Todays Highlight in History

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. The company is controlled by the Ford family, which owns a controlling stake in Ford Motor.

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Chevrolet Nomad was a station wagon model made off and on from 1955 to 1972, and a Chevy Van trim package in the late 1970s and early 1980s, produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors. The Nomad is best remembered in its two-door 1955–57 form, and was considered a halo model during its three-year production as a two-door station wagon.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, dubbed as a "1964½" model by Mustang fans, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A. The model is Ford's third oldest nameplate in production and has undergone several transformations to its current fifth generation.

The Mustang created the "pony car" class of American automobiles—sports car-like coupes with long hoods and short rear decks and gave rise to competitors such as GM's Chevrolet Camaro, AMC's Javelin, and Chrysler's revamped Plymouth Barracudas and Dodge Challengers. It also inspired coupés such as the Toyota Celica and Ford Capri, which were exported to the United States.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History

The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans began on 11 June, with Pierre Levegh behind the wheel of the #20 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR run by Daimler-Benz. American John Fitch was Levegh's assigned partner in the car, and he would take over driving duties later. Competition between Mercedes, Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Maserati was close, with all the marques fighting for the top positions early on. The race was extremely fast, with lap records being repeatedly broken.

At the end of Lap 35, Levegh was following Mike Hawthorn's leading Jaguar D-type, just as they were entering the pit straight. Hawthorn had just passed Lance Macklin's slower Austin-Healey 100 when he belatedly noticed a pit signal to stop for fuel. Hawthorn slowed suddenly in an effort to stop rather than make another lap. Hawthorn's Jaguar, with the new disc brakes, slowed much more quickly than other cars using drum brakes, such as Levegh's Mercedes. The sudden, unexpected braking by Hawthorn caused Macklin in the Healey to hit his brakes, throwing up a small cloud of dust in front of Levegh, who trailed close behind. Macklin then swerved across the centre of the track, attempting to re-pass the slowing Jaguar, but also apparently out of control. Macklin had not noticed both Levegh and Juan Manuel Fangio, in another 300 SLR, approaching rapidly from behind. Fangio was in second place at the time, but directly behind, and attempting to lap Levegh.
For more...
For race footage...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The General Motors Le Sabre was a 1951 concept car. Possibly the most important show car of the 1950s, it introduced aircraft-inspired design elements such as the wrap-around windshield and tail fins, which became common on automotive designs during the second half of the decade.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Jeepster Commando was first produced by Kaiser Motors in 1966 to compete with the Toyota Land Cruiser and Ford Bronco. Four different models were available: a pickup truck, convertible, roadster and wagon. The Kaiser line remained in production until about 1969, when American Motors Corporation (AMC) bought Kaiser in 1970. After AMC's acquisition, the Jeepster Commando C101 (101" wheelbase) steadily grew in popularity. In 1972, AMC shortened the vehicle's name to Commando C104, extended the wheelbase to 104", and changed the front-end design to accept the AMC I6's & V8 304ci, similar to the Ford Bronco. The new configuration, formerly an AMC best seller, quickly caused the line to drop in popularity and was taken out of production in 1973; it was replaced with the full size Cherokee. The Jeepster is an ancestor of the modern Jeep family produced by Chrysler.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United States, competing against the Ford Galaxie 500 and the Plymouth Fury when full-size models dominated the market. The Impala was distinguished for many years by its symmetrical triple taillights. The Caprice was introduced as a top-line Impala Sport Sedan for the 1965 model year becoming a separate series positioned above the Impala in 1966, which itself remained above the Bel Air and Biscayne. The Impala continued as Chevrolet's most popular full-size model through the mid-1980s. Between 1994 and 1996, Impala was revived as a muscular 5.7-liter V8–powered version of the Caprice Classic sedan. In 2000, the Impala was re-introduced again as a mainstream front-wheel drive full-size sedan.

Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief engineer in the late 1950s, defined the Impala as a "prestige car within the reach of the average American citizen."
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

Following the success of Hurst components in Oldsmobile's 442 models, Oldsmobile, in collaboration with Hurst Performance of Warminster, Pennsylvania, produced special-edition performance versions of the 442 or Cutlass Supreme, the Hurst/Olds.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Pontiac GTO is an automobile built by Pontiac Division of General Motors in the United States from 1964 to 1974, and by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, and now classic muscle car of the 1960s and 1970s. From 1964 until midway through 1973 it was closely related to the Pontiac Tempest/LeMans and for the 1974 model year it was based on the Pontiac Ventura. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left-hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a coupe variant of the Holden Commodore.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The 1970 Dart's dual taillamps were given over to the badge-engineered Plymouth Valiant Scamp, while the 1971 Dart received new smaller quad taillamps that would be used through 1973. The Custom 2-door hardtop coupe became the Swinger, and the standard Swinger became the Swinger Special. Dodge gained a version of Plymouth's popular Valiant-based fastback Duster and was to be named the Beaver, but when Chrysler's marketing department learned that "beaver" was C.B. slang for vagina, the vehicle was renamed the Dart Demon.

As was the case with previous Dodge rebadges of Plymouth Valiants, such as the 1961–1962 Lancer, sales of the Demon lagged behind those of the Duster. With optional hood scoops and blackout hood treatment, the car was advertised a high-performance car. The Demon's Dart-type front fender wheel lips and Duster-type rear wheel fender lips reveal the car was essentially a Duster with Dart front sheetmetal and other minor styling changes. A new audio option became available for 1971: Chrysler's Cassette-Recorder. Unlike the 8-Track tapes, the cassette player was relatively compact, and it was mounted on the console or on its own floor-mount casing. This unit offered an available microphone in which one could record their own dictation.

The Swinger 340, Dart's performance model, was replaced by the Demon 340 with optional hood scoops and blackout hood treatment. Chrysler Canada, though, did build a small number of 1971 Swinger 340 hardtops based on the Swinger Special for two dealers in Western Canada. In 1971, Chrysler abandoned their longstanding corporate practice of installing left-hand-threaded wheel studs on the left side of the vehicle; all-wheel studs on the Dart thenceforth used conventional right-hand threads.
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

In the early sixties many were exploring new ideas in the personal luxury and specialty car segments. Chrysler, slow to enter the specialty car market, selected their Dodge Division to enter an untapped market for a bigger model to fit between the "pony car" Ford Mustang and the "personal luxury" Ford Thunderbird. The intention was to use the B-body for a sporty car with fastback look while sharing as much of their existing hardware as possible.

Burt Bouwkamp, Chief Engineer for Dodge during the 1960s and one of the men behind the Dodge Charger, related his experience during a speech in July 2004.

Lynn Townsend was at odds with the Dodge Dealers and wanted to do something to please them. So in 1965 he asked me to come to his office - for the second time. He noted that one of the Dodge Dealer Council requests was for a Barracuda type vehicle. The overall dealer product recommendation theme was the same - we want what Plymouth has. The specific request for a Mustang type vehicle was not as controversial to Lynn. His direction to me was to give them a specialty car but he said 'for God's sake don't make it a derivative of the Barracuda': i.e. don't make it a Barracuda competitor.
So the 1966 Charger was born.
"We built a Charger 'idea' car which we displayed at auto shows in 1965 to stimulate market interest in the concept. It was the approved design but we told the press and auto show attendees that it was just an "idea" and that we would build it if they liked it. It was pre-ordained that they would like it."
For history...
For more...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Pontiac Bonneville Special is a purpose-built concept car unveiled at the General Motors Motorama in 1954, the first 2-seater sports car Pontiac ever produced. Designed by renowned designer Harley J. Earl and hand built by Homer C. LaGassey Jr. and Paul Gilland, the "Special" is an experimental car, a two door, grand touring sport coupé that incorporated innovative breakthrough styling like an all-plexi canopy with gull-wing panels on a sleek fiberglass body. The name "Bonneville" was inspired by a trip by Earl to Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah while observing speed trials there. It was in fact the first car at GM to have been named after it, and would become Pontiac's top end performance platform for 47 years.

Two "Special" prototypes, one painted metallic bronze and one emerald green, were built with the intention of unveiling them simultaneously at the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf in New York and the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1954.
For more...

Todays Highlight in History

The 1911 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911. A departure from previous Speedway policy of holding numerous smaller racing meets during 1909 and 1910 racing seasons, the singular, large-scale event attracted widespread attention from both American and European racing teams and manufacturers, and, despite controversy surrounding its conclusion, proved far and away a successful event, immediately establishing itself both as the premier motorsports competition in the nation, and one of the most prestigious in the world.
For more...
For history...

Classics,Concepts and Muscle cars

The Chevrolet Aerovette is a concept car created by the Chevrolet division of General Motors, beginning life as Experimental Project 882 (XP-882). It has a mid-engine configuration using a transverse mounting of its V-8 engine. Zora Arkus- Duntov's engineers originally built two XP-882s during 1969, but John DeLorean, Chevrolet's general manager, canceled the program because it was impractical and costly. But when Ford announced plans to sell the DeTomaso Pantera through Lincoln-Mercury dealers, DeLorean ordered one XP-882 cleaned up for display at the 1970 New York Auto Show.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

The Mercury Zephyr was a compact car sold by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company for the North American market. Introduced as a replacement for the Mercury Comet, it was produced from 1978 to 1983. Along with its corporate cousin, the Ford Fairmont, it was the first use in the Mercury division of the long-lived unibody Fox platform, which did not completely leave production until 2004.

Zephyr, taken from a poetic name for the west wind, has a considerable history in the Ford line. It was first used in the late 1930s for a smaller, less expensive Lincoln, which provided the basis for the first Continental. From 1950 to 1972, it was used on a European Ford model. In 2006, it returned to the Lincoln line once again.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

The Yaxa was a Swiss automobile produced from 1912 until 1914. Its name was a phonetic rendering of the phrase 'Y a que ça ("It's the only one there is"). Of Genevan manufacture, the car was built by Charles Bahni, an early collaborator of Charles-Edouard Henriod. The Yaxa was a 1692 cc light car which used a four-cylinder Zedel engine; among its other touches were central gear and brake levers. Baehni drove a Yaxa to victory in the 1913 Coupe de la Gruyère; nevertheless, the marque folded a year later.

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

The Chrysler Windsor was a full-sized car built by the Chrysler Corporation of Highland Park, Michigan (USA) from 1939 through to the 1960s. The final Chrysler Windsor as known to Americans was produced in 1961, but continued production in Canada until 1966. The Canadian 1961 to 1966 Windsor model was for all intents and purposes the equivalent of the Chrysler Newport in the United States.

The Windsor was positioned above the entry-level Royal from 1939 to 1950. With the demise of the Royal for the 1951 model year the Windsor became Chrysler's price leader through to 1960. For the 1961 model year the Chrysler Newport was made the marque's price leader with the Windsor positioned one level above the Newport. Chrysler replaced the Windsor name in 1962 with the introduction of the non-lettered series Chrysler 300.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

The Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market emerging in the late 1950s. The Valiant was built and marketed worldwide in countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, as well as other countries in South America and Western Europe.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

The short-lived Plymouth Road Runner Superbird was a highly modified version of the Plymouth Road Runner with well known graphics and horn. It was the factory's follow up stock car racing design for the 1970 season to the Dodge Charger Daytona of 1969, and incorporated many engineering changes and modifications (both minor and major) garnered from the Daytona's season in competition on the track. The car's primary rival was the Ford Torino Talladega, which in itself was a direct response to the Mopar aero car. It has also been speculated[by whom?] one major motivating factors in the production of the car was to lure Richard Petty back to Plymouth. Both of the Mopar aero cars famously featured a protruding, aerodynamic nosecone, a high-mounted rear wing and, in the case of the Superbird, a horn which mimicked the Road Runner cartoon character.
For more...

Driven, Worked on, Owned, and of course, no longer being made

This was my 7th vehicle. Mine was a dark blue with a 4-cylinder and manual trans.

The Ford Ranger is a pickup truck manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company for the North American, Chilean, Argentinian, and Brazilian markets for model years 1983 to 2012. The "Ranger" nameplate had previously applied to a premium styling package on the F-Series full-sized pickup trucks, beginning in 1965. In 1983, the Ranger was introduced as the replacement for the Ford Courier, a badge-engineered version of the Mazda B-Series, in a segment largely defined by the pickup trucks from Datsun and Toyota. From 1987 to 2004, the Ranger was the best-selling compact pickup in America.
For more...