(first posted 9/15/2018) Someone likes hybrids, and in the color red. The Prius is of course one of the most common cars here, but the number of gen1 Insights is becoming rather small, like the car itself. Isn’t it now a rather curious relic from a different time? At a time when SUVs are the dominant vehicle of choice, this diminutive little gas saver seems rather quaint.
1953 MG TD. Somewhere in Las Vegas
(first posted 9/10/2018) In a recent post Dman asked us when we thought cars became modern. The CC readership enthusiastically responded with a vibrant discussion.
I was just one of those CC’ers who offered an opinion and some commentary which both Paul Niedermeyer and Ed Stembridge thought that I should put into a standalone CC post. So the following is a slight retooling of my initial opinion and story with additional pictures.
When it comes to pictures of travelers, there are few shapes more distinctive than that of the Airstream trailers. Talking about which, I recently came across a neat collection of images from the 1970s where they star in large numbers. So why not a short gallery with Airstreams as the main act? From small caravans to parks stuffed with them?
Photos from the Cohort by L Seddon.
Lincoln Town Cars of the late ’70s have made repeat appearances here at CC, as it’s a favorite of the Brougham Epoch. And this one find is a fine addition to those previous ones; a pristine ’78 Town Car, in a setting that almost makes these shots seem out of a Lincoln brochure. Maybe I should get AI to generate human figures to complete the brochure-like setup?
‘Blumengroßhandel’ is German for a flower wholesale business, yet this Scania’s home base is in the Netherlands. So apparently, all merchandise goes east. And with an overall length of 10.95 m (35’11”), the truck itself is also quite ‘groß’. Certainly for a 4×2 chassis.
My earlier post on the 343 GT concept car described Volvo of America’s interest in the North American sales potential for a face-lifted and re-powered version of Volvo Car BV’s compact 340-series three-door hatchback, an effort doomed to failure when it became clear that its intended B21F four-cylinder engine would not achieve better fuel economy ratings than those of the existing 240-series with the same powertrain. As the Federal government’s corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE) were one of the rationales driving the initial 343 GT discussions, that realization helped to scuttle the project.
But it wasn’t the last time our corporate interest was piqued by the vision of a new range of compact cars sourced from our Dutch colleagues in Eindhoven. The then-exploding U.S. market popularity of small, sporty coupes didn’t go unnoticed in Rockleigh, either. Was there a way to address both opportunities?
(first posted 10/2/2012) Another branch of Marmon-Herrington’s many activities was the manufacturing of large trucks. It was a low-volume marginal affair, and production ceased in 1963. But the truck brand name was sold to a new entity, which built large over-the-road trucks from 1963 until 1997. Marmon was strictly a low volume built-to-order firm, and thus earned the nick-name “the Rolls Royce of Trucks”. Now if I had a vintage Marmon truck, I’d just have to drop in a DD 16V-71. I googled ferociously on the assumption someone else had thought of it, but no such luck. Is there a shortage of imagination among truckers? But here’s a couple of others to gaze at anyway: Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 9/14/2018) This is the most embarrassing F-Series pickup in that long line of fine classic Ford trucks. Maybe to some of you what makes it so embarrassing is not immediately obvious. Let’s just say they resorted to what Studebaker did back in 1961; meaning, in this case the front half of the truck is the cab as used on 1961-1966 trucks, just like my ’66; it’s even the same color. But the rear half, the bed, is from Ford’s old 1957-1960 trucks, and doesn’t match the front half the slightest, starting with lack of that deep character line on the cab which suddenly ends, wheel openings a totally different shape, and as we’ll see from the rear, a primitive tailgate and latching system, as well as other details.
So why would Ford put on old bed on its next generation pickups?
Mazda was engaging in a bit of marketing hyperbole when their new GLC “Great Little Car” showed up in the marketplace in 1977. But when it came to the subcompact/compact segment, true greatness was found elsewhere. Mainly on vehicles like the Civic or Accord, and even the 3-year-old VW Rabbit (Golf). Models that made use of modern space-efficient FWD setups and engaging driving for the class.
I started drinking coffee just after starting my first job out of college. I was working as an estimator/project manager trainee for an electrical contractor in Syracuse. One early morning in January, I found myself on a job site, freezing my tail off and gladly accepting the offer of a cup. Lots of cream and sugar made it possible to drink and I was grateful for the warmth it provided. It’s amazing how fast an addiction can take hold. From that day forward, I was a coffee drinker.
Later, I moved to Boston and took a job with an electrical distributor. Every morning, a catering truck would pull into the warehouse and we would all line up for coffee and donuts. This is where I learned that if you want black coffee in Boston, the correct way to order it is “regular, no cream, no sugar”. And what, you ask, does this have to do with cars? Well, if you haven’t guessed by now, stay with me and I will tell you. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in 2006, I was blessed to have a terrific job as a sales manager. It was a job that allowed me to make a yearly bonus.
Normally, that money was earmarked for home renovations and family things. But my wife Cindy had become interested in classic cars, and together, we decided that we would put this money towards a classic Thunderbird.
(first posted in 2011) You got to hand it to Lee Iacocca; he was given an utter basket case of a car company and one new K car. And just like a magician, he kept reaching into his hat for a solid decade, pulling out one new variation after another on a theme in the key of K. Would you believe this? Ah,…yeah. This? Maybe. How about this? Umm…And when he reached in one last time and pulled out the TC, everybody laughed. Which is not what Lee had in mind at all. Lee was given the hook, but we’ll always associate the TC with the sin of pretentious overreaching. Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 4/2/2014) When is a world car not a world car? When it’s Japanese. I can hear our readers’ responses already: Ford didn’t call the 1991 Escort a world car because it wasn’t engineered by its European subsidiary, making it the product of a different company. But this only makes limited sense. Dearborn exerted a very great deal of control over Mazda, strong arming it into using Ford powertrain components, while shaping its US lineup and installing executive personnel, effectively treating it as a Japanese subsidiary. And whether or not this assessment of the relationship between the two companies is one you agree with, there’s little denying that the products it created had far more global appeal than the distinctly American 1981 Escort.
It’s bow tie time again today; thanks to these shots showcasing Chevrolet products and Chevy people in the ’60s and ’70s. The models and people featured here vary widely but are quite representative nonetheless. From the sporty offerings to the full-sizers; with many views of daily life of the time.
