Roadside Warriors!!

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::02/05/11::
 The Holden Statesman is a glorified, over priced Commodore... you know it's true so don't even  bother... given that this is fact... lol Turning onto the start of the Eastern Fwy from Hoddle Street... Passed an abandoned Statesman, probably a mid to late 90's model with light gold duco... Approx. time 1655hrs...

From the Eastern onto Eastlink, just passing over the Burwood Hwy came across a silver VY in the emergency lane... looked like the guy was on the phone... Yet another Commodore driver not capable of working out how to use the hands free... Seems to be a theme... Time stamped 1721hrs...

Approaching the Dandenong turnoff noticed a police vehicle in the emergency lane with the lights on... Now it's not always the case but it is more often then not.. that there's a Commodore parked in front.. so I readied my camera... Now I was trying to keep the camera on the down low because I'm sure the cops aren't to happy to be snapped... so the end result was a terrible photo of.. you guessed it... a VE SS with royal blue duco... although it looked more like they were having a friendly chat.. probably talking about Commodore performance upgrades... Time stamped 1725hrs...  

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::01/05/11::
First breakdown of May!!! Weather was appalling tonight in Melbourne... we had some pretty heavy downfalls. Headed South on the Eastern Fwy at about 1845hrs and it started to rain fairly heavy.. but not heavy enough to lower the speed under 100kmh... Although it's open for debate as to whether I should have lol anyways... Just before the Wellington Rd turn off on Eastlink I noticed a few breakdowns and a tow truck in the truck stop and as I approached I saw a Silver VN with the hood up and jumper leads snaking out of it towards the rear of the car... Behind it was a Ford Falcon ... attached to it the other end of the leads... It was hard to tell which one had broken down... More likely to have been the VN  lo Unable to snap this one due to the adverse conditions but the truck stop was well lit...l

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::30/04/11::

Saturday Night Carnage!! Absolutely shocking on the camera tonight... but first up we have a beautifully crafted artistic shot of a Maroon VN Calais... having problems towing a massive boat... Now I'm no genius by any stretch of the imagination... but seriously... who in their right mind thinks.. "Fuck man, just bought this kick ass cruiser boat... better get a VN to tow it!!!" lol seriously .. wtf was this person thinking... Well I'm pretty sure he had a lot of time to ponder his decision whilst sailing into the emergency lane with the bonnet up and ready to go..  It's not the first broken VN I've come across trying to tow a boat either...   I came across a silver VN about a month ago..on the Morooduc Hwy that appeared to have damaged it's rear axel.. I mean there's camber... then there's just totally effed up lol Time stamped 1847hrs - Eastlink - on approach to the Middleborough Rd turnoff... 

 The above shot was so average I doubled back to get another .. So you better appreciate the fact that I paid 1.25 extra in tolls just to get this shot, cos the second time round.. was even worse.. perhaps it was the two cans of  V running through my veins.. but I shot to early and came up well short...

 Second up tonight was... wait for for it... OMG could it be another VN?!?!?! Sadly missed the  opportunity to snap this one because I was too busy  trying to decide whether to triple back to have another crack  at the boat... but passed  a dark  green VN, hazards on rotation on the Peninsula bound side of Eastlink...

Third up: I did manage to get a shot of this one... Silver VY .. possibly an SS... with some really awesomely not flame work up the side of it... Obviously not working to make the car faster... Time stamped 1857hrs - Eastern Fwy - Doncastor Rd turn off.. 

Fourth up: Red VZ SV6 - Southbound just after the Chandler Hwy on ramp - Hood up, pants down, blinkers on... Didn't get a shot of this one because I felt it was unsafe at the time to whip my phone out and stay on the road...







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::29/04/11::

 Decided to go for a nice morning breaky in Braeside Park with the ex and on our way we came across this silver VT on the Mornington Peninsula FWY approaching the Thompson Rd turnoff... Time stamped 0917hrs

What we have here is yet another silver VN Calais.. Now I passed this vehicle about a week ago for the first time and missed a shot of it... passed it again the next day and missed it.. but I wasn't at all surprised to see it here again a week later... This VN, like most others was in a debateable state of health.. but what really gave this car a touch of "individual" class was it's Fast & Furiuos looking,, heavily dented and peeled blue bonnet... Time stamped 1017hrs... Mornington Pen Fwy...Just after turning onto the Fwy from Springvale Rd...





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::28/04/11::
Silver or Gold VT.. bit hard to tell exactly what color the duco was due to the lighting... Eastlink - a few minutes before the Thompson Rd turnoff... Time stamped 1909hrs...Car had safety cones around the rear end which don't show up at all in this pick... actually neither does the car really lol


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::26/04/11::

Black VE Sedan sitting in the emergency lane with the hazards on... Perhaps on a phone call... perhaps just hanging out... perhaps just for the sake of it... Taken on Eastern Fwy, South bound... Time stamped 1908hrs....
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::21/04/11::
Red VS flat tray ute, pulled up on the division just before the Frankston North turnoff at the end of eastlink... Missed the opportunity to get a picture of this one.. but I'm sure it's still there if I really want to get one..


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::20/04/11::
The light blur is the tail light section of a dark blue VT, obviously struggling to drive in the heavy rain that was falling as I travelled down the Eastern Fwy, southbound. Time stamped 1800hrs... This could just be driver "incompetency"... but if all Commodore drivers had to under go a test for competency... the roads would be empty... perhaps that's a good idea?!?! lol

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::18/04/11::

Top:  Yes it's a Statesman.. but it might aswell be a Commodore... Time stamped 1006hrs. Start of Eastlink, Frankston bound... Bottom:  Silver VX: A little bit further on, rolling down the Monash later on in the day... Close to the Toorak and Burke Rd exits... Time stamped 1621hrs...

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::08/04/11::

Time stamped: 0626hrs... Not entirely sure what happened here... Turned into Davies Street off Young Street in Frankston to find myself dodging rubbish from some green bins that had found their way into the middle of the road... then at the next intersection came across a white VY (rear end just in the shot on the LHS) parallel parked in the middle of an intersection... using a green Excel as a cushion between it and the traffic light... Whether the Excel ran the light or the VY... neither of them made it through and the Police where there.. doing their best...

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::07/04/11::

Not on the side of the road but this shot was too good to miss! Travelling south on the Eastern Fwy. Time Stamped 1653hrs...

 Not far down the road and nearing the Mullum Mullum tunnel... found this white VT station wagon enjoying some sunshine... Time stamped 1702hrs...













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::05/04/11::

Another trip along the Western Hwy. Time stamped 1006hrs. Not sure exactly where this is but I'm pretty sure it's near the Bendigo turn off and Sunshine... Dark blue VN... nothing unusual... or out of the ordinary...

On the way back into the city... yet another VN... goldish silver paint job on this one.. Missed the shot on the way out but of course.. it was still there on our way back... Time stamped 1105hrs...

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::28/03/11::

 Silver VT time stamped 0819hrs. I'm on my way somewhere in the work van. I think this may be the Western Hwy on our way out to Bacchus Marsh... 

Just in shot on the left side, behind the bush is a silver Commodore.. VT, VX or VY... Not sure but it had that body type... This was taken on Eastlink on my way home from work...  Time stamped 1734hrs...






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::27/03/11::

A less than average picture... Light silver VY or VZ station wagon... Time stamped 0837hrs... Must have been on my way to work...




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::25/03/11::

Maybe this guy was just out for a leak... Time stamped 1422hrs...

Another Commodore by the roadside near the Thompsons Rd turnoff on Eastlink... 1620hrs...





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::21/03/11::

Time stamped 1526hrs. I think this one was taken on the Monash Fwy, Southbound. I think it's a VZ wagon... 2nd car from the left...

 Just a little bit further on... Yet another white VN left lonely by the roadside.. I think this is the Springvale Rd overpass... 

 From the Monash onto Eastlink, the string of Commodores continued... Not sure what this guy is up to... but for whatever reason... his Commodore has made it into the emergency lane.. I think it's a white VY...


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::20/03/11::

Just chilling out in the back and airing out the engine... Not in any hurry... I think this is a VY wagon... pulled up on the nature strip at the intersection of Bell st and Pascoe Vale Rd... Time stamped 1423hrs...

 Snapped this one on the way home from work on Eastlink... can't remember anything more than that lol Time stamped 1732hrs.

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::17/03/11::

 Girlfriend and I went down to the coast for a day trip to get away from the city... we did plan on going for a short nature walk somewhere in the Ottways.. but ended up having a lovely walk along the Beach at Torquay... On the way back we pulled onto the Freeway and snapped this guy having problems with his VN... time stamped 1835hrs...

 Your guess is as good as mine lol I can't remember what this one was...

 Girlfriend snapped this one. I think it's a VY sedan. We passed this one on the way out to Torquay but missed it.. so got it on the way back.. Overhead is the Western Ring Rd turnoff from the Western Fwy? The VY had extensive side panel damage, half the rear end was hanging off and the drivers side rear tyre was about to fall off... Looks like the driver hit the barrier or was taken out by a truck... time stamped 1714hrs.




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::16/03/11::

This is definitely taken on Eastlink. Time stamped 1903hrs. Possibly the Thompsons  Rd turnoff heading towards Frankston. Not sure what model this one is... Possibly a VS ute with a hard top...

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::15/03/11::

To be honest, I can't remember where this photo is taken. I'm in the work van and the time stamp says 1820hrs... so I must be on my way home... Probably the end of Eastlink? Maybe the Morning Peninsula Fwy... Appears to be a silver VR circa 1993-95...

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::12/03/11::

VS Commodore meets VX Commodore... up, close and personal! This driver did a great job in managing to take out two cars at once... Next to the VX is a Toyota Camry also sporting rear end damage from the VS... Obviously the stockies provided no protection from his reckless driving... This photo was taken next to Hungry Jacks on Plenty road at 1809hrs.. I was pulling into HJ's to get some healthy dinner at the time...

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::11/03/11::

8 car haul!! I'm updating the blog quite a while after the fact... but for the most part I have the pictures and the memories... For work we ventured out into country Victoria, so lots of time spent on the highways.. 

 Number One and Two: I'd just finished telling my work colleague of my theory that breakdowns happens in pairs.. for example certain types and models of vehicles appear to breakdown quite close to each other on the same day... (read homepage for more on this...) when lo-and-behold... we passed this white VT circa 97-2000 Commodore on the LHS.. and believe it or not.. directly opposite was a silver VT on the other side of the highway... I was pretty chuffed by the timing of this event.. as was my colleague.. Time: 11:22:58hrs

Number Three: Not more than a couple of kilometres down the road we sited Commodore breakdown number 3 for the day... If I was excited about the first two.. this one was more than either of us had bargained for... We'd also just been laughing an hour earlier whilst on our first leg of the trip.. that we'd not seen any breakdowns yet.. but that it was overcast.. and "when that first ray of sunshine hits those Commodores... LOOK OUT!!!" ... seemed to come true... The sun had just shone through as we turned onto the Western Hwy, on our way back from Bachus Marsh.. Time: 11:24:02hrs

 Number Four: Time: 12:13:03hrs... Ok, I didn't manage to snap this breakdown although I did manage to snap the Commodore blocking the last few inches of the rear end, of a silver Commodore ute sitting with the hazards on... Looked like a VZ circa 2004-2006. Could be wrong on this one but sadly don't have the pic to back it up... Could have just been hanging out by the roadside... but why then is it that so many Commodore drivers find this to be an enjoyable experience...if that's the case? We're now on the Calder Fwy heading towards some back creek water town... in other words.. I forget where lol

Number Five: Time: 12:18:52... Does this one pretty much typify the fate of the Holden Commodore?? Snapped this White VX sitting all alone in a grassy field... How long had it been sitting there is up for debate.. but since this car was out dated as of 2002... perhaps 9 years?? Maybe the driver just decided to let the farmer keep it and sell it... Doesn't look it's been sold yet... 

Number Six: We struggled to catch this one because it came up on us so fast the first time.. we doubled back to give it another shot and failed again... I managed to get a picture of my workmate filming as we went past to make doubly sure... We checked the film and realised that the film doesn't clearly show the car.. but what we spotted was a light blue VN Calais once again sitting in a paddock... how long had this Commodore been sitting there?? I'm not sure I even wont to know but it looked like it had been years... Time: 13:23:15hrs... still on the Calder Fwy.

Number Seven: This photo represents some poor camera work on my behalf and yet again... I missed the breakdown... Time: 13:58:27... We're on our way back into town and travelling along the Western Ring Rd heading towards Greensborough... Not in this photo is a dark Blue VT abandoned on the far side, well out of picture actually, I won't even lie about that this one lol... 

Number 8: Snapped this one at the end of the day travelling home on the Eastern... Time: 17:12:22hrs.. Pretty sure it's a VT but open to discussion... Rocking the green P's... windows down... hazards on... maybe the girl is just chilling out on the roadside like a lot of Commodore drivers seem to be quite partial too... but I'm pretty sure she'd either had a mental breakdown... or the car had... 

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::10/03/11::

VY circa 2002-2004, silver, plates "JST-COS", just before the Thompson Rd turn off on Eastlink... Unable to snap a shot of due to the rain, the lack of light and that early morning "unco-ordinated haze"... time, 0625hrs

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::09/03/11::

Passed this VN Calais circa 1988-91 just next to the on ramp from Eastlink, coming onto the Monash Fwy... Had a nice set of 18's still on it but not going anywhere fast... Wasn't there yesterday morning on the way to work. Was there today at 1440hrs. Not the best of photo's but appeared to have a complete Holden Formula Body kit, minus the wing and instead of the formula grille, the owner had installed an SS grille, for extra performance... I didn't see any SS stickers though...

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::08/03/11::

Snapped this VN Executive at 1854hrs on my way home from work, just after the Seaford rd turn off coming from the end of Eastlink. This beautiful example of this classic model circa 1988-91 Comes with all the added extras including stock 30% tread tyres, rusted exhaust system with sports positioned holes for added performance... Also included is a wonderfully designed canary... Sadly, this Commodore didn't make it into town from the Pines...

BLACK VE COMMODORE UTE: On the city bound side of Eastlink, hauled up in the emergency breakdown area, just after the Burwood Highway turn off. The driver had the hazards on with the tarp pulled back from one corner.. as if they'd attempted to fix the problem... but failed miserably... Not long after passing, I noticed the Eastlink emergency breakdown vehicle pulling onto the Highway.. obviously, the VE was not going anywhere in a hurry... Quite a change from your average Commodore driver... I wasn't able to get a picture of this one as I needed to concentrate on my safe driving... (but in reality, I just couldn't get my camera ready in time...)

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::04/03/11::

I'm going to go out on a limb with this one and say that it's a VN Berlina station wagon... circa 1989.. Obviously a prized possession.. as it's been left by the roadside, with the windows down... possibly dumped... this fine piece of machinery can be found at the top of the Southern Outlet, on your way to Devonport... date: 04/03/2011 - Time: 15:23hrs. I'm pretty sure it will still be there, this time tomorrow or even next week!

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::27/02/11::

Yet to perfect my method of photography on the move... This is the first snapshot of a Roadside Warrior taken on the Mornington Peninsula Fwy. Dated 27-02-11 and time stamped 19:42hrs. I believe it to be a VT, circa 1998... With a large white decal in the top left corner of the rear window. This Commodore most likely fell victim to the Saturday night Commodore blitz, that usually sees a couple of them sitting by the roadside for a couple of days... defective, rejected and alone...