The marriage between Carroll Shelby and the Ford Motor Company began in early 1965 when Ford wanted to take a shot at the performance market dominated by GM’s Corvette. Unveiled by Shelby on January 27, 1965, the modified Mustang fastback had a few subtle exterior changes: a fiberglass hood with […]
American
1953 Cunningham C-3 Coupe
Millionaire American sportsman Briggs Swift Cunningham II was determined to win the Le Mans 24-hour race in an American car. In 1950 he entered two Cadillacs, one of which finished tenth. This motivated Cunningham to develop the C-2R sports car with a Chrysler V8 engine, tubular frame, De Dion axle […]
1929 Duesenberg Model J Sports Sedan
It is difficult to imagine the excitement with which the Model J Duesenberg was received in 1929. Here was a chassis with an engine that-at 265 hp-beat its nearest competitor by more than 100 hp. The famed Packard 734 speedster produced 145 hp and the Cadillac V16, 175 hp. Coming […]
1918 Stutz Series S Roadster
The general public could be forgiven for thinking that the Stutz Bearcat was the only model made by the company. However, since 1911 when Harry Stutz had set up his own firm, there had always been two-seat roadsters and touring cars to keep the limited number of Bearcats made each […]
1933 Cadillac V12 Sport Phaeton
Although the US was engulfed in the Great Depression in 1930-1931, Cadillac brought out an absolutely splendid line of cars. One of them, unveiled at the National Automobile Show in January 1930 was the world’s first production V16 automobile. The Cadillac V16 and V12 engines were designed by the long-time […]
1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible
It is ironic that Packard should fail just as the company introduced what may be the most innovative and well-designed product line in the history of the company. The blame lay not with the product, but rather a series of management misadventures, including the ill-fated merger with Studebaker.The Caribbean featured […]
1957 Ford Thunderbird F-Series
In 1955, Ford responded to the Chevy Corvette with the introduction of the Thunderbird. Ford knew that its more luxurious two-seater V8 was going to attract a wider audience than Corvette’s spartan racing/performance-oriented approach to the market. The Thunderbird design incorporated Ford features found on other models to creat Ford […]
1953 Cadillac Eldorado Custom
n 1953 the Cadillac Motor Car Company introduced the Eldorado line of cars. Original sales brochures described the car as “dramatically styled by Fleetwood to capture the heart of all America.” The standard equipment list read like a menu and it was far and away the most luxurious car America […]
1956 DeSoto Fireflyte Convertible
DeSoto, like many automobile manufacturers, were heavily involved in the war effort and indeed were responsible for the assembly of the fuselage sections for the Martin B26 Marauder amongst many other important war machines. The transference back to a civilian factory with appropriate tooling did not take place until 1946 […]
1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special
mericans in the ’50s were fascinated by the future. Newspapers and magazines were full of stories about futuristic technology-rocket ships, jet airplanes, and even television. Car companies were quick to capitalize on the trend, offering a dizzying variety of fantastic show cars. They were shipped from one city to another, […]