It took way too long to get these posts on the blog. Sigrid and I went to see the Art of the Car Concours show on the grounds of the Kansas City Art Institute on June 26, 2011. The show is an annual event that benefits the Art Institute. It is a great show and we highly recommend that you go if you enjoy classic old cars.
As you view these photos, you will see the "art" in the design of the cars. The photos only cover about half of the cars on display and it broke my heart to have to cut photos out just to make the blog postings a reasonable size. I did make this a two part posting to squeeze more of the great cars into the posts. The blogger software gets really slow and cantankerous after about 50 photos which is why this had to be two posts.
Anyone for a donut?
How about a cold drink?
It took so long to get the post out that I lost the document I got at the show that would have helped me identify some of the cars. Sorry about that. This one is a 1933 Ford.
Cadillac convertible
1941 Buick
1963 Austin Healy 3000
A 1910 Stanley. I am getting the info for the blog from the cards in front of the cars....its good that I had enough resolution to read the cards when highly enlarged.
1920 Studebaker
1920 Kissell
1932 Packard
1938 Studebaker President
1957 Chevrolet Bel Air
The spare tire on the rear bumper was called a "continental kit".
1965 Corvette Stingray
Mercedes Benz 300SL
1928 Cunningham
1953 Nash-Healy
Rolls Royce
The new Chevy Volt is hardly the first electric car. Here is a 1916 Ohio Electric Brougham.
There were a whole bunch of electric car makers between 1900 and 1920 but the cars couldn't compete against the internal combustion engine....and they still can't even with government subsidies.
The inherent limitation in range and the time required to recharge the batteries remain major issues. The cost of operation is probably much more than most people realize since it isn't free to plug your car in to recharge it.
The electricity used for charging is now largely generated by burning coal.......not so environmentally friendly. While I love riding in an electric golf cart, I don't think we will see any great movement towards electric cars for many years.
If you are thinking solar/wind energy, forget it. Sure, you can make electricity with solar and wind, but it is very expensive and you can't afford it without government subsidy and the government can't afford much of anything. As an engineer, I can also tell you that there are some fundamental technical reasons why solar/wind isn't the answer for the future.
A nice old Jaguar.
I don't know what this one is but it is a nice color.
This is an MGA. I don't know the year but I am guessing 1960.
1935 Chrysler Air Flow
1937 Auburn Cord.....one of my favorite old cars. Note the covered headlights.
1937 Rolls Royce. This is what luxury as all about.
1956 Nash Rambler
1912 REO The Fifth. I believe that this car or one of the other REO models was the inspiration for the name of the 1970's rock group, REO Speedwagon. The car company was started by Mr. R. E. Olds. The name of the company was later changed to Oldsmobile and it became one of the founding companies that made up General Motors. Now, you know the rest of the story as Paul Harvey used to say. Check out the comment left by a knowledgeable person at the end of this post.
Here is another nice old logo.
1953 Buick Skylark
An old Pontiac panel wagon.
1965 Corvette Stingray Convertible
Hudson Hornet
An old Ford.....I don't know the year.
1959 Corvette Roadster
Thanks to a little help from a view, I now know that this is a rare 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
1963 VW Single Cab Transporter
1960's Shelby Cobra....another of my favorite cars.
1933 Hupmobile. I never heard of this one before, but it is a beauty.
1926 Franklin
1953 MG
1966 Shelby Cobra. These cars were sold through Ford dealers and used Ford engines. This one had a 427 cubic inch engine in it.
1935 Auburn Phaeton
With a little help from our friends, I now know that this is a Citroen 2CV.
1962 Ferrari 250 GTE
Part II of the car show is the next posting. You can click on "Newer" below to get there or use the index on the right edge of the blog.
The 57 Thunderbird is a 1955 Thunderbird. Very rare because it has no window on the removable top. Most of them had a small window on both sides, but this one didn't. Nice Blog, great cars and I will be at the show also this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the help Tim. Glad you enjoyed the blog.
ReplyDeleteThe red MG is an MGA. Triumph was a completely different British marque.
ReplyDeleteThe second-to-last photo is a Citroën 2CV.
Thanks for the comment Ian. I will correct the posting. I will get smart at the next show and make sure I photo the car information as well as the car.
ReplyDeleteThe REO Speedwagon was actually a truck, not a car. But yes, the band named themselves after the REO Speedwagon, which was manufactured as the precursor to the modern pickup. REO became Olds in 1936, but the REO brand was still used for trucks post WWII.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the additional information on the REO Speedwagon. I get lots of Google hits on the posting so your comments will be valuable to a number of people.
ReplyDeleteREO was originally called the R.E. Olds Motor Car Company but changed to REO Motor Car Company (Ransom E. Olds initials). It was never part of the Oldsmobile company. Ransom Olds sold Oldsmobile to Samuel L. Smith before he formed REO. REO started making cars and later focused on trucks. The REO company was later bought by White Trucks who was later taken over by Volvo (who still controls the REO name).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments Marty.
ReplyDeleteJust to help everyone hone in on the beautiful photo of a 1956 Nash Rambler... It is specifically a Nash Rambler Palm Beach. Thank you John and Sigrid for this photo of this gorgeous car!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian.
ReplyDelete