Menu
Apr
24
South African Nissan Bakkie 1200 & 1400
Reading the Speedhunters story about a properly built South African Nissan Bakkie 1400 reminded me of the time when I lived in South Africa. Digging through the pictures on my hard drive revealed quite a few pictures of these lovely little, but sturdy and tough, trucklets.
Read More»
Dec
31
Silvester Blues
BMW / Chrysler / Drive-by Snapshots / FIAT / Germany / Lost Places / Mercedes-Benz / Suzuki / Volkswagen Posted by Sebastian
/
0 comments
Silvester Blues | Erinnerungen an schöne Zeiten
Ein paar Stunden noch bis die Zukunft beginnt
Es ist der letzte Tag des Jahres. Nach dem obligatorischen Weißwurstfrühstück in guter Gesellschaft verbleiben noch ein paar Stunden um das fast vergangene Jahr abzuschließen. Freund Jonas entriegelt mit der Fernbedienung seine leicht patinierte C-Klasse aus den späten Neunziger Jahren und wir steigen ein. Unsere Blicke schweifen über den mit einer rot-weißen Bommelmütze bekleideten Stern. Wohin wird er uns in diesen letzten Stunden des Jahres den Weg weisen?
Read More»
Apr
02
Erinnerungen an den ersten Neuwagen meiner Eltern
Spontan sind wir dieses Jahr an Ostern über die Grenze nach Nancy gefahren und haben das Auto in einem leicht patinierten Parkhaus abgestellt. Der Weg zum Ausgang führt uns quer über das Parkdeck. Wir unterhalten uns über einen der ersten Besuche meiner Eltern in unserem wunderschönen Nachbarland. Jahrzehnte ist dieser Ausflug her und ich stelle mir vor, wie es in dem damals neuen Parkhaus ausgesehen haben mag. Anstelle von silbernen, schwarzen und weißen Einheitsfahrzeugen parkten hier damals Autos in allen möglichen Formen und Farben ― je bunter desto besser.
Read More»
May
19
Most people prefer an air-conditioned taxi cab to get around in the sweaty heat of Bangkok. However, for car-spotting purposes a tuk-tuk is the far better alternative. Why? Because of the better all-round visibility. And if you are a lucky chap, something interesting gets stuck in traffic besides the tuk-tuk. In this case, on our way to the airport, I spotted this Isuzu D-Max SLX crew-cab. First I noticed the nice-looking set of Cosmis Racing Wheels (RG-06). The offset works great to accentuate the lines of this vehicle. The front-mounted intercooler and the brake set-up give a hint that there might be a little bit more than stock power under the hood. Oh… and there is that Pro Speed Racing sticker.
Read More»
May
18
“Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.” Thich Nhat Hanh
Every breath taken and every step made during my stay in Thailand eventually led me to taking this picture, which is filled with peace, joy and serenity. Even though I’m a photographer specializing in cars, this photograph is not about the vehicle at all – but rather about the people living a relaxed and happy life. It was very quiet when I took it and made me very emotional just by absorbing the peaceful atmosphere.
Read More»
Jul
12
… and others are more easy to spot and take pictures of. OK, I admit that the stunning BMW E30 M3 I posted yesterday set the bar very high. Nonetheless, here is a selection of Munichs’ finest for you to enjoy. Let’s start with a pair of unmolested classics we found in Tomter, en route to the Gatebil event location.
Jul
11
A winding back country road in rural Norway on a beautiful summer day. The sun is shining, the bees are flying and the birds are singing. Well, they might be singing but… what actually reaches your eardrums is an entirely different symphony. One featuring sounds emitted from fresh air rushing through the carbon fiber intake system, feeding the engine via individual throttle bodies, exploding ferociously and being emitted through an exhaust system, finely tuned to trigger daydreams of an era long gone.
May
24
My friend Gerd and his wife Claudia started the drop-top season rather late this year. After collecting the Volkswagen Beetle convertible from storage and giving it a good wash, we decided to quickly snap a few pictures before officially starting the season.
May
20
Sleeping Beauties | Golden Brown
Drive-by Snapshots / Germany / Matching Backgrounds / Mercedes-Benz / Mitsubishi / Peugeot / Spain Posted by Sebastian
/
0 comments
Frequent readers know that most posts here at Drive-by Snapshots feature multiple pictures of a certain subject, most often accompanied by a little story. However, my archives are brimming with those lonely single pictures. Until recently I wasn’t really sure how to post them without boring you. A post containing one picture just isn’t really going to cut it. Last week, a good friend of mine had a great idea and suggested that I could group them for posts. While digging through the archives, I actually found many pictures that have something in common: a matching background, color or theme. Today, Drive-by Snapshots presents: three sleeping beauties – golden brown.
Read More»
Mar
30
As promised in the last post, Drive-by Snapshots now features a guest blog. My dear friend Hanna currently lives in Beirut / Lebanon and found this Honda Accord Mk1. She likes my idea of blogging about (often overlooked) daily drivers and survivors. A survivor? Yes – if it was imported to the Lebanon when new. Back then in the late 70’s / early 80’s, the civil war was in full swing. When the war ended in 1990, this first generation Accord was already 20 years old! OK, we’ll probably never figure out if the car was actually imported later, but it certainly looks like it has seen a rough day or two in its’ life.
Jan
23
Austin Six | A vintage car that has never been fiddled with
I stopped to refuel my car at a local petrol station in Alexandra, New Zealand. It was a chilly winter morning, the air smelled like snow. A vintage Austin Six pulled up and the owner also started refueling. It’s always easy to start a conversation with a fellow car enthusiast. He told me that his grandfather bought the car brand new and it got handed down to him eventually. The car has apparently not been fiddled with since new! A couple of accessories, new spare parts now and then – but no major repairs. It has never been repainted and had a wonderful patina inside and out that told all the stories of many years and miles. The gentlemen even asked me if I would like to drive it around the block. Thank you, sir!
Read More»
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…
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.
Read More»
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…
Read More»
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
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.
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?
