Intriguing as the cars within the Orphan Car Show may be, the show usually attracts a number of vintage vehicles to Ypsilanti's downtown. Sure enough, I managed to stumble across a few during my trip to the show.
Walking into the show, I first came across a nice teal Austin Mini from the late 1960s. Yes, it had been accessorized, what with the chromed roof rack, Minilite wheels and plastic wheel flares. Regardless, it still looked quite attractive - enough that it easily could have been on display in the show itself.
Next up was a (literal) shocker - a 1976 Sebring-Vanguard Citicar. Built in the height of the OPEC embargo, the Citicars never quite connected with consumers, making this yellow car quite a historic vehicle. Although more sophisticated than some of the Chinese electric cars we saw at the 2008 Detroit auto show, the Citicar isn't much more than a lightly-trimmed fiberglass box; we're not sure how comfortable that would be for commuting.
Not everything we ran into was an orphan - much like this pristine 1972 GMC Suburban, parked alongside the Grand Trunk railroad line. This mint example sported a deep green-over-silver two-tone paint scheme, and nearly flawless chrome. Three-door Suburbans (there's no rear door on the driver's side) are always interesting finds, and it's refreshing to see one that hasn't been lifted for dirt trails - although it is fitted with large alloys.
Those wheels looked tasteful in light of another pseudo-attendee: a pseudo-Packard. In reality, it is little more than a Cadillac Deville hearse from the late 1980s with a horrid front fascia - not unlike that of the Stutz Bearcat revival - grated on. Packard badges, including the bright red octagon, were stuck everywhere (mostly to cover the GM origins), but even a liberal dosage of badge engineering wasn't enough to warrant the Packard's inclusion in the show. Perhaps it's best to let some things die.
Personally, no parking lot find could trump the little red roadster parked next to me - a 1967 Datsun 1600. From a distance, I mistook the little Fairlady as an MG; only as I approached the car did I realize it as being something more interesting. Anglophiles may loathe me for preferring the 1600 over the similar MGB, but the Japanese drop-top is slightly more obscure.
And on that Sunday, obscure was everything.