The Truth About Cars » Nostalgia

Feature: Five Automotive Passenger Pigeons

Jim Sutherland — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:20:22 +0000

Passenger pigeons were the most common bird found in North America. So common that flocks numbering 2 billion were up to a mile wide and 300 miles long. In other words, the average North American in the 18th and 19th Century saw a lot of these pigeons. You could easily argue that a passenger pigeon [...]

The Carless Generation

Jim Sutherland — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:31:45 +0000

There is always going to be a generation gap. The term “generation gap” was coined in the 60s when it became evident that Baby Boomers had developed a whole new set of rules for themselves that put a significant chasm between them and their parents in terms of interests and values. Generation gaps will always [...]

Editorial: Camaro Versus Camaro

Jim Sutherland — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:50:20 +0000

The 1969 Camaro is an automotive icon. Because of this juggernaut tag there are tens of thousands of these late 60s pony cars restored or under restoration. The late Reverend Jimmy “drink the Kool-Aid” Jones would have been humbled by this kind of blind loyalty-the sole reason the 09 Camaro exists was GM’s critical need [...]

Editorial: Collector Car Market: The Sky Hasn’t Fallen; Just a Few Prices

Chuck Goolsbee — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:07:49 +0000

In a recent news article, RF stated: "…here’s another story where the web pulls the rug from under auto industry types seeking to hide the truth. We’ve been saying it forever (in Internet terms): the collector car market has collapsed. Well, duh. But the mainstream media and specialist press has both been happy to perpetuate the myth perpetuated by the auction houses that their business has been defying gravity. See? Cars are selling for phenomenal prices! Meanwhile, Hagerty’s CARS THAT MATTER is telling readers to pay attention to the men behind the curtain." In truth, the men behind the curtains are not the market. They are middlemen. They extract a percentage from every participant they can find to witness their activities; Buyer, Seller, hell, even the gawkers have to pay to watch the show. The auction houses are, in ecological terms, parasites on the very market they claim to serve. Like any parasite their success has a tendency to cause harm to their host. These guys are tarted up used cars salesmen. That, and the recent transformation of the car auction into a three ring circus, is what is killing the auction companies, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the collector cars being sold.

“Cars for Comrades: The Life of the Soviet Automobile”

Lewis Siegelbaum — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:29:52 +0000

I set out to write a book not so much about the varieties and comparative deficiencies of cars in the Soviet Union as what these objects meant to Soviet citizens. The structure and organizing principles of the book were among the first things to become clear. There would be three chapters on the “Soviet Detroits”---the places where automobiles were built, the people who built them, and how the cars and trucks they produced both embodied the state's agendas and inspired popular identification.

Editorial: Are New Cars Ruining Old Car Shows?

Jim Sutherland — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:59:39 +0000

Over the years, I've attended thousands of “old” car shows. At the most prestigious of these events, eligibility rules are clear, consistent and cast in concrete. Meanwhile, at the bottom end, the cars on display have grown to include brand new Chevy trucks and late model imports. As long as it has four wheels, it's in. What kind of twisted logic allows a post-millennium car or a brand new truck to qualify for a car show when some poor schmoe who put thousands of unpaid hours into his '57 Ford has to park away from the show in a dusty parking lot? I know: times are tough. If you want to shoot ducks, go where the ducks are; the money's in the mods. But once again, we're looking at an auto-related industry where the relentless pursuit of short term gain threatens long term survival.

Editorial: The Importance of Being Stranded

Jim Sutherland — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:32:27 +0000

In general, today's cars don't put us in mortal peril (by themselves) or strand us miles from home. They don't require any special driving or mechanical skills. As always, progress has come at a cost: it's eliminated the character-building experiences that helped guys of my g-g-g-generation become "car guys." Yup, I come from a time without cell phones, G.P.S. navigation, OnStar, and vehicles that can breeze through 100,000 miles with little to no fear of meltdown. A time when cars offered a shorter shelf but more human - machine interaction. When car guys could look under the hood, see a problem and correct it. On the spot. I'm not bragging, so don't put me down. Not yet, anyway.

Editorial: Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be. Or Is It?

David Holzman — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:46:40 +0000

For the last decade or so, nostalgia has been big in the car biz. Does it work? If substance backs it up. To wit. . .

In Praise of: Detroit’s HVAC Engineering

Ronnie Schreiber — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:38:23 +0000

With all that the domestic automakers have done wrong, it's important to remember the things they've done-- and continue to do-- well. In his post about dumb moves behind the wheel, Jonny Lieberman highlighted one of these engineering accomplishments: Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HAVC). As JL pointed out, even when Detroit was making malaise-era cars that barely ran, their HVAC systems were the "envy of the world." Sure, Volvos and Saabs had good interior heating and defrosting systems, not to mention heated seats. But Detroit led the world in keeping drivers physically comfortable. In this, geographic happenstance played a critical role.

Editorial: Winter Comes To Michigan

HeBeGB — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:44:36 +0000

I live in Michigan. Not on the Detroit side of things, around here it's mostly suppliers. I'm an engineer. As I write this, I'm off on unpaid furlough. I don't work in the auto business; my company is in an industry about 10 bailout levels down. But around here, it all looks the same. Two years ago the Delphi fuel injector plant was shut down; two months ago the big GM stamping plant was stamped for extinction. Winter even came a bit earlier this year. It's cold, damp, gray, and we got some snow before Thanksgiving. Not unheard of, but not exactly welcome. I think it was P.J. O'Rourke who remarked while flying over the "liberated" but still depressed Eastern Europe, "Communism is the only form of government you can see from 30,000 feet." This economy is like that. You can see it of course, but it's also cold and gray and it hangs in the Michigan air.

Land of Hope and Glory

Adrian Imonti — Sat, 17 May 2008 13:09:31 +0000

Driving in London just for fun is as sensible as rollerblading on the autobahn. Enlisting a young fresh-off-the-boat Yank to indulge in such folly should be a felony. Yet there I was, strapped behind a steering wheel located where the glove box should be, with a carload of norteamericanos who had entrusted me with their sightseeing and their lives. As an avid reader of British car magazines who watched BBC documentaries on PBS, I convinced myself that I possessed the knowledge required for such an undertaking. I'd already shown courage under fire, surviving several days as a pedestrian on these streets without being hit, not even once. All we needed now was more petrol, and a bank loan to pay for it.

Czech it Out: 1965 Buick LeSabre 400

Jonny Lieberman — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:43:53 +0000

Pop quiz, hot shot: What's longer than a Ford Excursion, older than the Beatles' Revolver, blacker than midnight, totally devoid of seatbelts and soon heading to the Czech Republic? The pictures don't lie: a 1965 Buick LeSabre 400. Yes, the lure of a small finder's fee and my irrational obsession for anything with four wheels has once again seen me purchase a hunk of Detroit iron for a mysterious man somewhere north of Prague. Who am I to resist?

Road Trip to Wenatchee

Paul Niedermeyer — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:27:42 +0000

“You’re free to go.” With those hackneyed words, the Goldendale police officer returned my license. They were the very same words I’d heard in my head just a few hours earlier. At one-thirty last Sunday, my older son Ted called: “If you can drop Will [(his brother) here by three, we can take him back with us to Portland for a few days.” Cabin fever was at 103. The ninety minute deadline to pick a destination and pack the xB was just the tonic I needed. Time to head for… (flings open the atlas)… Wenatchee!

Non-Zen and the Art of MGB Maintenance

Brendan McAleer — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:46:38 +0000

For some people, climbing into a car, starting it on the first try and driving off with reasonable confidence in actually arriving somewhere is as sacrilegious as getting communion wafers out of a vending machine. These zealots (let’s call them Tinkerers) regard motoring as a religious experience filled with arcane ritual, unfathomable mystery and fervent prayer (or at least frequent blasphemy). To members of The Church of The British Sports Car, there are few better altars than the MGB upon which to sacrifice one’s time and money. But perhaps MGB ownership is not so much automotive-hair-shirt-wearing as it is Guy Fawkes emulation: brilliant plan, ‘orrible execution.

400 Miles in a 1981 Corvette, Part 2

Jonny Lieberman — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:00:34 +0000

When we last left our hero, I was dodging post-wine tasting Buicks and Caddys in a hair-brained sprint to Los Angeles before the sun went down. My steed was a sparkle-blue 1981 Corvette with non-functioning headlights. Until this point, I’d been lollygagging along in the right lane. I assumed that the ‘Vette’s engine would crap-out on me if I gave it the boot. But the fear of getting caught with no lights-- and then watching the DEA strip the car to the frame-- forced my foot to the firewall.

400 Miles in a 1981 Corvette, Part 1

Jonny Lieberman — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:45:31 +0000

By most accounts, I’m a good citizen. I work, I pay taxes, I keep my crimes to myself and I call my mother at least once a week. But I have a wild side. Like a vintage race, this part of my personality just begs to be taken out and let loose from time to time. I’m not going to tell you what I spent my first Bush tax rebate on. But I will tell you that when the $600 arrives in June, I will be at a $10/$20 No Limit table. So, when I was contacted by a guy in Prague to transport a 1981 Corvette from Oakland to a container ship in Los Angeles, I jumped at the chance. How could I lose?

Corolla Memories

Paul Niedermeyer — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 13:23:04 +0000

For me, driving bliss is all about the setting. Give me an empty road, spectacular scenery, good company and the freedom to explore without an itinerary or time constraints, and I’m in Heaven. Sure, a nice set of wheels enhances the pleasure. But if it came down to it, I’d take an inexpensive reliable car and an endless open road over a garage full of under-used toys that never really get off their leash. I knew the basic formula intuitively in my youth.

TTAC Celebrates the Toyota Corolla’s 40th Birthday

Paul Niedermeyer — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:18:41 +0000

Forty years ago, Toyota’s invasion of America (and effectively, the world) began in earnest. In 1968, the newly-minted Corolla was sent stateside to do battle with the perennially best selling VW Beetle. Only two short years later, the Corolla was the second-best selling car globally. By 1975, Toyota surpassed Volkswagen as the top import brand. The Corolla has taken all the global production crowns (1.5 million sold in 2007; over 33 million total). It has been the engine powering Toyota’s rise to the world’s largest carmaker. Has the Corolla achieved immortality, or will it eventually lose its way like its spiritual predecessors, the Model T and VW Beetle?

Steven Lang Gets a Woody (Wagon)

Steven Lang — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 11:58:37 +0000

The Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon was God's gift to Perry Como fans, the last of the great all-American trucksters. It was also my gift to the family for last year's Christmas road trip. I figured I’d nix my penchant for narrow European wagons to forestall the cantankerous habits of our two darling creatures. They needed space. We needed space... and boy, did this car have space!

Hemi Love

Paul Niedermeyer — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:56:53 +0000

What eye-candy poster was pinned up on your bedroom wall when you were thirteen? A black Lamborghini Countach sprouting numerous spoilers? Farah Fawcett-Majors with blindingly-white teeth? Metallica? KISS? What I gazed lovingly upon-- whilst sprawled across my bed-- was a giant detailed cross-sectional drawing of a Chrysler hemi engine. Thus was the spell that the mythical engine had on me.

Requiem for a Station Wagon

Andrew Dederer — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:19:01 +0000

One of the rare examples of altruism in pistonheads concerns the (nearly extinct) American station wagon. They passionately defend the one automotive genre that the vast majority of American consumers wouldn’t be caught dead in (excepting a hearse). Why so much love for a car shape that’s been fading from the American scene for the best part of 25 years? The passion comes from recognition. The reality we’ll have to blame on Darwin and his stupid birds.

In Praise of: The ‘57 Chevy

Paul Niedermeyer — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:09:00 +0000

If there's any doubt that the ’57 Chevy is THE iconic American car, it’s been erased. Long the favorite with the hot rod and collector crowd, the classic Chevy has now attained automotive immortality: they’re making new ones again from scratch. For $180k, you can buy a brand new 1957 Bel Air Convertible assembled from reproduction parts. The story of how the ’57 Chevy (and its ’55 – ’56 predecessors) became a living legend is worth repeating, since it includes some lessons still relevant today.

Detroit Death Watch – The Prequel (Part 3)

Paul Niedermeyer — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:34:07 +0000

The Big Three entered the 1980’s in typical Three Stooges fashion. GM (Moe) knocked the other two automakers’ heads together, and then gloated over the market share he’d stolen-- oblivious to the imports stealing it right back from under his nose. Mild-mannered Larry (Ford) scratched his professorial pate, and cooked up a brilliant scheme to avoid getting hit in the coming (import) brawl. And buffoon Curley (Chrysler) lay on the floor, doing his dry-swimming antics in a desperate attempt to draw attention to his only product: K cars.

Detroit Deathwatch – The Prequel (Part 2)

Paul Niedermeyer — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:04:43 +0000

Those of us who lived through the 1970’s have thrown out, remodeled or psycho-analyzed away any lingering echoes of those economically, socially and politically divisive years. But the decade of pet rocks, big hair, anti-war protests, moon landings, presidential pardons, drug-addled introspection, Middle Eastern war and convulsive oil shocks left the Big Three’s collective psyche permanently altered. In some ways, they never recovered.

Auto-Biography Pt. 4

Paul Niedermeyer — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 12:31:50 +0000

As a boy in the pre-internet early sixties, I became obsessed with unveiling the secrets of that inexplicably alluring object of male interest. I had a general notion of what transpired within: the rhythmic in and out motions, the frenzy of moving members, the rapid inhalations, the (hopefully) synchronized explosions, and in their wake, the murmur of exhalations. Yes, the inner mysteries of the internal-combustion engine sang their siren song, and I was powerless to resist.