Hummer H1

It is fitting that the quintessential military vehicle of today, the HMMWV (or Humvee), and the quintessential military vehicle of all eras, the Jeep, should arise from the same origin. Hummer H1Further, those roots are planted intensely in the soil of solidly Midwest Indiana, where they can be traced back to 1903, when Standard Wheel Company, a Terre Haute bicycle manufacturer, decided to enter the infant automobile industry with the introduction of the Overland Runabout, its first motor vehicle.

Competing for military respect

While Overland is a well-known name to antique auto buffs, a household name became associated with the enterprise when John North Willys purchased it in 1908, the same year the Chicago Cubs Read more . . .

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 . . .

Rover Land Rover

Often the best-laid  strategies  of men and women go awry, but sometimes plans that were conceived as no more than stop-gap measures doClassic car Rover's famous Land Rover work far better than their planners expect.  This was the case with the Land Rover.

In 1946, Britain  was still feeling the devastating effects of World War II. Its  businesses were in shambles; its supplies of raw materials drained; and its forward progress at a standstill. To survive and flourish, Britain’s car companies were forced to make do with what little they had available. In that spirit, Maurice Wilks, Rover Managing Director,  looked at the U.S. Army surplus Jeep he had just acquired and said to himself, “We need to build something similar to this, only better.” He envisioned a growing market for such a vehicle, both in Britain and in export markets around the globe. Read more . . .

Chevrolet Nomad

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 . . .