1978 International Harvester Scout II

Spotted at 56th & Illinois while grocery shopping and grabbing a quick Frappuccino from the Starbucks on a September afternoon in 2021 was this 1977-'79 International Harvester Scout II. Fortunately I had a Nikon D7000 wearing a 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR zoom lens along with me.

The Scout II's can generally be identified by model year according to the grille...up until the '77-'79 models, where the front end trim was the same for three years running. In 1980, they went to rectangular headlamps. In 1981, they were discontinued.

Friend of the blog T. Stahl has commented with amusement on the peculiarly American obsession with specific model years. 

German cars tend to go by generations. For example from the Eighties to the early Aughties, 3-series BMW's went from the E30 to the E36 to the E46. A generation will run for six to ten years, typically, receiving a styling update somewhere in the middle of its lifespan to keep it fresh-looking.

"Model Year" in the US has regulatory implications, but it also used to have a lot more significance as a styling thing.

"The concept of yearly styling updates (a practice adopted from the fashion industry) was introduced to General Motors' range of cars by Alfred P. Sloan in the 1920s. This was an early form of planned obsolescence in the car industry, where yearly styling changes meant consumers could easily discern a car's newness, or lack of it. Other major changes to the model range usually coincided with the launch of the new model year., for example the 1928 model year of the Ford Model A began production in October 1927 and the 1955 model year of the Ford Thunderbird began production in September 1954.

Model year followed with calendar year until the mid 1930s until then president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order to release vehicle model years in the fall of preceding year in order to standardize employment in the automotive industry. The practice of beginning production of next year's model before the end of the year has become a long standing tradition in America."

At its height in postwar America, the new model year launches were a big deal. Dealerships would paper over their windows, the 'longer, lower, wider' new cars would be delivered under tarps and rolled into the showroom by dark of night.

Pretty reliably from the late '40s through to about the early 1980s, enthusiasts of a particular model of American automobile can pinpoint its exact year of manufacture by some sort of cosmetic differences.

This is, of course, a wildly inefficient way to make cars. Post-fuel-crises Detroit, getting clobbered by Japanese imports, generally hewed more closely to the global norm of mid-cycle refreshes on platforms that remained largely unchanged for many years, maybe changing a minor styling detail every couple-three years to keep things fresh.

ETA: If this is correct, the Flame Red color would make it a 1978 model.

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1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

We've had a 1979 Trans Am on here before, but it was the Tenth Anniversary model, which was actually a whole separate model from the regular Firebird, Esprit, Formula, and Trans Am.

In the photo here is a regular W87 Trans Am in Sundance Yellow. This car doesn't have the 8" wide alloy "snowflake" wheels, so the original owner probably didn't opt for the WS6 or WS7 special performance package. That explains the rear drum brakes as well.

The decal on the shaker hood scoop reads "6.6 Litre" rather than "T/A 6.6", so the car was ordered with the base L80 403 cubic inch four-barrel V-8, sourced from Oldsmobile and rated at 185 SAE net horsepower. The L80 only came with the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic TH350 transmission, and, unless you ordered the WS7 package, you got a fuel economy friendly 2.41:1 rear end to go with it.

Needless to say, a Trans Am optioned like the one in the picture was no bolt of lightning. 

They were wildly popular, though. Of the 211,453 Firebirds sold for the 1979 model year, a full 117,108... well more than half ...were Trans Ams. Subtract the seven thousand odd Tenth Anniversary cars, and that's 110k regular Trans Ams. Of those, 89,040 had the Olds V-8 and a slushbox.

This one was photographed with an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and an M. Zuiko Digital 12-200mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens in October of 2024.

1986 Toyota MR2

The Toyota MR2, released in the US market by Toyota for the 1985 model year, was everything its only competitors were not. The Fiat X1/9 was still sold in the North American market as the Bertone X1/9, imported by Malcolm Bricklin, but it had the durability and reliability issues typical of low-production Italian sporty cars of the era. Pontiac's Fiero had been on the market for a year, but was heavy for its size and had an uninspiring suspension.

The MR2 boasted Toyota levels of build quality, weighed about the same as the X1/9 and boasted almost 66% more power, while being a hundred pounds lighter and much more nimble and better handling than the Fiero.

Powered by the zingy 1.6L DOHC 16V 4A-GE inline four also found in the Corolla FX, which made 112hp and which could be paired with a slick-shifting five-speed manual or, if your soul was dead, a four-speed auto, the MR2 was the kind of sports car that made automotive writers pull out thesauruses looking for extra synonyms for "fun".

When Car and Driver tested an '85 model (with the stick shift, natch), they saw a zero-to-sixty time of 8.3 seconds and a 16.3 second quarter at 82mph. Top speed was 116 and all-up curb weight was 2,380 pounds. For comparison, those are about the same numbers put up by a 140hp V-6 Fiero GT, which was almost 400 pounds heavier.

The Light Beige example in the picture was photographed with an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and a Panasonic Leica Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4 ASPH zoom lens in June of 2025.

1991 Porsche 911 Carrera 2

Debuting in 1989, the 964 series was the first total overhaul of Porsche's classic 911 since its launch a quarter century earlier. At the time, Porsche claimed only about 15% of the old car carried over, despite the external similarities.

It was initially only available in all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 form, with the RWD Carrera 2 coming a year later. The 964 debuted standard power steering and anti-lock brakes for the 911 series, as well as driver's-side and passenger-side front airbags. The big cosmetic difference on the outside was the faired-in bumpers, while under the skin the torsion bar rear suspension was replaced with coil sprung semi-trailing arms.

The motor was new, but still an air-cooled SOHC flat six, now displacing 3.6L and with an 11.3:1 compression ratio to put out 247 horsepower at 6,100 RPM. It could be paired with either a five speed manual or Porsche's Tiptronic four-speed automatic.

Car and Driver tested a five-speed car, which recorded a 4.8 second zero-to-sixty run and a 13.3 second quarter mile at 106mph, which are numbers that would have been 911 Turbo territory not many years prior. Top speed was noted at 161 miles per hour. Base price for all this sturm und drang was $58,500 in 1990 dollars, which is $144,600 in today's money.

The Guards Red coupe in the photo was snapped in July of 2015 using a Nikon D1X and a 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6D zoom lens.

2003 Honda S2000

All through the Sixties, Honda produced a series of lightweight little two-seat roadsters as sporty image-leader flagships, First the S500, then the S600, and finally the S800, with the model number denoting the engine displacement in cubic centimeters. With the discontinuation of this line, Honda was pretty much out of the hardcore roadster biz for the next thirty years until the launch of the S2000.

Unlike the rest of Honda's then-current lineup, but like those older roadsters, the S2000 used a longitudinally oriented engine in the front driving the rear wheels. Also like those older roadsters the S2000's engine was a high-RPM screamer utilizing Honda's motorcycle and Formula One engineering experience.

Under that long hood was a 2.0L (well, 1,997cc) DOHC 16V inline four with Honda's VTEC variable valve timing system. Below six or seven thousand RPM it was just your typical zingy four-banger, but when it got into the VTEC all the way to the 9,000RPM rev limiter, the F20C was a snarling beast more like a race motor than a street car powerplant. For a normally-aspirated two liter four cylinder street motor to make 234 SAE net horsepower was unheard of at the time, but the Honda did it and sounded great while doing so.

Befitting its sporting nature, the car was only available with a six-speed manual transmission. I was strongly considering buying one of these instead of the secondhand BMW Z3 2.8 that I wound up purchasing, but decided to go with the six-cylinder Bimmer because the Honda was only really fun if you drove it like you stole it and the temptation would have been too much for me.

When Car and Driver put a 2003 S2000 (in Spa Yellow, just like this one) in a five-way shootout against two seater convertible sports cars from Audi, BMW, Nissan, and Porsche, it walked away with first place honors while sprinting to sixty in 5.4 seconds and through the quarter mile in 14.1 at 99mph. Price as tested was $33,060, or $58k in current money.

This one was photographed using a Sony a77 and a 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* zoom lens in September of 2025. 

2018 Audi S4

The B9 was the sixth iteration of Audi's S4 sports sedan. What had started as a small, taut competitor for the M3 had aged into plump middle aged, and found itself competing in the marketplace with compact sporty crossover SUVs as sedan sales dwindled.

Under the hood was Audi's 3.0L DOHC turbocharged V-6 making 345 SAE net horsepower, and the only transmission choice was the eight-speed ZF Tiptronic slushbox, driving all four wheels in classic Quattro style.

Curb weight might have ballooned to 3,928 pounds, but the brawny six still had the Wheaties to push nearly two tons of sedan to sixty miles per hour in only 4.2 seconds and through the quarter in 12.8 seconds, clearing the traps at 108 miles per hour when tested by Car and Driver.

This Glacier White one was photographed using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and an EF 28-70mm f/2.8L zoom lens in January of 2022.

1991 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24

The Cavalier was intended by Chevrolet to be a front-wheel-drive compact that would slide into the lineup between the elderly RWD subcompact Chevette and the midsize FWD Citation that replaced the Nova. It hit dealerships as an '82 model and that first generation of angular Cavaliers lasted until replaced by the more aero-looking second generation for 1988.

Mechanically, the second generation of Cavalier was similar to the first: a transverse engine driving the front wheels, MacPherson struts, lower control arms, and coil springs up front (shared with the other FWD Chevys of the era) while the rear was switched from a beam axle to the torsion-beam setup from the more upmarket J-bodies.

While the base Cavalier motor for 1991 was a 2.2L pushrod inline four with throttle body fuel injection, the sporty Z24 got GM's little 60° OHV V-6 with multiport fuel injection. Now enlarged to 3.1L and dubbed the LH0, it could be paired with either a Getrag 5-speed manual or a three-speed slushbox and was rated at 140 SAE net horsepower.

In the 2,738 pound Cavalier Z24, the 3.1L and manual transmission was good for an 8.4 second zero-to-sixty time when Car and Driver tested a 1990 model. The quarter mile took 16.4 seconds at 83mph, and the as-tested price was $12,830 in 1990 dollars, which is roughly $31,700 in today's coin.

This one was photographed in December of 2024 using an iPhone 13 Pro Max. 

2018 Audi S5 Cabriolet

Audi added the A5 model in the late '00s as a designator for coupes, cabriolets, and five-door fastbacks ("Sportbacks" in Audi-speak) that shared a platform with the A4 sedans and wagons. Naturally there was also a high-performance S5 model to accompany them.

The A5 and S5 got their second generation for the 2018 model year, like the Monsoon Grey example in the photo. Where the regular A5 had a 2.0L 16V turbocharged inline four, the second gen S5 got a brawny 3.0L 24V turbo V-6 making 354 SAE net horsepower and driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic.

When Car and Driver tested a 2018 S5 ragtop, they recorded a zero-to-sixty sprint of 4.8 seconds and quarter mile run of 13.5 at 103mph through the traps. Top speed was governor limited to 155 and it managed 0.94g on the skidpad.

This one was photographed in September of 2025 using a Canon EOS R and an RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS zoom lens.

1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible

After taking a multimillion dollar bath on its late-Fifties design extravagances, the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Corporation condensed its lineup for 1961 down to a single model, the Continental, which was available as a coupe or a convertible.

The fourth generation of Continental was of unibody construction, like its predecessor, but smaller, having a 123" wheelbase. (The design proposal was originally floated as a Thunderbird, and the unibody was related to that used by the '61 T-bird, but stretched.)

Under the hood was a 430 cubic inch MEL ("Mercury Edsel Lincoln") big block V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor with a 10.1:1 compression ratio, rated at 320 gross horsepower. All cars had a three-speed Turbo-Drive automatic transmission driving a 2.89:1 rear axle ratio.

The cars were given a lengthy dyno run-in and a 12-mile road test on completion, and were delivered with a two year, 24,000 mile warranty, which was the longest of any domestic car at the time.

The slab-sided "suicide door" Fourth Generation Continentals, like this Spanish Red 1963 convertible are, to my eye, a refreshing break from the chrome-laden rolling Wurlitzers of the late Fifties. They won several design and engineering awards, sold like gangbusters and Chrysler hired their designer, Elwood Engel, away from Ford to serve as Virgil Exner's replacement as head of the styling department at Mopar, where he remained until his retirement in '73.

This one was photographed in August of 2022 using a Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS zoom lens.

2004 Mercury Sable LS

The Mercury Sable debuted in the '86 model year as Mercury's more upscale sister car to Ford's Taurus, replacing the Marquis as the midsize sedan in the Mercury lineup. It was the biggest FWD sedan sold by Mercury to that point and was a reasonable success, being the second best-selling Merc after the full-size body-on-frame Grand Marquis.

After the radically styled third generation of the late Nineties, the fourth generation Sable that hit as a 2000 model was more conventional in appearance, with a regular grille replacing the previous model's weird little trout mouth.

The fascia got a mild refresh for 2004, but the Sable was still available in two trim levels: the standard GS or the swankier LS, like the Arizona Beige Metallic example in the photo.

The six-spoke 16" alloy rims that were an extra cost option on the GS came standard on the LS. Where the GS used the 3.0L Vulcan pushrod V-6, the LS had the 3.0L Duratec DOHC 24V motor that made 200 SAE net horsepower.

This one was photographed with a Pentax K7 and 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 WR zoom lens in September of 2025.

1970 Cadillac Coupe De Ville

1970 marked the final year for the third generation of Cadillac's De Ville, which had begun with the 1965 models. They'd received a pretty serious makeover for the 1969 model year, going from vertically-stacked to horizontal quad headlamps, and gaining more sharply-creased flanks ending in notional fins.

Under the hood was Cadillac's 472 cubic inch V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, making 375 gross horsepower and a monstrous 525 lb/ft of torque and backed by a THM400 three-speed automatic. This would be the last year for the full 10.0:1 compression ratio. The next year would see compression drop to 8.5:1 to allow the use of regular gasoline, which would give the output a thirty horsepower haircut.

This Cotillion White coupe rides on a 129.5" wheelbase and stretches a full 225" from stem to stern. It would have had a base sticker of $5,884, which is about $49k in current money.

This one was photographed in September of 2025 using an Olympus E-3 and a Zuiko Digital 12-60mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens.