Looking through more old files, found some snaps from the 2004 Vancouver Auto Show. 18 years, heading for vintage material now. In no particular order:

Cadillac Sixteen:

Buick Centieme:

Lincoln Navicross:

Mustang concept:

Kia :

Tomahawk:

Dodge Avenger:

Chrysler Airflite:

Jeep Treo:

Souped up IS:

Lambos:

These were a new thing:

Panoz display:

Volvo S40/V50 was new:

I recall the "floating" center stack was seen as something innovative:

Also new, the CTS-V:

STi might have debuted around then? :

XLR was new:

300/Magnum was new, these were a hit at the time:

I think these were new:

GM was trying, and maybe a little too hard keeping it cordoned off:

And its hen's tooth cousin:

Allure, not a Lacrosse, because reasons:

Acura Civic:

This was new, always thought this was a nice design:

Rotisserie, also a new model then:

Forbidden fruit for Murkans at the time:

These too, I remember the hype:

Optra in Canada Suzuki Reno south of the border:

Not sure why this Lupo was on display, maybe an EV or similar conversion:

The beloved high maintenance land yacht was new:

At the time I was driving my W126, I was amused when a G parked beside me. Back then the show was held at BC Place - probably hasn't been there in about 15 years:

That's enough memory lane for now.

@nth256 did he roll coal upon leaving?

Big trucks were once used as tools, now many are used by tools.

I'm walking along thinking to myself "you don't see many old cars here as the climate is hard on them, and most pre-2000 are pretty rough", and then I happen upon this:

That is all.

These images are from roughly 20 years ago, when I lived in Bellingham, and got my first digital camera - a little 3.2 MP Sony unit I carried with me all the time. A few of these were probably taken with very early phone cameras - long before smartphones. I worked for a telco and we were able to test devices, I remember one where the camera was an attachment. In sorting through some files on my computer, I realized I had all of these old images, and thought some may be amused.

In no particular order-

This was at my old workplace - I took the pic to show my W126 in the snow, but I remember that now-rare car beside it, a Dodge 600 I believe, a slightly stretched K-car variant:

A Citroen DS Break/Safari with a GTO convertible behind it and a VW 412 in the distance. No, the pic is not from 1975, this was Bellingham in the early 'oughts:

Toyota Stout:

This pic makes me think of "The Birds":

Porsche club convoy, those were all new cars then!:

Vega-based Nomad, aftermarket conversion:

6 doors (to be fair, this was at a car lot):

If I remember right this was a very low mileage car:

Nice color:

Few cars can get away with pink, these sure can:

I want to say this wasn't Bellingham, but still in the wild:

This was behind Kent Bergsma's facility, back when he still had an indy shop:

This lived next door:

Mudflaps on a fintail, rare accessory:

A BMC landcrab followed by an early Midget:

My friend's 85 Monte Carlo SS after it was hit by a stop sign runner:

Very rare MB microbus, I remember talking to Kent Bergsma about this, he had tried to buy it, no dice, eventually it was gone:

That's all.

@CarsOfFortLangley I'm not doxxing myself with a pic of my house, some crazies around these parts may end up camped in my yard. When I finished some mild updates last year, I took a few non-revealing pics and have some others. I am happy with the way the place turned out. I could never have afforded this house, even as a normal sized 50s ranch, in suburban Seattle, I was lucky and am grateful:

I have a car hole and could probably fit a bike back there:

A hobby room where I trade time and money for sanity:

A living room, where I shitpost/post shit from that very chair and then fall asleep:

A large (~300 sq ft) master bedroom, with an area for one of my lesser known hobbies that has devoured countless years and dollars, old game worn hockey jerseys:

And right now some roses are in bloom, pleasant valley Sunday:

@sam-blockhan Mazda Cosmo , I believe USDM 1975-77 model years. Stupendously rare, due to the somewhat finicky/special dorito under the hood, and not being rust averse.

@highlander A little dirty from the snow a couple weeks ago:

Warming up for the last cruise of the season, on a cold morning:

Finally made it out to a little gathering. Only stuck around for about an hour as I feared approaching rain (someone doesn't like to get wet), and I had a few other things to do. Some unusual vehicles were in attendance: Restomod Camaro was well-done, one doesn't see Mk I Jettas and Corrados/Sciroccos every day, another MB showed up (W124 400E), Nova was an insane apparent drag car, Roadrunner reminds me of Boomhauer's car (I know his is a Coronet), and for the Jeeps, kids will be kids. Not a bad gathering, low-key, which matches with the area, I suppose:

After my fun journey yesterday (original flight was supposed to land at SEA around 0700, arrived around 1830), it was rental car time. I had two reservations - National and Sixt, as I was a little concerned about selection and can cancel for free. First stop National - Emerald Aisle was a selection of normal cars, lots of Nissan and Chevy IIRC. Executive Selection was a sea of new looking Chargers and Challengers, apparently not Hemi cars, looked like GT trim. Upgrade/VIP area was an Enclave (posh), Ghibli, Levante, and a lower spec looking 530i. I had a luxury reservation, but there was a line of people dealing with the attendant in the kiosk, so rather than waiting, I went to check out Sixt.

Sixt had a wide BMW selection - 2er GC, a wide selection of 3ers, 4er coupe, 5er, 7er, X1, X3, and some normal cars along with a Grand Wagoneer. I had a reservation for a 530i or similar. I was given the keys to a 2021 530i, and upon start, the TPMS warning exclaimed there was an issue. All tires had pressures ranging from 28 to 50. I didn't want to deal with this, so I went back to the kiosk. Nothing else available, so they gave me a 740i - maybe not an extreme option car, but a nice smooth highway ride. I'm pleased, and will try to explore the gadgetry while I have it:

I've always been amused by the random cars seen in illustrations of this type - a few recently caught my eye.

First, this local redevelopment project, some non-USDM material that is unlikely to be seen around Spokane anytime soon. Not sure if the illustrator just found random cars and didn't know better, or is having fun (and of course there's a Tesla):

Then on this blueprint, amusing choice of vehicle outlines - looks like a couple of MB C124 and a 911 with a possibly modified nose (for something listed at over 800K in Spokane, I'd hope for less things being "optional":

And in a listing, I noticed this little guy hiding out:

That is all.

@ttyymmnn I am sure it wouldn't be bad if one is handy (I am not so much). I use it enough to justify the price, and something like 7 or 8 years later, it has held up.

Light is from a couple small LED strips that came with the Foldio.

@ttyymmnn Hey thanks. I use a simple Foldio (2, I think, it is several years old) light box and my Note 20 as the camera, which can be quirky. I notice these pics are a little more consistent than many I have posted, maybe because the size of the model forced some distance.

@Sam-Blockhan I wonder if it talks or has a digital dash.

The Stanza on the dealer site is also a rare bird.

Lesney Matchbox time has returned. Today we take a look at Matchbox Major Pack M9a, the Inter-State Double Freighter, aka the Hendrickson Double Freighter, aka the Cooper-Jarrett Relay truck. This casting entered the range in 1962, remaining until the end of the Major Pack line in 1967, and can be described as an absolute unit:

This casting is maybe the most complex model offered by Lesney in roughly standard small scale, with multiple moving parts, and precise detailing. Like the prior Major Pack model shown here, fine line casting detail and proportions are both superb - much sharper than earlier castings, and the truck/tractor has glazing, which was a new amenity for the 60s. Scale appears to be similar to the regular small scale range, 1:60s perhaps - like others seen earlier, Major Pack vehicles were models of vehicles too large to fit in a standard Matchbox box, but are comparable in relative size. The Cooper-Jarret decals on the trailers barely show effects from the passage of roughly six decades. From all angles, one can imagine this road-going train hauling and everything down a newly constructed interstate highway:

Front and rear contain remarkable detail, with the roof horns, finely cast grille and "RELAY" nameplate along with rear door hinge details being nice touches, the silver mask-sprayed grille and headlight detail at front accentuating the high quality casting:

Both cabs detach from the trailer and from each other, which adds some play value, the hinge piece for the second trailer adding even more:

Opening rear doors on the trailers can add even more play value:

The base contains identifying data on cab and trailers, and highlights the numerous black plastic wheels:

This model is lucky enough to live in its nice original Type D box. This box type suggests production from 1962-65:

This box has dividers inside and an appealing layout, the packaging makes adds to this being a real gem - Lesney knew the packaging game:

I'm happy to have this truck in my collection, as it a lovely example of high quality diecast. Pictured with an old dime for scale:

Images of a similar truck and trailer setup from planetdiecast.com and pinterest - this configuration and livery existed in the real world:

@415s30 I'll pick that 48-49 (maybe the latter) Caddy convertible

@Marco-S With woolcloth velour in the front anyway.

@HFV_Junkyardin OK, I lied. Almost like I am becoming a politician. Now I just need some classified documents.

It's your rightful opinion that this moral belief doesn't need to be explained. But if you claim it as reasoning, you can't then backpedal and state no explanation is needed. Morals can be explained in detail. If you can't say why something is morally objectionable beyond "I believe", then you can't play that card. That's not how this works. A claim of morality doesn't get to be a responsibility waiver.

I never said your morals were "wrong" - again with the logical fallacy. Cool it with that, it's not speaking positive volumes. And linking one's chosen beliefs to innate sexuality is, frankly my dear, insane.

I promise this is it for me, for real. Good luck, good day.

@HFV_Junkyardin Not much point in explaining the morals bit because you can't. I thought twice about jumping into what IMO was likely not a good faith question, and man did I get it. Comparing premarital activities to homosexual activities is bizarre on a good day, and really nothing more be said about that in this venue. Apples to oranges at a minimum.

Nobody said anything about Christians being persecuted. Most Christians aren't fundies either, at least in my experience. Really crossing the line into logical fallacy there, keep an eye on that. Christians sure as shit aren't persecuted in this part of the world, and homosexuals sure as shit have been persecuted and still face garbage from the extreme right who gives so much to the world and takes so little.

Funny, I don't care if someone calls me a "lib" - I am not one by the modern version of a "lib" (in practice effectively the same bullshit rightist economic policy we've been cursed with for 40 years with a smattering of feel-good semi-progressivism to appease those fully on the left) - go for it. Call me what you want with any meaning you want, knock yourself out. This will be my last response to you.

And to make it a trio, every day is straight pride day.

@HFV_Junkyardin Who am I persecuting? I have no problem with religion or religious people, until they start interfering with my freedom or the freedom of others. It's not the "gay agenda" (sarcastic quotes) or whatever right wing conspiracy is trendy that is persecuting people, but you can be damn sure homosexuals have been widely persecuted in modern history, even in the west, and they weren't persecuted by atheists or agnostics.

I see the "morals" bit receives cricket chirps.

@amoore100 And then MB ditched it all for the 212 facelift, as fancier LED shapes were becoming trendy. I notice my 213 with lighting package has a 4 eyed look with lights on, but you can't see it otherwise.

Koreans got into it too (maybe copying the Japanese and Germans), this is/was my neighbor's work car/beater, which I think he loans out to young relatives as it has been absent lately:

And don't forget this concoction, which to me is less insect and more deep sea dweller: