Dodge Power Wagon

Do you long for those carefree,  happy days you spent in the United States Army? Not too many of us do, but one of the legacies of the American military is a present billion-dollar-a-year craze. Dodge Power Wagon It’s not the color khaki, no. It’s not the camouflage craze. It’s the sport utility  motor vehicle.

There was a time when the person who drove four-wheel-drive vehicles didn’t drink cappuccino every morning on their way to transport their kids to soccer practice. There was a time when the person who drove four-wheel-drive vehicles weren’t welcomed at the opera and at the country clubs. There was a time when the person who drove four-wheel-drive vehicles were mainly men on missions be it for the Forest Service, the military,  or utility companies. And the vehicle of preference for those manly men who got the job done was the Dodge Power Wagon.

Machismo appearance

It is a bit ironic today that Daimler-Chrysler, the company that owns the Dodge brand, Read more . . .

Audi Quattro Sport

It’s good to have an objective. Just ask Dr. Ferdinand Piech, the man responsible for the marvel  dubbed the Audi quattro. Audi quattro Sport

Piech came by his life’s work truthfully. After graduating from the Zurich Technical University with a degree in mechanical engineering, he joined a small but influential automotive company you might have heard of called Porsche, which at that time happened to be operated by his uncle, Ferry Porsche. A fast learner with a knack for getting things done, Piech dove into Porsche’s efforts in sports car racing and by 1968 he was technical director of the Porsche Experimental department, which is much similar to being given the keys to the candy store.

Piech’s initial objective was to come up with a Porsche that could beat the Ford GT40s and Ferraris  that were dominating endurance racing in those days, and soon he accomplished it with the 917 that took both the 24 Hours of LeMans and the World Championship, while at the same instance, putting a stranglehold on the then-thriving Can-Am series. It seemed that Piech was on top of the world until Porsche decided to modify its business structure, restraining the influence of the Porsche family, and in the fallout Piech was left looking for work. Read more . . .

1949 Ford

Some celebrated cars are born of vision; others are created by necessity. Of these, the 1949 Ford belongs in that second class. 1949 FordAs a major component of “The Arsenal of Democracy,” Ford Motor Company was a gigantic contributor to the war effort, building not just trucks and Jeep and other vehicles but also airplane components.  However, like some veterans, Ford survived and thrived in the war only to have its very existence threatened by the peace.

Innovation is good, even better

When World War II came to a close in 1945, four years of war had created four years of pent-up consumer  need for automobiles, so the immediate post-war market swallowed up just about any new vehicle that could be manufactured. But Henry Ford II, who sat atop the Ford Motor Company, was savvy enough to recognize that when the initial boom died down, the consumer would seek out modern comfort and convenience, and that was something Ford Motor Company, in the immediate post-war days, was simply not ready to provide. Read more . . .

1959 Chevrolet El Camino

Sometimes even the perfect  ideas need a second chance, and so it was with the Chevrolet El Camino. 1959 Chevrolet El CaminoThe concept of a extremely styled, civilized pickup truck was definitely not new when the El Camino was introduced to the public in the 1959 model year, and it turned out that the ’59 Camino was more an artistic triumph than a commercial triumph, but that does not diminish the importance of the vehicle. After getting its second chance, it produced a line that would extend for 25 years.

Passenger Cars versus Trucks

Panel  trucks and pickups based on car platforms were relatively ordinary in the 1920s and 1930s. Since practically every vehicle on the road in those days used separate body-on-frame construction, it was a fairly uncomplicated task to build truck-like bodies and place them on car chassis.  Hudson,  Willys, and Studebaker were among the American manufacturers who offered car-based pickup trucks direct from the factory during those years, and panel truck and pickup  conversions of passenger cars done by aftermarket body-builders were far and wide available as well. Read more . . .

Lamborghini Countach

Speaking about hardship, they say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. In the late Sixties, Ferruccio Lamborghini was enduring a string of hardship, despite the fact that his Miura was the darling of the automotive press. Lamborghini CountachThough once honored by Italy’s president as a “Knight of Labor,” a  label that brought with slightly more esteem than being named a “Kentucky Colonel,” his manufacturing plants were plagued by ruinous and long strikes. Communist agitation was everywhere, and the streets were often blotted by the chianti red of rioters’ blood.

Infancy concerns

Closer to home, the Lamborghini Miura seemed a victim of its own victory, like a precocious child that can’t quite adjust to adulthood. Read more . . .