Posts from ‘Classic Cars’
1963 Buick Riviera (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
Buick’s 1963 Riviera is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever produced by any auto manufacturer. This svelte personal-luxury hardtop coupe artfully blended American and British style, and it changed the Buick brand’s somewhat stodgy image almost overnight. General Motors styling chief William L. Mitchell freely admitted to borrowing some of the ’63 Riviera’s key design elements. Its razor-edge roof styling, for instance, was inspired by certain 1950s English custom bodywork.
2005 Buick Park Avenue
Among the storied model names of Buick’s past, the Park Avenue nameplate falls somewhat short of legendary. Buick monikers with richer histories and longer production runs include Century, Electra, LeSabre, Riviera, and Roadmaster.
1929 Chevrolet LQ Dump Truck
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2010 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
By Don Sikora II
As America worked its way deeper into the Twenties, Chevrolet was roaring up the sales charts—just as Ford’s legendary Model T was running out of gas. When the last Model T rolled off the assembly line on May 26, 1927, it was nearly a given that for the first time Chevrolet would win the yearly new-car sales race. Ford’s Model TT trucks remained in production a bit longer, but Chevrolet claimed the 1927 truck sales crown as well.
1965 Buick Electra 225
Buick is one of the oldest automotive brands still in existence, and it has a number of cool feathers in its cap. The upscale automaker is credited with selling the first car powered by an overhead-valve engine (1904), and becoming the first division of General Motors (1908).
1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 race car (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
It was early 1952 when Mercedes-Benz was in the midst of developing the 300SL sports car. The skeletal frame, drivetrain and suspension were beautifully engineered masterpieces. However, the original form-follows-function body looked like a half-used bar of soap with a cap stuck on top. Let’s say that in this post-WWII era of rebuilding, there wasn’t much of a design department at Mercedes-Benz that the company could turn to.
1954 Hudson Jet-Liner Convertible Prototype
Note: The following story was excerpted from the February 2012 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
By Don Sikora II
When it comes to collecting just about anything, rare is usually good. When it comes to cars, few are rarer than factory-built prototypes. Count among them the one-of-a-kind factory-built 1954 Hudson Jet-Liner convertible prototype owned by well-known Hudson collector Edward Souers of Woodburn, Indiana.
Acura: The Racing in its Blood
Production 2019 Acura NSX (left) and competition NSX GT3 Evo (right)
While the annals of automotive history will remember Acura as the first Japanese luxury nameplate to make its mark in the U.S., those with a penchant for racing will remember it for something more…exciting.
Brad Pitt plays stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
Advertised as Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is the story of a middle-aged actor and his longtime stuntman and personal friend set around the time of the Manson murders.
Mazda MX-3 GS
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
If our readers were asked to rank Toyota Corolla traits, we’d guess sportiness and enthusiast interest would fall pretty far down the resulting list. Still, there have been Corollas capable of piquing a cheap-wheeler’s curiosity, and we think the 1987-88 FX16 GT-S “hot hatch” is one of the cars from this subset.
What are the Wisconsin Ducks?
The Ducks have been entertaining Wisconsin tourists since 1946.
Billed as the water-park capital of the world, Wisconsin Dells is a popular vacation and weekend-getaway destination for folks throughout the Midwest. Located in the heart of the Dairy State, “the Dells” is about a three-hour drive from Chicago–just long enough to feel like a road trip, and short enough to be tolerable with youngsters in the car.
