An Entertaining & Informative Vintage Automobile Internet Magazine
Last week’s mystery car was a 1905 or 1906 Fiat that was parked out in front of the Farragut Hotel Garage that can be partially seen in the lead photo above. In a head-on view of five bays of the Garage can be seen five early cars by four different manufacturers, that we believe, are identified…
Packard – New Orleans was located at Saint Charles Avenue and Saint Mary Street in the historic Louisiana City. Not much is known about the dealership or when it first went into operation or closed, but this set of images appear to have been taken between 1951 or 1953. We do know that it later became…
The other day while researching patent drawings for the Harley J. Earl piece, a number of automobile body designs turned up that were quite interesting. The patent drawings that were found will make for an entertaining series titled: Practical, Odd and Ingenious. This is the first part and it covers designs that start out at 1907 and continue…
In our last installment of the Harley J. Earl Story, we learned how his natural artistic and engineering abilities suited him well in his new role as designer at the Earl Automobile Works. In addition to this was his sense of style, color and the ability to work with both Hollywood’s movie stars and the high…
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt’s 1904 90 H.P. “FIAT” Racer after being rebodied. While looking for specifications of the Fiat recently featured at the Farragut Hotel, the illustration above was found in an advertisement in the March 1905 Motor magazine. Hollander & Tangeman of West 45th Street in New York City, the sole American Agent for Fiat at…
The earliest automobiles converted into snowmobiles pre-dated the Model “T” Ford conversion units by quite a few years and here we have an excellent example of one. It is is a Hupmobile Model 20 Torpedo Roadster that is set on a framework with two sleds and appears to be driven by not one, but two helical…
* Updated * Thanks to readers Dr. Fine and TinIndian, we now know that this car was entered in the 1954 Sports Car Speed Trials held on Daytona Beach by NASCAR during Speed Week. The Harden Hawk was entered by Harold Harden and it was powered by a Cadillac engine. It was described in the…
1940 Pontiac Torpedo Eight Torpedo five-window (C-body) four-door Sedan. Automobile Historian Alden Jewell is trying to sort out the story about just how many of the Transparent Pontiac Show Cars were built in the 1939 and 1940 models years. The cars were a joint effort by General Motors and Rohm & Haas for exhibition purposes. The…
Castevens Motor Co., a Chevrolet Sales and Service facility, was located in Sparta, North Carolina, which is in the northwestern part of the state. The building was constructed in 1929, and this photo was taken in the late-thirties. Note the two electrically-operated gasoline pumps on the left and the older visible style pump on the…
* Updated * The car is an early Fiat that was likely built between the years of 1905 and 1906. Six readers were correct in identifying it as a Fiat and you can read their comments below. Thanks to all for your input. Learn more about Fiat’s of this period here. This mystery car is pictured…
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