Show me a nice old car

3 recent film shots of random cars along the way.

first 2 photos with Prackica LTL, 50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar lens, on Ferrania P 30 film

p3999139422-4.jpg


p3999139577-4.jpg


this shot, below, taken with Voigtlander Bessa R3m, 50mm Voigtlander f3.5 Heliar lens, on Cinestill 50D film

p3999140406-4.jpg
 
KoNickon said:
Yes! On route 302, just past the famous Mount Washington Hotel (site of the Bretton Woods monetary conference in 1946 (?). I pass by there regularly.
Click to expand...

It was a great wedding and a great day overall. The immediate family all had their hands full getting ready for the big event. So I was given the honor of driving the chrome-grilled MGB (sandwiched in-between the Big Healey and the Triumph TR6) from Concord, NH to the church up in Bretton Woods. That made for a great pre-wedding event.
 
Mike,

So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
 
Larry Cloetta said:
Mike,

So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
Click to expand...

Larry, I’m not very hip to the actual classic car scene in Japan. I don’t know where these people are getting these cars or how much they’re paying for them. I no longer own a car or have a driving license but when I did drive the safety inspections on cars were mandatory and the older a car got the more frequent the inspections were required. Road Tax, registration and safety inspections get pretty expensive for older cars. Most of the cars on the road here are less than 10 years old. Classic cars are a rare sighting except (from my experience) here in Yokohama. Why there are more on the road in Yokohama, that’s another mystery to me. One thing I do know is that if the sun is shining on a Sunday it’s a sure thing that I can get some nice classic car pictures in Yokohama.

All the best,
Mike
 
I was so impressed with the wheels on the yellow Corvette (post # 2437) that I made a crop from one of the pictures to showcase how beautiful they are.

DSC08265.JPG


Voigtlander 21mm f1.4 Nokton VM lens
Sony A7II
Yokohama, Japan - October 2020

All the best,
Mike
 
Yokosuka_Mike said:
Larry, I’m not very hip to the actual classic car scene in Japan. I don’t know where these people are getting these cars or how much they’re paying for them. I no longer own a car or have a driving license but when I did drive the safety inspections on cars were mandatory and the older a car got the more frequent the inspections were required. Road Tax, registration and safety inspections get pretty expensive for older cars. Most of the cars on the road here are less than 10 years old. Classic cars are a rare sighting except (from my experience) here in Yokohama. Why there are more on the road in Yokohama, that’s another mystery to me. One thing I do know is that if the sun is shining on a Sunday it’s a sure thing that I can get some nice classic car pictures in Yokohama.

All the best,
Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks, Mike. Seems like it would be an expensive proposition over there, based on what little I know about day to day life in Japan, which is pretty much nothing. Which was why I asked. Interesting about Yokohama. I'm not seeing any Subarus in your photos; am guessing that is because they are all over here in my town.
 
Larry Cloetta said:
Mike,

So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
Click to expand...

Yokosuka_Mike said:
Larry, I’m not very hip to the actual classic car scene in Japan. I don’t know where these people are getting these cars or how much they’re paying for them. I no longer own a car or have a driving license but when I did drive the safety inspections on cars were mandatory and the older a car got the more frequent the inspections were required. Road Tax, registration and safety inspections get pretty expensive for older cars. Most of the cars on the road here are less than 10 years old. Classic cars are a rare sighting except (from my experience) here in Yokohama. Why there are more on the road in Yokohama, that’s another mystery to me. One thing I do know is that if the sun is shining on a Sunday it’s a sure thing that I can get some nice classic car pictures in Yokohama.

All the best,
Mike
Click to expand...

Maybe Mike can opine more on this as someone who lives in Japan, but when I visited a few years ago, I noticed that all the cars - not just the classic ones that Mike spots - are kept in very good condition. Very few unwashed, dust covered cars. I don't know if it's a cultural thing, or if there's any correlation to the many used Japanese cameras, particularly from Japanese sellers on eBay and the like, that are in unusually good condition for their age.
 
Dourbalistar, keeping one's car clean and well maintained is just the way it is here; so, I guess you could say it’s a cultural thing. A filthy or ratty car would stand out like a sore thumb. A junker like the VW van in post # 2418 is undoubtedly a conscientious decision made by the owner to have it look that way. Under that rusty carcass is likely to be a very mechanically sound car. If a car can’t pass its routinely scheduled safety inspection it’s pulled off the road. Like I said previously, most cars on the road in Japan are less than 10 years old. After 10 years passing an inspection gets harder and more expensive. This is one reason why used cars over 10 years old are very cheap here.

There is an exception to this. U.S. Military and civilians stationed in Japan and covered by the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) can get their safety inspection done on their military base and the requirements are less stringent. So, if you see an older beater of a car on the road it’s probably owned by a U.S. citizen covered by the SOFA.

I hope this helps answer your question.

All the best,
Mike
 
Larry Cloetta said:
Mike,

So many great cars in unusually good condition there. Seems like some kind of car culture, like Southern California used to be, but with a greater emphasis on the pristine, at least from the examples you post. Are these generally quite expensive, relative to what they might be in the States in terms of who has the wherewithal to own some of these? Or, no? Emission laws exempting these, currently or in the future? Also, what’s the highest octane level of generally available gas there? Am assuming no lead.
Seems like many museum quality pieces just out driving around, like this Alpine.
Just curious.
Click to expand...


I reckon Mike's photo's of classic cars are world famous and, if you live in Japan, you clean and polish them and then drive around in the hopes that you'll be seen and photographed.

1, This theory explains why there are so many concentrated in one spot and

2, Look carefully in the photo's and you'll see the owners waiting and hoping in the background. Look at the third photo in post No. 2437 f'instance.


Regards, David
 
David Hughes said:
...2, Look carefully in the photo's and you'll see the owners waiting and hoping in the background. Look at the third photo in post No. 2437 f'instance. Regards, David
Click to expand...

David, the car owner in that picture was actually amused that I was interested in photographing his car. He was more interested in smoking cigarettes than he was in me. He was just having a Father/Son day and enjoying his automotive passion.

I do agree that car lovers, what ever country they live in, enjoy attention and are happy to pose for a picture with their beloved car.

All the best,
Mike
 
David Hughes said:
I reckon Mike's photo's of classic cars are world famous and, if you live in Japan, you clean and polish them and then drive around in the hopes that you'll be seen and photographed.

Regards, David
Click to expand...

David,

I took and shared my car pictures because I thought people enjoyed them. If it's being construed that it's just a big show-off culture that I'm feeding off of, I'm more than happy to stop sharing. No big deal for me.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom