1939 Lincoln Continental Prototype

While on a trip to Europe in the fall of 1938 Edsel Ford was impressed with the long hoods, short trunks and rear mounted spare tires of the European sports cars. After returning from Europe Ford consulted with E.T. "Bob" Gregorie the designer for Lincoln to have him design a custom car with a "Continental" look. Gregorie used the Zephyr based to build the Continental and designed elegant chic look with clean pure lines without superfluous chrome ornaments or running boards (which were a standard feature of cars during that time).

In March of 1939 the Continental prototype was ready, Edsel Ford had the car shipped to Florida where he was vacationing at the time. The chic new Continental was an instant hit with the locals it is said that Edsel Ford received no less than 200 request to purchase the new Continental and the call was made by Ford to Gregorie to get the Continental into production. In October of 1939 the production Lincoln Continental made its debut.

The inexpensive prestigious looking car was popular with many of Hollywood's celebrities like Rita Hayworth, Clark Gable and Mickey Rooney. During world war II the production was stopped, but returned in 1946 and then went away again after the 1948 model year. In 1956 the Continental was brought back by Edsel's youngest son William Clay Ford, seven more generations were produced through 2002. 

Frank Lloyd Wright famed architect considered Gregorie's Lincoln Continental "the most beautiful car in the world".

The car was then owned by several owners over the years who had intentions of restoring the car. In 1977 Mr. Anderson purchased the car, however he did not start the restoration for another 20 years. In 2002 the restoration was complete, the currant owners showed the car to the then 94 year old Bob Gregoie who was thrilled to have the opportunity to ride in the car one more time.

First Station Wagon

The first fully factory built station wagon was the 1923 Star Four Model C with a four cylinder Continental engine. At the time all other car companies were sending their chassis out to a custom builder who then added the wooden wagon body. The beginning of 1928 model year the Star Four C was replaced by Durant 4.

The 2016 Honda Civic was Named Kelley Blue Books Overall Best Buy

This 10th generation Civic has been completely redesigned, larger and lighter than last years model, and more fuel efficient. Delivering almost the same mileage are the base model 158 horsepower 2.0 liter with the standard 6 speed manual transmission and the upgraded models feature a 174 horsepower 1.5 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder engine with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with almost the same city mileage 31 mpg and the same highway mileage 42 mpg.

The sleek new design is modern. There is plenty of room for adult passengers and a larger trunk for storage. The previous models dash was busy two tier layout has been replaced with easier and simpler 5 or 7 inch touchscreen with state of the applications like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (size of touchscreen depends on the car model). 

Kelley Blue Book stated "The 2016 Honda Civic has raised the bar for compact cars in general to a new level".

1938 Phantom Corsair Prototype

Phantom Corsair Protoye was a 2 door, six passenger sedan built in 1938. Designed by Rust Heinz of the H.J. Heinz family and Maurice Schwartz, Bohman & Schwartz coach building company located in Pasadena, California. Because the Phantom Corsair was never made it to production it was sometimes thought of as a failure in-spite of it futuristic features like, its aerodynamic shape, low body height (57in.), fully skirted wheels, flush fenders and no running boards, electrically activated doors (with a push of a button located on the instrument panel and on exterior of the cars the doors would open), an instrument panel with an altimeter, compass and above the windshield a separate console that would let the driver know the lights were on or the door was ajar or when the radio was on.

The Phantom Corsair was front wheel drive with an electrically operated four speed pre-selector gearbox, independent suspension, adjustable shock absorbers. The chasis was a Cord chasis, the chasis was modified to accommodate the Phantom's large size body. Including making the chasis wider to accommodate four people sitting in a row in the front seat including one person sitting on the left of the driver, however the rear seat only had enough room for two people. The reason for this was that the space was used up by the on board beverage cabinets. The Phantom Corsair reached speeds in access of 115 mph in-spite of its heavy weight of 4,600. The Phantom Corair engine was a naturally aspirated 125 bhp Lycoming engine.

In 1938 the cost to produce the Phantom was $24,000 (in 2016 the cost $394,208.33). Rust Heinz planned to produce the Phantom with a limited production run with a selling price of $12,500 (2016 price $205,316.84). Unfortunately Rust Heinz was killed in a car accident in 1939 and the car was never produced, leaving this prototype as the only one to have ever been built.

1987 Chevrolet Express Concept Car

The 1987 Chevrolet Express concept car was latest in Chevrolet's long running experimentation with the gas turbine, powered by a mid-mounted GM ACT-5 turbine, capable of traveling a consist speed of 150 mph the Express was designed to be part of a system of federally limited high-speed travel highways.

The Express was a two door four passenger car that featured a roof that lifted up to allow entry into the vehicle. Other features of the Express were ground effect that were built into the carbon body, covered wheels, drive-by-wire controls, instrumentation and replacing the mirrors were three dash mounted camera screens.

Interesting piece of information, in the movie Back to the Future Part II you can see the car in the scene where Marty McFly arrives in the year 2015.

1966 Chevrolet Corvair Fitch Phoenix Prototype

The 1966 Concept car the Corvair Fitch Phoenix was based off of a Corvair, built on a 95 inch wheel base which was 13 inches shorter than a standard Corvair with an over all length of 174 inches. The Fitch Phoenix had a 170 hp Corvair engine with a Weber carburetor that allowed the car to go 0 to 60 mph in just 7.5 seconds with an estimated top speed over 130 mph. 

The Fitch featured an upgraded braking system, Girling disc on the front and stock Corvair drum brakes on the rear. To further enhance the Fitch Phoenix's performance were staggered wheels 175R/14 in front and 185R/14 in the rear and optional fender humps which were for aesthetics  as well as functional they were used to store the spare tires.

Unfortunately in 1969 Chevrolet stopped production of the Corvair which the squashed hopes of production for the Fitch Phoenix as there wouldn't be a source for engines and parts.

The Fitch Phoenix prototype was a functioning car, there was only one ever made.

Lamborghini's First Car Unveiled at 1963 Turin Auto without an Engine

The 350 GTV was Ferruccio Lamborghini's first car, designed to be a show only car. Ferruccio Lamborghini planned to unveil the 350 GTV at the 1963 Turin Auto Show in Turin, Italy, however during assembly it was discovered that the body panels did not fit around the engine compartment, Ferruccio Lamborghini had bricks placed in the engine compartment where the engine would have been and never opened the engine compartment's hood during the auto show. In addition the incomplete 350 GTV show car did not have foot pedals, windshield wipers or brake calipers. The Lamborghini 350 GTV was the predecessor for the 350 GT.

When the 1963 Turin Auto Show ended the 350 GTV was put into storage until the mid 1980's when the car was sold to Romano Bernandoni a car dealer and his cousin Stefano Pasini a Lamborghini expert. Items that were not included with car, the steering and the gauges. 
Bernandoni and Pasini received several proposals to modify the car into a running car, the cousins accepted one. The new owner requested that the color be changed from the original pale blue to a deep metallic green. The next owner was a Japanese collector who added the car to the Noritke collection. Currently the 350 GTV is on display at the Lamborghini museum in Sant' Agata Bolognese, Italy.

1958 Ford Nucleon Concept Vehicle

The 1958 Ford Nucleon looked like a muscle truck from the future with a cab-forward design to protect the occupants form the reactor in the rear of the vehicle. In place of an internal combustion engine there would have be a small nuclear reactor in the back of the car, steam produced from uranium fission would power the car similar to how nuclear submarines work. In stead of a typical style drive train the Ford Nucleon concept car would have had an electronic torque convert, the drive train was to be part of the power module. Theory behind having a small reactor to power the vehicle was that the Nucleon could go at least of 5,000 miles before having to be recharged, once the core was drained it could be taken to a charging station for recharging. 

The Nucleon never made it to full size concept car. The original Ford Nucleon concept model can be viewed at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan.

The 1949 Delahaye Saoutchik Roadster 

The 1949 Delahaye had a naturally aspirated inline overhead valve six cylinder engine with 4,455 cc and produced 165 bhp with a four-speed electro-mechanically actuated Cotal Preselector gearbox, semi elliptic springs, De Dion rear axle with drive-shafts passing through the side rails of the frames, Dubonnet coil spring front suspension, hydraulic braking system with twin master cylinders and finned alloy brake drums and a wheel base of 166 inches.

Jacques Saoutchik was commissioned by Sir John Gaul a flamboyant English collector to produce a unique and spectacular work of art. Jacques Saoutchik was originally a cabinet maker in the Ukrane Saoutchik and moved to Paris in 1900. It didn't take Saoutchik long to get himself established in the automotive coachbuilding industry and over the next fifty years he showed a consistent flair in his designs that put him among the very elite of automotive designers and considered to be one of the most foremost designers of exquisite Art Deco coachwork in the 1920's and 1930's.

The unveiling of the Delahaye took place at the 1949 Pairs Auto Show and was on exhibit at of the major European automotive events that year. The car was once owned by English blonde bombshell actress Diana Dors.

Kelley Blue Book Announced its top picks for the Best Family Vehicles of 2016

Kelley Blue Book is the only source that is trusted by consumers and the automotive industry for vehicle valuation. Today Kelley Blue announced the list of its top 16 best family vehicles for 2016. The manufactures with the most vehicles on the list are Honda with 6 vehicles followed by Chevrolet with 3.

Here is the list of KKB best family vehicles for 2016

2016 Honda, Civic
2016 Honda, Accord
2016 Kia, Optima
2016 Chevrolet, Malibu
2016 Chevrolet, Impala
2016 Hyundai, Sonata
2016 Honda, HR-V
2016 Honda, CR-V
2016 Subaru, Outback
2016 Kia, Sedona
2016 Honda, Odyssey
2016 Toyota, Sienna
2016 Nissan, Pathfinder
2016 Toyota, Highlander
2016 Honda, Pilot
2016 Chevrolet, Tahoe

 The Cord L-29 America's First Front Wheel Drive Car 

The Cord L-29 produced from 1929 to 1932 was America's first front wheel drive car offered for sale to the public. Designed by former Miller engineer Carl Van Ranst the L-29 utilized the same de Dion layout and inboard brakes which allowed to be a lot lower than competing cars. Interesting bit of information, due to the front wheel feature the L-29 Cord was a much lower and sleeker than most cars produced today. The L-29 had full instrumentation that featured, a speedometer on the left with a gas gauge, temperature gauge, oil level gauge, oil pressure gauge and on the right side of the steering wheel was a Ammeter.

The L-29 had an Auburn 301 ci L-head Lycoming inline 8 cylinder 125 hp engine with a 3 speed transmission, sadly the gearing in both the front axle and the transmission were inadequate. The heavy 4,700 car was slow with limited speeds just over 80 mph. The body of the car was a beautiful site to see. The L-29 was priced at about $3,000.00 (US) and was competitive with Lincoln, Marmon, Stutz, Franklin and Packard. Unfortunate timing with the great depression there were only 4,400 sold. The production of Cord's L-29 was stopped in 1932.

In 2015 a L-29 sold at RM Auctions for  $158,750.

The Most Expensive Car Ever Sold at Auction was Sold this Month

A new worlds record for the most expensive car sold at auction was set February 1, 2016 at Gooding & Company Auction House in Scottsdale Arizona. The Gooding & Company Auction House is well known for selling the world's most significant and valuable collector cars. The record breaking sold price was $6,490,000.00 for a 1950 Ferrari 166 MM/195S Berlinetta Le Mans. 

There were only six of these cars ever built, the cars were designed primarily to be used for racing. The Berlinetta was a 2 door fastback coupe that had a spark ignition 4 stroke V-12 engine with a 3 carburetor set up, a 5 speed manual transmission, rear wheel drive with a top speed of 117 mph and could travel 0 to 60 mph in 8.5 seconds (remember this was 1950).

Sadly both of the Berlinetta's that were entered to race in the 1950 Le Mans race did not finish.

1938 Buick Y-Job Auto Industries First Concept Car

The automobile industry's first concept car was 1938 Buick Y-Job built in 1938. The Buick Y-Job was a two door coupe designed by Harley J. Earl, it was not intended for production it was created to test out new ideas. The Y-Job concept car had a body that was a streamlined sheet metal expanse of over 17 long with a wheel base of 126 inches. The Y-Jobs fenders flowed seamlessly into the doors with wrap around bumpers, the Y-Job was sporty yet elegant.  

Some of the features of the Buick Y-Job were later found on GM's production line. Some of the innovative features of this unique concept car were; an electric top that when closed was concealed under a metal cover, electric windows, power operated hidden headlamps, flush door handles,a "gun-sight" hood ornament and the waterfall grille design that is still used today by Buick.

Harley J. Earl drove the Buick Y-Job for several years until he replaced it with 1951 General Motors LeSabre dream car. Later the Y-Job was restored at the Henry Ford museum and in 1993 the car was returned back to the GM Design Center where resides as a member of GM's Heritage Collection.

Daimler, Mercedes-Benz is recalling approximately 840,000 vehicles equipped with Takata Airbags

Last week U.S. regulators said that the risk of vehicles having violent explosions from Takata Airbags were limited to older vehicles typically model years no later than 2008.

Daimler is recalling about 136,000 vans and Mercedes-Benz car recall is for approximately 705,000 vehicles in the United States equipped with Takata Airbags at a cost to the German automaker of 382 million US dollars (340 million euros).

According to Daimler the recall is "precautionary". The affected Daimler vans model years 2007-2014 and various Mercedes models from 2005-2014.

 1940 Chrysler Newport Dual Cowl Phaeton Concept Car

Did you know that Chrysler's first concept car was the 1940 Chrysler Newport Dual Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron? It was, the Phaeton was produced during 1940-1941 it had a sleek aluminum body that was set on an existing Chrysler New Yorker chassis. The Dual-Cowl Phaeton used the Chrysler Spitfire 143 hp L-head straight 8 engine with dual carburetors and a three speed manual transmission.

An interesting feature of the Phaeton was that the car had two cockpits and the back of the back cockpit was elevated to allow the passengers in the back seat a better view. Other features of the Phaeton were concealed headlights and two fold-able windscreens (remember this was in 1940). 

Walter P. Chrysler founder of Chrysler had a Phaeton for his personal car and drove it daily until his death later that year. Actress Lana Turner also owned a Newport Phaeton.  The 1941 Indianapolis 500 race the pace car was the Newport Phaeton this was the only Phaeton that did not have hide-away headlights and this is the Phaeton that became Walter P. Chrysler's personal car.

There were only six Phaeton's built and five are known to exist today. In March of 2009 restored Phaeton sold at RM Auctions for $687,500. Wow!

Another Recall for Takata Corporation's Air Bags

This time the recall is for certain Takata SSI-20 design type seat mounted side air bag inflators. There was a problem during production of air bag inflators that were manufactured December 13, 2014 to December 14, 2014. The problem with these inflators occurred during production of certain seat mounted inflators, when the inflators deploy there may be unusually high pressures in the inflators so that when they deploy the inflators rupture shooting metal fragments out at the driver and occupants in the vehicle resulting in serious injury or even death.

Takata is working with vehicle manufactures to get the faulty inflators replaced at no cost to the owners. Volkswagen vehicles are covered by recall 16V-45 and General Motors vehicles are covered by recall 15V-666.

2016 BraunAbility Ford Explorer WheelChair Accessible SUV

Partnering with the Ford Explorer America's first and favorite SUV BraunAbility has created the very first wheelchair accessible SUV conversion vehicle the BraunAbility Ford Explorer MXV. The Ford Explorer MXV has six patent pending features maximizing the interior space without compromising safety or style. 

The Ford Explorer MXV features easy access in and out of the SUV the wheelchair the user pushes a button on the key fob, the side rear passenger door slides open while simultaneously a ramp emerges to allow the wheel chair user to roll him/herself into the SUV and into the drivers area, lock the wheel chair into position, press the key fob button again and the door closes, the ramp retracts and the user is ready to drive.

Tata Motors New Zica Hatchback is Getting a New Name

Tata Motors, part of the Tata Group is getting ready to showcase their latest vehicle at the biennial New Delhi motor show, but before showcasing the curvaceous hatchback named Zica, translates to  "Zippy Car" Tata decided to rename the vehicle after the break-out of the mosquito born virus Zika. The Zika virus has been declared an international health emergency. 

Tata's Zica features two engine options 1.2 liter 3 cylinder Revotron gasoline engine and the all new 1.05 3 Cylinder Revotorq diesel engine. The Zica transmission options are a 5 speed manual and possibly an AMT, also the Zica comes equipped with an infotainment system and is being endorsed by world soccer player of the year Lionel Messi. Regarding price the Zica is expected to compete with similar class vehicles from Hyundai Motor Company and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd with prices starting just under $6,000.

Tata will be announcing Zica's new name in a few weeks.

2016 Coachmen Cross Country Vehicles Recalled

A recall has been issued for Certain model year Forest River 2016 Coachmen Cross Country vehicles for tire damage. The front tires could be damaged from contacting the fuel fill guard during suspension travel, which could result in deflation of the tires causing loss of control of the vehicle and increasing the risk of a crash. Affected vehicles have a manufacture date of May 26, 2015 - December 2, 2015.

Remedy:

At no cost to owners dealers will be installing a revised fuel fill guard that the tires will not be in contact with, also any tires showing signs of having been in contact with the fuel fill guard will be replaced. March 10, 2016 is the expected start date of this recall.
Numbers to call for more information:

Owners West of the Mississippi customer service number 1-574-825-8305.
Owners East of the Mississippi customer service number 1-574-825-8317

Forest River's number for this recall is  310-01112016-0126

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153). 

Motorcycle Helmet Recall

Important information for motorcycle enthusiast, there is a recall for GM78 Fullface helmets manufactured January 1, 2012 - December 30, 2014.  In the event of a crash these helmets may not provide adequate protection to a wearer and increases the risk of injury.
These helmets fail to comply with the requirements of FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) number 218 "Motorcycle Helmets".

For more information owners of the GM78 helmets can call GMAX customer service at 1-208-376-8400. The remedy for the recall is currently under development.

Another Interesting Vehicle From Captain James V. Martin

The 1948 Martin Stationette built by Captain James V. Martin had with a 4 cylinder Hercules engine that could reach speeds of 60 miles per hour, the Staionette had just one rear wheel and a wooden body that was built by Biehl Auto Body of Reading, Pennsylvania. To keep cost low there were no shock absorbers or driveshaft. The support of the vehicle was a Monocoque construction a technique that uses the shell of the vehicle to provide the structural support where a body on frame construction the frame provides the structural support.

In 1954 the Martin Stationette was called "America's Car of the Future". The price of the Stationette was $995 (the average cost of a car in 1954 was $1700), its not known how many were actually built. In 1974 there was only one left in exsistance.

The 1932 Martin Martinette

To showcase one of his many inventions Captain James V. Martin an airplane manufacturer who occasionally liked to build automobiles built an automobile just to showcase his latest invention the tubeless tire. The 1932 Martin Martinette was one his larger vehicles.