We all loved the New Orleans Impala, so A Strolling Player took it upon himself to photograph six Down On The New Orleans Street cars for us (I couldn't help but use a HOTRS reference in the post title, having just read an interesting book about the history of the song; otherwise you'd probably be getting a bunch of Algrenesque Big Stingaree jokes). Make the jump to see the entire collection and read Strolling's descriptions.
The first is what looks to be a 1966 Plymouth Fury III, which was, from what I can tell, Plymouth's halo car at the time. Pretty clean example; I really dig the design for being clean and classy and imposing at the same time. While it's not as fantastic as, say, a late-'50s anything or a '71-'73 boattail Riviera, it does what it sets out to do well.
Next I will show you the other end of Plymouth's spectrum, which I happened to find and photograph about 5 minutes after this one.
This is the opposite end of Plymouth's line from the Fury III I'd photographed five minutes before this Valiant. This one was just around the corner and couple blocks up Magazine Street from the Fury in one of New Orleans's more popular Uptown shopping districts. The Valiant seems to be Plymouth's pre-Malaise economy badge (replaced by the Volare! YES!); this one's in pretty awful condition but is driven at least some, considering its condition, the fact that it's on Mississippi tags, and that I saw it on the road a couple miles away about seven hours later and thought "Wow, look at that old drab-green car coming down the—hey I photographed that car this morning!" Everything cosmetic on this car seems to be falling apart/off, especially the grille and the side trim. Dents everywhere, tooNext is a different sort of Detroit iron from the same year as the Fury.
I'm not sure how I'd convinced myself beyond a doubt earlier that this was definitely a '66, but the shape of the dashboard plants it firmly between '64 and '66. Regardless, I've seen this old multicoloured workhorse parked Uptown on Magazine Street a number of times. I thought it had been in a different place each time but the notice on the dashboard indicated it hadn't been moved in over a month. Either way, I finally shot it between my walk from the Fury to the Valiant. I wonder what the original colour was, because the internet would have me believe that the grilles on these were all chrome.
Next: another day, another car... same five blocks.
While I was photographing this car around the corner from the cigar shop at which my buddy Andrew works, a couple walked by and said something about their landlord trying to sell this car, or something. I passed, because I'm broke, but if I'd had the cash to throw around I'm sure I'd have made an offer. It's advertised as a '65 so I didn't really look into identification other than it's definitely a '64-'66. I can't get over the generally spacey design, but where are the hubcaps? Also, I apologise for the grainy/washed-out photos, most of them have been enhanced because these were taken on my iPhone (decent sensor, awful lens) in the shade. The straight-on rear shot is probably the only one accurate colour-wise.
The next car is a break from Detroit and a break from New Orleans, as well.
This one comes from a rainy day on LSU's campus. I see this car parked in central campus almost every day, so it must be some faculty/staff member's daily driver. I always notice that there's about a half inch between the windows and the roof and wondered what happened when it rained. Well, apparently he/she drives it anyway. I caught it on a campus street and not in a parking lot once so I thought it would be a good opportunity to photograph it. I want to say it's between '74 and '76 mostly because of the enormous Malaise rubber bumper... things (though this example only has one) that seem to have grown for '74, and I think a couple details were changed for '77. Paraphrasing Clarkson, I'd say the driver is very brave, or stupid.
Finally I'll take you back to New Orleans, but the next car comes from a different part of Uptown.
Finally, a car I found driving through a different part of Uptown avoiding Mardi Gras parade traffic. Pretty good example of the transition between the flash of the late '50s and the more subdued mid-late '60s. Crown on the grille, but a small one; tiny fins above the headlights; grille-thing under the trunklid. Also, fuzzy dice!
Looks like I got each half of my Prius in a couple of the photos; interesting to note the differences in automotive-design-inspired-by-spacecraft-design from 1963 to 2006, although I'm sure comparisons with that '65 T-bird would have been more appropriate.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the submissions, I know I'll enjoy seeing them on the site...eventually. Keep up the good work; DOTS is one of my favourite parts of Jalopnik!
Many thanks, A Strolling Player, and also thanks to the rest of you who send your Down On The Street Bonus Edition photos my way. Apologies to those of you who have been waiting and waiting to see your DOTSBE photos on the site; my time- and file-management systems haven't been quite as efficient as they might be, but I'll get caught up yet!