Car Lust

June 4 Weekly Open Thread: The Stick Shift Edition

"Standard transmission."

 

I'm guessing that there is a sharp divide among those reading this as to what is meant by those two simple words. If you're over a certain age, you probably thought "manual"; a bit younger and "automatic" popped into your head. Used to be that an automatic transmission was an option that many people did without because it was fairly pricey and was generally associated with more upscale cars. You got the manual as "standard" and upgraded if you could afford it; otherwise 'Four on the floor' or 'Three on the tree' were de rigueur in most American households.

Nowadays, many can't drive a manual at all. Me, I learned to drive on an automatic, and my family had automatics nearly my entire childhood, the one exception striking me as rather exotic. I ended up learning to drive a stick on a 1959 Ford F600 fire truck (probably not the best vehicle for that, as I got used to dealing with 500 gallons of inertia to play around with) and only drove a Three-on-a-tree once (and that was enough, thankyouverymuch). The Spousal Unit didn't know how to drive one when we bought her Civic, but she gamely learned and ended up getting 40+ mpgs commuting.

Recently, quite a few articles have appeared proclaiming the death of the manual (e.g., here, here, and here), but at least one other (whence comes the photo) suggests that reports of its death may have been somewhat exaggerated. So we here at Car Lust thought we'd take this opportunity to throw it out there for readers to opine on: Do you drive a manual? Do you even know how? Will you buy one again? We'll also have a special post coming up tomorrow dealing further with this very important automotive topic.

As always, feel free to discuss anything else Car Lust related that strikes your collective fancies.

--Anthony Cagle

Carspotters' Challenge #15 -- Summer Vacation, 1965

This is what the parking lot at the Riviera Motel in Daytona looked like on a bright sunshine-y day in 1965. Brings back memories of long road trips in the '64 Belvedere for me; I'll be a lot of you have similar reactions.

See anything noteworthy?

--Cookie the Dog's Owner

(Photo obtained from the Station Wagon Forum's collection of vintage street scenes, to which it was contributed by member "yellerspirit.")

Great Commercials/Our Cars--"Connections"

The first time I saw this commercial, my first thought was, "Toyota's ad agency filmed an 'Our Cars' post."

May 28 Weekly Open Thread: Memorial Day

Today is the day we celebrate Memorial Day, to honor all of the American troops that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Whether we attend a parade, watch a race, or put on a barbeque with friends, family, and neighbors, we should take a moment and reflect on the true meaning of this national holiday.

Memorial Day was originally called "Decoration Day," and began during the Civil War to honor white and black Union soldiers who had fought and died for liberation and peace.

The term "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882 and became popular after World War II, but it wasn't until 1967 that federal law recognized the name. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill which created 3-day weekends, moving Memorial Day from May 30 to the last Monday of May.

Proper observance of Memorial Day includes raising the American flag to half-staff until Noon, then taking it to full-staff for the rest of the day.

Us car lusters note that the Indianapolis 500 is held every Memorial Day weekend. As I write this (5/27/12), the flag has just dropped on the cars, letting them have a go of it. But a car race is by far not the main reason for this somber weekend.

The Memorial Day weekend is also the unofficial start of Summer to a lot of people. Schools used to time their calendars so they they were out of session by this time, and public pools usually open now.

So to mark our Memorial Day holiday weekend and to honor our fallen fellow Americans, perhaps there is no better homage than to play "Taps."

--That Car Guy (Chuck)

Image Credit: The Memorial Day Parade image (with border added) is from TeamSportsCoversBlog.com.

Carspotters' Challenge #14--Gas Up at Bobby's

Ah, the fresh smell of long-chain hydrocarbons.....

Have at it, carspotters!

--Cookie the Dog's Owner

(Photo obtained from the Station Wagon Forum's collection of vintage street scenes, to which it was contributed by member "Fat Tedy.")

1969 Buick Riviera

Things are different when you're 12. Especially when you're really beginning to notice cars... and other things. When I was a dozen years old in early 1969, the original Star Trek series was still on, and we had not yet landed on the moon. As a nation, we were still recovering from the horrific events of 1968, including the public murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.

And despite the bad times, we really had no idea how well we had it back then. During the Summer, we got chaufeurred everywhere, had our meals taken care of, paid no rent, and, oh yeah, had the swimming pool at our disposal. In the cold months, there was the game room with pool table and juke box. Plus all the milk and cookies we could eat, brought to us by the lovely Miss Thelma.

I guess I'm getting a little "The Wonder Years"-ish here, so lets move on to cars. And the car I remember most from this time was the one my best friend's father brought home one night... a brand new '69 Buick Riviera.

Everything about this car was a class act. From the outside, its gold paint and tan vinyl roof made its clean yet modern lines look elegant but simple. Its proportions were perfect, save for just a little extra overhang behind the rear wheels. But that's the only styling criticism I have of this car.

The fastback profile more than made up for that. This was a car you not only wanted to ride in, it was one you wanted to be seen in. When Miss Trudy picked us kids up in this, we knew the fun had just begun.

May 21 Weekly Open Thread: Pontiac Holden Is Coming BACK!

OK, I was kidding on April 1st when I said that Pontiac was coming back. But by a sheer coincidence I'm sure ( ;) ), GM is bringing the next generation Holden VF Commodore to America, just as was joked about in that article.

"Chevrolet SS" will replace the Commodore's badges, rather than using the "Pontiac G8" of yore. They're also calling it Chevy’s new NASCAR Sprint Cup car, and it will appear in the Daytona 500 next February.

Holden just announced their new export program, saying that the Commodore will return to North America in late 2013. And the best part of this news? This will be the first time in 17 years that Chevrolet has offered a rear wheel drive sedan in the US.

I suppose it could be said that Holden never really left us, witnessed by today's Camaro. But the Chevrolet SS seems more "Aussie" that the Camaro, at least to me.

So how do you feel about the upcoming return of Holden's Commodore? Do you think there are or should be more Holdens to come?

And of course, this is the place to yack about anything else that even remotely concerns the cars. The whole cars. And nothing but the cars.

--That Car Guy (Chuck)

Image Credits: The cleverly covered, camouflaged Chevrolet SS image is from Edmunds-Media.com.

Carspotters' Challenge #13--Unlucky

A black cat must've crossed the transport driver's path on the way to the dealership. If any of the mirrors broke when the Mercury flipped over, it's going to be a really bad day.

What else do you see?

--Cookie the Dog's Owner

(Photo obtained from the Station Wagon Forum's extensive collection of vintage street scenes, to which it was contributed by member "OrthmannJ.")

Exner Simca Special

Are you in the market for a small, light, open-air roadster that would be just perfect for early summer evening ice cream runs through Mill Creek Gorge between Lanterman's Mill and the Goldfish Pond? If so, have I got a deal for you!

The First Special Edition Mustang

I was cashing a check at the bank recently, and the friendly teller lady had a picture of her '66 Mustang right there. I knew we had cars in common and that car obviously meant a lot to her, so I asked her about it. She proudly told me it was a "High Country" Mustang; a car that I had never heard of.

There were people in line behind me, so I got all of the information from her that I could as quickly as I could. She motioned to the extra fender badge, and I smiled and acted like I knew what she was talking about.

But later I talked with a bud of mine who has owned several Mustangs and taken them down to their last lock washer. He hadn't heard of them either... so then I didn't feel so bad.

Carroll Shelby 1923-2012: A Life Well Lived

There are few people in the automotive industry that are favorites both in the world at large and here in our little corner of the Interwebs devoted to wonderful and, well, not-so-wonderful cars. We here at Car Lust join many in mourning the passing of one of the true giants of the motoring world, Carroll Shelby. From the Cobra to LeMans to the Mustang GT 350/500 (both classic and modern) to the humble Dodge Omni GLH-S, Shelby created performance and excitement out of many a humble automobile and gave the masses not only some really great cars that they could actually own, but an inspiring story of a depression-era Texan who went on to make a name for himself in the automotive world through hard work and dogged determination -- cliché perhaps, but true.

For a far better retrospective on Shelby's life and times than I could possibly provide, see this piece over at Autoweek:

“He is a visionary in many ways, and a doer. He's an idea man—Carroll gets great ideas—and he does not like details. He doesn't like an office. He's not interested in sitting around on a day-to-day basis. He wants another challenge, to move on to something exciting. That's part of the fun of working for him, it'll always be moving, nothing stagnant. There's a feeling of fun, also a respect for the accomplishments of the man.

“He is an entrepreneur who borders on the con man—he is a legitimate con man. You have to be in this business. It's the old American success story. When he gets knocked down—like with the chicken business [which was hit with a poultry disease]—he's flat, he gets back up.”

We've devoted several posts here to models designed, modified, or inspired by Shelby, some deservedly famous, others not so much, but still interesting. This week we'll be re-running several of our old posts in tribute to the man and his creations. And below the fold on this post, our own Virgil Exner contributes his thoughts  on Mr. Shelby.

Requiescat in Pace, Mr. Shelby; would that we all lived our lives as fully and with as much gusto as you did.

--Anthony Cagle

Carspotters' Challenge #12--Road America, 1963

The parking lot outside the track at Elkhart Lake is at least as interesting as the race itself.

See anything that strikes your fancy?

--Cookie the Dog's Owner

(Photo obtained from the Station Wagon Forum's extensive collection of vintage street scenes, to which it was contributed by member "OrthmannJ.")

This is just WRONG....

In a misguided attempt at a highbrow publicity stunt, BMW gave over one of its precious M1 supercars to some artsy-fartsy guy from Pittsburgh, who proceeded to assault--there is no other word for it!--assault the M1's lovely fiberglass bodywork with cheap house paint and six-inch brushes. The English language lacks the words to fully convey the utter wrongness of what happened to that poor Bimmer.

Caution: those of you with weak constitutions, or who are easily offended, or have high standards of artistic taste combined with a history of hypertension, should not watch this video. Parental discretion is advised.

BMW M1

The 1978-81 M1 was BMW's first (and, so far, only) mid-engined production car. The plan was to build the M1 in numbers just sufficient to homologate it for the FISA Group 5 "Special Production Cars" racing series. In a just and rational world, its creation and debut in the motorsports world would be followed by a string of victories, a manufacturer's championship or two, fat profit margins on sales of the street edition, a halo-car boost to sales of lesser Bimmers, product placement deals with the Bond movie franchise, and eternal glory. Alas, the world is neither just nor rational, and the M1 never got the place in the pantheon it truly deserved. It languishes in relative obscurity in the collective memory of '70s exotics, overshadowed by various Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and the odd De Tomaso Pantera.

I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen of the Car Lust jury, that this is an outrage which must be redressed. The evidence we present today will show that the mid-engined M1 is nothing less than the baddest BMW, and one of the baddest cars, period, ever to roll on public roads, and therefore a worthy object of Car Lust.

Vehicular Archaeology II: Update and Additions

Once again we venture into the field (pun intended) of historical archaeology for some interesting automotive tidbits. This post gives some updates on the previous post as well as a couple of new items for your edification and amusement -- and hopefully some information input. That previous post proved quite valuable as many of the cars have been identified to a good series of years, giving us at least a baseline for the time that they were put there, always a valuable commodity for archaeologists. Also in the meantime I found out a bit more about the car dump along the river bank which I will pass along.

I also have a new site which, sadly, I had only a couple of minutes to snap a few photos of, so I am hoping for some reader input on the make, model, and year, although that might be tricky given the limited set of photographs.

And for the pièce de résistance one utterly Car Lustable example that will surely send certain auto-hearts to twitterpating.

Again, this is all from an unidentified area of eastern Washington state, although at least one photo and link will give the general location away.

May 7 Weekly Open Thread--3 Things I Wish Cars Did Not Have

A while back on a Car Lust Weekly Open Thread, we opened discussions on things we wished that all cars had. Now let's turn the tables and tell Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, and Seoul (And the Feds) what we don't want, and hopefully wish away some things we'd like to see disappear from our rides.

I have more than 3 ideas, of course, but let's get this started.

1) Automatic door locks. When I first got the Super Crew, every time I put it in Drive, all four doors would lock. Now this was no big deal most of the time, as on every Ford, when you pull the front door release handle from the inside, you open the door whether it's locked or not. 

OK, easy enough. But then yours truly walked around to the other door(s), and found it impossible to get inside said truck without returning to the driver's area and unlocking all four doors. This got tiresome very quickly.

Luckily, online, there are instructions on how to defeat this annoyance. Sure, some parts of the world might dictate locking all doors when driving through them, but thankfully, I don't live there. And what's stopping you from mashing the little switch to lock them yourself if you want or need to? Have we decided that our cars have to make all of the decisions for us? So why not eliminate this feature, or at least have a Disable switch.

Carspotters' Challenge, Edición Especial--¡Cinco de Mayo!

There's one car waiting at the intersection that looks like a '59 or '60 model, so I'm guessing that's when this picture was taken.  An interesting selection of cars there.

¡Salud!

--Dueño del Perro "Cookie"

Show Cars Week--The 1956 Chrysler Norseman

On the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean lies the wreck of a magnificent ocean liner with some precious automotive cargo still inside. The ship was struck at night while on her way to New York and sank with loss of life.

This vessel is not the Titanic, but rather the Andrea Doria, pride of the Italian Line. She sank on July 26, 1956, after a collision with the MS Stockholm the night before. At 160 feet down you could touch her hull; at 240 you can touch mud.

Somewhere in a cargo hold is a show car that never made it to America for display. It is a 1956 Chrysler Norseman, or rather the 1956 Chrysler Norseman, as only one was ever made. And more amazingly, both the Andrea Doria and the Norseman began their lives in 1953, then sank together three years later.

But what also makes this story fascinating to me is the Norseman's connection to Car Lust. It seems that the Norseman was designed by none other than Virgil Exner, father of fellow Car Lust contributor Virgil Exner, Jr.

And perhaps Mr. Exner, Jr. (From now on referred to as Mr. Exner) should receive credit as co-contributor of this post, as he guided my attempts at describing this amazing show car. When the resources could not answer a question about the Norseman, Mr. Exner was there.

Show Cars Week--Porsche Tapiro

I first wrote about the Porsche Tapiro, a 1970 Georgetto Giugiaro show car, in my post last year on "Cars of the Future" from the period 1967-73.

The Tapiro is my favorite of all the cars mentioned in that post, and (in my never-to-be-humble opinion) is right up there with the BMW M1, DeLorean, and the Lotus Esprit as one of the greatest works in the mighty Sr. Giugiaro's portfolio. Until I started on this post, though, I didn't realize how historically significant the Tapiro really is. The few paragraphs I wrote last year just don't do this car justice.

The DeSoto Adventurer I -- My Favorite Show Car of All Time

Regardless of having been associated with great car designs and car designers all of my life, my favorite show car of all time has to be the 1953 DeSoto Adventurer I. My father designed it in 1952 as the Director of Advanced Styling for Chrysler Corporation.

Father actually started the design at our home in Birmingham, Michigan, with scale drawings and then modeled the 1/4 scale adaptation in clay in his office "back room" along with one of his favorite modelers, Ron Martin. Ron was the son of my father's clay modeler at GM Styling, George Martin, when Father was the Chief Designer of Pontiac from 1936 through 1938. Ron also brought the first use of fiberglass casting to Chrysler Styling, and the Adventurer model was the first to be cast in fiberglass and shipped to Ghia in Italy for the full size show car to be developed. Prior to that the scale models were cast in plaster and always subject to cracking of the beautiful finishes.