It was inevitable that construction of the new East End Line would change the face of Thunderbolt Motors & Transmissions. No more head-in parking out front means customers may have a hard time replicating the closing image of the business’s (locally) famous teevee commercial, 2 versions of which feature a blonde urban-cowgirl type in a Caddy convertible waving her hat in the air as she pulls her (presumably backed-in) convertible onto Harrisburg from one of those spaces.

The 1977 original is shown above. In the commercial’s more recent remake, the head-in parking at 6847 Harrisburg is easier to make out:

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What does Thunderbolt’s Harrisburg front look like now that construction on the public right-of-way along the light-rail line running down the center of Harrisburg is complete?

Those head-in spaces have been chopped off, replaced in one section with a ramp . . .

to help navigate the new triple-curbed landscape:

Customers may still be able to put some YEEEE-HAWWW back in their motor and transmission by pulling a hard right onto Harrisburg from the adjacent driveway, at least. And soon, Thunderbolt customers will be able to YEEEE-HAWWW their way on foot a block east to the Magnolia Park Transit Center after dropping their cars off — and hop on a train headed Downtown.

Photos: Swamplot inbox