Category Archives: Vantastic Rides

The Buick Riviera – The other 60s sports car

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With so many groups devoted to the history of sports car classics like the Mustang and the Camaro and the Maverick, a sturdy built car that doesn’t bother with silky curves might just get lost in the mix.

And unfortunately that’s been the fate of the Buick Riviera.

Those Mustang lovers hog everything! "Share the road, share the pride... please?"

Yes, the Buick Riviera.  With corners you could set your old-timey pocket watch to.  It may have a V8.  And it may have wood paneled interior.

But nothing says “I like to go to bed by 8:30 post meridian” like the Buick Riviera!

Here’s a typical conversation between a Buick Riviera and its owner:

Very Old Man: “Hey,pal! What do you say we go for a spin around town?”

Buick Riveria: “I don’t know… Do you think your pants are pulled up high enough?”

VOM: “You’re darned tootin’! That belly’s all tucked in and ready to go!”

BR: “But do you have your seat pillow with you, so you can hunch over my steering wheel?”

VOM: “I’ve got two! I’ll be nuzzling your windshield.”

BR: “Well, OK.  Let’s go!”

VOM falls asleep.

VOM wakes up, disoriented: “Oh what’s that? Apple sauce? Never touch the stuff!… Oh, hey Riveria!  Are we going on a drive or what, ya wiffle-waffler!”

BR: “I guess.  Did you remember to bring your cane with the metal duck head on top?”

And so on and so forthio.

The Buick Riviera - It could go fast... But it won't.

But sadly, the Riviera is a thing of the past.  No more can a 90 year old man go to his local Pontiac/Buick dealer and purchase his new dream car.

But wait!  Could it be?  Could there be a new Riviera coming? As good as the original? As sharp and straight laced?

Buick debuted this Riveria concept car in 2008...and that's as far as it went. RIP Riveria. You tried, and that's what counts!

 

This Vantastic Truck is a great way to blend in!

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Ever feel like your car’s just a little too showy?  Think red is rediculous?  Does electric blue give you the epileptic blues? (you know – that thing where you’re sad but you’re shaking around uncontrollably because a color’s too intense)

Whoa! How about we tune down the blue-tensity a smidge?

Well then we might just have the Vantastic Ride for you!

It's so modest, it does even want to show off it's grill

Who needs to the the flashiest, newest, shiniest car on the road!  This beautiful 1920s Ford Model A might be flat grey.  And it might not have a hood.  And the only glass in it seems to be a 6″ windshield.  But it’ll get you where you need to go just fine!

Yes, if you’re searching for a way to keep lookers-on lookin’ elsewhere, this casual ride might be for you.  And you don’t have to give up comfort to have a low profile.

It's like there's nothing between you and the open road!

That’s right! This model machine keeps it minimalist on the inside too!  And since there aren’t any airbags or floor mats or  firewalls to get in your way, you can stretch out your legs almost to the engine!

You want flow through ventilation? This chill rod features giant holes in the floorboard, giving you a direct pass to a cool breeze.

And you’ll hardly even notice that there’s no speedometer when you’re cruising along the highway at 20mph – confident that nobody’s giving you a second look.  Enjoy!

Vantastic Rides – Prehistoric Magic Van!

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We see some pretty classic rides while we’re cruising around the country.  You just can’t beat that old timey style! And it doesn’t get much old-timier than this petrified beauty we spied roaming the hills of North Carolina!

You might call it a Woodie!

And this van has every thing you need -  wood trim, solid wheels, lots of head room, a full size backseat, …great brakes.  And it doesn’t even use any gas!  Watch out hybrids!

vantastic rides: meet daisy the duo-namic bike!

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magic weather matt and i were stretching our legs when we shuffled past this most marvelous machine:

Huffy Daisy Tandem

we randomly happened upon this tandem!

with groovy covered seats and FREE!! sign it was hard not to put this fixer-smile-upper into the van…but alas, dear reader, we did not.  as much as we wanted to take daisy under our windshield wing, we left it for another double daredevil riding duo to delight in .

how adorbz are daisy’s notes?  every time the wheel spins, she mixes up a melody:

Huffy Daisy Tandem Bike

daisy turns to the beat of her own tunes. doo-wee-doo-laaaa!

daisy, brought to you by…

Daisy Huffy Tandem Bike

huffy!

next time we meandered by daisy’s last rest stop, she was GONE!  may she continue to pave the road with coordinated pedal pushing and stupendous steering. p.s.  the one and only time we rode a tandem was a walk on the scary side o’ the street – it takes a little bit to get the swing of it (did not ride long enough to get said swing) and you will likely get into verbal fisticuffs with riding partner first few times out. just be prepared for some tandem fall out, followed by vowing never to hop on one again, followed by nostalgia for said tandem ride even though you almost crashed a million times.  that’s the magic of the tandem!

tandem trivia alert!  did you know that ‘tandem’ just means the seats are lined up behind each other? yup! this is also a tandem:

multi-seated tandem bike

invite all your buds for a bike ride!

do you want to ride your bicycle as much as queen?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt0V0_1MS0Q

SPOKES-a-lot for reading this enTIRE post! we WHEELY hope you leave a comment!!

love,

molly

Vantastic Rides – The Street Van

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Today we salute a trailblazer in Van Vogue.  No, not the Chevy Trailblazer, which we don’t technically count as a van or groovy.  Meet the van that’s so funky, it doesn’t need a fancy moniker to make you say “Hey! I like that van!”  Meet…

The Street Van:

The Street Van - by Dodge

Dodge used to be pretty p-sychedelic.  Now, they’re just a-bout to go out of beeswax.  We have an idea Dodge…and it used to be your idea…BRING BACK THE STREET VAN!  Who doesn’t want to have a constant party in and around your vehicle?  It’s a Van Clan!  What better way to combine friends, hitchikers and whoever else needs a ride to the concert.

If you see one of these relics, be sure to say how do’!  They’re easy to spot due to the trip-drippy colored exhaust floating around them. (Emissions standards were a little lower back then.)

van-tastic rides – mini magics

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heyyy, look who decided to park on by us!  it’s charlie and jane, the teensy magic van super models:

Magic Van Super Models

charlie's the blue one

this vantastic pair may not be the raciest couple on the block, but they’ve kept on truckin’ in tandem since this song was fresh on the radio:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYEvz0oniCM

aka the smooth 70s!  chaz and janesters always have front row seats to the best view in the world…our windhshield!  they’re our dashboard buds:

Charlie the Magic Van Super Model

chuck is stylin' and profilin'

can i tell you a secret?  janie thinks charlie’s roof line is receding, but he claims he just has a high windshield.  secret over! charlie is most proud of his pearly white grill, which he attributes to daily flossing and the occasional baking soda rinse.  new secret: toy vans don’t really floss.  they don’t have hands!  secret over.

Janie's Rear End

jane likes to show off her rear view

can i tell you something else?  i love jane to death and she’s been there for me through a lotta miles, but jane is way into her back doors and kinda always needs to stop already bragging about them already.  she spends soooo much time keeping her rear axle in top shape just so anyone in the front seat will stare.  really, she’s come to expect it over the years.  if you DO stare, make sure you don’t go reaching for her tailpipe without permission – you might just get a face-full of emissions!  jane’s free-wheeling and a smidge gross like that.

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