Hit The Pause Button

Like many other people, I’m sure, it feels as though someone has hit the pause button on my life. This feeling is worsened as my wonderful wife and I are trying/waiting to move to the desert and that process has an indeterminate end.

Today, I am turning the tables. I am hitting the pause button today. I will not do any chores today nor will I run on my treadmill or get my x,000 steps. After I finish this post I am going to veg for the rest of the day to the extent possible given my OCD.

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Although I am always happy to see Cristy Lee, now part of the cast of Garage Squad, I have to admit I miss Heather Storm’s presence on that show. Here is a picture of Storm from her website:

Apparently, it wasn’t her idea to leave Garage Squad and she wasn’t happy that her departure was announced before she could let “the world” know. Although I am 99.99% sure she will never read this I wish Heather Storm the best. Yes, this is old news. Hey, I’m an old guy.

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This article from Classic Cars is about HBO being sued by a car dealership featured in an HBO series. From the article:

“A car dealership featured in the HBO series “I Know This Much is True” has sued the production company for negligence after a massive fire destroyed the business and its contents, including dozens of vintage cars used in the making of the show.”

“The Ellenville, New York, car dealership seeks around $8 million from Calling Grace Productions, which filmed the dramatic series starring Mark Ruffalo for HBO.”

“The dealer claims that a transformer used to charge camera batteries burst into flames after midnight on May 9, 2019, and that a security guard on duty had fallen asleep and was not alerted until explosions occurred when the fire was well-advanced.”

If HBO and the production company are really dragging their feet in paying for the damages, then shame on them. I have long thought that much/most of Hollywood is oblivious to the real world. My wonderful wife and I used to subscribe to HBO, but eventually realized that we almost never watched any of the channels. Within a week of cancelling our subscription it was as if we had never subscribed. I think we cancelled HBO 15 years ago.

In general, the Hollywood “machine” does not care about my demographic. About two-thirds of movie tickets are purchased by people 21 or younger. I have not been in a theater since 2007 and almost certainly will never set foot in one again. I watch very little TV; basically, if it’s not a Mecum auction, something on Motor Trend or an episode of American Pickers, then I’m almost certainly not watching. Oh, I have to amend that list. My wonderful wife and I have become hooked on The Zoo on Animal Planet.

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Of course, on this day in 1914 Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo. His wife Sophie was also killed. The assassination was the spark that ignited World War I as Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then declared war on Serbia, triggering actions leading to war between most European states. The Serbian military played a major role in organizing and arming the assassins.

Obviously, a blog post is not the venue for discussing the causes of World War I. It is true, however, that Europe has avoided a large armed conflict for 75 years. Virtually no one alive today was alive during World War I and few people living today were alive during World War II. History often has a way of being re-written and not always in a more accurate way.

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On this day in 1966 Pete Estes, then President of the Chevrolet Division of General Motors, announced a new car model. The internal designation was XP-836, but the car is known to the world as the Camaro.

I still think the first-generation Camaro, model years 1967 to 1969, is the best-looking of the model. The car became available to the public in September, 1966, a “normal” time for the introduction of a new model. For years, the cars for a model year were introduced in September/October of the previous calendar year. Without further ado, from Barn Finds a picture of a stock 1967 Chevrolet Camaro:

This is not one of the many Camaros that have been modified with larger wheels and tires, with custom paint and custom hoods, not to mention modern drivetrains. While I prefer the looks of the 1968 model, because I don’t really like the vent window on this car, I think all three years just look great. I would never use this car for the In Or Out? feature because it seems as though it would be In for most people.

Enjoy your Sunday. I’m going to try to do the same.

#HitThePauseButton

#HeatherStorm

#HBOSued

#AssassinationOfArchdukeFerdinand

#ChevroletCamaro

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Saturday Breakfast

During this coronavirus situation, my wonderful wife and I have basically subsisted on cereal (almost exclusively Cheerios for me), protein shakes and bars, and an occasional visit to Chick-fil-A. (I’m exaggerating a little for effect; our diet is actually somewhat more varied.) One brand of protein bars, think!, has been a revelation. While they are not low-calorie foods, for someone with my dietary needs and exercise regimen, they are a very tasty and important part of my diet. By the way, quality of calories counts at least as much as quantity.

One new flavor of think! bars that we have tried, Chocolate & Creme Cupcake, tastes better than many of the candy bars I’ve eaten in my life. Each bar has 18 grams of protein and just 2 grams of “regular” sugar. In all honesty, my GI tract has never behaved better during allergy season than it has this year on this “limited” diet. Maybe restaurant food will have to be restricted from here on out. Oh, this morning’s breakfast consisted of a bowl of Cheerios, a Chocolate Fudge think! bar and some iced coffee, black.

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I think it is still true that McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas is the only US institution of “higher learning” that offers a four-year degree in automobile restoration. Not surprisingly, the school is now offering a webinar that examines the wide-ranging effects of the automobile on modern life.

The title of my History paper my senior year in high school was “The Development Of The Automobile And Its Effect On 20th-Century American Society.” I have had the automobile bug for a LONG time.

In this post I offered the opinion (that’s what “opined” means) that too many American parents have been brainwashed into thinking that it is beneath their children for them to “work with their hands.” This country is experiencing a huge shortage of automotive technicians. Given the complexity of modern automotive systems, it is far beyond the capability of most car owners to perform major, and sometimes even minor, repairs on their vehicles. I think it’s great that McPherson offers a program in automobile restoration; I wish more colleges, two-year and four-year, and universities offered programs featuring working on cars.

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Three very interesting remarks courtesy of The Muscleheaded Blog:

Yogi Berra: “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.”

Groucho Marx: “I’ve had a wonderful time, but this wasn’t it.”

Dwight Eisenhower: “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

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As we have been busy with many chores around here, the search for a Corvette Companion/Grocery Car post-move has slowed. As I wrote here, the Maserati GranTurismo (2007-2010) is out of the running. Right now, I think the realistic choice is between these two cars: a 2000-2002 Cadillac Eldorado (ETC preferred, but not mandatory) and a 2006-07 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS; we have to have an SS.

See the source image

Both pictures are from Mecum Auctions; the top photo is a 2000 Eldorado ESC and the bottom is a 2007 Monte Carlo SS. No, we don’t have to have a car with a red exterior, but we will not buy a car with a dark interior, not in the desert.

As most of you reading are “car people” I would like to read your thoughts on this choice. Of course, in the end the decision will be ours to make, but qualified input is always welcome.

#think!

#McPhersonCollege

#TheMuscleheadedBlog

#CorvetteCompanion/GroceryCar

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Fractured Friday

In my opinion…unlimited freedom, especially in the context of a country or a society, is not freedom. It’s anarchy. You don’t have to like your neighbors; you don’t even have to care about your neighbors. However, you do NOT have the right to risk the health of others through what I can only describe as willful negligence. Yes, that phrase sounds like an oxymoron like “current American music.”

We are all suffering from coronavirus fatigue and we all want to be back to normal as soon as possible. However, the timetable is not up to us and it’s not up to government, either. The virus and the pharmaceutical companies will determine the course of events.

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Yesterday I had a long (two hours) and very enjoyable conversation with my long-time friend, Mel Kiper. Believe it or not, most of the conversation was not about football. He and I have known each other for almost 30 years, but I think we both learned things about each other that we did not know before yesterday.

I really do know a fair number of famous people. Fame has eluded me, not that I have been actively seeking it. From our “hometown” newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, a picture of Mel.

See the source image

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I have not really written about this car in about three months and seeing one yesterday (or was it the day before yesterday?, time compression secondary to aging is no fun ☹️), in addition to receiving a listing for one in my daily email from Classic Cars, were the impetus I needed to show this car again.

Originally shown as the EVOQ concept at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show, the Cadillac XLR was the make’s second unsuccessful attempt to sell a two-seat roadster to compete with the Mercedes-Benz SL models. Success or not, I have thought these cars were simply stunning in design from the first time I saw one at an auto show. From the aforementioned Classic Cars a picture of a 2007 XLR-V (the “V” means the engine is supercharged):

See the source image

The XLR-V was powered by a supercharged 4.4 liter/267 cubic-inch V-8 that produced 443 HP/414 LB-FT of torque. The XLR was based on C6 Corvette architecture and was manufactured in the same Bowling Green, Kentucky factory that builds the Corvette.

Before I bought a used BMW Z4 in May of 2016 (was that really more than four years ago?!), I considered buying a used XLR. While at breakfast some time before I bought the Z4 I asked a friend, a “car guy,” if he knew anything about the XLR. I didn’t know he had owned two of them that he had purchased new and that BOTH of them were re-purchased by Cadillac under our state’s lemon law. One of his cars had been in the shop for 244 of 365 days. That was enough bad news for me. Of course, the Z4 hardly turned out to be a trouble-free car and I sold it after 29 months.

Maybe Cadillac thought it had to get the XLR to market as soon as possible although the car was not available for more than four years after the EVOQ was shown in Detroit. Just like with the Allanté, though, maybe just another year of refinement would have enabled the XLR to be released with far fewer issues. In all honesty, Cadillac overpriced the car and, in all honesty, the market for cars like this collapsed in the wake of the beginning of the “Great Recession” in 2008. The XLR was built from 2003 through 2009 although the first cars were sold as 2004 model year.

Initially projected to sell between 5,000 and 7,000 units per year only 15,460 were sold in total, including 200 leftover 2009 models sold new in 2010 and 2011. The most sold in a year was about 3,700 in 2005. Problems with the car became well known (welcome to the Internet age) and even though cars built from 2006 on are supposed to be quality vehicles, the damage was done and the “Financial Meltdown” was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

I don’t think Cadillac will ever build another two-seat roadster, which is a shame in my opinion. I still think the make is the most logical builder of an American super-luxury car that I think could sell the number of units originally projected for the XLR. I don’t know how much it would cost to design and to tool for a new car. Maybe the car would have to be priced way too high to recoup those costs in a reasonable period of time. Then again, maybe such a car would be a “Giffen Good,” a product that contradicts the normal law of demand and is consumed more the more expensive it is. A really outstanding car could be such an exception.

For quite a long period of time, I really thought I would own an XLR someday. Who knows? Maybe I still will, warts and all. I’m talking about the car, I think. 🙂

#FracturedFriday

#MelKiper

#CadillacXLR

#GiffenGood

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Random Thursday

I was going to call this post Entropy Thursday, but realized that title would reduce blog views by at least 30%.

This blog is technically anonymous, but I am going to show a picture of me. WARNING: Disturbing Content…

Can’t say I didn’t warn you…when people “Like” posts or sign up to follow my blog I usually look at their blogs to see if I want to follow them. Unfortunately, I usually find myself not interested in their content. Almost two years ago, I think, someone liked a couple of my posts so I went to their blog. It consisted of nothing but provocative selfies of an admittedly curvaceous woman (she was clothed) with her phone always covering her face and the “content” consisted of nothing but pablum, and I don’t mean the cereal, about “self-help.” I have to admit that I am less than impressed by the vast majority of the blogs I read. That’s why I still believe, and this is true even with the surge in views/visitors since early April, that Disaffected Musings should have more readers.

Speaking of readers, while June’s totals for views and visitors will not match the records set in May, June has already seen a record number of comments for a month. I am grateful for the interaction. I want to especially thank photobyjohnbo, Dirty Dingus McGee and Philip Maynard. Those three readers account for 55 percent of the last 500 or so published comments by someone other than me. I am responsible for about 48% of all published comments because I like to respond when someone takes the time to submit a comment.

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The following is an article I wrote 25 years ago that was published in a “football analytics” book. The title is “Albert Einstein Would Love This Stuff.” I apologize if some of it is difficult to read; this will be easier to read on a large desktop monitor. Oh, I covered the byline. Remember, this blog is still technically anonymous.

Everything is relative, even relativity. I still think I would bring value to an auction house like Mecum or Barrett-Jackson creating content for them like this article although, of course, about cars and not about football. Oh, the NFL league passer rating is now over 90. The grade inflation has continued.

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Speaking of cars, from GM Authority a picture of a 2020 Corvette. Do I need reasons to show one? Well, read below the photo.

See the source image

From this Carbonhans Blog article comes the “news” that the C8 Corvette ranks 8th on 2020’s Most American Cars Index. That ranking, the American Made Index or AMI by Cars.com, “is an independent annual list that ranks the new vehicles that contribute most to the U.S. economy based on criteria ranging from U.S. factory jobs and manufacturing plants to parts sourcing.” In an example of modern supply chains, three of the top ten vehicles on the list are manufactured by Honda at their Alabama plant. The Corvette and the Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck were the only two General Motors vehicles on the list. Remember that manufacturers are required by law to annually report the percentage of US and Canadian parts and that information appears on the window sticker of all new vehicles sold in the US.

Cars.com also reported “70% of shoppers consider a car’s impact on the US economy a significant or deciding factor in their vehicle choice and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the desire of Americans to “buy local.” The survey found that nearly 40% of consumers report they are more likely to buy an American-made car due to the current health and economic crisis, while just 4% said they were less likely. A whopping 26% said it was “unpatriotic” to buy a non-American-made car, compared to just 18% in 2019.”

From this Corvette Blogger piece comes the news that, not surprisingly, the C8 Corvette is “loaded” with modern composite materials. A website called Composites World has published a two-part look at the role composites play in making the 2020 Corvette one of the top supercars in the world, regardless of price.

#RandomThursday

#Mecum

#BarrettJackson

#2020Corvette

#ModernComposites

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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In Or Out? Lambo!

On those few days when I have written more than one post, like yesterday, I have not noticed an increase in blog views. Still, I reserve the right to continue the practice when so moved.

With new TV production having been halted, more or less, due to the coronavirus, providers of content are just showing reruns. However, some of the non Big-Four “networks” (to me, the non Big-Four networks are just channels) are giving people an opportunity to binge-watch shows as many seem to do who use a streaming TV service.

Motor Trend showed a Chasing Classic Cars “marathon” yesterday and one of the cars featured in one of the episodes is the subject of today’s installment of In Or Out? For many, the Miura is the first Lamborghini of which they were/are aware. The Miura, the first modern mid-engine performance car, was quite a sensation when the P400 prototype was introduced at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show.

However, today’s In Or Out? car is not the Miura, but a Lamborghini that followed the idiom of its first road car, the 350 GT. From uncrate a picture of a Lamborghini 400 GT:

See the source image

I really like the looks of this car and its predecessor. I’m pretty sure this car is from the “first-generation” of the 400 GT although I can’t see the rear of the car to be sure. This generation 400 GT was basically the 350 GT with a bigger engine, a 3.9 liter/240 cubic-inch V-12 producing 315 HP/276 LB-FT of torque. Later, the 400 GT received different body work that allowed rear seating and these are often called the 400 GT 2+2. In all, only 247 400 GTs were produced from 1966 to 1968, 23 of the first generation and 224 of the GT 2+2. Lamborghini introduced the Islero in 1968, which replaced the 400 GT.

OK, kind people…Lamborghini 400 GT, In Or Out? Once again, if this car fails to receive at least five votes, then the feature will be discontinued.

#InOrOut?

#Lamborghini400GT

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Tuesday Two-Fer

I had intended to use the following as all or part of today’s post, but was “inspired” to write about a Solstice Drive, instead.

Yesterday, a much larger number of countries than usual generated blog views. Besides the US, of course, Disaffected Musings was read by people in nine other countries:

Australia (Yes, also a continent unto itself)

Austria

Brazil

Canada

Czech Republic

Finland

Japan

Luxembourg

Yemen

In all, views from outside the US comprised just under 15% of total views yesterday. For 2020 so far, views from the outside the US represent about 11% of the total. For 2019 that proportion was about 8%. As always, I am grateful for these views “from abroad.” I am also happy to see the magical Grand Duchy of Luxembourg represented and, might I add, not for the first time. From Wikipedia a map showing Luxembourg and its European neighbors:

This is a picture I have shown here more than once, including in this very recent post. This is from the Grund section of the capital of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City. According to the CIA World Factbook (only available online now, it used to be available in a print edition), Luxembourg is one of only five countries in the world with a per capita GDP of more than $100,000. In the 2011 Mercer worldwide survey of 221 cities, Luxembourg City was ranked first for personal safety.

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On this day in 2007 the Ferrari 60th anniversary global relay, that lasted almost five months and passed through more than 50 countries, ended at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, Italy. Thousands of Ferrari owners and their cars participated in the relay, each carrying a baton with 60 badges representing important milestones in Ferrari history. From autoevolution a picture of a car that was introduced in 2007, the Ferrari 430 Scuderia:

See the source image

It’s about 530 miles from Luxembourg City to Maranello; that would be a great drive in one of these.

#TuesdayTwoFer

#InternationalReaders

#Luxembourg

#Ferrari

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Solstice Drive

For the past few years I have made at least one drive early in the morning around the time of the summer solstice. Today was my “annual” solstice drive. Ostensibly, I went to mail something for my wonderful wife, but…

I don’t really know why I am compelled to do this. I do seem to enjoy driving a nice car, and my 2016 Z06 more than qualifies, during times of sparse traffic. When I turned north on State Route 7 and gave the car some throttle, I experienced a feeling of joy bordering on euphoria that is all too rare for me.

However, this drive was also a collection of missed opportunities. I had many chances to take beautiful photos, mainly of the sunrise through the morning mist, but couldn’t–or wouldn’t–stop the car so I could snap a picture. As light as the traffic was I probably could have stopped right in the middle of the road, but just didn’t do it.

At a light to turn south on State Route 41 I did see a nice first-generation Monte Carlo turning north. The car had the unmistakable roar of a big-block V-8. As many of you know, I am a fan of the Monte Carlo and think it was almost always a well-styled car. Again, though, I didn’t take a picture although I almost certainly could have. Woulda, coulda, shoulda…

After we move to the desert I suspect this “tradition” will continue. Maybe I can get my wonderful wife to join me then, but she likes her sleep. Oh, from Hemmings a picture of a 1970 Monte Carlo, supposedly an SS:

See the source image

The 2006-07 Monte Carlo SS is still a contender to be the Corvette Companion/Grocery Car after we move, but is not widely available in car classifieds. We are being proactive in our efforts to move, but like everyone else we are at the mercy of exogenous events, at least to some degree.

Keep Driving!

#SolsticeDrive

#MissedOpportunities

#MonteCarlo

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Monday Musings 49

Maybe I should have called this post Monday Musings, The Alaska Edition as in Alaska was the 49th state admitted to the US. No? OK…

This CNBC article is by Morgan Housel, a partner at The Collaborative Fund, behavioral finance expert and former columnist at The Wall Street Journal and The Motley Fool. He is also a winner of The New York Times Sidney Award and a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. It is nine rules about life and money he wants his very young daughter (she was born in 2019) to know. While I don’t agree with all of the manifestations or interpretations of these rules that he uses (and I acknowledge that’s a little arrogant of me since they are “his” rules), I think most of the rules are quite sound. Leaving the elaboration for you to read yourself, here are the nine rules:

Don’t underestimate the role of chance in life.

The highest dividend money pays is the ability to control time.

Don’t count on getting spoiled. (Remember this is for his daughter.)

Success doesn’t always come from big actions.

Live below your means.

It’s okay to change your mind.

Everything has a price.

Money is not the greatest measure of success.

Don’t blindly accept any advice you’re given.

My interpretation of the first rule is one about which I have written here many times. People who think everyone gets what they “deserve” and who dismiss the role of luck/chance in life outcomes need an operation to have their heads removed from their rectums.

Living below one’s means is the way my wonderful wife and I have lived for most of our marriage. People might say, “You both have late-model Corvettes and you live in a big house.” Well, all of those things are owned free and clear, so we must not have stretched to or beyond our means to acquire them.

A former friend, one of the best men at my wedding, was incapable of changing his mind. I would argue that this inability has contributed to his life outcome being one that has made him bitter and also made him incapable of accepting his role in how his life has turned out. I also think that changing his/her mind is not automatically a bad thing for a public official. As Keynes is supposed to have remarked, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”

Everything has a price, which I interpret as nothing is free. Politicians who promise “free stuff” are lying to gain votes. Housel uses this rule to write about the trade-offs in life, something about which I have also written.

The last rule is another one that has appeared here often, although perhaps indirectly. EVERYONE has an agenda. Don’t just accept what they’re saying as being true. Have some discipline and use your mind to think.

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Perhaps because 56PackardMan has left the blog world or perhaps because the search for a Corvette Companion/Grocery Car is now focused on modern cars, I have not written much lately about defunct American makes like Packard. This article hit my email and I found it interesting. From said article, a picture:

The article is about the end of the straight-eight engine era in American automobiles. Some have attributed the demise of Packard, at least in part, due to its being late in bringing out a V-8, not offering such an engine until the 1955 model year. Cadillac and Oldsmobile introduced a modern, overhead-valve (OHV), oversquare (bore greater than stroke) V-8 engine for the 1949 model year. Ford was later, but (finally) introduced its successor to the flathead in 1954, but the flathead dated to 1932 and it was a V-8. Chrysler introduced its first OHV V-8, and a hemi no less, in 1951. Even fellow independent make Studebaker introduced its V-8 in 1951.

A blog post is not the proper forum to discuss at length the reasons for Packard’s demise. Indeed, many books have been written about Packard and its end. I think that like most life outcomes, the company failed due both to exogenous forces (e.g. the Chevrolet-Ford production “war”, or “Ford Blitz,” of 1953-55) and its own decisions like trying to use a small, body-stamping plant for the entire production process, which had major growing pains and led to quality control issues for much of the 1955 model year.

One theme about which I used to write quite a bit is that fewer companies producing cars means fewer companies to develop innovations in engineering and in styling. More competition is almost always better for consumers.

56PackardMan, if you’re reading we would love to hear from you. I would also like to read thoughtful comments by all readers.

#MondayMusings

#NineRules

#TheEndOfPackard

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Sunday Drive

My father’s gas/service station was open about 100 hours a week. One of my strongest memories is of my mother whispering, “Shhh, your father’s asleep” because when he wasn’t at the station, he was usually home sleeping.

On Sundays, though, he closed the station around 4 PM instead of 10 PM. He would come home, shower, and then we would often head out for a drive and dinner. I wish I had pictures of the actual car with which I will always associate these Sundays, but this is the best I can do.

See the source image

From Hemmings a picture of a 1956 four-door Buick Century. My father’s car had a more subdued color scheme, light blue and darker blue I think, maybe blue and black, although I haven’t seen the car since the early 1980s. I’m fairly certain his car was not the DeLuxe version, but the standard hardtop sedan, of which about 21,000 were built in 1956.

Most, if not all, of the restaurants where we ate dinner on Sundays after the drive are no longer in business. One of those, Sid Mandel’s (could have been spelled Mandell’s), was open from the mid-1950s until 1980. The item for which the restaurant was most known was the “Four by Four,” which was a large hamburger in a basket surrounded by large piles of french fries and always delicious onion rings. I think those were the first onion rings I ever ate. Sid Mandel’s also had a bakery on-site. I think it is difficult to beat the taste of food made from scratch and made on the premises.

Like many people I usually prefer dining at “Ma and Pa” restaurants as opposed to big-chain eateries. I really don’t like extra-fancy accommodations and cuisine, at least not very often. I didn’t grow up eating in such places as we were a lower middle-class family. In general, granting that some exceptions might exist, I don’t have to have “the latest and the greatest.” For example, my wonderful wife and I keep our iPhones for years, have missed many versions and don’t care that we’ve missed them. My phone has a crack across the screen, but until the phone stops working I have no intention of replacing it.

I would very much like to read your memories of your Sunday Drives, whether they are/were with your family or not.

#SundayDrive

#1956BuickCentury

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Saturday Solstice

If today’s Belmont Stakes starts on time, then the race will begin in the Spring and end in the Summer. Post time for the Belmont is supposed to be 5:42 PM ET; the summer solstice is at 5:43 PM and the race lasts two and a half minutes. It’s not likely, though, that the race will start on time.

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From Sophia Loren via The Muscleheaded Blog:

“It’s a mistake to think that once you’re done with school you need never learn anything new.”

Amen…oh, you want to see a picture. OK, from the post quoted above:

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Until watching the most recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC I was unaware of this car. Live and learn…

image of hotel

My wonderful wife and I were both immediately smitten by the looks of this car. (The picture is from chryslerboano.com, which is not a secure site. Hey people, it’s not difficult to make your site secure. Why it’s not done all the time is beyond me. OK, maybe unscrupulous people want you to visit a site that is not secure.)

From the same website:

“Toward the end of 1955 Italian Industrialist Gianni Agnelli known as “L’ Avvocato” commissioned building of the Chrysler-Boano Coupe while he was vice president of Fiat. He tasked Mario Boano, formally of Carrozzeria Ghia, with producing a, ‘2-seat coupe with a powerful, modern mechanical system, a classic British style coupe, not a modern shape.'”

“The basic design sketches took just ten days. Mr. Agnelli chose his favorite one and from that single sketch a “master model” was created, In the meantime, a new Chrysler 300 chassis was ordered; 3N561171 was produced by Chrysler on February 1st, 1956. By the fall of 1956 the body panels were welded to the chassis. It would take an additional two months of hand fabrication work to create the individual components.”

“Toward the end of 1956 the car was completed and on an invitation from Boano, Agnelli came to inspect the finished coupe. While he was very pleased with the final result, he was bothered by the prospect of being seen in public driving a foreign car while he was ascending to the presidency of Fiat. Ultimately Agnelli decided to give the car to his brother Umberto.”

“…The Chrysler-Boano coupe features a frame shortened by the coachbuilder from the original 126” to 119” to better complement the two-seater layout. The mechanicals remained the stock Chrysler 300B high performance 354 cubic inches (5.8 liter) Hemi engine combined with a 3 speed TorqueFlite push-button automatic transmission.”

I confess I cleaned up some spelling and other “mistakes.” The Chrysler-Ghia partnership of the 1950s yielded some stunning cars like the Dual-Ghia, the Chrysler Ghia ST Special and this car.

The episode was about cars reaching perfection and this car was shown at the end of the episode during the “Assess and Caress” segment featuring renowned automobile appraiser Donald Osborne. He gave the car a value of $800,000. To me, the car is priceless.

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You didn’t think I would write a post with the word “Solstice” in the title and not show one of these, did you?

See the source image

From supercars.net a picture of a Pontiac Solstice, supposedly a GXP model.

#SaturdaySolstice

#SophiaLoren

#ChryslerBoano

#PontiacSolstice

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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