We would go to the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo, & drink some cocktails, which included someone to watch my friend’s mom’s 2 tone purple Seville. Then, we would walk all over town for the day & pick the car up before dark. Once she set my friend up when we got pulled over by Border Patrol & he was asleep in the beck seat. The guy went along w it & acted like he was going to take him in as an illegal we had smuggled across the border. Good times in the ‘early ‘80s.
Hello, The funny thing about owning a 62 Corvair was that it was strictly a short drive automobile. My wife drove it to her last year of school, then to college until she met me. The driving of the Corvair then went to me, in inclement weather and odd days when the Red El Camino drove off with her behind the wheel as I was in the garage doing photo stuff. Yikes! So, I was getting used to driving the Corvair to various locations for photos and interviews. But, for all of our own family of cars over the years, they all made the road trip to Santa Barbara and beyond. From 1949 Buick of my dad’s long vacation road trips along the coast north. Add in the countless hours on the coastal roads to get to our Santa Barbara surf spots over the years with the flathead powered sedan delivery. Plus, during our college days in the El Camino cruising up the coast to San Francisco as many times as we could was the key to our togetherness concept that worked in our history. But all of the coastal road trips all went by the large statue of Santa Claus and his buddy Mr. Snowman. The location is between Ventura city beaches and Santa Barbara. The location is right off of the freeway roads on the shoreline side street. It is visible…was visible from either direction as it is bordering on the ocean on one side and the freeway on the other side. Plus, the huge statues stuck out like a sore thumb. “Look… Santa Claus…” was about the 100% comments on seeing the statue off the freeway and on top of a colorful set of buildings. It is now Santa Claus Village and the big statue is gone. A local bought it and set it up in his front yard back in Ventura city limits. The little village shops are still there, but the whole concept has lost its famous luster… Jnaki The only family car that has never seen the Santa Claus Village… But, our 62 Corvair Coupe never made it out of So Cal coastal areas. Actually, it was a local along the coastal beaches from Long Beach to Laguna Beach, but that was the limits of the Corvair Coupe. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a long drive to Rialto in So Cal. My wife was going for a job interview and drove the Corvair. That led to the Corvair getting stuck in East Los Angeles on the busy 10 Freeway near the Los Angeles City General Hospital. Not the greatest place to get stuck, in the center divider. Luckily, the traffic was low, late at night and two friendly Cal Trans guys stopped to offer emergency help. Since then, we got a tow to our friend’s garage in Los Angeles and got it fixed. Soon, within weeks, we sold it for $1oo.oo to an uncle in need of a car and bought a project 327 powered 40 Ford Sedan Delivery. Since my wife liked driving the El Camino, that was her car until we could get the sedan delivery all road worthy and safe. Then, she was the first one out of the door with the key to the sedan delivery for her errands and visits to friends. YRMV
I remember seeing that on the 101. The exit was Santa Claus lane. I always thought it was oddest thing to see on the coastal highway.
UK comedian Tony Hancock and a Jaguar XK120 - which he crashed at Admiralty Arch, London - 26th May 1956
Roberto Rossellini in a 1951 Ferrari 212E Vignale, en route to Spain, stopping in Monte Carlo for car repairs. Monte Carlo - 1952.
The Jalopy Journal
