Excerpts taken from world famous ‘Hemmings Auto Blog’
1950 Hudson Commodore Six convertible. Photos courtesy Bonhams. In 2011, the Nomex suit worn by Steve McQueen (as racer Michael Delaney) during the filming of 1971’s Le Mans sold for $984,000 at auction. In 2013, his brown tweed sportcoat worn during the filming of 1968’s Bullitt reportedly sold for $720,000 Read more
Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Blue Bird (foreground), with the Napier Railton. Photos courtesy National Motor Museum. On July 25, 1925, Malcolm Campbell piloted a 350-horsepower Sunbeam automobile, nicknamed Blue Bird, to a two-way average of 150.87 miles per hour at Pendine Sands in the south of Wales. In doing so, he Read more
Among the automotive eras ripe for ridicule, a close second to the Seventies would have to be the Fifties. Postwar belt-loosening in the United States had, by the latter half of the 1950s, turned into an all-out bacchanal of chrome, fins, gizmos, multi-tone paint, and girth. And just as in Read more
Interesting dilemma here. One seller is offering two 1977 Oldsmobile 442s for sale on Hemmings.com – the first of them a seemingly restored W-29 with silver paint and red interior and a base 231-cu.in. V-6; the second unrestored in brown-over-tan but with the 403-cu.in. V-8. Both are perfectly roadable colonnade Read more
There’s hardly a driver or car mentioned – even in passing – in this video report of the 1964 SCCA Sports Car Championship series race at Road America that isn’t today considered a legend. There’s Carroll Shelby and his Cobras, of course, but also Walt Hansgen in a Ferrari, Jim Read more
Mazda’s RX-7 was, by far, the Japanese brand’s most successful rotary-powered effort. Lasting through three generations, the RX-7 remained in production from 1978 until 2002, thanks largely to the popularity of its early versions and the legacy they created. Today, however, few well-preserved examples of first-generation RX-7s remain, as many Read more
Plymouth Superbirds and other winged warriors of NASCAR’s aero years seem naturally suited in just a few places – speedways, mostly – which is why Bob Jennings’s ‘Bird attracted so much attention when he recently drove it up and down the Alaska Highway for no other reason than to drive Read more
The beauty of the collector car hobby is this: there’s something with wheels to satisfy (almost) everyone’s taste. Used fire engines, while not practical daily (or weekend) drivers, enjoy a respectable following, as do professional cars, like those used in the funerary services. While this edition of the $5,000 Challenge Read more
Be forewarned, the only reason I’m saying this photo – which Fat Tedy posted to the Station Wagon Forums a few years ago without any context – comes from Ohio is because I vaguely remembered the fact that my home state had white-on-red license plates in 1966 and I see Read more
From the photos, it appears this little 1958 Fiat 600 Multipla for sale on Hemmings.com has seen little to no use since its restoration, or at least has been treated to extensive cleanings after every outing. Overall, it seems to be a no-issues car ready for shows, tours, or maybe Read more