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Washington state
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Classic car shop in Port Townsend also functions as a quirky museum
Port Townsend is a great place to hang out if you are into old cars. This is partly because the relatively mild weather and the town’s historic ambience make it a magnet for people who […]
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Political battles loom on climate policies that increase gasoline prices
When I took a road trip through three West Coast states two weeks ago I found that gas prices fluctuated by as much as $1.53 per gallon. Prices were highest in northern California, where I […]
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Road rage is on the increase — and some states are worse that others
Today as I was merging onto Interstate 5, a Jeep Cherokee honked while roaring around me into the fast lane. I had been doing the speed limit through an interchange that is regularly tracked by […]
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1962 Ford: Harbinger of stylish trucks rots in the woods
(UPDATED FROM 2/18/2022) Five miles up an unpaved road in the Olympic Mountains is a harbinger of today’s stylish trucks. Slowing decaying in the rainforest is a 1962 F-Series pickup. Rather than trying to cart […]
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The rise of the European van and other musings from a few days camping
Indie Auto is a day late in sending out its weekly e-letter because I wanted to sneak in some camping at a national park before the federal government likely shuts down Oct. 1 (Lunney, 2023). […]
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Why don’t more people customize the paint schemes on their vehicles?
This BMW reminded me of how rarely automobiles in the United States display customized paint schemes. The only time I can remember when this has been a mass-market phenomenon was during the surfer van boomlet […]
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Still motion: A haunting encounter with a 1940s Chevy truck
(EXPANDED FROM 11/20/2020) The National Park Service is renovating the Kestner homestead near Lake Quinault. However, one item is being left to nature’s whims — a circa 1941-46 Chevrolet panel truck once used in a […]
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An automotive time machine with an open door
Since I began visiting Lake Quinault in the mid-1980s, I have noticed this 1953 Chevrolet sitting in a garage. The garage’s door has always been open and the Chevy has not appeared to have been […]
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Rat Kool Garage doubles as a rather quirky car museum
(EXPANDED FROM 10/16/2020) Head out of Raymond, Washington on Route 6 (Wikipedia, 2020) and you cannot miss seeing an unusual assortment of old cars parked in front of the Rat Kool Garage & Customs. Among […]