It's a Doozy
 

This thing was huge. Had about as much seating space as a Honda Civic. Wild:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0403.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0404.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0405.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0411.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0412.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0417.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0413.jpg

There were quite a few Cords. Only got a shot or two of them:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0400.jpg

I believe this one was a Packard:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0418.jpg

I forget what this one was:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0389.jpg

More cool shots, this is killing me!

The 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham was a rare and unique piece, it cost over $13,000 new, and had a stainless steel roof, air suspension, 325 hp V8, its own woman's vanity, thermos, glassware set, and cigar holders.

Back in the mid '80s, when I lived in the inner Richmond in SF, a neighbor had one of them stored away in a garage, with Hawaiian plates on it, about twice a year they would start it up and back it out of the garage, it was really neat to see. I have one too, but it's just a Franklin Mint scale model version in 1/24"

The Corvettes are nice, I went and saw a show of them down in Mt View years ago. But their owners seemed obsessive, using feather dusters and toothbrushes to clean the engines, pulling pebbles from the tire treads, stuff like that, it was not fun to see that kind of behavior.

The '63 split window Vettes are among the most highly prized.

Unbelievable, Coffin nose Cords, never saw a convertible!!!! They were so far advanced for their time, they had Front wheel drive, Lycoming superchargers, hidden headlights and so on, that they scared the public away. Like the Graham Hollywood sedans of about 1940-41 and the 1934 Chrysler Airflow sedan..

The Auburn-Cord-Deusenberg cars were the apogee of American car making.
"It's a Doozy" is a phrase that still remains from their legacy. Like the Pierce Arrow Silver Arrow, trying to survive by only selling cars to the Ultra Rich was a bad strategy to survive the depression in the 1930s

Packard got wise, and made it by selling the cheaper 120 and 140 cars. They lasted till 1956, then merged with Studebaker and built ugly
Studebaker
clones called Packards for 2 years, then folded in 1958 forever. Even Brooks Stevens and Raymond Loewy couldn't save them.....last Studebaker was in 1966.

Amazing too, as the admission is so low: $25. Sort of a people's show and in toney Palo Alto, on the Stanford grounds to boot.

I wish I could claim credit for the pic quality, I'm a bit surprised myself.

I was using a Toshiba PDR 3300, a mere 3.2 mp, I got it for about $110 on ebay after reading several good reviews of it online. My first and only digital. :rube:

Compared to the sleek models I see people using, especially the moneyed crowd at the Concours, this thing looks like one of those old, huge cell phones. It's 4 1/2 long, 2 1/2 tall, and 1 3/4 thick.

I was afraid all the bright sun glints off of chrome and waxed paint would be a problem but apparently not.

**EDIT**

I just checked e-bay, they're giving them away, well, used -- mine was new -- but bids of only like $10 to $20, a day or so left. Good to know if I want to get a beater to use on jobs (construction jobs, not photo shoots ;)).

That's part of what amazed me about the Ferrari Barn Find owner, driving his rig, aluminum body, no bumpers, out on the public roadways all the time, that's what he told me anyway. They have a pre-show drive and if, during the judging, there's a tie, the award goes to the one who drove in the group drive. They're trying to get away from 'trailer-queens' they said. "Ferraris are meant to be driven." I'll go along with that. :cool:

I can only imagine how cool it would be to see one of those on the road with you. When I see something remotely in that range, oh man, I give it a wide berth. Can you imagine spacing out and rear ending something like that? :eek:

I've only had one chargeable accident in my life, a freeway stop and go rear end on an Accord (looked away for the wrong second), less than $1,000 damage, and I'd sure hate for my second to be whacking some rare old piece of art.

They were saying in the program how the Cords were quite advanced but didn't have much of a run in the market -- something about the founder being sort of a tragic story. They do look just a tad odd, in a way. Like you say, the public just wasn't ready for them. Who knows . . .

Some of our family friends in OlyWA in the 60s had one of those "Packards." Good Lord, it was a beast.

More Ferraris
 

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0359.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0358.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0346.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0345.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0458.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0457.jpg

This is a Ferrari, isn't it?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0352.jpg

A 2 + 2:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0444.jpg

Might have trouble getting this one up the driveway:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0452.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0453.jpg

Whoops, forgot two:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...PDR_0365-1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0351.jpg

GREAT pics,,, thanks !!

Geez, I wish I could drive to that show. All those cars and I couldn't care any less about the American-made stuff. Barrett-Jackson has absolutely killed that side of me.

Great pictures ,,,, love the Silver GTO.

That's a serious purchase price. In '57, $13K was like Rolls Royce money. Ferraris were going for $15K in the mid to late 60s, a Porsche 911 going for $6K.

beautiful.. just beautiful..

I'll rember to take pics when I go to the next Bug jam and such

You mean this one?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0375.jpg

Most all of these older Ferraris, it was my first time seeing even one of them and they had a few of each.

Is this one of the old 250 LM series?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0435.jpg

I wish I’d had time to take notes.

Like this one, I have no idea what or when it was:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...2/PDR_0458.jpg

>>You mean this one?

Yes, absolutely the most gorgeous piece of 4-wheeled art ever made.

>>Is this one of the old 250 LM series?

It's a SWB 250 Berlinetta,,,, not a LeMans car though (I don't think) ,,,, they had a weird-looking rear-end,, kinda like the old Lotus Europas.


>>Like this one, I have no idea what or when it was:

I think that's a 58 or 59 Testarossa,,, I'm sure someone here will know for sure!