Image from the Past

06Feb10

The owners of a Ford Fairlane, a Fiat 1100 103e and an Alfa Giulietta Berlina take in some skiing in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Filed under: Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Images From the Past   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: 1950's Cars, Alfa Romeo, Fiat

Money & Happiness

06Feb10

by J Kraus

Lord Charles Frinton buys a new Phantom II in the 1965 film "The Yellow Rolls-Royce"

It is often said that money cannot buy happiness. I assert that it indeed can buy happiness, if only one utilizes it properly. The best thing to do with it to save it and invest it wisely rather than spend it. This buys one of the greatest keys to happiness; freedom from financial worries.

Where most people go wrong is thinking that squandering funds on magnificent objects can buy happiness. I have discovered in life that the inverse is actually closer to the truth, in that I have usually derived maximum pleasure (certainly the highest pleasure/cost ratio) in the most humble (albeit well-designed and constructed) objects such as my chefs knives, my French copper cookware, my favorite chairs and some of my most inexpensive cars.

Filed under: Fiat   |  2 Comments

A Concise History of the Alloy Wheel

20Jan10

by J Kraus

1968 BMW 2800CS riding on unusually elegant alloy wheels featuring a polished chrome center cap discreetly concealing the mounting lugs. Visible fasteners on a contemporary automobile are generally considered to represent a lack of refinement, yet seem to be embraced when they appear on otherwise highly stylized wheels. These were produced for BMW in Italy by FPS (Foundry Pedrini Siena).

Today, alloy wheels are all but ubiquitous and are used by automobile manufacturers as a key styling feature, often used to differentiate model ranges and equipment specification. They started becoming popular with the general public in the 1980’s, but were in fact offered sporadically since 1924.

Previous to the development of the alloy wheel, wheels were either formed of two pieces of pressed steel, the rim and the disc, either welded or riveted into a single unit. Or, they were fabricated of a steel or aluminum rim, connected to a center hub by metal spokes. A rare hybrid was a wheel which used a steel disc for strength and an aluminum rim for weight saving. Such a design was used by Porsche and Jaguar in the 1950’s.

Filed under: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Citroën, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Vintage Technology, Volkswagen   |  4 Comments
Tags: 1950's Cars, 1960's Cars, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Citroën, Ferrari, French, German, Historic Car, Italian, Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen

Holiday Gift: Mercedes-Benz 220 SE

20Jan10

by J Kraus

Mercedes-Benz 220 SE

One of the gifts under the Christmas tree awaiting me this year was a 1/43 scale 1959 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE sedan. The 220 SE was the forerunner of the current Mercedes S Class. The W111 ‘Heckflosse’ (fin tail) body was distinguished from the 4-cylinder range chiefly by its longer front end, highlighted by the signature bubble headlamp assemblies. These units incorporated high and low beam, fog lamp, parking and turn indicator functions. They were a variant of those introduced a few years earlier on the 300 SL Roadster and were the first post-war automotive headlamps to be other than round in shape.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  2 Comments

Image from the Past

19Dec09

A Lamborghini Miura SV owner ventures out in the snow to pick up Christmas pudding, brandy-filled chocolates, a wedge of Stilton and a bottle of Taylor Fladgate '48

Filed under: Images From the Past, Lamborghini   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: 1960's Cars, Lamborghini

The Gentleman’s Conveyance: NLA (No Longer Available)

19Dec09

by J Kraus

Lancia Aurelia 2.5 Gran Tourismo

There are few gentlemen left in the world today and that has unfortunately led to the demise of the Gentleman’s Express. A true gentleman eschews common ostentation and can normally be recognized in public solely by the fit of his shirt or the cut of his suit.

Such a man for example, would have been unlikely to dangle a Rolex Submariner or Breitling Superocean loosely on his wrist whilst driving to dinner at Lucas Carton. Rather, lurking beneath his Turnbull & Asser Cocktail Cuff one would more likely find an understated white-gold Breguet Classique or Patek Philippe Calatrava.

Filed under: BMW, Citroën, Fiat, Lancia, Mercedes-Benz, Uncategorized   |  4 Comments
Tags: 1950's Cars, 1960's Cars, BMW, Citroën, Fiat, Lancia, Mercedes-Benz

A History of Automobiles and Color before the Age of Chromophobia

16Nov09

by J Kraus – Automobile colour

NBC Peacock, designed by John J. Graham, 1956

There is a distinct lack of coloration in today’s automobiles, with the majority seemingly finished in a shade that could be found on a grayscale chart. Things are no better in the interior; nearly always black, beige or gray, colors that architectural and couture designers refer to as neutrals. To make matters worse, these shades are all too often matched to the exterior pigment (i.e. black with black, silver with gray) to create insidious and mind-numbing monochrome vehicles that appear to have simply been dipped whole into a large vat of colorant.

Filed under: Topical   |  10 Comments
Tags: 1950's Cars, 1960's Cars

Image from the Past

01Nov09

Sean Connery, smartly attired in a classic Lacoste V-neck sweater, poses with James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, 1964. It was 45 years ago, in September of '64, that Goldfinger premiered in London at the Odeon Theater in Leicester Square. The New York premiere followed a few months later at the DeMille Theater in December. Although Goldfinger was the third James Bond film, it was the first in which the Aston Martin made an appearance. The Q-Branch-enhanced Silver Birch DB5 remains one of the most enduring automotive icons of the 1960’s.

Filed under: Aston Martin, Images From the Past   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Aston Martin

The Progenitors Part 2: Works-Developed Sport Sedans

16Oct09

by J Kraus

1953 Fiat 1100 Tourismo Veloce

Today there are a plethora of warmed-over family sedans available to the driver seeking a sporting, yet practical form of transport: BMW M’s, VW Polo and Golf GTI’s, RenaultSport Renaults, R-Series Volvos and numerous others. Such was not always the case. While there were certainly vehicles which could be construed as sporting sedans such as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Berlina and the Jaguar Mark I 3.4, and a number of sedans were offered with optional higher-output engines; a definitively and comprehensively upgraded sedan concieved specifically for the sporting driver was not available until 1953.

Filed under: Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Saab   |  5 Comments
Tags: 1950's Cars, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Saab

The Definitive Road Trip

02Oct09

by J Kraus

Tatra 87 of Miroslav Zikmund and Jiří Hanzelka, Egypt, 1947

Most automobile enthusiasts are quite familiar with the road trip. The lore and romance of the open road, the potential of new discoveries, a flexible itinerary, the promise of new adventures. In the halcyon days of yore, road trips also contained a fair element of danger. Tire punctures were a common nuisance; breakdowns an always threatening menace. Mobile phones and GPS systems existed only in science fiction. One couldn’t telegram for a replacement part to be flown out, because airfreight did not exist. Failed components had to be repaired or re-fabricated locally.

One normally thinks of a road trip as a journey encompassing a weekend or maybe a few weeks at most. How about a 3 1/2 year road trip? That is just what Miroslav Zikmund and Jiří Hanzelka set out on 62 years ago.

Filed under: Tatra   |  6 Comments
Tags: Tatra