Monday Musings 50

As I had originally envisioned this post, I was going to start by offering my opinions on tribalism, on an individual’s limited–but real–obligations to strangers, on the notion that far more than two ways exist to define the relationship between citizens and their government, etc. However, I realized that I would either be preaching to the choir or engaging in an exercise in futility. As I wrote here, I believe that real political debate has ended in the US. What I didn’t write, but also believe, is that what used to be America’s gift for compromise, for sides giving a little in order to make progress, has vanished. Compromise is now considered a dirty word at best and treasonous at worst. Sorry to write for the nth time, but blind adherence to any ideology is not an optimal behavior, in my opinion.

******************

The following fact is only of significance to me, but this is my blog, after all. Even without having a plan that would avail me of analytics provided by the Evil Empire (aka Google), WordPress displays all manner of data. One such piece of data is a list of the top six people by number of published comments out of the last 1,000.

For many months, 56PackardMan was, by far, the leading commenter on Disaffected Musings not counting yours truly. When I looked this morning at the ranking I was saddened that 56PackardMan is no longer on the list. Don’t get me wrong; I am happy that the average number of comments per post has increased in 2020 by 54 percent compared to 2019. I very much enjoy comments from photobyjohnbo, Dirty Dingus McGee, Philip Maynard (among others), who are “The Big Three” of commenting. (An inside joke for Dr. Zal with no disrespect intended to anyone.)

Still, 56PackardMan was this blog’s biggest supporter. Without my asking, he would put links to my posts about Packard and Studebaker on the appropriate forums, which would boost readership. He supported my efforts even though we don’t agree on many issues facing the country and the world. This is an exception to the current state of affairs that led former Speaker Of The House John Boehner to remark, “We can no longer disagree without being disagreeable.”

I, along with many of his regular readers, hope that 56PackardMan will return to the blog world someday. From a Hemmings ad (for a car no longer available) a picture of one of his absolute favorite cars, a 1956 Packard 400:

See the source image

#MondayMusings

#EndOfCompromise

#56PackardMan

#JohnBoehner

#1956Packard400

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

Neon C7!

No, my wonderful wife did not buy me a neon C7 for our anniversary. However, she did buy me this:

No, not two clocks. The top picture was taken with my office lights on, the bottom with the lights off. If I couldn’t buy an orange Vette maybe this is the next best thing. Other than a calendar this clock is the only thing hanging on the walls in my office. However, I have A LOT of bookcases in here. I love to read. I also love the clock. Thanks, V Squared!

******************

From today’s post by 56packardman:

I wasn’t going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.

Have you ever tried to eat a clock? It’s very time consuming.

The other day, I held the door open for a clown. I thought it was a nice jester.

My tailor is happy to make a new pair of pants for me. Or sew it seams.

What is a thesaurus’s favorite dessert? Synonym buns.

******************

Barring unforeseen circumstances Throwback Thursday and Frugal Friday will return next week. In the meantime,

From this listing on Hemmings a picture of a gorgeous 1956 Cadillac Coupe deVille. I don’t like all the asterisks and exclamation points in the ad (much worse than anything I do in Disaffected Musings), but the car looks great. Cadillac produced 24,086 of these cars in 1956 with an MSRP of $4,624. The most expensive Chevrolet that year, not counting the Corvette, was $2,608.

When the day arrives in, hopefully, the not too distant future when we have more garage space and I will have access to my retirement accounts I am thinking about targeting 1956 as the year for the car I want to buy. It will have been built before I was born and it will honor the 1956 Buick Century that was the first car I ever drove and is the first car I remember. Also, by 1956 all American manufacturers had switched to a 12-volt electrical system. I almost certainly will buy a car from a defunct make so that excludes a Century or this Coupe deVille. Anyway, this is off in the future and will not replace my 2016 Corvette Z06.

Have a great weekend!

#1956AmericanCars

#2016CorvetteZ06

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

56packardman’s Ultimate Garage

First, my condolences to the family of Peggy Lipton. I must admit that I had quite a crush on her when I was young; she was the main reason I watched The Mod Squad.

Image result for peggy lipton

A picture of Peggy Lipton from Pinterest.

******************

Spring, my ass! I don’t live in the Northern Plains. For someone having enough difficulty with the non-harsh winters where I live (and where I was born and raised), 45° in the middle of May is another kick in the teeth.

******************

My thanks to 56packardman. Despite having a real life he has been a faithful reader and commenter on this blog. He is the only person with 100+ published comments on Disaffected Musings. Without further ado here is his Ultimate Garage, which to no one’s surprise has a lot of Packards and Studebakers. Different strokes for different folks…

• 1934 Packard Twelve Dietrich
• 1941 Packard LeBaron
• 1941 Packard-Darrin 4 door convertible
• 1947 Packard Clipper Custom Super Eight
• 1949 Studebaker pickup truck
• 1953 (or 1954) Studebaker Commander Starliner
• 1955 Studebaker Speedster
• 1956 Packard Caribbean hardtop (I prefer the hardtop over the convertible)
• 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk
• 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2/4 speed
• 1964 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk
• 1964 Studebaker Daytona hardtop or convertible
• 1969 Porsche 912 5 speed with sunroof
• Any Mazda Miata RF with a manual transmission
• Morgan Aero Coupe

The first car is very familiar; from My Wonderful Wife’s Ultimate Garage:

See the source image

From Pinterest a picture of a 1934 Packard Twelve Convertible Victoria bodied by Dietrich. Like me, my wife did not really have any affinity for pre-war cars until just 3-4 years ago. This is a model 1108 that had a long 147-inch wheelbase. This car weighed over 5,000 pounds, was powered by a V-12 (duh, it’s a Packard Twelve) that produced 160 HP and cost $6,080. The most expensive 1934 Chevrolet cost $675.

I don’t know if 56packardman prefers the convertible over the other Packard Twelves bodied by Dietrich. The Studebaker Commander Starliner is his pick for the most beautiful car ever made. It was also the basis for the subsequent Hawk models all the way through 1964.

See the source image

From someone’s YouTube video a picture of a 1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner Coupe. This car was powered by Studebaker’s small-displacement V8, in its third model year, of 233 cubic inches. These cars were supposed to be introduced for the 1952 model year as a celebration of Studebaker’s centennial, but that did not happen.

See the source image

From flickriver.com a picture of a 1956 Packard Caribbean hardtop. I have shown pictures of ’55 Caribbean convertibles before, but I don’t think I’ve shown a hardtop.

The Avanti and Gran Turismo Hawk have been shown on this blog many times. One or both may or may not be in my Ultimate Garage 2.0. Here is a non Packard/non Studebaker:

See the source image

From autoevolution.com a picture of a Mazda Miata RF. I can’t tell from the photo what transmission is in this car.

Once again, thanks to 56packardman. By the way, we have never met nor spoken voice-to-voice. That is an example of the potential “good” of the Internet, but I think the good is swamped by the bad.

#PeggyLipton

#56packardman

#UltimateGarage

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.