Last Auto Reviews Blog: 1970s

Krack Kadett Will Never Be Burned By Rioting Parisians! [Down On The Street Bonus Edition]

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out interesting street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Today we've got some shots by Project Car Hell Poster Child and serial tipster Franzouse, whose Paris wanderings led him to this riot-proof Kadett. Is Franzouse channeling the spirit of former Alameda High School student and current- in fact, permanent- Paris resident, Jim Morrison, with all these Alameda-grade DOTSBE finds? Make the jump to see all the photos and read his description of this fine piece of German automotive craftsmanship.

Went for a walk yesterday, daytime for once, and I wound up in a neighborhood I usually stay away from, the champs Elysées. Attempting to steer away from that pickpocket cesspool, I veered off and found myself on the Avenue Gabriel, which borders the back wall of the garden of the President's Elysée Palace (I steer away from that place too usually).
In this heavily guarded place, right across from the back gate is a theater in whose parking lot I found a true beaut.
An Opel Kadett C ('73 to '79) covered in graffiti. Lots of pic here, great litle details, but a mystery: the front windshield is clear of graffiti, the interior is worn but clean, I saw a valid insurance sticker, French DoT tags... so I asked one of the any cops around if they knew anything about the car: it's driven by a member of the current play, the director they think. "The guy is an excentric" (my kind of person), they wouldn't say more but their non answers told me that in their mind he didn't pose a security threat... Which is just as well because I'd love to see that variflex suspension.
Hope you like it. On a technical note, it is parked on the lot of a public, government-owned theater, so I know it's not a full DOTS, it's not on private propery either :)

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Welcome to Down On The Street , where we admire old vehicles found parked ...

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Today's car is one I'm quite familiar with, since it's now sitting in my back yard. No, it isn't my current Personal Hell Project; I'm helping Czech automotive journalist Bobash realize his dream of terrorizing quaint Central European villages with an ocean-liner-scale Fuselage Look Mopar. You may recall the '81 Corvette I inspected for BobAsh a while back; that car is now roaring around the Czech Republic in all its Late Malaise glory.

This car was a one-owner, estate-sale find. The late owner was a San Francisco chiropractor who garaged it, had it serviced on the dot, and (apparently) never allowed anyone to sit inside. It's got a few minor dings and dents, but almost everything works and the (purple whorehouse-esque) interior is the nicest I've ever seen on an unrestored 90,000-mile car.
It's not what you would ever call fast, but the 335-horse 440 gets its 4,855 pounds moving pretty well. Yes, this voluminous dreadnaught is almost - but not quite- a thousand pounds heavier than the bloatmaster 2010 Camaro SS.
I'll be bringing this mighty luxury machine over to the Port Of Oakland for shipping to Bremerhaven as soon as all the spare parts I've ordered finally arrive. Don't feel bad about its leaving the country of its birth; it shall be worshiped as a god in its new home!