Pictures From A Sunny Sunday/Ed Cole

Yesterday was the annual car show held by a local museum that I look forward to every year. (Sorry for the poor syntax, but I am very tired.) I have come to the realization that I REALLY love cars (the definition of DUH!) and have to be involved in the automobile industry in some way. If anyone has any original ideas, I am all ears.

This 1955 Packard Caribbean convertible literally moved me to tears. 56packardman.com has informed me that, besides being his favorite 1955 color combination, the colors are White Jade, Rose Quartz and Grey Pearl Metallic. The owner of this car also brought a 1954 Cadillac Eldorado and 1957 Cadillac Biarritz to the show. I don’t know the exact number, but I would estimate the total number of cars at about 575. For the nth time I am so tired of the homogenized offerings of today’s large automobile manufacturers. I think the debilitating sameness explains why so many car aficionados gravitate towards exotic cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini.

This real 1937 Cord was the biggest surprise of the show. The owner of this car owns about 25 cars, but this was the only one he brought on this day. I attended the show with my wonderful wife (as always), my amazing niece and a cousin from Israel. My cousin very much enjoyed the show, but I couldn’t convey the significance of this car.

This is a beautiful 1955 Buick Roadmaster. As I have written before I have an affinity for mid-1950s Buicks as the first car I ever drove was a 1956 Buick Century that my father owned for more than 20 years. By the way, after a period of cloudy, rainy weather that seemingly lasted for weeks we were fortunate to have a beautiful day for the show. It is raining again today. Enjoy the good moments and Carpe Diem!

OK, this is the obligatory photo of a C2 Corvette. I don’t know if my restomod is going to be a 1964 model like this one (I would prefer a 1967, all other things being equal), but if mine looks like this when it’s complete I’ll be very happy. I also have no idea when my car will be complete as I have not signed any paperwork, official or otherwise, with any company to have my restomod built. Still, people keep saying to “Think Positive” and that if a person writes down a goal it is more likely to be fulfilled.

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Do you know who Ed Cole was? He was born on this day in 1909. He was an important person in the history of General Motors and in the history of the American automobile industry, in general. (How about that juxtaposition in word use?!)

Cole was promoted to Chief Engineer of Chevrolet in 1952. He was in charge of the development of the legendary small-block Chevrolet V-8 engine, of which more than 100,000,000 were produced from the 1955 model year into the early 21st century. Cole and Zora Arkus-Duntov rejuvenated the Corvette and sent the car on its way to becoming automotive royalty.

For better or for worse, the Corvair was Ed Cole’s baby. I discussed the Corvair in this recent post. Like I wrote, for better or for worse. Cole became President of GM in 1967 and in that role oversaw the transition to unleaded gasoline.

Sadly, Cole died while piloting his private plane just three years after retiring from General Motors. I think his birthday is a very appropriate time to remember him and his contributions.

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