Anonymous asked: Hi :) I'm Lola, I'm 17 and I'm from germany. At school, I have to do a project where i tell my class about a virtual trip to san francisco. As i'm a big fan of old cars, i'd like to virtually rent a vw van t1 or t2 for the week i stay in SF. I sound a little weird here but it say's 'Ask me anything', so do you have any advice for me, where i could ''rent'' one? it doesn't even have to be real, i just don't want to name the internet adress of some random car rental as a source. Thanks a lot :)
Hi Lola,
Sounds like a fun project. When I was in SF I remember there were brochures in the lobby of my hotel advertising various shops that rent VW vans for camping trips and road trips, so it’s definitely an option!
In a quick google search I found a couple of links. I don’t know what version of VW’s they have but I’m sure they have them:
http://www.californiacampers.com/
… and this forum might be helpful:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1415679
Good luck and I hope you get a great result on your project.
-Charles
Army Green Bike
It takes a bit of balls to do a homemade paint job on a car or bike. Whoever owns this sweet little ride has pulled it off.
Sure it’s not the cleanest finish, nor is the bike itself the most powerful on the block or the newest, but it still completely works.
Is that a Honda logo I see under the paint by the top-right corner of the star?
Primer Eldorado
Another great find from my trip to San Francisco. The primer grey was an interesting choice for this Cadillac Eldorado from the 70’s. It gives it a bit of a Mad Max presence, but I still hope it’s temporary. Not a bad shade for a website backdrop though!
If you want to see some Eldorado’s in better shape, or any other Caddy’s, check out Cadillac Country Club, a very thorough appreciation of the iconic American brand.
VW T1
No trip to San Francisco would be complete without experiencing an amazing Volkswagen bus.
I hope this Type 2 T1 has a good handbrake, because it was spotted clinging to a typically steep SF street near Telegraph Hill. I really like the forest green color and the chrome side-mirrors were a nice change of pace from the usual circular stemmed mirrors the T1’s usually sport.
California’s Best Beds are in Santa Cruz
In Montreal at the moment where salt and sand rule the roads from December to April. I wish I could live in a sunnier climate, away from these corroding elements, so I could own sweet vintage rides like these.
An old Chevy C-10 pickup and a classic El Camino both spotted in Santa Cruz, CA.
W Le F?
Should I ever decide to write and produce a French farce (hmm, maybe I will…) this is what the protagonist will drive.
Oh, how his date will cringe as he pulls up in this little red je-ne-sais-quoi and she realizes she’ll be sharing a seat with a beret-wearing Mastiff. But he’ll melt her icy heart eventually. Preferably to a peppy accordion score.
I don’t know what make or model this car is and I’m curious to find out, so feel free to send some info my way.
Kawasaki W650
Spotted in the hills of San Francisco. In this W650, Kawasaki has created a beautiful Café Racer. It looks like a comfy ride and the chrome features have a nice contrasting effect against the black. Nice emblem too.
Here’s a W650 fan page from the UK where you can see a whole range of bikes from this line: www.kawasakiw650.co.uk
Merecedes SLS AMG
Jeremy Clarkson said it best:
“This is not just the greatest car Mercedes makes; right now I think it’s the greatest car in the world.”
This SLS was spotted near Kew Gardens, London, but if you’d like to see some funny test drive footage, check out this page from Adam Carolla’s CarCast website.
The Rental Cruze
Just back from California and I spotted some great cars which will be appearing here over the coming week or so. But I thought I’d start by showing you the rental car which served as my Cali Cruiser.
It’s a Chevy Cruze, which I’d never heard of before this trip. It was a bitter-sweet moment when the rental guy drove up in it. Sweet because when I reserved the car online, it said I’d be getting a Nissan Versa, which is pretty ugly. Bitter, because I was hoping I might luck out and get presented with a Charger or a Mustang.
No such luck, but all in all the Cruze was a fun little car. It was an entertaining drive for those short periods when I wasn’t stuck behind an RV on highway 1. And it has received pretty descent reviews, like this one from Car and Driver.
Volkswagen Type 2 (T3)
Car Gazing is off to the beaches of California for two weeks. Will try to post some things while I’m over there, but if not, there’ll be plenty of posts upon my return.
