Parking Lot Cars

 I'm always on the lookout for a great old car. And I seem to find a surprisingly large number of them as I'm out doing my day-to-day activities, such as going to the grocery or running similar errands. So today I'm posing a number of photos of cars I've seen in parking lots. For example, here is a 1951 Chevy Styleline. Like other manufacturers, Chevrolet had converted their plants to wartime production during World War II. Also like the others, it took Chevy a few years to re-tool and come up with new designs. The first new Chevy, the Deluxe, came out in 1949. One of the trims in the Deluxe range was the Styleline such as this 1951 model.

The same War-era and post War situation could be seen at Ford where their first new re-design also came out in 1949. The Ford Coupe, such as this 1950 Deluxe model, was a ground up designed all new automobile that was the main competition to Chevy.

While Mercury, a division of Ford, also came out with some re-designs in 1949, it was the introduction of the 1952 Monterey that saw their biggest success immediately following the War. The Monterey would see seven generations through 1974. This is a first year model I caught in a grocery store parking lot.

I've also come across a few cars that predated WW II. The Ford Model A came out in 1927 and replaced the Model T. Legend has it that Henry Ford was opposed to halting production of and replacing the Model T but relented when he saw other manufacturers with newer designs outselling his gem. So in 1927 the Model A was released and ran through 1931. Here is a Model A Tudor Sedan.

Leading into the Great Depression Chevrolet had a series of mid-sized cars dubbed the AB National series. When the Depression hit, Chevy, along with others, downsized their cars in hopes of maintaining sales numbers. One example is this 1935 two door sedan.

The Dodge Dart was introduced in 1959 as a 1960 model. Today we would consider them mid-sized cars but Dodge marketed them as downsized large cars. The first generation was fairly typical of the era but the second generation, unveiled in 1962, saw a number of styling changes. This '62 is a perfect example.

Introduced in 1964, the Ford Mustang was a massive success. It outsold ever expectation. And while it is considered to be the ultimate Pony car featuring a long hood and short rear end, it was actually beaten to market by the Plymouth Barracuda. Still, the Mustang outsold all competition while undergoing a number of mechanical and cosmetic changes. Here is an early second generation convertible model owned and driven by a supermarket employee. 

Cadillac has long been considered one of, if not the top luxury marquee in America. While it had its problems, particularly in the 1980s and 90s, the 70s was a boon for the large cars, until the oil embargo of 1976 hit. Still, cars like this mid 70s (I believe it may be a 1977 Coupe Deville) were still attractive enough for many to purchase them.

Not all the cars I find in parking lots are old. Sometimes a nice, fancy model turns up that catches my eye, such as this Aston Martin DBS. Nice to see a supercar in the grocery store parking lot.