Yesterday Kim and I went with Mark and Martha to the island of Poros, a nearby island. But that's not what I want to blog about today. I'll save that for another day. Right now I want to get some old car pictures off my camera.

I would never want to drive this car but I just think it's a hoot. It's an old Citroen. There are newer versions but this is a classic. We don't see new or old ones in the US.

Of course everyone knows the classic VW Beetle but they seem to have a lot more of the classics around here than the new ones. Out of curiosity I went online to try to find the best selling cars in Greece and the world. What I found was this listing of the 50 Best Selling Cars ever:

1. Toyota Corolla 1966- 32 million

2. Ford F-Series 1948- 30 million

3. VW Golf 1974- 25 million

4. VW Beetle 1938- 22.3

5. Ford Escort 1968-2000 20

6. Honda Civic 1972- 17.7

7. Ford Model T 1908-27 16.5

8. VW Passat 1973- 14

9. Chevy Impala 1958- 14

10. Ford Fiesta 1976- 12.5


There are plenty of BMWs around here, but I wanted to show one of the older models.

Since the top 10 include two cars out of production, the next two are:

11. Opel Corsa 1982- 12 mil

12. Olds Cutlass 1961-99 11.9

I am astonished at how many PT Cruisers there are here. They appear to be very popular.

Again, since one is out of production, to make it an even 10 that are still in production, the next in the list is the Chrysler Voyager at 11.7 (1984-).

I couldn't find a Top 10 list for Greece car sales, but I did find a Top 3. It wasn't by model but my make. The top are:

1. Toyota

2. Opel

3. Volkswagen

Interesting, especially since Opel doesn't even sell in the US.


The car above is often parked in a shopping district downtown with a sign saying it's available for weddings.

Those of you who followed my blog last year from Italy probably know that I am a big fan of the old Fiat 500. Back in 1972 when my family visited Italy, 4 of us rode in one of these things. They called it a 4-passenger vehicle but believe me, it was not. I cam almost stretch my arms the length of the car.

The 500 and the three following cars are pictures I took at Dionysus Restaurant when we had the reception for the conference. It just so happened that was also the days leading up to the Athens Road Rally so there were a number of cars on hand - some classic, some modern.

Pretty stylish roadster. I've seen Fiat 500s in Athens (old and new). I haven't seen any of these.

I had to take a picture of the lime green one for Megan. It's a Porsche, I think (can you tell I'm not much of a car guy?). I figured she might think it was neat. Of course I don't think it would take a car seat :)

Based on my unscientific observations, there are small cars here in Greece but not in the high concentrations that they are in Italy. There are a fair number of SUVs around here (the Toyota RAV4 is popular, but so are Jeeps). There is even a Hummer in our neighborhood. Haven't gotten a picture.


News item for today: On the weekend there were demonstrations and counter-demonstrations regarding immigrants. One group was advocating for immigrant rights, saying they were being mistreated and discriminated against. A second group was an "immigrants go home" group, which attacked an abandoned building known to be home to immigrants.


With just 20 days remaining before our return to the US, I begin to feel the crunch of having to get lots of things done before I leave, both as a tourist and professionally. I continue to be foiled

on several counts, though. This Thursday I was supposed to guest lecture to the law college: a lecture postponed earlier due to demonstrations/university closure. There will be a strike on Thursday, so we have to delay two weeks (I already have another commitment to do a panel discussion next week). That means I'll do that law school address just three nights before we leave.