If there were any hesitations about Errett Lobban Cord, there is certainly no doubt that he was an optimist. Classic car CordHe believed in creating  a better mousetrap, and he believed in the American Dream. Of course, his American Dream of producing a successful line of automobiles bearing his name had already come acropper once. He and his team at Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg had designed the  technologically advanced and beautiful Cord L-29 only to see the stock market crash soon after its introduction. With sales of less than 4,000 over the course of its 3-year run, Cord was forced to stop production of the model and re-group. Read more . . .

The story of Errett Lobban Cord is an American legend of success and failure, of attempting mightily and falling hard. Cord L29 Classic carIt mirrors the age in which he lived, and it is chock full of soaring  victories and dreadful failures, and, of course, his ultimate creations, the Cord L-29 and Cord 810/812, ultimately represent both. Read more . . .

It might be difficult to imagine now, more than 30 years later, but in 1972, a French-designedClassic car Citroen SM and built automobile was extensively regarded as the best car in the world.  If one discounts the Panhard et Levassor models of the early 1900s, this might be the one and only time a French car was acknowledged as the best on the globe, and that is unsurprising since French cars usually enjoy the same esteem granted to Mexican banking practices and Scottish cuisine.  How did the planets sided in favor of the Citroen SM?  Well, that is an interesting story indeed. Read more . . .

If William Durant hadn’t got involved in a heated discussion with Walter P. Chrysler,  there might never have been a Chrysler Corporation. classic Chrysler 300 carThus, there would not have been the Chrysler C-300 and this space would have been filled with the fable of  the Chevrolet Corvair or the Nash Metropolitan. But in 1920, soon after Billy Durant regained control of General Motors, Durant and Chrysler a got into a knockdown, drag-out argument that ended with Chrysler slamming the door and walking away from GM forever. Read more . . .

Think of a time when things were going so well for the American car manufacturers that one of them could produce  a new model based on what many might view as a practical joke. Chevy Nomad classic carAnd then imagine that the version  that resulted from that joke–the Chevrolet Nomad–would go on to be acclaimed by legions of fans around the globe as the ultimate station wagon, a car that turned the station wagon stereotype on its ear because it was so utterly cool. Read more . . .