Brian Austin

I guess in the case of the Aurora, its creator fancied himself a car designer. He became ordained before he could follow his dream to Detroit with General Motors. I can only presume he genuinely thought in his own way he was putting thought into the aesthetics of his design. His approach was just a bit...unorthodox. For those interested, there are more pics and info on the Aurora here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/design/curbside-catechism-1957-aurora-sins-of-the-father/#

I think you're looking at the safety car prototypes the wrong way round. Two of those were built by independent individuals not connected to the auto industry who noted the statistics relating to automobile deaths and injuries and decided to act on increasing awareness of safety features. "The Sir Vival was a concept car created by Walter C. Jerome of Worcester, Massachusetts in 1958. Jerome created what he termed a "revolutionary vehicle" due to concern about what he saw as 1950s Detroit's lack of concern for safety and focus on planned obsolescence. While never produced commercially, the Sir Vival featured many innovative car safety concepts that would later become standard such as seat belts, a roll cage, sliding side doors, rubber bumpers, and side lights. ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Vival "Aurora was an American automobile prototype manufactured by Father Alfred A. Juliano, a Catholic Priest, from 1957 to 1958. The Aurora is arguably the first Experimental Safety Vehicle ever made, even before the coinage of the ESV initialism. ... Juliano had studied art before entering the priesthood, and expressed a lifelong interest in automotive design. His family said that he had won a coveted scholarship from General Motors to study with Harley Earl, which arrived only after he had already been ordained. He maintained his interest in automotive design, however, which he combined with a belief that there was much which could be done to make current automobiles safer. ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(1957_automobile) People focus on the unconventional appearance and dismiss the entire concepts without a second thought. I see it as the quintessential mid-20th Century dream--a grass-roots effort to improve the lives of those around them. You just have to admire that two amateur car guys got off their butts and each built something. ? In the end they were advanced prototypes with features not found on production cars until many years later. By way of contrast there have been countless hot rods and show car customs that are all looks but might be deathtraps on the road.

Yeah I recall a better selection of paint colors at my local auto parts store years ago so I was rather disappointed last time I checked. I will say I see more variety out and about than what was represented on the shelf. I've seen lovely bronzey/orange colors, and pretty blues/aquas, among others. Often these were Japanese makes. Regarding the trends of the past few years, the color palette reminded me of 1940s / early '50s muted colors. Also brown seems to have made a comeback. Note that of the four cars I've owned since the 1990s, only one was not some shade of metallic grey. Color was not a consideration my car shopping. In the end, it's no longer the '50s or '60s. The world has moved on.

It's a pity Round2 didn't convert the headlights to clear lenses.

There were some fascinating books published on automotive safety in the middle of the last century. This one comes from 1940. Interestingly the commentary regarding outward vision parallels my experiences with the Chevy HHR I used to have. The body pillar blind spots were similar. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002901885&seq=5

AMT kits aren't branded Aluminum Model Toys, either. (Original name). ?

Let's go with that.

I would just look at it from a historical perspective.

Lesney did indeed produce plastic model kits, branded as Matchbox. ?

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/tow411/1979-chevy-w-holmes-commander-1200-t62594.html

History of the Captain Hook program. It appears a limited amount were actually built. https://holmeswreckers.com/captain_hook.htm

Here is a selection of Holmes wreckers with the General Motors style sculpted body sides. I am noticing differences in details, such as the light bars and the sculpting that loops up and over them.

FWIW, Holmes did offer tow units for 1/2-ton through 1-ton truck chassis, the model 220. The boom resembles the Midnite Cowboy unit. According to a Bring A Trailer post, there was even a 220 mounted on an '81 Toyota N30. What is the wheelbase on the Midnite Cowboy?

From a long-gone listing. Sorry images aren't larger. Note the cropped pickup bed sides.

I recall seeing Sleeping Bag on MTV, once. For me the song itself became background music to the action of the video and afterwards I had no memory of it. Kinda like OK GO videos for me. ?

Yeah, I have some like those. I also have some old Polaroid cameras as well. In my college days I got use out of my larger folding cameras by loading print paper in where the film would sit, one shot at a time in a "dark bag". Afterward I contact printed the negative with another piece of print paper. Not convenient at all, but I did get some interesting shots.

I heard a fascinating radio interview with him. Utterly fascinating.

I still have all my old darkroom stuff, a ton of obsolete cameras, and I think a bunch of slide mounts as well. Don't know what I'm going to do with it all.

“The cutting edge of the civilized mind is the hand of the craftsman.”—Dr. Bronowski “A person who works with his hands is a laborer. A person who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman. A person who works with his hands, his brain and his heart is an artist.” —Louis Nizer I don't know who the quoted people were, but the quotes came from the website of the Craftsmanship Museum, located in California. https://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/craftsmanship-topic/

FWIW: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/from-scratch-word-history-origin I don't expect this to settle arguments, but the history of the term is fascinating nonetheless.