Street

Seriously Cool Stash Of Saddam-Era Cars Found In Baghdad Underground Garage

After Uday's Lamborghini got blown up, you might think that all the interesting cars were gone from Baghdad by now, with just Ford Probes remaining to hold the gearhead banner over the ancient city. Not so! Turbo Driver (aka The Wolf) has some sort of secret-type gig in Iraq and snapped these shots of an underground parking garage just packed with old Cadillacs, Rolls-Royces, and Mercedes-Benzes (plus what appears to be a Breezeway-equipped early-60s Mercury, among other things). We also get some bonus shots of military Land Rovers in the Green Zone. Who can identify all the vehicles in these photos? Make the jump to read The Wolf's description and see the entire gallery!

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5:45 PM on Fri Jul 18 2008
By Murilee Martin
4,841 views, 65 comments

Latest by n/a: Does anyone have any idea what that 1930s/1940s silver Mercedes two-door is (it is a Mercedes, isn't it)? It looks like it must have been a custom-bodied car or a one-off for some client (Sadam?). I've never even seen catalog more »

down on the street

1973 Buick Electra 225, With Bonus 1973 Poll

You think the supply of old cars and trucks parked on the streets of Alameda will dry up, now that we've hit the 300 point? I doubt it, not when you can still find Early Malaise Era landyachts like this Electra being used as daily transportation. Five-dollar gas be damned! I found this car parked near the former Alameda Naval Air Station, where thousands of nuclear weapons once sat it earthen bunkers and thousands of sailors once drove second-gen Camaros. Nowadays they shoot movies and make vodka at the old NAS, and the sound of A6s and P3s no longer competes with the roar of small-block Chevy engines.
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9:20 AM on Fri Jul 18 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,841 views, 83 comments

Latest by FuzzyPlushroom: @SundaySundaySecondShift: Mine's had four VW products in a row - '84 Jetta, '87, '96 Golf, and now a '95 Jetta. So yeah, aside from the Mexican-built bit, he's my hero. I went with the Courier. That small? That cool? That useful? more »

down on the street

300 Old Cars Down On The Alameda Street

We're now 14 months into the Down On The Street series, and the total of interesting old vehicles found parked on the streets of Alameda, California, reached the three hundred mark yesterday. Newcomers to this series might want to check out the Down On The Street FAQ before making the jump and viewing the smorgasbord of old iron that thrives outdoors on the Island That Rust Forgot. More »

1:45 PM on Thu Jul 17 2008
By Murilee Martin
39,440 views, 46 comments

Latest by Public Relations: Has anyone ever seen a working car from the 1920s????? Would love to see one more »

down on the street

1960 Peugeot 403, With Bonus French Car Poll

The other day I caught a glimpse of a dark blue Volvo Amazon parked just down the street from the '42 Pontiac Torpedo. I didn't have time to photograph it, but since we've had only one Amazon so far in this series, I made a mental note to get back and shoot this rare Swedish gem as soon as I could. Today I returned with my camera, and... holy crap! That's not an Amazon- it's a Peugeot 403! Yes, mere weeks after providing a Citroën GS for us, Alameda has produced another vintage French car for our enjoyment.
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9:00 AM on Thu Jul 17 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,687 views, 55 comments

Latest by franzouse: @Steel_ETC: your information is innacurate. more »

down on the street

1968 Buick Skylark Custom Convertible

Most of you approved of the super-beater '70 Skylark, with a small but vocal minority who felt physical pain at the very sight of the beat-to-hell Buick. I'm pretty sure that the approval rating of today's Skylark will be be fairly high across the board, given that it's a 40-year-old red convertible that lives on the street and all. This clean-looking Buick parks just across the street from the yellow '72 Beetle we saw last year.
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9:00 AM on Wed Jul 16 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,319 views, 51 comments

Latest by n/a: This was my first car, got it from an old Italian guy who lived in North Beach in 1992. Doo doo green w/cream vinyl top and fabric upholstery. I was 16 with no license & no insurance but my dad more »

down on the street

1973 Chevrolet Chevelle

In much the same manner as the '73 Mustang and '73 Cougar, the Chevelle for 1973 put on quite a few pounds over its predecessor... just in time for the Arab Oil Embargo. Until now, I hadn't been able to find any of the "big" Malaise Chevelles, though we have seen examples of the angular '64-67 Chevelle as well as the more rounded '68-72 variety.
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9:00 AM on Tue Jul 15 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,963 views, 54 comments

Latest by n/a: The 73-77 colonnade midsize cars are some of my favorites from GM. They had style, big engine options, size and a great ride/handling combination. They are also some of the only classic cars that will tolerate today's ethanol-laced, low-octane, bilgewater more »

down on the street bonus edition

Forget The British Car Jokes: Panama To Alaska In An Aston Martin!

Imagine driving an Aston Martin or a Lotus from Central America to the Arctic! Impossible, you say? Jalopnik reader Arkyman was in Dawson City, Yukon (the boomtown Jack London made famous more than a century ago) and spotted these heroic Panama To Alaska Rally participants and their British steeds. Jump away to read Arkyman's description.

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4:40 PM on Mon Jul 14 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,550 views, 25 comments

down on the street

1977 Ford F250

It's been tough to avoid giving most of our DOTS Truck Monday airtime to General Motors products, since Alameda has more Chevy and GMC trucks than any other variety. We've been especially light on 70s Ford pickups, with just the Frankenstein Mix-N-Match F100 so far, so let's start up our Malaise Era 120-horse V8s and take a look at the kind of truck that would have brought a smile to Billy Carter's face (though Billy preferred a Chevy for his personal ride.
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9:00 AM on Mon Jul 14 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,217 views, 36 comments

Latest by MrEvil: @Kelly: The 80's models were big hunks of junk. My dad bought a late build 1979 F150 after the 1980 models had all but taken up dealer inventory. He didn't even want a 1980 model truck. Every early 80's model more »

down on the street bonus edition

Escachero!

It's one thing to spot a 90s Ford Escort with a truck bed and huge fins, but what a joy to see that the owner has actually named his creation using the correct -chero suffix. We've seen too many homemade Ford cartrucks with GM-centric names, so we're just happy this one isn't emblazoned with a huge "ESCORTAMINO" graphic. We're also happy that Crazygutgut had his camera at the ready when he spotted this fine machine in San Francisco's Sunset District. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and read Crazygutgut's description.

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3:30 PM on Fri Jul 11 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,237 views, 49 comments

Latest by mattEGTx wishes quality really was job #1: Yeah, you could pull that out a fair amount, and then clip it. Do it all the time at the shop. 'Course, we have a frame machine, but it's been done with trees, flatbeds, and what-have-you. See more »

down on the street

1986 Ford Mustang LX

Back when we had the Do Fox Mustangs Belong In DOTS? poll, 63% of Jalopnik readers who bothered to vote said they thought it was a good idea. So, I grabbed the camera and set out on foot to photograph the first pre-90s example I could find. 28 seconds later, here's this abused-but-proud '86 LX showing up in my viewfinder (the same thing happened when I went looking for a Malaise Volvo 240). These things are still everywhere on the island (along with their Fairmont, Granada, Mark VII, and other Fox brethren). Sure, I could have held out for a '79, or maybe one with 80s graphics, but beaters are cool!
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9:00 AM on Fri Jul 11 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,794 views, 77 comments

Latest by Slantsick goes hybrid: Burns Oil and Rubber: @Skunky: I actually owned one of those- and with the 2.3.. whatta pig that car was. @busbodger: Finally, some evidence that I didn't own the only straight-six Fox Mustang ever built. more »

down on the street

1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III, Plus Bonus Lincoln Poll

Great big Detroit luxury machines, with two huge doors that swing out about 10 feet to the side when opened and a crude pushrod V8 with way more than 400 cubes under the hood. Aside from the low-single-digit gas mileage, what's not to love? The Lincolns of the 60s and 70s never quite sold like their Cadillac competition, but they had hoods like aircraft carrier decks and grilles carved from gigantic slabs of pure chrome. They were outrageous and beautiful, in a way the staid Caddy could never really pull off, and I wish I could find more of them parked on Alameda's streets.
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9:00 AM on Thu Jul 10 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,733 views, 78 comments

Latest by n/a: What WERE we thinking....... more »

down on the street bonus edition

Porn Valley Citroen SM Drives To The Strip Mall Like Any Other Car!

When you spot a Citroën SM parked in front of a Starbucks in the San Fernando Valley (also known as the Pornography Capitol Of The Universe) and it's nighttime, what do you do? I'd set a huge gas-soaked tire fire on the pavement to provide enough light for photography, but LateralGPhotography had the gear and the chops to get some great photos just with ambient lighting. Make the jump to see the whole gallery and get a Valley Bonus!

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3:45 PM on Wed Jul 9 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,614 views, 38 comments

Latest by PDQ2: Jay Leno has one in his collection(same color I believe), but his is in pristine condition. more »

down on the street

1966 Jaguar E-Type, With Bonus British Car Poll

Those of you who read the Down On The Street FAQ over the weekend know that some of the machines we see in this series don't live on the street full-time. Most do, but every so often I'll find an obvious non-daily-driver that's just visiting, or maybe getting a rare exposure to the world outside of the garage. This immaculate E-Type is such a car; I spotted it parked in front of the island's most popular sports bar a while back and I haven't seen it since.
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9:00 AM on Wed Jul 9 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,721 views, 71 comments

Latest by biminitwst: I would vote for all of the above, except for the '73 MGB which may be one of the sadly disfigured rubber nose MGs.Without a picture, I can't be sure.Too bad they all look like tiny red Xs on my more »

down on the street

1984 Toyota Cressida

After the reign of the Crown, but before the Lexus, Toyota shoppers seeking a (relatively) powerful luxury sedan headed straight for the Cressida. With rear-wheel-drive and the same 156-horse 5M engine as the Supra, the '84 Cressida also came with mildly oddball- by Toyota standards- styling and relentlessly good build quality. They're almost all gone now, however, fed into the ravenous jaws of The Crusher in order to make room for more Camrys... but a fair number still live on in Alameda.
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9:00 AM on Tue Jul 8 2008
By Murilee Martin
3,479 views, 73 comments

Latest by n/a: a couple years ago, I saw one on the side of the road (en route to the shore) with a cardboard sign indicating for sale, $500. it could have been perfect for a few months after that when I accidentally more »

down on the street bonus edition

1967 Firebird Wears A Coat Of Orange Blossoms In West Hollywood

You don't often see a '67 Firebird convertible parked on the street, but SoCal-based SOS10 has managed to find what appears to be a Ram Air 400 car, complete with hood tach, Halibrands, and a layer of flower petals. Yes, that's a tow-away notice on the windshield, and no, we don't like the idea of this jewel getting trashed in a tow yard full of abandoned Achievas and Excels. Make the jump to see all the photos and get SOS10's description.

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5:00 PM on Mon Jul 7 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,797 views, 39 comments

Latest by z974647: My folks bought a new 67...bright red. I believe it was the first one in the small town we lived in. And - this seems weird - it had a '3 on the tree'. I loved that car and wish more »

down on the street

1966 Dodge A100 Sportsman Custom

When you take a small, forward-control van chassis and motivate it with the unkillable Chrysler Slant Six engine, good things happen (as long as you don't crash it, of course). It seems strange that we've only had one A100 in this series prior to today, given how long they survive out here in the Land That Rust Ignores; I'm going to need to pay more attention to A100s (and forward-control Econolines) as I roam the streets of Alameda in search of DOTS candidates.
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9:00 AM on Mon Jul 7 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,194 views, 40 comments

Latest by n/a: Interesting how the top of the van is completely rusty and the rest is just faded. Like the front of this van indeed. more »

announcements

What Is Down On The Street?

Those of you who have been Jalopnik regulars for a while most likely have a pretty solid grasp of the concept behind the Down On The Street series, but what about newcomers to the site? We don't want DOTS to feel like some sort of in-crowd-only deal, so here's the Down On The Street FAQ:
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11:00 AM on Sun Jul 6 2008
By Murilee Martin
4,944 views, 66 comments

Latest by n/a: I need to drive my 87 Caprice Estate to (Alameda) California sometime. My car is almost always the oldest car whenever I drive around and it can get annoying sometimes. Great thread you started here. more »

down on the street

1975 Chevrolet Nova Custom

With just one Malaise Nova up until now in this series, it's time to set our thermostats at 66 in winter/78 in summer, lower our expectations of future prosperity, and travel back to the Bicentennial Era... when presidents got impeached, wars got lost, and the base V8 in a new Chevy Nova was a 155-horse 350. Actually, the Nova of this era wasn't a bad car; it was cheap and every component was made by the lowest possible bidder, but it was honestly cheap.
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9:00 AM on Fri Jul 4 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,166 views, 50 comments

Latest by slackinfux: What, exactly, is so "Custom" about this Nova, aside from the word Custom on the badge? Is that GMspeak for plain? more »

Seriously Cool Stash Of Saddam-Era Cars Found In Baghdad Underground Garage

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