Because my days living in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood may sometime soon come to an end, I am going through older photos for their nostalgia—like this classic Chevy, which location seen is now a […]
Tag: autos
Flickr a Week 11: ‘Havanna Taxis’
Where are the customers? I ask, because why would anyone Uber when they could ride in one of these? Convertibles! Especially, as I understand, ride shares aren’t available—well, at least, for tourists.
Christoph Kilger captured self-titled “Havanna Taxis” on March 21, 2019, using Leica M10 and Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH lens. Vitals: f/1.4, ISO 400, 1/2000 sec, 35mm. The photo takes the week for color, composition, and symmetry. BTW, since when is Havana spelled with two “n”s?
Be Blue, Buggy
There is something oh-so-stereotypical about 1960s-70s Volkswagens and Southern California. For sure, vintage VWs are commonly sighted, and weather is one reason. With so much sun and so little rain to accommodate them, Cal cars […]
Saying Goodbye to a Classic Car
On the morning of April 15, 2018, a (now former) friend of my daughter rang my cell in frantic state. The (then) twenty-three old had borrowed her car, while his vehicle was in the shop. The young man claimed that someone sideswiped Molly’s convertible when parked and he was away meeting a client. I learned that dents and scrapes spanned front to rear panels and the door between them, amid his gasping and repeated promises about paying for repairs. He never did.
The car is gone now; the why and how is an oddly twisted tale that I tell after depositing the insurance check. That act closed the story’s last chapter.
Hello, Mini
What a strange place to find a classic: Carport along a nearby alley. So which of my neighbors has been hiding this lovely? With no license plate. Apparently good condition. Cool color. Best of all: Steering wheel on the right side! It’s a British beauty.
Had there been a license plate—out of respect for the owner’s privacy—I wouldn’t have stopped to capture the moment. No identifying information encouraged me to take license (ah, hum, dumb pun) with Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens.
Scooter Booter
Did you know that mopeds typically are bigger air-polluters than cars or trucks? Kind of diminishes their mystique, don’t you think? Yeah. Yeah. But I would still consider riding (and owning) one. Some newer models’ emissions are cleaner (and, yes, that’s a justification).
I shot this scooter nearby the bridge that crosses Washington Street to The Hub shopping plaza, on March 2, 2017, at 11:41 a.m. PST, using Fujifilm X100F, which settings were changed to those used by photographer Kevin Mullins, with Classic Chrome film simulation. Vitals: f/4, ISO 400, 1/950 sec, 23mm.
My Two Losses
This week I pick up the pieces of early May and return to business as usual—eh, hopefully. I’ll recount events chronologically, offering context for near absence on my personal site and complete disappearance from BetaNews, where my last story, as of writing here, was April 27, 2016.
The following day, there was an unfortunate vehicular incident, involving our six-and-a-half old Toyota Yaris, which the insurer designated total loss. That wasn’t the outcome I had hoped for, despite extremely generous compensation for the car’s value. We paid for the Yaris in full and, as such, planned on running it for many more years yet.
Flickr a Day 154: ‘Star of the Show’
Perspective and technique decide today’s selection, shot by a photographer who gives no other name than Wendell. Is that to emphasize his importance or to protect privacy? 🙂 Self-titled “Star of the Show” matches, as he […]
Catchella
Cali almost never goes on our bed, but she greeted me when I awoke two days back and came visiting last afternoon while I worked on Chromebook Pixel LS. She rubbed my hand for pats—and got […]
Z3 is for Zoom
My father-in-law generously offered to buy my daughter a car for graduation/birthday (I couldn’t afford to particularly with her coming college expenses). We decided on Hertz rental sales, to get something newer, with lower miles, […]
Our Yaris
We begin the year with a new auto, purchased a few weeks ago—2010 Toyota Yaris. The cutie car replaces our 1992 Toyota Corolla, which was totaled in a Black Friday weekend 2009 accident.
The family looked at several options, including the Honda Fit. Hertz rented us another Yaris, which charmed us all with its snub nose, compact size, and tight turning radius. We couldn’t resist.
$4,999 Car Is the Answer
Today’s Jeopardy question: How do you turn around the auto industry? For at least one automaker, perhaps even two or three, a sub-$5,000 car is my answer. Over lunch, I read news analysis “Small Isn’t Beautiful” in Sept. 19-25, 2009, Economist (I’m a print a subscriber). Economist aptly explains why the auto history is hosed, now that cash-for-clunkers programs are gone, there’s no credit for fancy, high-priced cars and demand increases for smaller, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles. Let’s not forget the production problem: For mature markets, at least, production capacity exceeds demand (and did before the econolypse).