a car is born

And not just any car, but "THE Car- Buick '59". A car so new it coincided with an advertising agency change to support it- the introduction of Mc Cann-Erickson after over twenty years with Kudner Advertising. Clete Roberts and no less than Bob Hope were engaged in the launch campaign. Watch the bat-winged beauty come down the line and then roar off into postwar suburbia, albeit a highly accessible version.



I must confess that as a child, I was afraid to cross the street in front of a '59 Buick. Although I love them MADLY today with their enormous swept bat wings, Fashion-Aire Dynsstar Grille and Dual-Diagonal Vista Vision Headlamps, I was afraid back then that they wanted to eat me.

And now I say what a way to go.

jewelry

Did you hear the one about this guy goes to a car show and doesn't see any cars?

Because he's mesmerized by all the jewelry- nameplates in calligraphic sweep with bold connotations- plated in chrome or gold. Medallions of honor decorate the sail panel- and stand up ornaments perch atop the hood and fenders. Strips of polishes stainless race down the scupltured sides. An odd protocol seems to dictate the placement- model names do on the front fender edges or on the fins- the marque is displayed on the right rear. All seem to conform except for Plymouth, who proudly signs the left rear corner. Perhaps they are communist sympathizers. Mc Carthy will surely get tho the bottom of this.

Jewelry. Certainly as famous as anything by Tiffany or Cartier. What happened to jewelry?

Images from the 2011 Palm Springs Modernism Week Car Show. Enjoy.

selling mopar style

Although they are being accused of circling the drain and there may be vultures on the fence waiting for them to fail, Chrysler aired this dramatic advertising during the Golden Globes recalling the time when their products exuded style and grace. Especially impressive in the late fifties, the evocative images both thrill and sadden- I honestly can't think of a Chrysler product since the 1981 Imperial that I find compelling. But oh, those Exner beauties...

bodacious boattail

The joy of curating- you get to spend other people's money on cool cars, like this awesome 1972 Buick Riviera. I was ten years old when these big boats hit the market. I was mesmerized by the fluid lines and the crazy boat tail. At the time, in my GM Executive dominated neighborhood, the boattails were everywhere. It wasn't until years later that I learned the old factory idiom, "If it doesn't sell, drive it" and realized that the execs were driving these beasts because the public weren't buying them in great number.

No matter, I was crazy about them then and still am. I just look at the lines and try to imagine how they did it- the curved C pillar roof that literally turns 90 degrees to become an upper deck surface- all in the days of no computers. They bucked this baby out of wood and clay. The rear bumper had to make the engineers faint when they tried to figure out how to make it. Bill Mitchell's Stingray backlite, the ridge in the roof that repeats in the glass, a wildly styled Riviera only dash and package shelf to augment the theme- even the bumper guards are Riv-only and sharp as knives.

Oh, and she's not all show- despite the lowering of the compression ratio for 1971, this 455 has PLENTY of scoot. This particular example is a one-owner, 45,000 mile example just arrived from the midwest. Not a show horse, just a joyfully fun car from the heyday of Buick- come for a cruise in the boattail!

fill 'er up

To celebrate a New Year, let's set the Wayback machine for a nostalgic look back at some great gas stations of the teens and twenties. Note several Texaco outlets and a Ford garage sprinkled amidst. Fire up the Jordan Playboy or Stutz Blackhawk and let's go fill 'er up.

Ethyl? Who's Ethyl?

blanche waits for santa

Looking for a festive holiday performance art display that your neighbors will remember for years to come? Well, here's one that's easy. Take one 1964 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, preferably in a Holiday compatible color. I chose Blanche, nicknamed for obvious reasons.

Position Blanche on your lawn. Use 300 outdoor red lights to outline the defining characteristics of the car, especially the tail fins and the peak of the hood. Now add nine hundred sequential blinking white lights on the horizontal surfaces to simulate snowfall. Add a festive holiday wreath on the grille, and optionally, a plastic Santa behind the wheel. Wait until dusk, turn on parking lamps, and enjoy. Serves thousands.

Santa's got a GTO

Okay, another Christmas season is upon us, so it's time to put a little ho-ho-ho in our horsepower. Most of you know I'm crazy about the Ramones, and that enthusiasm extends to some of their tribute bands as well. Today's stop on the tour of the truly unusual features the world's only all-female Ramones tribute band, the Ramonas, and their festive little holiday number called "Santa's Got a GTO". This video features original imagery including renderings by legendary advertising artist Art Fitzpatrick.

So put some Octane in your holiday and take a look: