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Posts By: J Sutherland
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J Sutherland on June 8, 2013

Hate is a powerful emotion. Sure, its impact has been diminished by its new fad-like use as a term for everything from mild irritation to medium discontent, but I am still old school about the term.
If I hate something, I really hate something in that full-on way that respects the power of the emotion. Hate is not something to be treated lightly as a term, and people who accuse others of hatred should realize that it is considered to be a major decision to accuse somebody of hatred. If there is one thing I hate, then its new cars at classic car shows. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on May 1, 2013

One of the worst kept secrets in show business is actor Tim Allen’s legendary love of cars, an affliction that has almost reached Jay Leno proportions. In fact the Toolman made his car addiction a major part of the storyline for his classic situation comedy “Home Improvement”. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on March 24, 2013

‘American Graffiti’ exploded onto the movie screen in the early 70s, a little over 10 years after it happened 1962, according to the movie plot.
“Where were you in ’62?” became the question of the day in the movie trailer. Back when, most of us wished that we had been old enough to cruise around in the cool ’62-era iron shown in ‘American Graffiti’. Today, we wish we would have been born after that. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on March 3, 2013

Cars are a little bit like pets. The years are not kind to either over the long run. The wear and tear begins to take a toll. They have less spring in their step, and moving around gets painful.
We notice the changes and hope for the best with a little more time together, but time waits for no one and no machine or pet. Sooner or later tough decisions have to be made and the pet or vehicle become a fond memory with a little heart-break when the decision to say goodbye is made at the end of the relationship. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on July 14, 2012

In 1980, Chrysler was headed into the financial whitewater rapids of a 2-year recession, paddling a leaky canoe full of weak sales. Their products weren’t moving, and the survival life raft full of government loans was a year away.
Sound familiar?
They needed customers in the worst way, and in early spring 1981, 18-year-old Don Sutherland saw a brand new black T-top 1980 Plymouth Roadrunner sitting in the corner of a local Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. This was his first brand new car.
In theory. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on July 4, 2012

D-Day (June 6 1944) was a turning point in WW II. 160,000 Allied ground troops hit the beach that day and casualties were high.
This Willys Jeep survived that day. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on June 24, 2012
Some of the greatest car collections are not public friendly for a very simple reason. You can’t trust the public. That’s why some guys keep their collection on a “need to know basis”.
This is one of those cases where you don’t seem to have it. Not to worry, we smuggled-in a camera. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on June 9, 2012
Survivor cars are the new gold standard for car collectors. The ultimate dream for collectors is finding and purchasing a documented low mileage 427 Vette. You can do a ground up restoration, but a 1967 427 435-horse Sting Ray is original only once.
After that, what you have is a different car by varying degrees because it’s like an organ transplant in humans. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on June 5, 2012
Years ago, Tim Sinclair married Sherry Swainson, and they lived happily ever after except for one issue. The Swainsons are a hardcore Mopar family.
So hardcore that their Chrysler allegiance extends over several generations. Also, Sherry’s family has owned and operated a Chrysler dealership since 1971.
Tim is a hardcore Chevy guy. His first car was a 77 Camaro, so this transition from single Chevy guy to mixed marriage GM-Chrysler couple had bumpy ride written all over it.
It got worse when Tim ventured into the old car world. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on May 26, 2012
Lee Stronach has two passions in life. He’s a military history buff, and he’s a vintage vehicle buff. This Jeep M-38 was the perfect marriage between this afflictions. Ford built the Jeep M-38 under contract for the Canadian military; its relatively low numbers make this military machine a fairly rare piece of military history. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on May 20, 2012
When you see an immaculate 1974 Valiant four door sedan at a car show, one thing is very clear: There is a story behind this car.
Few people would restore one of these dependable Mopar compacts from the 70s unless there was a good reason. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on May 14, 2012
1963 Chevrolet Viking 60 cabover trucks are not vehicles that you’ll see in everyday 21st Century life. Viking cabovers were pretty rare even in 1963. Odds are that survivors such as this one are very slim. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on May 8, 2012

The Dodge Motor Home was one of Chrysler’s best-kept secrets but it did get quite a reputation for reliability and function. This is a very rare 1964 version, and its owner is now an expert on this Mopar RV.
Ms. Capri is the current owner of this 64 Dodge Motor Home. Her pursuit of this iconic RV was no trivial task. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on May 5, 2012
Don Hogenson led a different life before he became a family man. He was a professional football player with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. Then he embarked on a career as a professional wrestler.
That all changed when his family got bigger.
Enter this 1966 Rambler American station wagon. (Read More…)
By
J Sutherland on April 28, 2012
We ran into Darryl de Souza and his 1962 Mercury Monterey at many car events this past summer. The two constant companions every time were his donkey hood ornament and his prehistoric man skull replica. On more than one occasion, there also was Darryl’s most important companion: His wife. (Read More…)
Recent Comments
canddmeyer - Free public transit would be a nice start to cleaning up this mess.
DC Bruce - The guy holding the pet goat and stroking it is priceless . . . only in LA! On a more serious note, the...
Marcelo de Vasconcellos - I’ll take your word for it. Inevitably, I’ll get to try some of these things in Brazil soon. Amazingly, GM is setting itself up at...
Nick 2012 - It looks like the original 600 Multipla would easily get a Top Safety Pick Plus from IIHS.
Doug DeMuro - Agreed. Trees are the worst things to hit, and they’ve torn many a car completely in half.
canddmeyer - Told ya a trailer hitch could/would/might be a fix. Ha ha. The only thing I don’t like about any of this is the vehicles were built to Federal...
texan01 - Hear! Hear! I’m all for technology, but theres plenty of places where it doesn’t need to be there. computers in cars is one, a computerized Coke...
Doug DeMuro - Personally I don’t mind the sensitivity. I thought it was totally acceptable. But your mileage may vary, of course, and everyone seems to have...
bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube - #1 THE TESLA SYSTEM HAS SOME PROBLEMS a) the screen’s angle can’t be adjusted. b) the screen’s resolution/sharpness...
Doug DeMuro - The Tesla thing is very interesting. It’s really huge. And I know it operates well, and possibly better than MyFord Touch, but to me that...