Jalopnik: minnesota

Can You Identify All The Cars In This 1970 Photograph?

Murilee Martin — Sat, 16 May 2009 18:00:00 EDT

Now that I'm scanning negatives, I've fed some old family slides through the scanner as well. Here's one from pre-California Chez Martin, circa 1970, in lovely Spring Lake Park, Minnesota.

The cars in the driveway should be familiar to my ~~stalkers~~ regular readers, since I've posted on them a few times before, but the ones in the background will be more challenging. This slide knocked around in the bottom of a drawer for about 35 years, so it features some dust and scratches in addition to the original lack of focus; to make things slightly easier, I've grabbed images of the six non-Martin machines and put them (in their original scanned sizes) in the gallery below. Eight vehicles total- who can identify them all?

Car Thief Calls 911 To Brag, Results Predictable

Wes Siler — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:30:00 EST

What is it with car thieves? A Minnesota man repeatedly dialed 911 after stealing a car to brag that cops couldn't catch him. Did they? Yep.

You'd think with relatively high, tax-free profits on offer, the car theft profession would attract a higher quality of practitioner. At least in this instance, that's just not the case.

The 23-year-old didn't start calling 911 until police had already started chasing him, causing him to crash into a guardrail, abandon the car and flee on foot. At that point he was feeling pretty good about his efforts, telling police over the phone that he was smarter than them. Despite these near constant clues to his whereabouts, police lost track of the man until later in the night when a concerned citizen reported a prowler on his property. Police then found the man hiding in a shed. He now faces charges for gas theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, burglary, tampering with a motor vehicle, trespassing, and assaulting an officer. [via CBS]

Minnesota, 1960: Corvairs Battle For Ice Racing Supremacy With Caravelles And 356s!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:30:00 EST

My grandfather was quite the rally and ice-racing fanatic back in the 1950s and 1960s (running mostly Porsche 356s and Saab 93s) and now I've got a couple of his 8mm movies, shot in 1960.

The image quality isn't so good; in fact, identifying the cars is much like trying to extract useful information from the Zapruder Film (which was shot using similar hardware). The ASA 24 film means there are some dark parts, and my film-to-video conversion technique (camcorder + projector) doesn't help matters. There's definitely a Corvair, a 356, and a Beetle, and what appears to be a Renault Caravelle. Maybe a Sprite as well? Mostly you just get atmosphere from this; the sense that it's really freakin' cold, with maybe a mournful whistling of grim Scandinavian-style wind through the skeletal trees, punctuated by the roar of engines at rod-throwing revs and the occasional crunch of sheetmetal on snowbanks. You might check out this Land-O-Lakes SCCA history of racing in Minnesota when you're done here.

Searching For A Grim Minnesota Murder Movie Car? Simple Plan Volvo Amazon For Sale!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST

While you might not be able to afford Jerry Lundegaard's Olds Ciera, Fargo wasn't the only downward-spiral Minnesota crime movie made in the 90s! That's right, the '66 Volvo 122S wagon driven by Bill Paxton's character in A Simple Plan is up for sale on Craigslist! It's not running, so it's more of a Project Movie Car Hell machine than a daily driver, but: fame!

Thanks to Thunder for the tip! [Craigslist Minneapolis]

Unrusted Alfa Romeo 164L Heals The Sick, Restores Sight To The Blind In Minneapolis

Murilee Martin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EDT

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. With the '91 Alfa Romeo 164L we saw down on the Alameda street this morning, we might as look at a miraculous Alfa this afternoon? Why miraculous? Because this 1991 Alfa Romeo 164L lives down on the Minneapolis street, a street stained red from the ruined metal of cars that dare to park upon it. MBAcuraFan took some shots of this amazingly unrusty Pininfarina creation; make the jump to read his description.

I saw this neo-classic Alfa Romeo 164L sitting on Central Ave NE in North East Minneapolis. In its lack-luster condition, i dont see anyone buying it right away, but who knows? I sure wouldn't. Although it's fairly recent, i thought I would send it in and see if the you liked it. I took the liberty of blurring out the guys phone number, to avoid any prank calls.

DOTS FAQ

Unique Clause Gets Google Street View Banned From Minnesota Town

Travis Hudson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT

The wacky and crazy Google Street View vehicles that manage to capture all of the perfect moments have gotten themselves banned from a United States city, again (kind of). The town of North Oaks, a northeast community and suburb of Minneapolis has chased the Google cars away. They were able to do so because the roads in this community are owned by the residents. The residents reportedly enforce a strict "trespassing ordinance," and per a letter sent to Google earlier this year, the search engine giant removed the pictures and banished the vehicles from ever returning.

A spokesperson for Google summed it up as "Oops, our bad." We guess that means the drug dealings, boob flashings and car accidents of North Oaks will never be seen by curious bloggers (you know, like us). [The Register]

Minnesota, February 1967: Let's Go Racing!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Those crazy Minnesotans aren't going to let a little 20-below weather stop them from taking their Saabs and MGAs out for some racing, you betcha! My grandfather, a proud St. Paul native, was serious about rally madness and ice-racing lunacy back in the 50s and 60s, and he'd probably still be doing it today at age 91 if his eyesight were a little better and he still had the ol '356 (or the Corvair... or the Dauphine...). He's handed over some of his racing memorabilia to me, including his Curta Peppermill and some of his old Twin Cities Sports Car Club newsletters. Here's the February 1967 TCSCC newsletter, which shows how those tough-guy Minnesotans pretended they weren't freezing their nodules off in ludicrous weather conditions. Uff da! Yeah, it's not as cool as the 8mm movie film I have of actual races, but I haven't had a chance to get them digitized yet.

Because Trucks Don't Float!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:00:00 EST

It's impossible not to love an ad for a vehicle that includes the statement: "You're stuck on one hole and you're using a vehicle that sinks to get there. There is a better way." Yes indeed, folks, there is a better way to go ice fishing! See, all the time that you spend moving your ice-fishing shack around the frozen lake, rescuing your sunken pickup truck, etc... that's time you could be spending pounding peach schnapps! For you, the folks at Wilcraft have produced the Ultimate Ice Fishing Rig. It floats, it has tracks, and it has a built-in canvas enclosure to keep your schnapps from freezing. Thanks to Thunder for the tip! [Wilcraft]

Drunk Driver Hits Cop Car Stopping Drunk Driver

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:30:00 EST

It seems that there's nothing to do in Minnesota but drink and drive, at least over the holidays. According to police, they were making a stop on the suspicion of a DWI when a car full of twenty-something women from St. Cloud plowed into the parked police cruiser. These are the times when we make crucial decisions in our lives and, in this case, the young lady driving the car didn't make the right decision.

As bad as it is to drink and drive and hit a cop car, trying to flee right in front of the cops isn't a great idea. The cruiser wasn't so damaged that the cops couldn't pursue and, not much further away from the original DWI , the second DWI car got itself snuck in a snow bank. No one was hurt, but all the women in the car were charged with varying crimes and will soon be spending a lot of time in court. [Star Tribune]

You Do The Meth! Addict Asks Cop For Help With Stolen Car

Matt Hardigree — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:30:00 EDT

You know what's super lame? When you're whacked out on meth and crash the car you just stole in a ditch. But wait, there's a happy off-duty Sheriff's Deputy driving by. He'll help you! The Sheriff's Deputy was, fortunately, not on meth and was able to put two-and-two together. Dean Gangl, said meth-head, was charged with being in possession of a controlled substance, possession of a stolen car, and possession of wonderfully bad luck.[Fox Twin Cities]

Dung Never Sleeps

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:00:00 EDT

The excrement of avians is not being ruled out as a factor in the collapse of the I-35 bridge on the River Mississippi in the Twin Cities. Apparently, pigeon dung, when dried, exudes salts. Salts which corrode steel and wear away concrete. Years back, grates were installed on the bridge's structure to discourage nesting, but they didn't necessarily stop the rampant pooping of birds with an interest in a river view. While authorities admit that it's far from certain that bird shit caused the July collapse, they're looking into the possibility. The lingering spirit of Alec Guinness, at the present time, is not under suspicion. [SFGate]

Uff Da! Minnesota Workplace Hoonage!

Murilee Martin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:10:43 EST

It's always fun doing your hoonage when you're on The Man's clock; most of us have had some fun times with forklift races, delivery-truck donuts, etc. But when you're doing it as part of your job- in this case, to advertise St. Paul's Apex Auto Salvage- well, that takes it to a whole new level. Imagine it- a runner shows up at the yard and the call goes out to set up the ramp! Here's a flat-tired Maxima getting some decent air. But wait, there's more...

Here's Gabe getting some five-star hang-time in a mid-80s Celica.

And, since you have a big forklift, might as well use it on the Celica!

And, saving the best for last, Tom and Tony are co-winners of the Workplace Hoon Of The Week Award with this spectacular Dodge Kustom Van leap. Note how Gabe's Celica is now part of the ramp. Ja, you betcha! – Murilee Martin

Related:
Hoon Of The Day: The VW Hippie Bus Can Jump! [internal]

Astromino and Antecedent

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 12:45:00 EST

Minnesotans do the damndest things. One man has kept an old Ford Econoline pickup running for decades despite the car-eating nature of winter Midwestern roads, while another has taken inspiriation from it, the Corvair Rampside and the A-100 pickup and created what can only be known as the Astromino. Except that it actually reveals itself to be a GMC Sprintfari upon closer inspection. Click through for the vintage side of this zen arcade of two. [Thanks to Jason for the snapshots.]

Related:
El Caminos [Internal]

Muslim Cabbies Conflicted Over Booze-Bearing Fares

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 22:00:00 EDT

We're not really sure why this is an issue, but hey, it seems vaguely newsworthy, so what the heck. Apparently, some Muslim Twin-Cities cabbies are irked about rules forcing them to the back of the taxi line at the airport if they refuse a fare for any reason. And why are they refusing fares? Because some believe the transportation of alcohol to be against the teachings of Mohammed. Duty-free stores are apparently killing their living by supplying people in need of transport with bottles of Beam and Campari.

We don't mean to be flip, anti-Islamic or Limbaugh-esque, but in a way, we sort of feel flip about this issue (although we hope we aren't coming off as Limbaugh and/or Coulter-esque). The answer in our eyes, frankly, is simple: if you want to be certain you're not transporting alcohol, find another job or move to a dry county. Otherwise, at the risk of sounding harsh, swallow it and drive.

Muslim Cabbies Causing Controversy By Refusing Alcohol-Carrying Fares In Twin Cities [Winding Road]

Related:
Form Follows Function: A New Standard Taxi? [Internal]

Minnesota "Macaca": Local Congressional Staffer Goes Japan-Bashing

Ray Wert — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:57:04 EDT

Senator George Allen from Virginia's got nothing on Mike Osskopp, the district office director for Minnesota Representative John Kline. Osskopp, for some strange reason went bezerk at a rally for Kline's Democratic opponent, Coleen Rowley — and ended up being captured on film yelling "another Jap car...your buddies are supporting all these Jap and German cars" as Rowley supporters drove into the event. We're not really sure where he was going with the comments, other than to say Rowley supporters don't support American car companies. The Harley-Davidson-owning Osskopp must have decided he'd stand up for US automakers' honor, attacking their competition with a racial-tinged blitzkreig of blabber. Instead perhaps he should have just followed the lead of the head of his party, also a Harley-Davidson aficionado. That's right, the President's a fair man — he treats all automakers alike, foreign and domestic — by not saying a darn thing about or to any of them. We've got video below the jump.

You need Flash Player 8 or higher to view this movie

Kline staffer filmed using racial term outside Rowley event [StarTribune.com]
Weirdness in CD2-Kline's Director becomes unhinged (video) [Inside Minnesota Politics]

Nic Fit: Twin Cities Thieves Ramming Shops, Stealing Smokes

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 19 May 2006 18:45:00 EDT

Step one: Steal a car. Step two: Drive said stolen car through the wall or window of the bodega. Step three, make off with ciggies, phone cards and anything else you can haul away. Step four, sell the smokes on the street for a dollar a pack. A suspected gang of crooks has lathered, rinsed and repeated this one 11 times now in the Minneapolis area in the last few weeks. To say that we find this to be rather uncool is an understatement, as it victimizes numerous people. But a buck a pack? We're so in!

Thieves ramming stolen cars into shops to steal cigarettes [Scripps-Howard]

Related:
Car Collector Busted for Ganja Sales [Internal]

Closin' Time? Does The UAW Have It Right In The Twin Cities?

Ray Wert — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:47:50 EDT

Minnesota is the only state in the union requiring a 10% ethanol mix in consumer gasoline. That's a decision which probably made the General pretty happy. It appears that the same may not be true for Ford. The UAW is reporting that FoMoCo will close the St. Paul assembly plant in 2009. Although PR folks here in NY and Dearborn have been pretty tight-lipped, the response from Ford didn't include important words like "not closing" and "still remaining open." Yeah, and when the AP is quotin' Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari as saying, "We've made no such announcement, and we have nothing to announce at this point"...guess what? That's totally not good.

Autoworkers say Ford plant to close in 2009 [TwinCities.com]

Minnesotans Hope Ford Goes Green

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 16:16:42 EST

The St. Paul Ford plant that builds the Ranger (when was the last time anybody actually bought a Ranger, anyway? 1996?) was saved from being steamrolled by Ford as it made the initial runup to the Great Leap Forward. But all ain't wine and roses in the Twin Cities. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty went to Dearborn to negotiate with the Blue Ovals to save the plant, offering tax incentives, pimping ethanol-production and giving stock options on his third-born child to the automaker to keep the plant open. Meanwhile, UAW-types and Norwegian bachelor politicos are hoping that Ford will do something green at the facility, which features its own hydropower plant. [Thanks to Scott for the tip]

Ford plant hits hurdles [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

Kids Say The Darndest Things: Child Rats Out Car Thief

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 17:57:25 EST

Back in the 1930s, our great uncle Paul would volunteer to babysit our dad and then prop him up in the seat of the Model A and prompt him to shout "Hey, Chicken!" at any passing Betties. Of course, when Grandma and Grandpa found out, there was hell to pay for mischievous Paul Muran, but that's chicken shavings compared to the snit a 6-year-old got Benjamin Menchaca into when he admitted to going car-heisting with his supposed babysitter.

Man says he was babysitting; Boy tells of theft [Duluth News-Tribune]