Twelve Five Twenty

In the latest episode of People Vote With Their Feet comes the news that, apparently, Elon Musk is moving from California to Texas. Let’s see: you can have much of your income taxed at the state level at 13.5%–California’s highest bracket for those “evil” wealthy people and the highest state income tax in the country–or you can have it taxed at zero as Texas has no state income tax. A person doesn’t have to be as smart as Musk to make that choice.

Some extremely misguided people (I am being kind in my characterization) who seem to fail to realize that the US is a federal republic and not a unitary one think all states should have the same laws, taxes, regulations, etc. Wrong!

 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

 

That is the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Many would argue it has been largely ignored and that many federal regulations are implemented without the federal government’s right to do so having been delegated by the Constitution. Still, different states have the right to have different laws unless those laws have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

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Has it really been nine days since Thanksgiving?! It really seems like two or three days to me.

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That is a picture of our desert home. The money shot would show more of the east side of the house and the amazing mountain views behind, but it would also show our address number, which is not a good idea in this day and age. We’ve been in the house about four weeks and we’re still unpacking, still having repairs/upgrades done. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll be “done” by the end of January.

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I am a big fan of Mecum auctions, and was long before Scott Hoke and I became friends, but have been somewhat critical of the recent dockets that, in my opinion, have too many Mustangs and pickup trucks. (That criticism applies to Barrett-Jackson dockets as well.) The current auction (which can be seen on NBCSN) from Houston has a lot of those, but has redeemed itself with some cars like this:

 

See the source image

 

This is a 1956 Studebaker Sky Hawk and the picture is, ironically, from Mecum and is a lot offered at their 2016 Dallas auction. For the nth time, Mecum does not allow online photos of lots from recent auctions to be captured.

The ’56 Sky Hawk consigned to the current Houston auction was bid to $12,000, but did not sell. The four Hawk models for 1956 sold 19,165 units (the ’56 Ford Thunderbird sold 15,631), of which only 3,610 were Sky Hawks.

Of course, the Hawk line was a remodeled version of the classic “Loewy coupes” that were actually designed primarily by Bob Bourke. Without the fins that appeared on some of the other Hawks, the Sky Hawk very closely resembles those classic coupes. This is my favorite of the four ’56 Hawks as I think it looks the best; the Flight and Power Hawks had visible B pillars and the Golden Hawk had larger rear fins that look out of place to me.

While this car wouldn’t make my Ultimate Garage 3.0, it wouldn’t be far off. Sacrilege though it might be to some, if I somehow acquired one of these I would certainly make a restomod out of it and might even have that hood scoop made functional.

Is anyone else, besides me and Stephen Cox, a big fan of Studebaker Hawks?

 

#TwelveFiveTwenty

#PeopleVoteWithTheirFeet

#ElonMusk

#DesertHome

#MecumAutoAuctions

#ScottHoke

#1956StudebakerSkyHawk

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Congratulations To Us/Sunday Saunter

In the big scheme of things this “event” is not even trivial, but minutial. That would be true even if the world were not in virus lockdown. However, to this blogger this event has meaning. Even though April, 2020 has a few days to go, Disaffected Musings has had more blog views this month than in any other month since its inception in January, 2018. More impressively (in my opinion, anyway), unlike the previous record month, April of last year, this month had no exogenous boost to readership. Last April saw a two-day surge in views when Bill James tweeted the main link to this blog. Those two days still rank 1-2 in daily views of Disaffected Musings. [By the way, Bill, please feel free to tweet the main link or link to a specific post anytime you want. 🙂 ]

So, congratulations to us and thanks for reading…people searching why Cristy Lee is no longer on All Girls Garage (or the Barrett-Jackson broadcasts) and/or people searching why Lou Santiago and Jared Zimmerman are no longer on Car Fix were the largest contributors to blog views this month. As I have written before, Where Is Cristy Lee? is now the most read post in the history of this blog, not counting the About page. As I write this, blog views for the year are 20 percent higher than the total for the first four months of last year. Here are the rest of the top five posts in all-time views:

 

Sunday Studebaker

Wednesday Wanderings

Saturday Studebaker

Saturday Salary Arbitration

 

Please feel free to acquaint, or re-acquaint, yourself with those posts. (I guess I haven’t written much about Studebaker lately.) Please keep reading and please tell your friends about Disaffected Musings. Thanks.

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My wonderful wife sent me this photo from Fack Fucebook. How do I feel about her using that company’s services? I don’t like it, but we have a marriage, not a dictatorship. Here’s another beautiful shot from Arizona:

 

 

Yes, that’s the lovely Katie Osborne, also courtesy of my wonderful wife. One more (just one more, pah two at the very most…inside joke for Dr. Zal) photo of the lovely Arizona sky:

 

 

Sorry, local friends and neighbors, but I just can’t wait to be able to see views like that outside my own window.

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Here’s a sample of my buying during these idle times:

 

 

Gee, what a surprise! Books about defunct American car companies…these were published by a company called Iconografix. As I cannot find a website for them I’m not sure they’re still in business. I am sure I would like to share some of the photos in these books, but the usual “you can’t use anything in this book anywhere without written consent of the publisher” warning is in all of them. If a company goes bankrupt, what happens to the rights to their products? I guess those rights could be sold at a bankruptcy auction and, therefore, would belong to the purchaser of those rights.

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As a follow-up to C8 Saturday, while I still have not seen one “in the wild” now I know someone who has. Scott Hoke texted me yesterday to say he had seen one “In bright red” while driving around his home turf in the Indianapolis area. From Ray Price Cars a picture of such a 2020 Corvette:

 

See the source image

 

Stay safe and be well.

 

#DisaffectedMusings

#ThanksToDisaffectedMusingsReaders

#ArizonaSky

#KatieOsborne

#DefunctAmericanCarMakes

#ScottHoke

#C8Corvette

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Throwback Thursday, Mecum Edition

Stephen Cox (@SopwithTV on Twitter) is a racing driver in the Electric GT Championship, the Super Cup Stock Car Series and the World Racing League endurance sports car series. He is also one of the hosts of Mecum Auto Auctions on NBCSN and is a Ford “expert.” I tweeted the link to yesterday’s post that, in part, was about the 1966 Le Mans race where Ford finished 1-2-3 and that mentioned the upcoming film about that race and the Ford/Ferrari feud. I asked him for any commentary he might want to offer. This was his thoughtful reply:

 

“I expect the film to capture the essence of the Ford/Ferrari battle quite well, judging from the trailers. It was basically an act of revenge from Ford, who had worked very hard on a deal to buy out Ferrari only to be snubbed at the last minute. The film seems to reflect that accurately. I’m also pleased that it’s a big budget film with quality actors, one of whom plays racing driver Ken Miles, whose contributions to Ford’s success were immeasurable. Looking forward to it!”

 

Thanks again, Stephen.

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Speaking of Mecum hosts I have been remiss in not sharing Scott Hoke’s (@ScottHoke1) email about this post.

 

“Happy Fathers Day!”

“Saw your post and yes, how often do we run into people at car events who don’t judge or assume anything, and have that instant connection because of the love of cars!! So cool!”

“And I get your point about people not knowing or caring what you’ve done in baseball. That’s their loss. I’m quite certain there are many out there who still remember and respect your abilities and insights, and your impact on the game, even as the game has advanced. Rest in that knowledge!”

“And with regard to the “Overhaulin’”-type shows…you’re spot on! They give everyday folks a very UN-realistic picture of what it takes to re-do a car. Suspicious indeed!”

 

Many thanks, Scott.

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I briefly looked at the lots for the Mecum auction in Portland that begins tomorrow. Once again, it is not easy to capture online photos of Mecum lots. I was able to print the screen and copy a photo to a Word file, but seem unable to copy it here.

 

See the source image

 

From www(dot)goodtimer(dot)ch a picture of a 1953 Lincoln Capri convertible. The one being offered at Mecum is Blue over Blue and is described as an “Older restoration on a rust-free car.” As the copy states—and as I confirmed in one of my reference books—2,372 of these convertibles were produced in 1953. The price was $3,699. As a reference, Cadillac’s convertible for that year (a Series 62) cost $4,144.

This car is no longer equipped with the original drivetrain although it is included in the sale. However, the buyer will incur additional costs to ship the engine/transmission from lovely Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Not being facetious using “lovely” to describe Coeur d’Alene; my wonderful wife and I spent a few days there during one of our anniversary celebrations and were overwhelmed by the beauty of the area, especially Coeur d’Alene Lake.

I hope that’s enough of a Throwback for those of you reading. As always, I welcome thoughtful comments.

 

#ThrowbackThursday

#StephenCox

#ScottHoke

#MecumAutoAuctions

#1953LincolnCapriConvertible

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Wednesday Words

From Ukranian-born, American-raised Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, “We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate Israel.”

Truer words were never spoken.

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First day of spring, my ass!

 

 

Arizona sounds better to me every day!

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Thanks to Scott Hoke (@ScottHoke1 on Twitter) for writing to me, “Always enjoy reading your exceptionally thoughtful posts!!” In case you don’t know, or even if you do, Scott is the host of the Mecum auction broadcasts on NBCSN. Fortunately for me, Mecum has many auctions (I think 12) every year and I very much enjoy watching them. As I write this I think have 10 “episodes” of the Mecum auctions on my DVR, which I will watch often.

The telecasts are very enjoyable because while Scott and the rest of the crew (John Kraman, Stephen Cox, Bill Stephens, Katie Osborne) respect the cars and the auctions they don’t take them so seriously that they forget to have some fun.

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Speaking of Mecum auctions, a car like this was offered for sale at the recently completed auction held in Glendale, Arizona. (There’s that state again!)

 

https://www.bentleygoldcoast.com/galleria_images/5742/5742_p3_l.jpg

 

From bentleygoldcoast.com a picture of a 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO, of which only 125 were exported to the US. At Mecum a car like this sold for $770,000 all in including the buyer premium.

I have been using the phrase “rolling sculpture” a lot these days since I purchased Gordon Buehrig’s book by the same name. Buehrig was one of the most important automobile designers in history having drawn the amazing Cord 810/812 among others. This Ferrari, like most Ferraris in my opinion, is rolling sculpture.

The Motor Trend review of this car claimed that it was the fastest road-legal Ferrari ever made (up to then, anyway). The 599 GTO was powered by a 6-liter V-12 producing 661 HP/457 LB-FT of torque. (Hey, Steve Magnante, not all engines have higher torque than HP numbers. Let me quickly add that I am a fan of his.) The Motor Trend reviewer/writer, Arthur St. Antoine, called the 599 GTO “The Best Car I’ve Ever Driven.”

If I could afford one would I buy one? Is the Pope Catholic? Can Usain Bolt run fast? Of course, for less than 10% of the Mecum hammer price from Arizona I could buy a used C7 Z06 Corvette with almost identical HP and lots more torque. Stay tuned… I believe some auto “people” say, “Horsepower sells cars, but torque wins races.” What’s the difference? The best way I’ve heard it described is to imagine an athlete on a track. Torque is how hard he pushes against the track while horsepower is how fast he can move his legs.

Any thoughts on this Ferrari, any Ferrari, any car or anything else? I eagerly await reading those thoughts.

 

#somanycarsjustonelife

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Mecum Auctions

Scott Hoke is the “lead” host on the Mecum Auctions broadcasts on NBCSN. (When this was written the broadcasts were on now-defunct NBCSN. They are now on Motor Trend.) He and his co-host, John “The Professor” Kraman, both follow Disaffected Musings on Twitter, for which I am very grateful. (By the way, if you are on Twitter Scott’s handle is @ScottHoke1 and John’s is @CarKraman. Mecum’s handle is simply @mecum.)

In response to this post about the most significant years in US automobile history, Scott sent this via Twitter message:

“Morning! To your question of most significant years in US automotive history: tough question, with many possible answers. ’67 was big as you point out. 1955 as well. Maybe 1964? Unveiling of the Mustang, Barracuda and, oh yeah, the GTO! I think other than possibly Henry Ford putting America on wheels, 1955-70 may be the most important era. But that’s a large can of worms!”

Of course, 1964 was a big year especially given the introduction of the Mustang, which is still being produced despite Ford turning into a non-car company. As for the GTO, regular readers of this blog know my first car was a ’67 Goat as (fuzzily) pictured here:

 

If I had the money and the room for multiple car acquisitions then I might buy a GTO of this vintage. Despite being only two letters in length “if” is a very big word.

If you are a car person, and since you’re reading this blog you probably are, then you should watch the Mecum broadcasts on Motor Trend. As I have written here before, I very much enjoy the telecasts. Every on-air person (Bill Stephens, Stephen Cox, Katie Osborne in addition to Scott and John) makes a meaningful contribution to the effort, but an element of levity exists that is missing from other similar broadcast efforts. The Mecum crew love cars and love the auctions, but they don’t always take themselves quite so seriously and that adds to the show in my opinion.

 

#MecumAutoAuctions

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

 

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