(first posted 7/23/2017) “Knee-high by the Forth of July” is a saying that’s become obsolete out here in the Middle West, the heart of corn and soybean country in the USA. In fact, the corn’s usually pushing 6′ tall (1.8m) by July 4, and will often exceed 12′ (3.6m) in height at maturity. The more common saying these days (taken from the musical Oklahoma!) is “High as an elephant’s eye by the Forth of July.” Read the rest of this entry »
(first posted 7/23/2017) Daimler Trucks is the world’s largest manufacturer of mid-size and heavy trucks. The company’s main brand is Mercedes-Benz (Unimog included). The other members of the global trucking family are Freightliner, Western Star, Mitsubishi Fuso and BharatBenz.
It’s been a week since my American Cars In Puerto Rico post, and I’m ready once again to share more snapshots from the tropics; this time from Central America. And why not start at home with this shot taken at El Salvador’s National Palace?
For the February of 1967 issue, Motor Trend tested two versions of the Cutlass Supreme. While these A-Body Olds were reaching their final year of production, MT wanted to try a new and exciting package that had appeared for ’67, one that yielded both performance and economy as well good handling.
Regular readers of my Cold Comfort series of posts know that I am fascinated (obsessed, really) with automotive air conditioning. Well it is time to see how the other half lives and to start exploring the fascinating history of automotive heaters, starting with the fact that for a very long time (well into the 1960s) a heater was optional, and not standard equipment on most cars.
“Judges?”
If you ask me to identify my first car, I will answer with no hesitation: A 1990 Subaru Legacy LS wagon. But as I give that answer, I can picture the late Alex Trebek glancing peevishly off to his right and saying: “Judges?”
(first posted 7/22/2017) It’s funny how, when returning to a familiar place after a long while, you notice the little changes. Such a shop is no longer there, some invariably awful new building has sprouted up, the majority of new cars on the streets are exotic… But there is still one car I’ve seen since birth that thrives in the part of the world I’m currently in (and from): the decidedly non-biodegradable Citroën Méhari.
After living in an age when suburbanites in advertising long for ‘active outdoor lifestyles,’ I had forgotten there was a time when the opposite was occasionally sold; that of countryside folk aspiring to be more urban.
The first brand-new postwar Chevrolet was introduced in January 1949 at the Waldorf Astoria in NY. On its arrival, a reporter said that it “looked like a Cadillac without the fins.” A fair enough description for the ’49-’54 Chevrolets.
Last week, we looked at some of the cars from the British Leyland family and its descendants and ancestors at the Lytham Hall Classic Car Show back in May this year. But, of course, as BL found out, even British customers could buy elsewhere. Here are some of the locally built alternatives we could choose from. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 Nissan Leaf
When all you need is a “station car” for your short commute a Leaf’s not a bad choice. The 2011 was purchased in January 2020 when my younger daughter got her driver’s license and sold in November 2021 when we bought our second Bolt.
(first posted 7/21/2017) While on the way to Detroit last December, I stopped in the suburbs to visit my aunt, who lives not far from the former Chrysler World Headquarters. It’s a lovely area dating from the mid-1970s, complete with ponds, parks, trails, tennis courts, and pretty enclaves featuring single family homes, condos, and duplexes. It was here that I spotted our subject car the next morning before heading into Detroit for a fantastic mini-vacation downtown. Needless to say, this car stood out in the suburbs – in the best way, possible.
(first posted 7/21/2017) This is such a familiar face. During my time at CC I have plowed the 1963 full-sized Ford field quite often. In my defense it’s always been the same relatively small forty acre plot of what is arguably a several thousand acre ranch. When this Galaxie was built, cars carrying the same name were much less homogeneous than what we have currently.
So perhaps that is why I am writing this. We have seen very little about any two-door Galaxie, especially one as relevant as this example. So let’s jump in and take the old girl for a spin.
There’s a certain feel in some industrial-era photos that transmit a sense of calm. An eerie kind of serenity; and it appears rather clearly in this shot from 1938, with a number of Dodges being loaded in Buffalo, NY.
