I just did my first official car-spotting video in Los Angeles, choosing the San Fernando Valley β home of Galpin Motors β as the first location. What I discovered was a wonderful variety of vintage, rust free cars, and also one very obvious stand-out: old Chevy trucks. They are everywhere! It was only fitting that I chose my Chevy K for this car-spotting adventure. I pulled the park brake release, fired up that V8, slid the five-speed into gear, and headed off down Roscoe Boulevard before turning north into the various neighborhoods of Van Nuys.
A not-insignificant fraction of that presence owes its existence to Galpin, with body shops, tint shops, tire shops, detailing shops, and all sorts of supporting architecture surrounding the dealership.
There are tons of trades-businesses β locksmiths, steel suppliers, pool suppliers, home gate suppliers, and on and on. It was Chevy trucks galore. But in terms of old vehicles, a strangely disproportionate number of them appear to be old Chevrolet pickups and SUVs. Here are just some of the vehicles I saw during our one-hour car-spotting adventure:. Of course, there was much more on the streets. This owner of this old Chevy Fleetline is definitely a car-nut, though:. California has the highest concentration of BMW i3s in America β behold the carbon fiber wonder from Leipzig:.
Japanese car culture is alive and well in LA, though not really as prominent as I thought it would be:. Old Camrys are everywhere. Below you can have a look at a few more the cars I saw during my 60 minute cruise in my beloved GM Chevy K It was a completely impromptu minute video shoot, but it does give a bit of insight into just how much vintage stuff just keeps hanging on in Southern California.
How can there be that many within just a few blocks in the San Fernando Valley? You can see similar where I am in AZ. Lots of old trucks, Chevys being very popular, but also the mini trucks still in use by laborers and tradespeople. In the Northeast, most of those vehicles would have pampered collector car status if they were here in that shape. Fairly certain this was commented on other threads but it is good form to blur out license plates.
