July 4 Weekend Open Thread
by Chris Hafner
on July 02, 2009
I'm out on vacation until Tuesday morning, so here's the open thread for the holiday weekend. The usual rules apply.
Possible topic for July 4:
What car would George Washington drive? Thomas Jefferson? John Adams? Benedict Arnold?
--Chris H.
That Car Guy on July 02, 2009 at 08:37 AM
If I may begin this thread, I'd like to repeat the best Presidential car line ever... "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln" ~President Gerald R. Ford, 1974.
David Colborne on July 02, 2009 at 09:39 AM
Well, let's see here...
* Jefferson is probably the easiest. He was an agriculture guy at heart and had a serious spending problem. So, I'm thinking a Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel. Oh, and he'd have a trailer or two.
* Washington was a practical-oriented guy. He had four kids, which, for the time, wasn't that many. Crazy as it sounds, I could see him in a minivan or a larger wagon. Maybe a Buick Roadmaster, immaculately maintained in a garage for the better part of 20 years.
* Adams was a blue-blood - he was all about "old money". Consequently, I'd see him in something stately, like an older Lincoln or something. Whatever he would drive, it would involve wood grain, leather, and the most conservative styling you could think of.
* Benedict Arnold... now there's an interesting case. We can be fairly certain he wouldn't buy American, but he wasn't exactly pro-English, either. He also wasn't terribly well off - very middle-class kind of guy. Honestly, I could see him getting something Japanese, like a Camry or an Accord or something, all the while cursing the Big 3 at every conceivable opportunity.
Nina Soltwedel on July 02, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Washington: Old fighting general that he was, I bet he'd love the Hummer. His practical side, however, might choose the Jeep.
Jefferson: I can see him in a beautifully restored 1950s Cadillac with all the bells and whistles (preferably one designed for a U.S. president!).
Adams: His heart was in books, the law, and farming. For him, a beefy Ford F-550 with extended cab for all the family, heavy enough to haul his books, and cleans up enough to go into town.
Arnold: Probably a Yugo...he chose the wrong side politically, and he would surely choose the wrong car.
Steaming Pile on July 02, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Benjamin Franklin: An itty bitty British sports car, probably an MGB.
Baron von Steuben: A Benz. A big one. Was sonst?
Paul Revere: A Harley-Davidson. How better to warn us when the British were coming?
Samuel Adams: Puritan heritage? A plane-Jane Chevrolet, probably a '78 Impala wagon.
Gee, that was fun.
Anthony Cagle on July 02, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Franklin was something of a Francophile so he'd probably drive a Peugeot.
Washington was a farmer and moonshiner so he'd have the big-ass pickup truck.
Arnold would have a Mercedes. A black one.
Steaming Pile on July 02, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Yeah, he was a Francophile, but he was also a playboy. Did Peugeot make a really kewl rag-top sports car? If he drove French, he'd have a pimped-out Citroen DS to look cool in.
Steaming Pile on July 02, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Let's see if this posts. If not, here's the link to Ben's DS convertible:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Citroen_DS21_Cabriolet_ca_1967.jpg
Anthony Cagle on July 02, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Not to be overly disagreeable, but I feel that putting the words "cool" and "Citroen" in the same sentence will almost always make for a contradiction in terms.
But I suspect you are correct and that's what he would drive.
Mochi Mochi on July 02, 2009 at 08:14 PM
The DS! mmmm... so nice. If a car could be a Goddess it would be the DS.
Cyndi on July 03, 2009 at 08:28 AM
Well
I think that they would all drive 1968 GTO !! (=
jdgjtr on July 03, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Franklin was a man about town and experimented in electricity-Tesla Roadster
Thomas Jefferson-farming and technology- SUV/hybrid like the Ford Escape. Maybe a tie dyed VW microbus since he grew hemp.
George Washington As he led troops while still president during the Whiskey Rebellion-definitely a military hummer, preferably with a machine gun on top!
Adams- late 60's Lincoln Towncar, out of style but still big money.
Benedict Arnold- a Jaguar. Was British, then American, now Indian. He was definitely a "Show me the money!" kind of guy.
Bob Sistek on July 03, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Hey, Steaming Pile, you are right. That DS convert was way cool and I think Ben would have loved it. I think he would have approved of the technology as much as the style.
For the others: Washington, something military and practical. I see him in one of those WWII large, open staff cars.
I agree on Jefferson, he would have truly appreciated the Prius, but being an all-American kind of guy the Ford Edge Hybrid.
Benedict Arnold may have aspired to a Jaguar, but the best I can give him is a Vauxhall. John Adams, one of those super classy suicide-door Continentals from the 60s.
Paul on July 03, 2009 at 08:09 PM
For historical figures I think we need cars from a bit "Out of the Past" (with a nod to the 1947 film where Robert Mitchum ran a service station).
Washington had a career as a surveyor, I'll put him into an International Harvester Travelall.
For Jefferson, the earlier comments about something French are spot on, and the engineering has to be odd. I see him driving a Panhard 24BT (the larger size to fit his long frame).
The Adams became old money, but John Adams was a hard working lawyer scrapping to get by. Give him something solid, practical, limited on frills, domestic, a mid 1960's Ford Custom or Chevrolet Impala.
Benedict Arnold, over-styled, lingers past its freshness date, built by a hated enemy, how about a ZIL-111?
Tommy's Dad on July 04, 2009 at 12:27 PM
I'm going to have to go with something obscure for Benedict Arnold: a Sterling 827 SLi. 5 Doors so it's somewhat practical, it's two faced (Japanese meets British), and on paper it seems like a good idea but in practice that British side is just waiting to betray you.
George Washington had a reputation as one of the very finest horsemen of his day, so for his personal wheels I'd say a motorcycle. Something big (he was also very tall for the times too), US made of course (since he was a planter, one of the original US industries), but not too ostentatious. Maybe a Harley, but not an overly loud one? I dunno, someone that knows motorcycles better than I will need to help me with that.
Tommy's Dad on July 04, 2009 at 07:56 PM
On a totally unrelated note, doing a google image search for "the most patriotic image ever" brings back a first result that is just beyond awesome. Who knew the most patriotic car ever was a Subaru Brat?
Dorothy on July 05, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Hi, I just wanted to say that I owned a 1985 Fuego Turbo back in 85, it was my first car and I sure had a lot of fun with it, the best car I ever had, and never had any problems with it. Wish they would make those again.
John B on July 16, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Just a note...
jp2506 is a spamming a***, IMHO.