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Jan
03
October 3rd is a public holiday in Germany. The weather in 2011 was perfect to go for a ride in my trusty convertible. Taking a detour on my home way from Bamberg was well worth it, again. Not only did I discover a twisty road that is fun to drive, but I also found something extremely rare at a roundabout somewhere along the way: a Piaggio Ape Calessino 200. These little vehicles have been around since 1949 and are usually found in Italy, providing transportation for goods and passengers in the narrow streets of old cities.
Jan
02
In December 2007, we decided to spend a weekend in Swaziland. For a more adventurous feeling, we decided to take the scenic route and enter the country via the Bulembu border post. We refueled the car at a Caltex station in Barberton, where I found this bright blue Ford Cortina Bakkie. The tow truck conversion was neatly executed and the vehicle looked to be in good shape, despite it’s obvious age. The owner was wondering why on earth I would like to take pictures of his old bakkie, but granted his approval. Thank you, sir.
Jan
01
Early October 2013, on our way from Glasgow to Kilchrenan. We stopped briefly at Loch Lomond to take a quick look around.
The day was cold and grey, but the Volkswagen T3 Camper we found in the parking lot was beautifully painted with bright colors.
Dec
02
Once upon a time, there was a beauty called Mercedes. She immigrated from a cold country called Germany decades ago and worked very hard under the relentless Lebanese sun for many years. This eventually made her very tired…
Dec
02
Back in mid-April, my friend Hanna sent a couple of pictures of a Honda Accord with strong patina from Beirut. While staying there for three months, she told me she had more and more fun looking for interesting vehicles to capture. As a thank you, I am going to feature some of them here at Drive-by Snapshots. This time around, it’s a large barge from the past: a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special. The color combination of the Cadillac nicely ties with the country it lives in: green resembling the cedar trees (also featured in the national flag), and beige representing the desert. The rust spots add patina and may just as well resemble the salty air from the sea, if you don’t mind 😉
Oct
05
In order to be able to reduce the speed, as ordered by the Scottish road sign in the opening picture, you have to gain momentum beforehand. To do so, we hopped in uncle Brians’ Hyundai Terracan, took the WRC special stage like road from Kilchrenan to Taynuilt (slowly) and then headed towards Oban.
Practice makes perfect and the locals have plenty of experience in reducing their speed. If you practice hard enough, you might one day be able to reduce your speed to zero exactly like the gentleman who precisely stopped his beautiful red Alfa Romeo 159 in front of The Wee Gallery in Oban.
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Sep
21
RD 6089 near Terrasson-Lavilledieu, on a grey morning. Cruising along with the local traffic… I spotted something based on the Renault Trafic on the side of the road: the Winnebago LeSharo. I have always liked how the French design of the base vehicle integrates well with the American style camper body. If you look at other Winnebago motorhomes of the same period, you can even see a familiar resemblance. Being flanked by a US-spec Peugeot 504 Break was a nice coincidence. The dealer had many other interesting vehicles for sale, some of which you will sooner or later find here at Drive-by Snapshots.
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Sep
21
If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you might remember seeing a glimpse or two of this Peugeot 504 Break in the post about the Winnebago LeSharo. Even the EU-spec vehicles are kind of hard to find in good condition these days, because many of them have been exported to northern African countries years ago, to be used (and abused) as taxi cabs. Finding this US-spec model on an early morning was a nice and unexpected surprise. No visible rust on this extremely rare car, but very lovely patina. If cars could talk, this one would definitely be able to tell some interesting stories about the adventures of a long life on at least two different continents…
Sep
07
Discovering a defunct service station displaying a sign saying Station Ouverte was already weird in its’ own right. The place looked like it had been left in a hurry and the proprietors haven’t returned since. Being the kind of person who is always keen to figure out what might have happened, I walked around the building and found… the carcass of a little vehicle the French call La Deuche.
Sep
07
Yesterdays’ post featured a small service station that went out of business, but isn’t fenced off or has a sign saying so. The story today is different. You are looking at pictures of a substantially bigger service station that, for lack of a better word, is closed. Nonetheless, it does sport a sign saying: Station Ouverte.
To tell you the honest truth – this place looked like a film set straight out of a zombie movie! The lack of traffic, heavy clouds and a slight drizzle didn’t make it any more friendly or welcoming!
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Sep
01
Alfa Romeo 33 16V Racecar by Martino Sifredi
Martin Sifredi is a passionate car enthusiast who is gradually building on his Alfa Romeo car collection. He eventually wanted to build his own Alfa Romeo race car and chose one of his favourite models: the 1991 Alfa 33 Boxer 16V. He deemed this particular model a perfect choice, because they are such great cars to drive in factory trim. He already owns a show winning 1991 33 16V, so it was a natural progression for him to find another 16V to use as a base for his project.
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May
15
RaceInn, Roggwil / CH. Hidden away in a quiet corner of the basement, I found an exceptionally nice Jaguar Mk2. Even though green has never been my favorite color, I quite enjoyed how the shiny paint came alive in front of the otherwise monochrome background.
Apr
01
Yesterday’s blog post was about French guys traveling to Morocco in a fully kitted-out LandCruiser 4×4. Considering that there are not many paved roads in the desert, it’s probably a wise choice. But what if somebody from Morocco wants to travel to France? There really is no need for a hard-core 4×4 on the roads of mainland Europe. Using something more suitable for long distance traveling on smooth roads is the better choice, isn’t it?
While waiting out a heavy thunderstorm at a service station near Seville, I spotted a BMW X5 sporting a yellow license plate I’ve never seen before. A closer look, after the rain stopped, revealed that it was from Morocco…
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Sep
29
Sometimes you walk around a corner without expecting anything unusual. And… bam! There it was, sitting in the middle of the Nürburgring paddock at a VLN race weekend. Most people actually walked by without noticing that there was something wrong with it different and unusual about it. The base was clearly identifiable as a BMW 850i. It looked like somebody had a couple of leftover Z8 parts in the workshop and grafted them onto the E31 body. The craftsmanship and execution are excellent, but the style is, as always, a matter of taste…
Jul
14
The title says it all. This post is about emotions. The Volkswagen T2b pictured here sparks many of them, quite literally. These vehicles are just so positively sympathetic, you couldn’t force the smile off your face – even if you wanted to. Not smiling isn’t an option due to friendly feelings, friendly people and friendly encounters. Slowly (as they are) but surely, the classic VW campers creep into your heart. You just want to pet them, as the sign in the opening pictures suggests 🙂
Apr
24
Cars parked under trees in South Africa
BMW / Drive-by Snapshots / Ford / Mercedes-Benz / Mini / Porsche / Renault / South Africa / Toyota Posted by Sebastian
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Sometimes, coincidences are funny. While finishing this blog post for publication, a friend sent me a link to an article over at speedhunters.com. Keith Charvonia wrote a great piece about finding project cars in the local neighborhoods of Tuscon, Arizona. I really love the article, because it described exactly what I’ve been doing for the last decade and a half: taking pictures of cars found along the roadside, without actually getting out of the car. Here is what I found during a one-week trip in South Africa. Albeit shot in various locations, all the pictures have one thing in common: the cars are parked under a tree.
Apr
15
The day we visited Franshoek featured rather dull colors, due to low hanging clouds and the odd rain shower. The whole town seemed to be muted. We unsuspectingly walked around a corner – and found a bright red pony! A rare one, too – being right hand drive. I’m not sure whether or not this 1965 Ford Mustang came from the factory like that. Might as well be a right hand drive (RHD) conversion, possibly from Desert Classic Mustangs.
Sep
24
Back in the days when sex smoking was safe and racing was dangerous, many cigarette companies used race cars to promote their products. The French brand Bastos supported a number of teams and cars. Each vehicle featured the signature red/white color combo with Bastos lettering and gold accents, similar to the cigarette boxes. I found this Bastos liveried BMW E12 at the Nürburgring Tourenwagen Revival. The car seemed to be restored, judging by the shiny paint and lack of battle scars. Old glory, indeed.
Feb
05
While hunting for a project car, I found this excellently crafted Volkswagen Beetle Pickup. The vehicle belongs to the Hagenauer body & paint shop in Würzburg. The split rear windows are a nice touch, but the rear bumper and lights leave something to be desired. They could have created something that suits the overall appearance of the Beetle Pick-up better. But that’s complaining at a high level 😉
Jun
06
In June 2010 we took the scenic route through the Gorges du Tarn. Climbing out of the canyon and heading towards Le Puy, we drove past a service station somewhere in the rural Département Lozère. As always, I immediately slowed down to take a closer look and was once more rewarded by finding something rather unusual: a leftover WWII Willys MB Jeep that has been cross-bred with a Renault R4. The bodywork of the conversion looked very professional and is actually very clever, because the region sees a lot of snow in winter. Judging by the faded red paint and the rotating light on the roof, it might have once belonged to the local fire department. The markings on the left door indicate that it may have been used by the local garage as well, probably as a service or recovery vehicle?
