The Patrician was Packard’s most expensive standard model for 1956, and being that the model line was about to become a Studebaker clone the very next year, it’s a great thing that the lineup in ’56 looks as good as it does. The Patrician is a very rare vehicle now and to see one with the two tone paintjob and all of its gold trim like this is a special treat. With Packard as Das Awkscht Fest premier marque this year, I’m glad that someone brought out the top Packard available in its last great year, right under the wonderful Caribbean. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading 1956 Packard Patrician at Das Awkscht Fest 2018→
Ford may have been late to the party for downsizing their full size sedans, but they made sure the glitz and the glamour of the LTD Brougham stayed as gaudy as possible. Vacuum-powered headlight doors? Check. Color matched interior and landau vinyl roof? Double check. Whitewall tires and chrome wheel covers, complete with gorgeous door edge molding? Triple check. This car has the Malaise Era credentials that only President Gerald Ford could hope to match (or Carter). It’s a big red party, and we’re all invited. Continue reading 1978 Ford LTD Brougham 2 Door at Das Awkscht Fest→
I’ll be putting up a full highlight gallery on Friday, but first enjoy this little taste of what’s to come from Das Awscht Fest, or “The August Festival” held in Macungie, Pennsylvania this past Sunday. This 1961 DeSoto coupe is the last of the Desoto line, which came to a crashing end in 1961 due to declining sales and massive losses. While not the most beautiful car on the planet or at the show, it certainly stood out as a rare sighting of a rather obscure American classic. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading 1961 De Soto 2 Door Hardtop at Das Awscht Fest 2018→
While this exhibit is likely no longer present, here are some of the finest lowriders I have ever laid my eyes on. While I’m not a big fan of them, I do appreciate the art form a lot and its ever-changing sense of individuality. I think the pink Ford LTD might be the most outlandish one, paint-wise, but that 1980s Cutlass is surely an excellent vehicle too. Continue reading Lowriders at the Petersen→
During the 1960s, Lyndon B. Johnson became President due to JFK’s death at the hand of Lee Harvey Oswald. Thanks to the Vietnam debacle, among other things, LBJ did not run for President in 1968, instead choosing to retire back to his home state of Texas. After he left office in 1969, this Lincoln Continental stretch limousine was delivered to his estate. He would continue to use it until his passing in 1973. As it was being used by a former President, this particular Lincoln is not armored. While it may lack the extra features of the other limos used by both himself and his predecessor (and successor), it is still a truly great old limo and unique in its styling–as Nixon’s first limo did not share this styling at all. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading LBJ’s Limousine at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library→
Back in the late Eighties, rear wheel drive V8 American cars were being supplanted by front wheel drive luxury cars. Motorweek takes the bold step of comparing the front drive DeVille, front drive Continental, rear drive Brougham, and rear drive Town Car to find out if FWD has finally gotten the better of RWD. Watch to find out who is victorious.
Malaise Era cars are slowly gaining acceptance with the car-collecting hobby, and while the vast majority of America’s forgotten years of cars are slow to get attention, some have made theirs rise to the forefront of our mind. Continue reading Ford Fairmont Futura Coupe at Cops and Rodders 2018→
Here’s the thing–I spend a lot of time working in Atlantic City, which is a bad city for car spotting, because most folks who have the really nice stuff don’t park it on the street. Luckily, this was in my parking lot at the casino I’ve been working in since January–and all I can say is, my patience paid off. I’ve never seen a ’70 Bonneville of any kind–and that this is one with a 455 big block is a special treat. Enjoy the photos of this big, bad, badass Poncho. Continue reading 1970 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible spotted in Atlantic City, NJ→
Every year I go to Greenwich, and every year, they get a strong crop of muscle cars to show off. I’ve been fortunate enough to see a good amount of Hemi cars in my lifetime, but I hadn’t ever seen a 1968 Dodge Coronet in the flesh at all, let alone a 1968 R/T Hemi. Not many of these cars were built, as the Charger R/T’s redesign sort of overshadowed it. This black over red, 1 of 1 example stood strongly among the stars, and sounded absolutely divine on startup. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading 1968 Dodge Coronet R/T Hemi at the 2018 Greenwich Concours→
Sometimes a car as simple and as honest as an MG TA can get our attention. This one, with special outfitting by Tickford, had my eye and held my eye for a while. While it didn’t win any awards, it, in my opinion, deserved one nonetheless. Continue reading 1938 MG TA Tickford at the 2018 Greenwich Concours→
Compact crossovers have taken the American market by storm in epic proportions. Sales of sedans are declining, and sales of luxury crossovers from brands like Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, and the like have gone through the stratosphere. Cadillac’s best selling vehicle is the XT-5, the replacement for the SRX. Meanwhile, BMW started working this segment with the first X5 way back in the Bush Administration. Two Presidents and eighteen years later, we face the new X3, a car that I mocked often when it launched in 2004. Now in its third generation, I took the keys to this blue M Sport (as ridiculous as it sounds) and found it to be quite an eye-opener. Continue reading Test Driven: BMW X3 xDrive M40i (Grade: B)→
Mind Over Motor 