Carspotting - mid 1960s San Francisco

[Otter74]

I enjoyed this a lot for the car-spotting. I'd peg it at about 1965. Within the first minute there are two E-types, both with wide whites, and later an Amphicar, a BMC 1100 and a Renault Floride, which is particularly interesting.

[ckissick]

That was cool. It's possible I was in one of the beetles. (I was 6 years old then.) We used to spend a lot of time in the city back then, since both parents were born there. What were the odds of seeing an Amphicar?

[vash]

wow. my parents lived there at that time. i was -1 years old!!

interesting that it even sucked to find a parking space back in 1965.

[Steve Carlton]

I don't know the cars well enough for that era, but it felt like 1963. No Mustangs, which started to come out in 1964. The Chevys and Cadillacs looked like '63-'64s. The earliest '64s would hit the streets around September, 1963.

Cool video, by the way.

[speeder]

Cool video. There is nothing newer than a '62 or '63 car in that, so that would be the year. The economy and auto sales were strong in those days and you always see plenty of new cars in videos like this of California traffic.

[Otter74]

No, there was a '64 Cadillac in there, and I think one of the full-size Chevys was a '64.

[Deschodt]

cars aside, it looks so CLEAN !
Not that much has changed architecturally, but it's just so filthy now... Trash everywhere, druggies lying on the sidewlak, beggars at corners, more advertising.... It looked way nicer then !

[Scott Douglas]

Opening scene has a '63 T-bird sitting right in front of the camera.
Did you see the '62 'vette sitting at the curb on the left at @1:50?
Or the really nice looking '57 Bel Air Sport coupe on the right curb at @2:00?

[Bill Douglas]

Nice.

But I found it all a bit confusing. All those cars on the wrong side of the road I mean.


San Francisco. One of the most beautiful cities in the world.

[Scott Douglas]

They flip the lanes when you come up this side of the equator, Bill.

[pwd72s]

Too short a glimpse of that Austin Healy to ID model and year. But cool...

correction for Bill...USED to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

They flip the lanes when you come up this side of the equator, Bill.

Yes, it's probably the same side of the road but I'm looking at it from upside down, so it appears to be the other side.


PWD, yes I was just a puppy when I was there.

[Seahawk]

That brought back a lot of memories. The lack of traffic caught my eye.

I waited tables at a restaurant in Ghirardelli Square in college...my only Union Job! One school year only.

The amount of freezing tourists in May waiting for the CC at the Powell and Hyde Street turnabout always made me sad.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I watch a lot of these on YT, some go back to the 40s in California. NYC is also great to watch.

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

San Francisco. One of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Viewed from a distance, yes. Not so much at street level anymore I'm afraid

Cool video

[jamesnmlaw]

Life Before Hippies.

Beatnics grooving on cool jazz.....

Wonder what life was like for the driver of the XKE. Or, the AmphiCar.

[LWJ]

Super cool stuff.

Like Paul, I saw the Big Healey (LOVE THESE).

Also, a Corvette;
Studebaker P/U (LOVE THESE ALSO);
Ford Unibody P/U (MOST CERTAINLY RUSTED AND CRUSHED);
Ford Unibody Van (nobody every loved these);
Big Fin Chrysler in Taxi livery;
And...the VW bus as a panel truck. ONLY a small back window. No sides. Not sure I have ever seen one like that before.

Thanks!

[GH85Carrera]

It is almost surreal how bland the car colors were for most cars.

In 1969 we visited SF and stayed with some local friends. They took us down to Haight-Ashbury and we walked around in the poster shops and ogled at the funny looking hippies.

[LakeCleElum]

Thanks for the memories. Saw 2 of my old cars - The white XKE and the Austin Healey.
Surprised to seen zero motorcycles. Where were the homeless people camped out?

[Tidybuoy]

That's how it was when I grew up there: sidewalks clean and no tents in sight. What happened?