Live Long and... Don't Walk!

Live Long and Prosper

Spotted in Crystal City (Rt. 1 and 23rd Street), this (malfunctioning) crossing sign seems to offer pedestrians a common Vulcan greeting. Mr. Spock says, "Don't Walk"!

This blog has been pretty inactive lately, but I hope to return to it more frequently going forward. Look for an update soon to my graphic showing the incestuous and ever-changing relationships among automakers in the U.S. auto market. As of tonight, it appears the sale of Saab to Spyker of Sweden may indeed be on again. That tidbit, plus Chinese Geeley's pending purchase of Volvo from Ford and the recent strategic alliances between 1) Volkswagen and Suzuki and 2) Mitsubishi and PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) will shake up a large portion of that family tree. Stay tuned!

Keep on Trekin',

Glenn

The Detroit Shuffle: U.S. Automakers 2.0

In May, when the economy was heading into the ditch at blistering speed and the automakers were struggling to shrink themselves to prosperity, I wrote a post and published a graphic on what the major players in the U.S. auto market might look like once the dust settles.

Now the folks at Mint.com have put together a similar graphic here. Theirs focuses exclusively on the U.S. "Big Three", as opposed to mine which was a broader look at the industry's reorganization.

Not much new info here, but I have to give them props for the fancy presentation. Enjoy!

Once More, With Feeling

Time to wrap up my coverage of the classic car show at the Howard County Fair with a quick blast of photos representing my personal "Best In Show."

THE ROADSTER COLLECTION

First, a gorgeous black Porsche. I'll take one in black and another in red, please.

First of several Corvettes - this red one is from the '60s...

... and THIS red one is from the '50s (maybe '58).

This 'Vette is a couple years older still, a '55 or '56, the first generation. Note that the quad headlights from the red 'Vette above debuted on many GM models in 1958.

THE PONY CAR & SEDAN COLLECTION

Always competing, even when parked in a field with the bonnet up. Here a Camaro SS and a Mustang show us what's under the hood.

Somebody spent a ton of cash on this highly-modified Studebaker Golden Hawk. Gorgeous. Not subtle.

A moment of silence, please, as we pay our respects to the Plymouth brand, God rest her soul. Still flying the flag.

"Goodnight, Jim Bob."

"Goodnight, John Boy."

A prop from "Driving Miss Daisy"?

THE PICKUP COLLECTION

This gorgeous green Chevy reminds me of a Stepside my younger brother had back in the '90s. Much like my old Caprice, I'm sure he'd love to have that truck back now. I'd love to have this one myself.

Stepping back in time a decade or two, we find this immaculately-restored Ford, another Stepside.

Next I found a two-tone Ford, a Fleetside restored to within an inch of its life. My uncle, a plumber in North Carolina, had a more pedestrian monotone example very much like this one.

This one I wanted to drive home that afternoon. One thing was clear at this show: many of these car collectors have a ton of cash to spend on restorations, chrome engine treatments, custom paint jobs and interiors, etc. Recession? What recession?!

Finally, a great old Chevy stepside with side-mounted spare, next to a fabulous fifties Ford with a power retractable hardtop. Nice!

Hope you enjoyed the pics. Odds are I'll hit another show this fall, and I pledge to remember to bring a REAL camera next time so that I don't have to rely on the single-use, drug-store specials...

More Classic Iron

Among the other fabulous cars I saw at the Howard County Fair a couple weekends ago was this lovely back number. Love this freakin' hearse. Check out the custom coachwork, including side panels that look like curtains. At first glance I thought they were some sort of plastic do-dads added in the 70s - but it's actually STEEL, people! The owner had photos of the unrestored car with rust covering those drapery panels. I've never seen anything like it - a real looker.

Below is a gorgeous 1940 Buick. The sign says "96 produced. This is allegedly the extant version with dual side mounts." So this one might be worth some bank.

Also of interest to me, thanks to my Mopar jones, was a gorgeous Chrysler Imperial. A few shots - check out the fabulous tail-lights, and the headlights-on-stalks. Car also had a push-button automatic transmission (which makes an enormous amount of sense, when you think about it). Some fascinating details.

More cars to come in my next post. Stay tuned!

Classic Car Show at the Howard Country Fair

I found my grandfather's car at the

Howard County Fair auto show a couple weeks ago. OK, not EXACTLY my grandfather's car, but a twin sister. On what had to be one of the hottest days of 2009 (and brightest, judging by my over-exposed photos), I drove up to the fairgrounds to have a gander at the antique machinery.

And there it was: a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice, a near twin of the burgundy Classic I bought from my grandfather in 1992. To this day, I wish I hadn't sold that cherry ride. Burgundy paint, black vinyl hard top, immaculate burgundy cloth interior, pillarless doors, and a honking V-8. Nice.

The green and white example at the fair was a real looker, too, in excellent condition. I had a nice chat with its owner, a delightful older gentleman who's owned the car for 40 years.

Here are a couple more images of that fabulous ride that brought back a lot of memories.

Stay tuned for more images from the show - lots of nice iron.