King Car is Dead. Long Live the King
August Bank Holiday
How the year doth fly
Eight hours observing in a field
Metal boxes under wide, leaden skies.
The car show can be held practically anywhere. The hard-standing of a shopping mall, someone’s backyard, a village green. And while holding a large gathering on some trimmed verge is not an exclusively British phenomenon, it does appear oh-so English to Continue reading “This Weekend I Shall Be Mainly Visiting A Car Show”
A big car for a big country. Introducing the very first Duesenberg.
“This is pure American history. It’s definitely the most significant vehicle now in the museum’s collection – even if it weren’t restored, it’d still be at the top of that list. It’s not just a car, it’s a family’s history and legacy.” Brendan Anderson.
Using nothing but my imagination, the American car industry of the mid-teens to late 1920s conjures images of cityscapes swarming with Model Ts, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and the like in fast-paced black and white. Or, in glorious technicolour, causing rooster tails of dust on the plains, perhaps outrunning the law or maybe enjoying the thrill of newfound speed. Never once considering the idea of fruit and cars to be connected – other than a vehicle for moving the produce – it has come to light more recently that this fruit/ car intersection goes far deeper than peel.
Fred and August Duesenberg were highly regarded motor racers. With cash from victories and contracts connected with the Great War, they decided to Continue reading “Dole It Out, Samuel”
In France, the automobile and Dionysian delights are far from mutually exclusive.
At your typical German vintage car show, the olfactory pecking order is both clear and dependable. Right after the smells of rubber and petrol – and well before leather or car polish, for example – comes the vapour of Bockwurst getting stale. Towards evening time, beer fart becomes another rather dominant olfactory sensation to the visitor of, say, Techno Classica in Essen.
The vintage car shows of my home country are not exactly hotbeds of sophistication. Some are worse than others in that regard, but one definitely doesn’t attend Techno Classica or Bremen Classic Motorshow for the dry biscuits, rubbery Bretzeln and beer served in plastic cups. An undivertible focus on the automotive exhibits is thus required, if one wants to Continue reading “Rétromobile 2020: A Culinary Perspective”
Driven To Write 