Nov 20: Those wild '50's car movies

Saw "Skyfall" the other day and although I enjoyed it, the part where Bond's Aston Martin gets blown up broke my heart and probably ruined the movie for me. Same reason I could never enjoy "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". But this got me to thinking about the car movies from the '50's (I known this is a leap, but bear with me). The poster above is typical of these flics  -  hot babe, fast cars, wild action and a touch of sex (see upper right). And who can forget those Oscar winning performances from thespians such as Brett Halsey and Yvonne Lime.

Drag strips seemed to be sin strips in the '50's as a lot of the action took place in these venues. I guess only the really bad guys hung out there and bullied the heros like Frank Gorshin below in "Dragstrip Girl". Wasn't he the Joker in the Batman series? You can find all the elements that I mentioned above in this poster.......

This must have been a classier drag strip, since one of the ladies is wearing a dress. Typical race track attire? By the way, Fay Spain's first screen test, which she failed, was with James Garner. What other car blog gives you this sort of stuff?

If I was to guess, "Hot Rod" probably failed at the box office, since it seems to be missing a very important ingredient of this genre  -  no sex showing in the poster.

Wow! This one has it all in the era before seatbelts. Police chase, custom car, great speed, a tight dress and "She's.......fired up for any thrill!". By the way, note the Mercedes in the background  -  foreign cars were usually driven by those super smooth and rich bad guys.

Think the "Fast and Furious" series is so original? So what about this........

Way back in the 1950's there was the real original  -  sex, action, tight dresses! Nothing hits all the buttons better than this. One more.......

And look at this......starring Jack Nicholson way back in 1960, long before his "Easy Rider" role. Betcha he's proud of this movie.

We just don't see this type of movie anymore and thank goodness for that. Check out clips from youTube, the acting skills will make you smile or click to a better website. But often you'll catch some neat cars and that afterall is what we are all about. Right?

Until next time.......

Nov 16: Four door dream - Maserati Quattroporte

Just look at this thing.........

.......or how about this view........

The other day, I asked an associate of mine in our office, what car would he pick if he could only have one? I'm asked this all the time, since I sell all makes/models and because I love cars. Being somewhat practical (ha!), I try to pick a car that would suit my current lifestyle, so my choice is the Mercedes CLS 63 - great looks, huge power. Well, in a "Petraeus moment", meaning I might have to cheat on my longtime automobile love, there is another car that tugs at my heart.

The pics above are of the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte. Just a gorgeous and senuous bending of metal. I've always liked most versions of this car, going way back to the first one that I ever saw way back in 1970, outside of Portland, Maine of all places. Even remember that it was deep wine.

For its time, the lines were beautifully simple and even delicate. A rare beauty. Maserati followed this first four door a few years later with a rather bulbous version, that in the context of the '80's wasn't a bad looking car. And like all Italian super luxury cars, it had an interior to die for........



Current Quattroporte interior

I had an art gallery in the '80's and the store owner next to me, sold his Lincoln to get a Quattroporte like this black one. His was silver and usually being repaired.

The current version is once again a beauty........

Snow White. You can be my princess anytime. Since Ferrari has been behind Maserati, their products are now up to date and reliable. What a great combo!

So back to the question of which car would I drive? Which car would you drive?

Until next time.......

Nov 13: New "chick car" - why?

Dodge La Femme......a car made just for madam. Now this was an idea that might have only worked in the '50's and it didn't work then based on the sales. What bright bean came up with the idea that women would like a pink car marketed specifically to them? An idea whose time never came. Thankfully we won't have dumb ideas like this anymore.

But wait, what's this.........

Oh no, could it be that someone is doing a new La Femme? Surely not in this day and age? Aren't we supposed to be much more enlightened than this? Well, obviously Honda thinks it is on to something that the rest of us have thought was well in the past.

Behold the new Honda Fit She's. Catchy name?

Yikes, isn't this exactly what Dodge failed at in the 1950's, almost 60 long years ago? And now Honda has brought it back to fulfill a need? Not sure if it includes the pink umbrella and cosmetic case that came with the La Femme. In keeping with the times maybe a pink Smartphone, but if it were really keeping with the times, why would it exist at all?

In my opinion, there is some good news here and that is that the She's is only being sold in Japan at this time. If you think this is a really good idea, then get some pink note paper and send a pleading letter to Honda Canada. Then the guys can ask for a companion model, "He's", in powder blue with a matching football or hockey puck, your choice. Just an idea, but don't blame me if it actually happens.

Until next time......

Nov 2: New Buick cabrio? Stay tuned.



1959 Buick Electra 225

Those were the days. Gas was cheap, the cars took up an entire city block and handling was not something to brag about, ok, it was nonexistent. And that styling, well it definitely stood out. This was the old Buick and one sure doesn't have to go all the way back to '59 to talk about the "old" Buick.

But things have changed. Now Buick is a big player in China and their cars are designed with that country in mind before anything else. Example, the extra roomy back seats, since so many of these cars are chauffeur driven. Buick is also gaining strength here in North America, because their new products are very good, taking on Lexus for great interiors.

So what about this possible new cabrio?

The Cascada is an upcoming Opel/Vauxhall that was shown recently. Now here's the point of this blog (finally).........since Buick often gets Buickized Opels, why not this great looking cabrio? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I see shades of the new BMW 6 series in its smooth flanks. And that is one of my favorite cars.

BMW 645 cabrio

See? Not that far off, except with the price and maybe the Cascada's even better looking. So what do you think, should the Cascada be the next Opel to land on our shores, showing up in showrooms as a Buick? If VW can sell the Eos and Chrysler the 200, surely there is a place for this lovely looking cabrio. As I said at the top, stay tuned!

What's the deal with this pic? There'll be no blog from me until the 13th, since this is where I'll be for the next week. Blogging sure is tiring!

Until the 13th.........

Oct 30: Maybach - $ well wasted??

The other day, a friend of mine emailed me this pic of the 2012 Maybach Landaulet  -  a unique luxury car for only $1 million plus something. Great for the sun loving African dictator or the "so much money, I don't know what to do with it", Russian oligarch. Unusual rig and with a spiffy private jet interior........

So what's the deal about wasted money? How about the fact that Mercedes-Benz has announced recently that the Maybach brand would be discontinued shortly. Designed to disappear into a crowd of nondescript sedans (and it does this so well). No surprise that this car, with all the panache of the much, much less expensive S class Benz, has never sold well. Compare its look to the in your face Rolls Phantom and tell me which has money written all over it? Well, it sure ain't the Maybach.

What is or was a Maybach?

Back in the '20's and '30's Maybach was a very exclusive German brand. When one saw this hood ornament a top this regal radiator, one knew they were in the presence of real wealth.

A classic setting, complete with the castle like Black Forest country estate, just where you'd expect to find one of these beauties of yesteryear.

Image this pulling up to the Reichstag? So about ten years ago, Mercedes thought that this would be a great old name to bring back in order to compete in the ultra luxury arena against their long time rival and owner of the Rolls-Royce brand, BMW. Nice idea, bad execution. A Rolls has always looked like a Rolls. Just check out this pic.......

......need I say more? Now compare that to this Maybach........

Sure doesn't stand out in any crowd that I've ever seen. And very few others thought so either. Hence about 10 years on, Benz has decided to pull the plug on this ultra luxury attempt. So back to the Landaulet. Who in their right mind is going to plunk down well over $1m for a disc'd car?

Money not well wasted!

Until next time......

Oct 26: McLaren cars and $

Recognize this race car? Since you are reading this column, you probably do. It's the McLaren Formula 1 car driven by World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button. The Taj Mahal that it resides in, is the McLaren Tech Centre in Surrey, England. Any money in F1? See a team headquarters like this and you have to ask? I may be off a bit, but I think it probably costs about $400 million/year to run this team. Get that, buckos? $400 million!

Aerial view

This place sure is a sight. Granted, Mclaren also designs and builds road cars, but F1 and all its money came first. The Mercedes SLR and the current McLaren MP4 (below) are but off shoots of McLaren's main reason for being and that is racing.
 

 Wha a dream car, but check out that Tech Centre in the background and below........

Wha a palace for their race team and manufacturing facilities.......

I'm always amazed at how much money is put into any race team, but the $15 or $20 mil that it takes to field a competitive NASCAR team really does seem miniscular by comparison. And how about these transporters, which don't even carry the cars.......

.......no cars at all. These F1 transporters carry two story office and hospitality facilities to each race. Talk about taking the show on the road!

I'm sure you know that race winnings also don't pay the salaries or pay for the technology Or pay for these huge buildings. No those are paid for by you thru the sponsors. Get it? You buy the products, the money is put into sponsorships, which causes you to buy more products. And so on.

This blog is just about McLaren with one of the more lavish team headquarters, but I find it interesting to show just how much money is floating the sport of F1. Nothing like capitalism.

Until next time.......

Oct 23: Wild horses and a cat

Wild horses, indeed, all 550 of them temporarily at rest under the hood of this 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500. No question this is one tough looking horse and it can back up those mean looks. How compelling is this car? Well, a friend of mine is a manager with Toyota and he has one  -  so much for brand loyalty! Even back in the days of the "muscle car era", there was nothing remotely like this. Nothing had the power and nothing handled so well.

Now with carrying around golf clubs and carts, I have long passed my time for two door, two seat plus groceries cars, but I still bought this Mustang........

Here is mine, parked amongst my other models in my basement car room. At 1/25th scale, I can have any car that I lust after. Can't drive them, but I can build 'em. Just finished this with a little help from my friend. I don't like the stripes, so my GT500 has the stripe delete package.

Not the best kit I've ever worked on, since the manufacturer made it ride too high. It took a little cutting and adjusting, but to my eyes it sits about right, a little high in the back end.

No strip package, but I kinda liked the rocker panel stripe, so I put it on one side only  -  two versions for the price of one! Yes, of course, I had help as always with this model. The CMC (Car Modelling Cat) lent a paw as she does on every build of mine. I wonder if it's the smell of the glue?

As you can see, she gets right into to it. What would I do without her?

Any Mustang stories out there that you can share?

Until next time.......