It’s Friday afternoon, and you know what we haven’t done on a drizzly Friday afternoon in quite a while? Had a Parking Lot Challenge! Yes, the fantastic way to look like you’re a productive worker, in front of your sophistimicated computator-device, when in reality you’re carefully scrutinizing old-ass pictures of parking lots, trying to decide the one car from each picture that will become the only car you will ever own and drive, forever! Parking Lot Challenge is a high-stakes game, remember! This isn’t for some candy-ass dilettante car-selector! This is for keeps! So, prepare accordingly, and let’s get to it.
This time, we’ll be focusing on the last half of the past century, but with an extra emphasis on the 1970s. So, we’ll have one 1950s lot, one 1960s, three 1970s lots, an ’80s one, and one from the 1990s. And remember the rules: pick one car from each lot, and that will be your sole car in that alternate universe where this sort of thing happens. Maybe we can say it’ll be your sole car for that decade. And, in the 1970s, you can have three cars. How’s that sound?
Ready? Too bad!
I liked this shot because it’s got a bit more variety than your average 1950s American car lot. Admittedly, this shot is supposedly from 1959, so it’s very late 1950s. This lot is from a racetrack, so the cars tend to be a bit more sporting, too. There’s some good stuff in there!
We go to Australia for the 1960s one, and it’s more of a street scene at King’s Cross than a parking lot, but who cares, right? There’s some real gems here, too, including that Holden (?) ambulance, a Renault 4, and of course, a ute!
Okay, here’s our first 1970s shot! It’s jam-packed with great picks, like that Renault 10 next to the Beetle, the MGB GT, another Volvo PV544 (the first was in the 1959 picture). Plus, woody Ford wagons! A Celica! A Mustang II! Go nuts!
I swear I’m not picking these based on the old Volkswagens in them, they were just everywhere, remember. There is a nice Type 3 Squareback here, though, and I love the black bumper-less Beetle on the right side. Plus, look at that butterscotch-colored Ford Maverick (I had this as an AMC Matador at first, sorry)!
This one I included because it has a fascinating location for these cars to exist in: South Korea! I didn’t realize they were driving big American Iron over there in the 1970s! I can’t imagine a late ’70s Caprice in Seoul, but there it is.
This is from, I believe, a Grateful Dead show in the mid 1980s. Another Mustang II, for you failure-fetishists out there!
This last one is from this Reddit group, and was so full of Radwood-type goodness I had to include it. Also, what the hell is Antaeus? Other than the giant son of Poseidon and Gaea?
So, for each parking lot, pick your car, and then tell us what you car you picked for each one in the comments, so we can all read them and judge you. It’ll be fun! I can’t wait to see what everyone is going to drive home in over this half-century!
’50s – Volvo, hopefully a Duett wagon
’60s – That white wagon on the left is awesome
’70s – Volvo PV544
’70s – BMW 1600
’70s – Datsun 510
’80s – Jeep Comanche
’90s – Toyota Cresta
50s – so many nice TR3s and MGAs, but the bugeye lurking on the right is for me.
60s – the 2 tone wagon center left is dreamy, but I want that ambulance!
70s – 1 – convertible bug please.
70s – 2 – that deep red TR6 is tempting, but I’ve always wanted a 2002.
70s – 3 – I learned to drive in a Caprice Classic. Makes it an easy choice.
80s – lotta junk here. You can keep it.
90s – no idea what it is, but Antaeus is cool.
50s – Mercedes 300SL
60s – VW Transporter (and the ambulance in the pic is a modded Ford Customline)
70s – red Celica
70s – blue Mustang Fastback
70s – Datsun 510
80s – blue conversion van at the left of the pic
90s – if that’s a red 2 door R31 Skyline in the middle there, that’s mine, please.
For the 50’s, the red? MGA
60’s, the Renault 4
70’s pic one, I’ll go with the Plymouth Fury parked next to the Renault 10
70’s-2, the Maverick coupe
70-3, the Datsun 510
80’s, the Oldsmobile? Colonnade coupe next to the T-bird
90’s, I honestly can’t say. The picture isn’t clear enough for me to make out anything beyond the front row, which appear to be various forms of Toyota Crowns and Chasers. So one of those I guess?
50s: 300sl
60s: beetle
70s: land rover disco
70s: mustang fastback
70s: what I think is a 71 satellite? In black
80s: square body suburban or the k5 blazer
90s: I think that is an r31 skyline
50s – I’ll take the Mercedes SL
60s – Is that a Jag, just above the Renault 4? Anyway, I would like that one.
70s pt1 – The MG BGT.
70s pt2 – How about that light blue Falcon pickup behind the pumps.
70s pt3 – I was going to go for the Datsun 510 until I realized that’s a Chevelle wagon on the left.
80s – I believe that is a Grateful Dead show, at Alpine Valley, WI no less. Had to make sure I wasn’t in the photo… Not much that’s very tempting. How about the poster sized sheet of acid (trust me, it’s there somewhere). Barring that, the VW Type 2.
90s – There has to be a CRX in there somewhere, so that.
[yes, that’s an anachronistic but very crave-able Wagonaire in the ’50s pic]
50s: 190SL
60s: Beetle
70s: Celica
70s: BMW 1600/2002 roundie
70s: Datsun 510
80s: Tercel Wagon (“Jerry!”)
90s: the red one
This feels like a click post driver where no one reads the comments. That and lousy pics I’m out
– 300SL
– Falcon (or Falcon-looking) wagon
– unidentifiable motorcycle because it’s my only chance to get a bike
– BMW 1600(?) or dark blue Mustang fastback. Hmm
– I thinks that’s a Datsun 510, I’ll take it over those American cars. Which means I can take the Mustang from the last picture.
– yellow Suburban. Always handy to have a truck.
– there has to be a few Civic Si hatchbacks somewhere in there, right? I’ll take the least modded manual.
I spent way too much time looking at these, the resolution is so low they’re hard to ID, but…
1950s – 55-57 corvette at the bottom, or the 57 300 SL, would love either.
1960s – The ute which I can’t ID.
1970s1 – The green & white stepside, can’t ID.
1970s2 – The purple/blue mustang.
1970s3 – The brown sedan (Chrysler?), if you’re going land yacht…
1980s – Whatever car the dude in bottom center is sitting in the trunk. Got a cooler and is he rolling something?
1990s – Not my jam, but the Lambo on the very back row. Can’t see it?! Neither can I.
1950s: are you sure this is a 50s photo because that sure likes the tail end of Lark Wagonaire with a sliding roof? I’ll take the anachronistic Lark.
1960s: the right answer is always Ute. Looks like a Ford Ute, but I’m not an expert.
1970s(1): VW Cabriolet
1970s(2): the answer is alway Ute. The Ranchero
1970s(3): Chevelle wagon. FYI, this looks like it was taken outside a BX or PX on a military base. Lots of service folk shipped their wheels overseas especially if it was an accompanied tour (with family). Many of the cars never came home.
1980s: Blue Chevy van
1990s: white Mustang
This was going to be my answer. And I don’t even want a Beetle. But I’m betting there was an obscured one in that ’80’s picture as well. Damn things were everywhere…
That’s a Maverick, not a Matador!
1950s: Jag XK140/150
1960s: Red Mini (just beyond the gold bollards in the crosswalk)
1970s (1): Volvo 544 although the MGB-GT next to it looks sweet
1970s (2): BMW 1600/2002 behind the gray van
1970s (3): Datsun 510 in the foreground
1980s: The VW Type 2 behind the beige Suburban
1990s: Honda Prelude in the 16th row back, 27th car from the left 🙂
50s: – The Ford behind the MG towards the center
60s: – The Ute above the blue Beetle in the middle
70s part 1: – I need that Renault up front
70s part 2: – The avacado green Chevy truck with the camper top in the back
70s Korea: – The wagon next to the Caprice
80s: – The Lincoln barely in the shot on the right
90s: – The black Nissan Cedric/Gloria/Cima with the Antaeus banner up front. It could be any of those cars but you really can’t tell from a pic that small
Antaeus would have been the name of the car club that the owner of that car is a part of. In 90s Japan, named car clubs were a very big thing, especially in the VIP style scene all of those cars are done up as. I’ve seen more pictures from that day and if I remember correctly, it was a big group cruise and meet organized by one of the big VIP style magazines of the day.
My identification skills are terrible, but I’ll have a go…
50s- The Volvo in the upper right corner
60s- I want the ute
70s- I’ll take the Renault- it looks charming
70s pt. 2- The Squareback
70s pt. 3- Whatever the two-tone brown wagon on the right is
80s- Continental on the right- just for the flipping headlights
90s- I have no idea- they mostly look the same to me? The bright red one in the center because it is an actual color.
I think the wagon is a mid 70’s Buick Estate
https://live.staticflickr.com/1913/44772493654_fde4f51f74_z.jpg
50s: 57 vette. 60s: that ute! 70s#1: chevy stepside. 79s#2: the mustang 70s#3: 0. 80s: the cutlass (that is a cutlass,right?) 90s: couldn’t find anything that piqued interest.
50s: Gotta be the MGA, the dark-colored roadster, not the white coupe. A coupes are too claustrophobic.
60s: The Renault 4 in the lower right corner. I’ve loved those silly little things ever since Romancing The Stone.
70s: Is it too on the nose if I just pick the yellow MGB GT?
80s: I’ll take the blue Cutlass coupe. I’ve always liked the Colonnade cars.
90s: hell, I don’t know. Japanese tuner cars aren’t my thing. They all look the same to me. If pressed, I’d just throw a dart at the photo.
That 90s photo is so low quality (and I’m so very ignorant) I literally could not identify a single car.
I think I see a Fox body Mustang in there, the rest just look like modded Maximas to me.
1950’s: Gotta go with the M-B 300SL. That thing will run for an actual human lifetime. (Side note, last Saturday I saw a black gullwing 300SL on the road here in Austin. Even my wife recognized that it was something special. “Careful! We can’t afford to hit it!”)
1960’s: I’ll take the Jag(?) behind the Ambulance. Although I like the wagon next to the ute, too. Looks like an 8-tenths scale Nomad.
1970’s-I: I’m a sucker for personal luxury coupes, gimme the brown T-Bird next to the Cellica.
1970’s-II: If I’m dealing with oil crisis gas lines, I’ll take the TR6 for a nice compromise between fun and efficiency.
1970’s -III: Slim pickens, but I’ll take the green coupe behind the wagon. (Plymouth Fury?).
1990’s: I’ll take the GT-R. I can’t actually spot one, but it’s a Japanese car meet, so there has to be one, right?
’50’s: Corvette
’60’s: VW Type 1, the Hillman Super Minx was close.
’70’s: Dodge Dart, because it’s a devil I know.
’70’s: The Mustang cause how cool is that?
’70’s: Chevelle Wagon because wagon.
’90’s: the black Nissan Violet about halfway into the picture.
1950’s Tempted to go for the 300SL roadster but I’ll be a loyal Brit (and Jag owner) and go with the Jaguar XK150 OTS.
1960’s the Ford Falcon? wagon
1970’s Third pic the Celica
1970’s Forth pic the Triumph TR6
1970’s Fifth pic the Datsun 510
19780’s The GM Colonnade coupe (don’t know which one it is)
1990’s The dark blue Nissan Y32 Gloria/ Cima (front and center)
50s: white Jag coupe
60s: green on green wagon (BelAir?)
70s: yellow MG GT
70s2: purple mustang (fastback?)
70s3: red import on the front right
80s: VW bus (on the left?)
90s: the blue one
I fixed that! Sorry!
50s Dodge truck back right corner
60s White ute(Chrysler?) that’s front and center.
70s Green Chevy truck with the white top, two tone!
70s blue Mustang
70s pass
90s red Subaru Brat about center of pic
and 80s, that sweet Comanche with the white cap!
As far as I can tell, not a Jeep to be found in any of the photos. I guess I’ll settle for the Land Rover in the first 70s photo and call it a day.
(In roughly the same direction but further away there’s a brown Jeep-like vehicle facing the camera, but I can’t figure out what it is.)
Late addition of the 80s, and there’s a Jeep in there!
A very well-concealed Comanche with that cap.