Mr. Obscure - Obscure Cars Daily - S4. Ep41
Listen Here!
Keeping Cars Weird
“Never forget” we use that phrase a lot, however it takes a unique person to truly never forget. We all love the classics, 60’s Mustangs, 30s hotrods, GM muscle, but what about the forgotten cars? Enter in Mr. Obscure, a mysterious man who has a passion for the rare, weird and forgotten cars of yesteryear. By day he works a normal job like the rest of us, however through the magic of sitting on the throne, educates the internet on obscure cars that 99.9% of us have never seen.
That’s right, many of the cars that Mr. Obscure highlights are researched and written in an unlikely place, the toilet…and he’s not bashful about it. His posts and stories are riddled with potty puns that takes the seriousness off his research and prepares you for some silly stories that are riddled throughout the obscure car realm. His start in cars actually came from quite the opposite of obscure in a 1974 VW Bug, the most produced car in history, a car his parents daily drove in the 90s. Common in places like Mexico and overseas, six year old Mr. Obscure quickly realized his parents were one of the few who drove these in the US market regularly. He fell in love with the weird cars as a kid and went to college for industrial design. This opened up doors to how cars were previously designed and the inspiration obscure cars have on some of the most timeless designs.
When COVID hit, Mr. Obscure was sitting at home bored and decided to get in on the media boom. He started Obscure Cars Daily instagram page. Originally started as a time killer and to get away from a quote, “The Shining,” situation in his house, he found that there were few obscure car social media pages. Out of the few, none of them gave a detailed description of the car or the history. After starting Obscure Cars Daily giving the typical history of these cars he found growth on the page was stagnant. He decided one day to start throwing in what is now his signature off the wall comments and poof the page caught fire. Now at 66K followers the page has found a niche market and for guys like myself, is a daily read on the weird and obscure underbelly of the car scene. With 300 cars on his “waiting to post,” list, he has plenty of content for years to come. He is honest with his assessment of cars and gives him an outlet to express himself, something that he doesn’t have the luxury of in his other job. His second job in the car industry is writing for Hotcars.com where no doubt you have read an article or two.
DAWB-6 Mr. Obscure highlighted during the podcast
During the podcast we broke down an obscure car list that I put together…everyone likes a good list! Below are the cars we spoke about and Mr. Obscure gave some insight into many of them. While my list is tame compared to Mr. Obscures typical 1 of 1 cars, here is what we spoke about in no particular oder:
1990s Foxbody SSP - lightweight police car package that was based on the Ford Mustang and produced by Ford between 1982-1993. The car was meant to provide a speedier option for police departments in lieu of other full sized sedans on the market at the time. My personal favorite spec would be in the Texas DPS livery but lets be honest, rolling around in any vintage police car is cool!
Mr. Obscure says, “a lot of guys used these for racing…one of the only cop cars that came in a 5 speed option.” That option is rare because later cops cars only used automatics because, “whether you were shooting someone or using the radio you had to have an automatic,” obviously to have one hand always on the wheel.
Late 80s early 90s Honda Shuttle - In 1987 Honda introduced the fourth generation of the Civic. Honda built the Shuttle also known as Wagon, in selected markets and available in the U.S. The result was more than just a new minivan it was a crossover vehicle available with an intelligent 4WD system. My personal spec would be slammed to the ground with one of the colors indicative of the early 90s.
Mr. Obscure says, “you had 4wd,” in regards to the Shuttle, “and Honda has never done that on a Civic since…there was also a panel version that is reminiscent of the Chevy HHR.”
1965-67 AMC Marlin - The Rambler Marlin remains a rare sight in the world of classic cars, but the car's utterly unique appearance typically makes you the only person pulling up with one at a car show. Whether you roll it stock or customize it with a lower stance, the back end fastback style makes the car look like its in motion standing still.
Mr. Obscure says: “AMC is an underrated brand in general,” and as he put it so eloquently, “The Marlin is like the Barracuda we have at home,” referring to the off brand version jokes the internet loves.
1977 Pontiac Can Am - this midsized (for the time) muscle car was based on the LeMans and the Grand Am as a special edition option package and was only available in 1977. It was named for the Can Am racing series and featured the race themed period decals that scream mid 70s. I’d keep this bone stock, maybe upgrade the sound system and cruise around with a cigar hanging out of my mouth.
Mr. Obscure says: “With as cool as it is and as valuable as they are, with all of the smog control, its a dog and not as valuable as people are asking for them.” I tend to agree…
Late 80s Toyota Cressida - The Cressida was an up-market version of the Camry, with more power, luxury features, and RWD. The 2nd generation Cressida ran Toyota’s 5M-GE engine, with nearly all of the components coming from the same parts bin as the Supra’s 5M-GE. It was rated at 175hp in 1987, not bad for a 3,000lbs vehicle. I personally would slap some air ride on the car, throw on period correct wheels and cruise around town. Maybe a 2jz swap…
Mr. Obscure says: “It was more upscale…its cool just for the RWD factor in a car that small.” In regards to Toyota, “they have faded away to FWD.”
Early 2000s Mazdaspeed Protege - The Mazdaspeed takes all that was good from the Protege, and added a Callaway Cars engineered turbocharger for its 2.0L DOHC. The turbo bumped the horsepower from the MP3's 140 to 170. The Garrett T25 turbo blows through an intercooler stolen off of Mazda’s European turbodiesel, and the power is routed through a five-speed stick married to a limited slip diff and spinning larger half-shafts. Early Fast and Furious movies probably accounted for many of these being raced and wrecked and will now be hard pressed to see one rolling around the streets. I’d throw some sportier suspension and some sticky tires and enjoy carving this thing around windy roads.
Mr. Obscure says: “I forgot that existed after it came out. The regular Protege was a dog but that one was good! That Protege could move!”
1939 Lincoln Zephyr - The Lincoln-Zephyr is a line of luxury cars that was produced by the Lincoln division of Ford from 1936 until 1942. Bridging the gap between the Ford V8 DeLuxe and the Lincoln Model K, to me its only of the most beautiful cars designed by Edsel Ford. Hot rodded or bone stock you can’t go wrong with this car.
Mr Obscure says: “its so timeless, the old streamlining, and the custom car guys were all over it.”
Early 90s Celica GT4/All-Trac - The Toyota Celica GT-Four is a high performance model of the Celica Liftback that was produced from 1986 to 1999, with a turbocharged 3S-GTE engine, and full-time AWD. It was created to compete in the World Rally Championship, whose regulations dictate that a manufacturer must build road-going versions of the vehicle in sufficient numbers. These vehicles are referred to as "homologation special vehicles.” While the US market never got these they are now legal to import based on the age of the car. You could spec this with the Castrol Livery that all of the Gran Turismo kids know or keep it all JDM with performance parts galore. Either way its the Supra you could take off-road!
Mr. Obscure says: “Those cars are such legends from the rally days where they cheated out. That adds more to the I want the illegal car, the one that’s even faster.”
1958 Apache Cameo Bed - The Cameo's bed wasn't an all-new unit, but rather an ingenious treatment applied at the factory to conventional step-side beds. Special fiberglass sides, fabricated by the same company that handled the construction of early Corvette bodies were attached to the sides and tailgate of a standard pickup box. The mix of 50s sedan styling transforms this truck from a farm use vehicle boulevard cruiser you could take your best gal out in. I’d keep this bone stock and dazzle the valet at a fancy restaurant.
Mr. Obscure says: “the 50s trucks were a tool but they still put enough thought into giving it enough style.”
1992-96 Ford Escort Cosworth - The second rally version on the list the Ford Escort RS Cosworth homologation special from the fifth generation European spec Escort. It was designed to qualify as a Group A car for the World Rally Championship and was available as a road car from 1992 until 1996 in very limited numbers. The first 2500 cars made before 1 January 1993 are in fact "Homologation special versions." It was instantly recognizable due to its large "whale tail" rear spoiler.
Mr. Obscure says: “we never got that in the US and the philosophy for rally cars in the UK is completely different.”
Huge thank you to Mr. Obscure for taking the time to speak with me about his passion project. You can find Mr. Obscure on instagram @obscurecarsdaily or on Hotcars.com. Better yet, go visit his monthly show on the east side of Pittsburgh where you’ll find him talking obscure cars and get to actually see his face! The first show of the year is April 1st 9am-1pm at Commonplace Coffee. Can’t wait to see the car show take off this year and I’m pushing him to create his own podcast highlighting the history of these forgotten cars!
