1988 or ’89 Toyota Celica ST Coupe

The 4th generation Celica has some really nice design elements, but the ugly roof and pillar treatment is really a horrible distraction. Fortunately, Toyota commissioned ASC to chop the horrible roof off the Celica coupe and gave us the convertible version.

1982 Volkswagen Vanagon (T3)

I came across this poor T3 in a self-service wrecking yard in Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. Row52.com, the service the yard uses for its inventory, has it listed as a 1982 model. Even without having the model year confirmed, we can tell from a quick glance that this Vanagon left the factory in Germany with an air-cooled engine—the T3 switched to a water-cooled engine part way through 1983, and those vans had another grille below the headlights for the radiator. Although the Beetle and T2 bus continued to be produced with air-cooled engines in Central and South America into the 2000s, the T3 was the last new Volkswagen design to feature an air-cooled engine, and also the last new rear engined model, making it a significant vehicle in automotive history.

1986-91 Volkswagen Vanagon (T3) Westfalia

This Vanagon appears to be one of the most desirable variants- a Westfalia camper conversion with “Syncro” four wheel drive.

1974-89 Mercedes-Benz SL and 1978 or ’79 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Too bad it was rainy when Taylor spotted this Mercedes-Benz SL. On a nicer day it may have been driving around without its removable hardtop, like this example. It’s hard to positively identify the year of this SL, since they were built for nearly two decades without many exterior changes. Most year-to-year adjustments were made under the hood, but one significant change made in 1974 was the addition of huge “park bench” style bumpers which were designed to comply with US safety regulations. Many new cars in the US received unfortunate new bumpers for the 1974 so they could survive a 5 MPH collision with no damage.

We also appear to have a 1978 or 1979 Chevy Monte Carlo photobombing in the background.

1988-91 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park

One of the last American station wagons built as minivans replaced wagons as typical family haulers. Gotta love the giant wood grain stickers on the sides.

1986 or ’87 Subaru Brat GL

This Brat was spotted in Park City, Utah a few months ago by a friend of mine. It is either an ’86 or ’87, as indicated by the lack of jumps seats and mounting brackets for head rests in the bed. 1987 was the last year Brats were sold in the United States, but they continued to be produced until 1994 for Europe, Australia, Latin America, and New Zealand. This example is very rusty, like most Brats are at this point. One thing that caught my eye immediately is the wheels. Most Brats still retain their original wheels, because the 4×140 bolt pattern was only used by Subaru and, oddly, French manufacturer Peugeot. Consequently, there are very few aftermarket rims out there, and this is the first (and only) time I’ve ever seen wheels like this on a Brat.

1980-87 Jaguar XJ6

The Jaguar XJ was available with either a six cylinder or a twelve cylinder engine. I’m just assuming this one is the more common six cylinder variant (XJ6).

1985-93 Subaru Loyale

Spotted this awesome lifted Subaru Loyale wagon on the freeway a couple of rainy days ago. The third generation of the Subaru Leone was introduced to the United States in 1985 and renamed Loyale. It continued to be available until it was replaced by the Subaru Impreza in 1994.

1989 Toyota Celica GT Convertible

It’s always fun to me to see other 4th-generation Toyota Celica convertibles regardless of their condition, since they aren’t very common anymore. This one is often parked in front of a row of shops near my house, and I finally stopped to shoot some photos of it.

The 4th-generation Celica was produced from 1986-1989, but the convertible was only available from 1987-89. Toyota made slight changes to the grill, turn signals, taillights, and interior in 1988, making ’87 convertible models like mine somewhat unique.

This example has the later style features, and according to ToyotaReference.com, 1989 was the only year the “Ice Blue Pearl” paint color was offered. From what I’ve gathered over the years I’ve owned my Celica, the only other colors offered on the convertible were white, black, and red.

1980-89 Subaru GL Hatchback

Subaru produced hatchbacks in this body style for nearly a decade, even after their more popular wagon and sedan received a redesign for the 1985 model year. We’ve seen this one out and about a few times, and it is in really nice condition, possibly restored.