El Camino

Not all of the cool cars you see in the East Village are cars — likewise, not all are trucks.

Some are a combination of both!

Behold, an El Camino, seen two weeks ago alongside El Jardin del Paraiso, on East 4th Street:

Two weeks ago.

You might think that would be the last time I saw it.

Au contraire mon frère!

Here it was again, six days ago, parked on East 7th Street, alongside Tompkins Square Park:

Alongside Tompkins Square Park.

This is the car that Sterling Archer drives, after having lost his super spy car.

Now, do you know what really amazing? It was on this very day, in 1958, that Chevrolet first started selling the El Camino!

Happy Birthday, El Camino!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #7thstreet #coolcars #elcamino #eljardindelparaiso #tompkinssquarepark #happybirthday #anniversary

Spitfire x 2

If you were to guess how many Triumph Spitfires there were in the East Village, "one" would be a pretty good guess.

One Triumph Spitfire, on St. Mark's Place.

What if I were to tell you that the number was actually twice that?

Behold:

Second Triumph Spitfire, on Avenue C.

And both of them parked in the same direction — what're the odds of that?!

#eastvillage #avenuec #coolcars #mazdaspitfire #stmarksplace

Cool Black Pickup Truck

I was walking across East 4th Street earlier this week, when I saw this cool black pickup truck parked in front of the beloved Don Juan Barbershop:

Cool black pickup truck.

It's not the Cool Old Pickup Truck of yore, but it's a pickup truck, and it's cool!

If you're wondering, it's a Chevy Custom Deluxe 10 — second generation!

It's baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #donjuanbarbershop #pickuptrucks #coolcars

Cool Black Car

It's been a while since there have been any cool cars in the East Village!

The last one I saw was 12 days ago, on East 6th Street:

Cool black car.

Nothing says East Village Today like a cool black car in the Fall!

#eastvillage #coolcars #6thstreet #fall

Van Go Pokémon Go!

As you know, East Villagers have been swept up in Pokémon Go fever!

Here's an example that I saw this past weekend, on East 5th Street:

Pikachu!

Gotta catch'em all… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #5thstreet #coolcars #graffiti #pikachu #pokemongo #pokemonvan

Better Call Ana

At the beginning of the month, I wrote about the appearance in the East Village of the very cool VW microbus pickup truck. At that time, I speculated that its owners might already be in Mexico!

If they did go to Mexico, they're back now, because yesterday I saw it on St. Mark's Place again, this time parked mostly in front of the beloved Physical Graffitea, but partly in front of the beloved Big Steve's Fun City:

Back on St. Mark's Place.

Seeing how much space there was in front of it, I took a picture of the front of it:

Front of it.

Here is a picture of the load it was carrying: an air conditioner, and a shopping bag that matches the color of the truck:

Air conditioner and shopping bag.

What's in the shopping bag, you ask?

Ribbon.

Ribbon!

By now, you must be wondering: "Where can I find a cool pickup truck like this in the East Village today?"

Well, wonder no more!

Where to find a truck like this.

For the coolest car since the cool old pickup truck… better call Ana!

#eastvillage #bigstevesfuncity #coolcars #physicalgraffitea #pickuptrucks #stmarksplace #vwmicrobus

Microbus Pickup

East Villagers have always loved Volkswagen microbuses, so when this microbus pickup parked itself outside the beloved Dumpling Man on St. Mark's Place last week, it quickly became the talk of the village!

Talk of the village.

"What happened to the top?!" asked some.

"Where are the seats?!" asked others.

"Are you a hippie?!" asked no one — of course they're hippies!

Keep your eyes open, it won't be around for long — microbus owners are notorious vagabonds. They might already be in Mexico!

#eastvillage #coolcars #stmarksplace #vwmicrobus #dumplingman

Another Cool Truck

There's seems to be no end to cool trucks and vans in the East Village!

I saw this one this morning, while walking up First Avenue:

Another cool truck.

Keep on truckin'!

#eastvillage #coolcars #trucks #firstavenue

New Cool Van

A new cool van has entered the East Village!

I saw this parked on East 4th Street this past Saturday:

Parked on East 4th Street..

The word on the side, in green, is "doves". You might wonder how I know this; the answer is: I'm quite clever!

Here is the other side of the van:

Other side of van.

There's always room for new cool vans… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #coolcars #vans

The Jaguar

I was walking across East 6th Street last week, when I passed by this Jaguar (JAG-you-are, in England):

Open-hooded Jaguar.

That hood shouldn't be open, I thought to myself. Probably the result of a non-victimless crime!

I looked into the interior and saw the front seat forward, but it didn't seem to be related:

Front seat forward.

I  went back to the front of the car, and that's when it hit me: something hit this car:

Hit car.

Or this car hit something — one way or another, the principle that no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time was upheld!

East Villagers love the maintenance of physical laws!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #cars #coolcars #jaguar #physics #pauliprinciple

Wacky Car

East Villagers love unusual things, like this car I saw on East 4th Street:

Unusual car.

You can't really tell at this distance what all of those things are decorating the fender and (what do you call that thing?) gas-cap cover.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Eventually, when the owner buys enough Wacky Package stickers, he'll be able to cover another section of the car!

Keeping the East Village wacky, one step at a time!

#eastvillage #coolcars #4thstreet #wackypackages

Distressed Cool Old Pickup Truck

It's been quite a while since I saw the beloved cool old pickup truck, and where did I find it? On St. Mark's Place, in front of Big Steve's Fun City, cappuccino and tattoo emporium, where it sat almost all Winter! (It's pretty remarkable that the owner was able to get this parking spot again!)

Cool old pickup truck outside Big Steve's Fun City.

It's starting to look the worse for wear, too — it looks like the owner is having a hard time fitting the nozzle into the gas tank:

Fuel stripping the paint.

Just like the buildings and the people, everything corrodes… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #bigstevesfuncity #cool #cars #pickuptrucks #stmarksplace

The Prodigal Cool Old Pickup Truck

The cool old pickup truck has been found, on East 12th Street!

The last time it was seen was March 2, after spending a month unmoved from its parking spot on St. Mark's Place! Speculation ran high after that, that its owner had packed up and moved out of the East Village. But here it is again:

Cool old pickup truck on East 12th Street.

The strange thing is that I found myself on 12th Street quite by accident; I even thought to myself "What am I doing here? There's nothing down here." And then, voila!

As you might expect, it has a couple of stylish, new accoutrements, like this rooster crest hanging from the rearview mirror:

Rooster crest and beads.

Also, the last time it was seen, it was sporting a red seat cover. That's gone now, and contrasting seat belts have been added:

Contrasting seat belts.

East Villagers are delighted at the return of the cool old pickup truck, if in fact it was ever really gone. If slaughtering a fatted calf were legal, it would be done. Instead, I'm just going to have a cheeseburger tomorrow for lunch!

#eastvillage #12thstreet #cool #cars #pickuptrucks

Cool Old Pickup Truck Gone From St. Mark's Place

The cool old pickup truck has been moved!

I was walking down St. Mark's Place yesterday evening after work, and I saw this:

Cool old pickup truck gone from St. Mark's Place.

The cool old pickup truck has been here since at least January 24. That's almost two months in the same spot with no tickets!

I walked over to see if it was on East 9th Street, but it wasn't there either.

Maybe its owner has moved on to greener pastures. I mean, now that the East 9th Street West Virginia building no longer looks like it's from West Virginia, the owner has pulled up his roots and moved on.

Towns that disappeared completely
Pull up the roots, pull up the roots
Miles and miles of endless highway
Pull up the roots, pull up the roots

Stay tuned!

#easgtvillage #9thstreet #cool #cars #pickup #trucks #stmarksplace #westvirginia

Cool Yellow Car Again

For some reason, all the cool old cars of the East Village look even cooler half-buried in dirty old snow!

I was walking across East 7th Street this past Saturday, when I saw the cool old yellow car I've taken pictures of before:

Cool old banged-up yellow car half-buried in dirty old snow.

Here is a picture of the back of it:

Back of cool old banged-up, etc.

I count four things wrong with the back of this car. Can you spot them? Leave your answers in the Comments section. Some are easier to spot that others.

Anyone who lists all four will receive an East Village Today Certificate of Recognition, suitable for framing! Good luck!

#eastvillage #cool #cars #7thstreet #snow

This Old Car

I was walking across East 9th Street this past Saturday when I saw this car, that I've seen before, but I don't think I've taken a picture of. (Have I? Let me know!)

Anyway, this is a Dodge Meadowbrook:

Dodge Meadowbrook.

Here is what it looks like from behind:

Dodge Meadowbrook from behind.

Meadowbrooks were made between 1949–54, and like anything between the ages of 61 and 66 years old, there's a lot of rust in the rocker panels:

Rust in the rocker panels.

This reminds me of a song that was popular when I was a kid — I hope you like it!


#eastvillage #cool #cars #9thstreet #dodge #meadowbrook

Cool Old Pickup Truck Has New Seat Cover

East Villagers will be happy to know that the cool old pickup truck, that hasn't moved from its spot on St. Mark's Place since before the snowpocalypse, has not been abandoned! This past weekend, I saw that it now has a fetching, new seat cover:

Fetching, new seat cover.

It matches the color of the truck! (Pretty closely.)

I've seen a lot of East Villagers having their pictures taken beside this truck. Who wouldn't want their picture beside it? It's a classic!

#eastvillage #cool #cars #pickuptrucks #stmarksplace

Poised to Make History

It occurred to me last night, while I was walking down St. Mark's Place in the cold: I think I know why the cool old pickup truck is still parked here.

Cool old pickup truck still parked on St. Mark's Place.

Recent newspaper articles have told of the upcoming 40th anniversary of the release of the album Physical Graffiti, by a band called Led Zeppelin. The album cover was a photograph of the building beside Big Steve's Fun City. I wrote about it here.

I think the owner of the cool old pickup truck is looking to get his truck into the photos that will be taken in the near future! Maybe he'll even get to meet Jimmy Page!

That's what I would do if I had a cool old pickup truck… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cool #pickuptrucks #stmarksplace #ledzeppelin #physicalgraffiti

It Must Be a Record

I know… I can't believe it either: the cool old pickup truck, that's been parked on St. Mark's Place for three weeks now, is still there. This must be some kind of record! Still, I feel like I'm at the point where I might as well be reporting that it's still red!

But… the snow has been cleared away, and it moved!

Cool old pickup truck moved forward.

Something you won't know, because even though I took the picture, I didn't post it, is that the mound of snow that was piled up behind the truck is now gone:

Mound of snow behind truck, Feb. 7.

Mound of snow gone, Feb. 14.

And, as I mentioned, it's been moved — only back and forth, but that's something!

Tire tracks in the snow, indicating movement.

I really thought alternate-side parking regulations would have back in effect by now, and this truck would have moved, but it's not the only vehicle that hasn't moved, as we'll soon see!

#eastvillage #cool #cars #pickup #trucks #stmarksplace #snow

Cool Old Pickup Truck Set to Move

It looks like we're not going to get any significant accumulation of snow today or tonight, so tomorrow the owner of the cool old pickup truck is going to have to move it to a Monday/Thursday spot. It's my guess he'll move it back over to East 9th Street at that time.

Cool old pickup truck on February 7.

As with anything that stays for too long in one place, this pickup started to accumulate trash:

Inverted mint julep glass?

It looks like a mint julep glass, but who drinks those in the Winter?!

Well, it's been fun keeping track of the cool old pickup truck over on St. Mark's Place, but all good things must come to an end… even in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cool #cars #pickup #trucks #stmarksplace