at the mistress's place. The same system is employed on the current F-series line of trucks.

Next up is the Crew Chief vehicle tracking suite. For a price, you can have a snitch box integrated with your fleet of Transits, which reports everything from throttle position, location and speed, to seat belt usage and excessive idling. The entire Crew Chief control panel is accessed through a web interface, which brings up the last major technological aid developed for the modern working man: Ford's wireless mobile in-dash computer. Using both 2G and 3G wireless data networks, drivers can surf the Internet, create documents and print them off on the optional Bluetooth printer on the spot. Back to using the Crew Chief web interface, the boss man can manage his fleet from any computer-equipped Transit whenever the vehicle is stopped.

We've joined most savvy auto enthusiasts in calling for Ford to bring its genuinely world-beating European range of vehicles to the States. Like the segment-busting Ford Fiesta, the Transit Connect proves us right. It mixes capability and quality in a wholly unprecedented level for the price: $21,475. Unlike the Fiesta, which we have to wait till next year to buy, the Transit Connect goes on sale this summer.

Chrysler Corporation was growing and in desperate need for — something — to represent its achievements. What better place to shine than New York City. Designed by architect, William Van Alen, the Chrysler Building was meant to be the crown jewel of the New York City skyline and as such, was conceived using the very popular art deco design motif that dominated the era.

The proposal that Van Alen sent to building contractor, William H. Reynolds, consisted of a base fit with triple height showroom windows topped with twelve stories of glass-wrapped corners giving the visual impression that the building was floating on air. The top of the tower had a decorative jewel-like glass crown that would reach the clouds at 807 ft., though this design was thrown out for being too costly and too advanced for Reynolds, who in turn, sent Van Alen back to the drawing board.

After much revision to the original, the design and lease was then sold to Walter P. Chrysler who worked hand in hand with Van Alen to recreate his vision. They both settled upon a final design that included additional stories and a 925 ft. height; much taller than what was originally planned. With Walter P. Chrysler at the helm, he instructed Van Alen to incorporate various automotive cues to the building's architectural details.

Ground broke for the construction of the Chrysler Building on September 19, 1928 in the middle of a frantic race to build the world's tallest skyscraper. Its estimated that roughly 3,826,000 bricks and 400,000 rivets were manually put in place during construction of what was soon to be the world's tallest building. That distinction didn't last long as a rival project at 40 Wall Street designed by rival architect, H. Craig Severance, was granted approval for an increase in height and was able to then claim the title for world's tallest building. Van Alen was not pleased and subsequently gained permission from the city of New York to place a 185-ft tall spire on top of the building. The spire was constructed inside the frame of the building and was the secret weapon that Van Alen needed to re-claim the world's tallest building title.

On May 28, 1930, the Chrysler Building was completed and with the additional height of the rooftop spire it was able to surpass the rival project on 40 Wall Street to claim the world's tallest building title. It was the first man-made structure to reach higher than 1,000 feet, even surpassing the Eiffel Tower which had previously held the title as tallest structure.

Van Alen's creation is considered to be a masterpiece of Art Deco design and architecture featuring automotive themes such as gargoyles that were inspired by the strong, identifiable hood ornaments of a Plymouth, 1929 Chrysler radiator cap-inspired corner ornamentation on the 31st floor and 1929 Chrysler hood ornament-inspired eagles on the 61st floor. The Chrysler Building was created using roughly 400,000 rivets, 3,826,000 bricks, 3,862 windows and four banks of eight Otis Elevator Corporation elevators.

The Chrysler Building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 and stands proudly at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in downtown New York City to this day. [historical fact via destination360, image via wikimedia]

Voodoojoo has done a great writeup to accompany his photographs- which should serve as examples to aspiring DOTSBE photographers- so we'll cut straight to it:

While I've been living in lower Manhattan, I've seen lots and lots of cool cars. A Mustard 70s Gran Torino, a green 70s Charger parked next to a white 67 Charger parked next to a BMW 3.0 CS next to a mint 1958 Corvette next to a red Fiat X1/9 riced out with fake chrome vents, wide arches, a giant spoiler and plenty of stickers ( I walk past a pretty cool shop on my way to class). I shouldn't forget the 40s Plymouth, the white-and-blue Cobra II, the 61 Eldorado, the 356, the 2CV, the Saab 99. I probably have more three pointed stars on my hard drive than I do essays, but few of them get sent over to your inbox because they just don't seem...extraordinary enough. Over the past few days, things have been different. While the '64 Riviera that I spotted made me smile, I shouted "holy shit" when I saw that double-chevron sticking out from the rusted behind of this DS and the Lagonda made my heartbeat irregular. Judging by my general reaction, I figured you might be interested in these pictures, and maybe a bit of a story.

I saw this Lagonda for about two seconds over a year ago walking out of my dorm and after recovering my probably embarrassing state of shock, I figured that it would be last time I ever saw that carved arrow figure rumble around the corner, but today, just a day and a half after seeing a flat to the floor Citroen, the Lagonda showed itself once more. While nearly everyone on the street asked me about the Trabant I stood next to, only one person stopped at the Aston Martin. "How much?" he asked, which seemed like a silly question to me, as I figured the electronics would short out before the previous owner had even finished counting the money you might as well have lit on fire. That is, until he mentioned he was in the market for a Testarossa. After perhaps cruelly advising him to buy a 70s Maserati instead, I went on and photographed what may be the only Lagonda I will ever see.

This DS was going to be sent in on its own with a short primer entitled 'How to get on DOTS - Step One: Find a Citroen DS'. It looks like it has all but given up on life, what with its tired, mismatched panels and reclining ride height. Once I tried to explain to my dad what I loved about Citroens, and I'm pretty sure I just babbled incoherently for a while, because to this day, there's something about them that goes beyond my capacities for explanation, something I find true of both of these cars. There's something about them, something spectacular. When I see them, my head starts to connect people and places, times and cultures. And while looking at these cars starts me to babble on endlessly, I still remain amazed - how the hell can these cars still be running? This is a clonked-out, beater Citroen DS. That shouldn't happen. An Aston Martin Lagonda being actually driven at all shouldn't happen. That I got to see them, that I had a camera. I'm counting myself lucky.

(Hat tip to Tim!)

Two workers were injured in the accident and taken to local hospitals in serious, but not life-threatening, condition. All lanes of the bridge are now closed and Transit Authority officials are diverting traffic through Throgs Neck and Robert F. Kennedy bridges.

We're told "there's a considerable amount of debris from this fallen sign on the bridge."

The shot on top's from the New York Times. They snagged the image from an eyewitness.

[NY1]

Photo Credit: George Atwall / NYT

Exhibit A would be the above dyno party produced by NYCE1S.com.The focus of the evening is CarlitoDaKing taking on Ceazdachamp in cars with their hoods removed to expose turbochargers the size of jet engines. While the propellers dip into the lunatic end of the rev range you cringe in anticipation of the whole shebang blowing up and showering the packed crowd with cherry-hot pieces of metal.

As both the DJ and the turbos spin away, it slowly dawns on the viewer that we’re seeing an exquisite parody of what we should expect from a post-Carpocalyptic car culture. It's a sport where inflated and wholly pointless horsepower ratings with no roads to utilize them on do nothing to tamp the fun to be had. If this is the new automotive sub-culture in a world without money, we at least applaud the attention to technical detail if not the adrenalin rush of the old method of doing the same thing — straight-line racing on a drag strip.

As far as I am aware, the plot device of severing the buttocks of a live human and feeding it to others first crops up in Voltaire’s hilarious satire Candide, first published in 1759. After surviving the tsunami which leveled Lisbon, the novel’s eponymous hero meets an old woman who recounts the following tale:

“We had a very pious and humane man, who gave them a most excellent sermon on this occasion, exhorting them not to kill us all at once. ‘Cut off only one of the buttocks of each of those ladies,’ said he, ‘and you will fare extremely well; if you are under the necessity of having recourse to the same expedient again, you will find the like supply a few days hence. Heaven will approve of so charitable an action, and work your deliverance.’

“By the force of this eloquence he easily persuaded them, and all of us underwent the operation. The man applied the same balsam as they do to children after circumcision. We were all ready to give up the ghost.

Constant readers of Chuck Palahniuk’s novels would think that the practice of cutting off buttocks sat by for 246 years until the character Comrade Snarky in his 2005 novel Haunted has her buttocks cut off and fed to others—and to her. That is not so. General Motors beat Palahniuk in living up to Voltaire’s legacy when it introduced the bustle back Cadillac Seville, a car I fell in love with 24 years later.

It happened on the streets of Harlem during my last visit to the United States of America. The Seville sat comatose by the curb on St. Nicholas Avenue, at the foot of a tall brick building. I walked by at least twice every day and it showed no signs of life.

What a sad sight! The design screamed malaise louder than a Sea Stallion helicopter downed by the haboob in Operation Eagle Claw. A crude meat cleaver had fallen on its once proud buttocks and had severed everything from the rear window onward, leaving only deformed scar tissue in the shape of a bulging, proto-Bangle-esque trunk. Love took a few days to take root but it has stayed ever since, and no, this has nothing to do with the fact that around this time I was introduced for the first time to the most potent drug developed by mankind: fresh Krispy Kreme donuts.

I imagined the car polished gently to life. The wires on its crooked hubs straightened and chromed up. Its emphysemic 100 HP V8 fired up again, driving the wrong wheels, no way would it set this heavy lump of a car flying but we could start wading our way out West, eating miles all day and all night, air flowing over that misshaped butt in a gentle, coast-to-coast caress. Driving that car, letting it die a dignified death out in the desert instead of letting it slowly melt into Harlem asphalt may have been an automotive mitzvah of sorts.

The ride never happened, of course. I took the A-train out to JFK, got on a plane home, and haven’t been back to the US ever since, where my buttockless love still waits:

Someone has either driven or pushed it across the street. It is parked now by St. Nicholas Park, waiting, ever waiting for a fresh tank of gasoline which may never come. Unless I get back there somehow, armed with a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and a hundred bucks in cash.

Photo Credit for Seville in garage: dave_7

Peter Orosz, the editor of Hyperleggera, a website he fervently claims is not a car blog (although it really is, we don't care what he says - Ed.), pens Jalopnik's newest feature dubbed "Crazy Euro Car Boy." It's a series all about one Hungarian sometimes-motoring journalist's obsession with the cult of cars.

The good news is 2008 saw a major decrease in traffic, with drivers in the 100 largest metropolitan areas dealing with a 29% decrease in congestion on average. The bad news is we're seeing it because of an increase in gas prices, which led to less driving and more carpooling, and a decrease in jobs, which led to more people sitting on the couch hoping their unemployment doesn't run out so they can afford to keep their benefits. It's a vicious circle. Much like the pain we're seeing in these community-by-community breakdowns of the most congested intersections in these 20 most congested metro areas.

1. Los Angeles	2. New York	3. Chicago	4. Dallas Fort Worth
5. Washington, D.C.	6. Houston	7. San Francisco	8. Boston
9. Seattle	10. Minneapolis-St. Paul	11. Philadelphia	12. Atlanta
13. Phoenix	14. Miami	15. San Diego	16. Denver
17. Baltimore	18. San Jose	19. Detroit	20. Riverside-San Bernardino

Though traffic does correlate to population rank, with the top four metropolitan areas also in the four worst cities for traffic, there are some anomalies. The Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria area is only the eighth most populous region in the country but is the fifth worst when it comes to traffic due to its high capacity of employment in the area and the lack of good housing stock for middle class families within "The Beltway" area.

Detroit is 11th largest in terms of population but only has the 19th worst traffic situation, primarily because of a 47% decrease in traffic year-over-year due to the economy and dramatic job loss. The collapse of the housing market hit Riverside-San Bernardino, a.k.a. the Inland Empire, hardest of all. The area saw a drop of 57% in traffic congestion, which is almost the same as the 55% drop in median home prices. While there's probably not a 1:1 ratio between the change in home values and congestion, they're likely connected.

Areas less affected by the housing market still experienced decreases in traffic, but at a lower level. For instance, home prices in Dallas remained stable and traffic congestion only decreased by 13% year-over-year, causing Dallas to move up to the fourth most congested city.

Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago are, as expected, still the worst cities for traffic in America. Los Angeles is so bad that peak hour congestion in Los Angeles is twice what it is in Chicago. The combination of a large population and low density makes L.A. even worse than the more populous New York. Compared to the Big Apple, Los Angeles also has fewer mass transit options.

Click on any of the cities above to see their current rank, population, congestion change and worst time of day for traffic. You can also view a gallery of the 100 worst intersections that fall within each city. A look at the hotspots reveal a few similar trends: intersecting highways, two-lane sections with onramps and merging lanes.

If you're reading this post it means you've actually made it home or made it to work. Congrats. There's probably someone still stuck in traffic.

[via Forbes, Google Earth]

Not only that, but Williamson Henderson also pointed out- correctly- that there is no such thing as a Coupe DeVille convertible; only two-door hardtops were so named. So, I was wrong on the year and wrong on the name of the car; sorry about that, Cadillac lovers! During the course of my Cadillac history lesson, I learned a bit more about Mr. Henderson's car, which is known throughout the LGBT world as the "Stonewall Cadillac," and this Cad has quite a story:



Back in 1969, a routine-harassment-of-gays police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York City touched off the not-so-routine Stonewall Riots. Henderson was there, and his brand-new DeVille was parked in front of the bar. It was spared any damage in the chaos that followed, the police impounded it, and since then the legend of the Stonewall Cadillac has continued to grow. These days it's pretty much a parade car, getting plenty of duty in the annual NYC Gay Pride parade and other events. Check out the official Stonewall Cadillac site here for the whole story.

That's right, there's a little Warsaw Pact plastic two-stroker being used to get around New York, and Voodoojoo has the proof:

I don't know if a Trabant parked in New York City is old news (man I love this site), but I ran into this, the first Trabi I've seen since my stay in East Berlin, and a pea-green, pre-1960 model at that. Parked appropriately in the East Village in front of Moishe's Kosher Bake Shop this two-stroke beauty sat idly by soaking up the praise of the dozens of passersby. If the license plate is anything to go by, this car putted its way to the New York DMV in 1960. To keep a Trabi sputtering along is quite a Jalopnikian mission today, I can hardly image what it would have been like running this symbol of commie-pride in Madison Avenue's heyday. In any case, keep up the good work Miss Murilee, and I look forward to the next I-can't-believe-it car that gets put up in the Down on the Street series!

Brooklyn is also full of interesting metal, despite the scourge of respectless yellow cabs and tough emissions rules.

Here are a few finds I have made in areas south and west of Prospect Park. The Fiat 500 may not be all that interesting, but being pretty and streetparked she is fair prey. The Chevy Vega Kammback is obviously on its way to concours condition, evidence thereof being recent bodywork and "1972 KAM" plates. Could we have a feature on good/terrible vanity plates please?

The Cadillac ex-Ambulance turned Wildlife Control is worth a paragraph all its own. I don't know much about this one, except it's being always parked in the same neighbourhood southwest of Prospect Park. The owner obviously has a decent sense of humour (witness paw print stickers down the flanks) although the dead rat (see note in rear window) wasn't quite funny enough.

Officials say that no personal information will be stored on or transmitted by the chip — only an identification number. But the Ron Paul supporters conspiracy theorists will no doubt see this as another step closer to a totalitarian government. We're no fans of an impending nanny-state either, but what do you think? Do RFID IDs have a legitimate use or will they simply lead to an Orwellian future? [cnet via fashionfunky]

Thought I'd send you these pics even though they didn't turn out so well. Sorry about the terrible camera phone quality. It was raining on/off and the light was terrible. The van was on Prince St. in Soho, it may be there again and I'll try to get better pics. I think it was an 80s Econoline, but I'm not sure what model. All labels were shaved. The rear lights look custom. The stained glass window was beautiful. The pics are mostly blurry, but the airbrush work was top-notch, 80s style.
The E-type is the 2-seater, 1960 something, parked on Orchard St and Stanton in the LES. Beautiful mint condition in and out. Unfortunately it started pouring as I was taking pics and couldn't get any more. It has a Hamptons window sticker, so I probably won't see it again.

Bonus points for identifying all the cars!

First up is this Firebird, which BZR says lives outdoors at all times:
I drove by this beast pretty much every day, until one day I finally broke down and came around to capturing it via camera. Seeing as it's a baby-blue Firebird, it's pretty hard to miss - and I still remember this post on the limited-edition 'Birds, so I knew I had a sneaking suspicion...

Just as I thought, it's not only a 70s Firebird (apparently any old American tanks are rare around here, minus the errant Dodge Dart I see) but it's one of the nearly-forgotten editions, right down the street from me in Syracuse, New York! How cool is that? I was pretty impressed.

It's always parked in the same spot. I didn't get a chance to encounter the owner, however. It's a damn shame the neat "Sky Bird", er, bird is missing. It's pretty well-preserved other than that. Check out the fuzzy dice! And it's a 1978 based on the grille pattern too, as I discovered.


Now here comes this sharp Galaxie two-door hardtop, which UDMan spotted while roaming the Northeast:
While I was visiting a dealer in Syracuse NY, my right rear tire went flat on the Altima. So, I was at a tire dealer, and a customer came in with this beauty, a 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL 2 door hardtop. As you can see, it’s in great shape, but there is a small problem. Apparently the car has an electrical draw because the customer stated that you have to disconnect the negative battery terminal after it’s driven. But look at this car! The details that seem to be lost at today’s car manufacturers, like the tail lamps, the ornamentation, those wheelcovers!


Just to show that Syracuse isn't just about the Detroit iron, Backstept has photographed this very solid-looking early-70s Volvo 1800ES wagon. I think those Draco wheels actually look pretty good on it, correct or not.
I don't know much about this car, but it's apparently a '71-73 Volvo 1800 ES sport wagon. only 8,078 were made.
I'm surprised at the condition, given the climate here in Central New York.

When you're not lapping the course you can keep your car in the large paddock situated underneath a glass timing tower. Don't want to go through the trouble of having your helicopter land at the executive helipad? Just stay the night in one of the luxury suites, send your significant other to the spa and swap stories of how you wrecked a vintage Porsche this morning and have figured out a way to make it a tax write-off over dinner at the 5-star restaurant. Yearly dues are a relatively affordable $7,500 — assuming you've paid the $125,000 initiation fee. That may sound painful to most, but people who can afford it probably had to endure an Ivy League secret society initiation that involved a dude named Yendrick and the business end of a dirt devil. Compared to that $125,000 is nothing. [Monticello Motor Club via CarScoop]

I found these pictures while sorting through my electronic picture files on my computer. I took them a couple of years ago when I saw this great combo parked in one of Cooperstown, NY's tourist parking areas. The combo consists of a 1945 Flxible Clipper, a Volvo 544 as a "toad" back-up and a Sears Allstate bike (which I believe was made by Puch in Austria). All of the vehicles are painted a matching paint scheme of oxide red and white. They must have been running because they have California plates and they only made a one day appearance in Cooperstown.