Harold

1957 Forward Look cars from Chrysler- these things sent GM back to the drawing boards. 1961 Lincoln Continental. Proof that a downsized luxury car could be a winning proposition. 1965 Mustang. 'Nuff said. 1958 Edsel. On the perils of consumer research. 1936 Cord 810. FWD, V-8, unit construction, retractable headlights and enough pizazz to make Buck Rogers envious. 1932 Ford V-8. Power to the people. 1908 Model T. The world gets a set of wheels. 1953 Studebaker Starliner/ Starlight. One of the greatest designs ever. 1951 Kaiser Manhattan. Darrin's masterpiece. 1962 GT Hawk. Brooks Stevens changed everything, yet changed nothing, on a shoestring budget. 1962 Avanti. Studebaker's last performance gasp. 1957- '59 Skyliner. A technological sideshow from the age of excess. 1983 Thunderbird. Proof that smaller cars does not mean unattractive cars. 1984 Continental Mk. VII. see above. 1993 Probe. Pure Design, along with its sister car, the Mazda 6. 1989 GM 'W' cars (Grand Prix, Regal and Cutlass). Same basic platform, each with a distinct look and personality.

Actually, the 1936 Cord 810 had front drive and a V-8.

A couple years ago, Collectible Automobile did an article on the '60- '62 Ventura. There was a wealth of photos from GM's styling archives that showed several interesting variations as the design was being hashed out. Great fodder for a custom.I think these kinds of pics are better inspiration than the usual custom ideas seen in magazines.

Well, that's what I get for being sick (physically) for a week and staying offline...

The big three could have been less than concerned with Tucker. He had been an industry gadfly since the thirties, and he was seen as a fast- talking con man. After the war, the Big Three were more concerned with getting new product out as soon as possible, and they could have cared less about someone who would sell (at most) 100,000 cars per year. Tucker was priced up against the junior Packards and Lincolns, and the senior Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Chryslers. Heck, even KF had trouble peddling their wares after the sellers market abated by 1948. Add to this the fact that the Tucker styling was locked in by 1945, and would have seemed outdated by 1950- '51, which would have necessitated a major overhaul of the product. Even old- line name companies like Packard and Studebaker had trouble coming up with the change to restyle on the 3- year cycles that the Big Three worked on. I see Tucker as more Hollywood "Big business is bad" tripe (apparently, theirs is the only 'big business' that is pure and holy).

How about the 1771 Cugnot?

My brother, who plays around town, and I were talking the other day and thought it would be hysterical to be up on stage and say, "Does anyone here like country music?" Of course, you'd get a positive response. Then, start playing Armenian folk music. To the bewildered audience you could say, "Yeah, but we didn't tell you which country."

Moontan is a great album, but the two real gems are Candy's Going Bad and Vanila Queen (a fantastic piece of 70's prog rock).

Great job, Chuck. I have a question, though- where do you go surfing in Ithaca (except on the web)?

well, lets look at my CD collection: Alice In Chains Allman Bros. Band Bulettboys Blue Cheer Deep Purple Joe Ely Emerson, Lake and Palmer Guess Who Golden Earring Gov't Mule Jimi Hendrix Kansas King Crimson Greg Lake Little Feat Yngwie Malmsteen Ozzy Phish Pink Floyd Procol Harum (and the one they did under the pseudonym of Liquorice John Death) Joe Satriani Bruce Springsteen Steely Dan Santana 10cc Steve Vai Joe Walsh The Who Warren Zevon and yet there's more...

Which is why I hardly listen to the radidio. These 'classic rock' stations are a joke. By my reckoning, Hendrix did more than seven songs, and there's a whole body of great stuff from Kansas before 'Leftoverture'.

And there's no "a" in "burgundy".

Interesting. I noticed the buttons on the steering wheel. You mean this thing has cruise control ?

Great idea. I always liked these cars and the infusion of a couple hundred horses under the hood is just what the doctor ordered.

That should buy him a lot of crystal meth, because you'd have to be on some serious drugs to pay that much for a kit. If that's worth $7500, just think what that old unbuilt JoHan DeSoto is worth :lol:.

Nice stash there, Chuck. I also have the Texaco station, but I'm in a quandary as to whether I should build a service station or turn it into a convenience store like the Quik- E- Mart .

Great save. I like the color combo .

Nice job there, Chuck . I have one also, although over the years the styling (to me)has lost its charm and is somewhat contrived. I prefer the '97- era F-150, which looks several hundred pounds lighter than it actually is. Don't even get me going on the new F-150, which (again, just me talking) looks like a parade float.

Looks ready for the Woodward Dream Cruise . Beautiful paint.

Beautiful job on your Bentley . Reminds me of the 5 hour Fuji race on GT4. Sweet handling car.

Really creative job combining two very disparate cars. Wow.

Yes it is. I just had to set it aside for a moment to avoid total burnout. Now that my 1/25 scale body shop is up and running again, I can get more work done on it.

Nice job Chuck. What, a Truckster with shiny paint? Sweet.

Since the Ranchero was based on the wagon, the wheelbase is 113", as opposed to 116" for passenger cars. In fact, the only real difference (save for trim) between the Falcon and Fairlane wagons was the front clip.

Great job. I always liked the looks of these cars, and you did it justice .