Bodacious Beaters and Roadgoing Derelicts – Abu Dhabi Edition – 1975 El Camino
There is another redneck in Abu Dhabi. I have been unsuccessful unable in meeting him, but how else would you explain the presence of this “My Name is Earl” 1975 El Camino beauty?
There is a collector car club in Abu Dhabi, but old classics are rare in this part of the world; the only others cars I have sited have been a 1966 Buick Rivera near the Burj Kalifa in Dubai;
And this 1974 Ferrari Daytona Spyder;
This is in part due to regulations; only actual residents of the UAE are allowed to import cars more than 5 years old. The vast majority of the actual residents prefer Nissan Patrols and Land Cruisers. The big Mercs and Bimmers are for weekend.
It is also in part to the mentality of the younger generation. Everything here is new and shiny. One of the oldest buildings here is the Inter-Continental Hotel and it was built in the 1970’s. New is to be expected in a nation only 41 years old. Classics haven’t caught on here yet, but in the meantime, I no longer notice the Maseratis, 458 Italias and Lambos, as they are so plentiful.
A malaise era Elky is a horse of another color. It stands out here. The fellow that owns this needs a proper hybrid of a truck and a car. He needs “الطريق.” The primered bed with the diamond plate tells me he ain’t afraid to use the mullet end of this otherwise well preserved example, but the interior wrapped in plastic (very common here) tells me he still loves the old gal.
That hood triangle? Yeah, I got nothing.
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...And those gaudy wheels on the Daytona. It has to be either Cromodora Daytonas or Borrani wires - nothing else will do!
What sort of parking job is this, besides awful?