Hemmings Auto Blog

1954 Kaiser Darrin 161. Photograph by David LaChance. If asked to name the first production American sports car with a convertible top, inline six-cylinder engine and a fiberglass body, most enthusiasts will immediately identify the Chevrolet Corvette, launched in 1953. While this is correct if the qualifier is first-to-market, it’s Read more

Pebble Beach-winning 1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy roadster. Photo courtesy Artcurial. In the comments to our recent post about the 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Convertible Victoria that won this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Scotty G. wanted to know how frequently American vehicles have won Best of Show at the Read more

We’ve actually seen this same parking lot earlier in the series of C. William Brubaker carspotting scenes in and about Chicago – as one would assume from the cues in the image, it’s of the Chicago Tribune loading docks and parking lot just southwest of the intersection of East Illinois Read more

Yes, it’s hard to believe, but not all first-generation Broncos got the big-lift, big-tire, big-engine steroid treatment during the 1980s. Some, like this 1971 Ford Bronco for sale on Hemmings.com, remained unmolested. What likely spared this one was the six-cylinder and three-on-the-tree drivetrain combination and the fact that it wasn’t Read more

The record-setting Dual-Ghia convertible. Photo by Matt Litwin. Surrounded by $9.5 million Ferraris and $8.7 million Bugattis at a high-end auction, it’s easy to overlook cars that are equally stunning, but far less promoted (and far less expensive). While the $495,000 realized for a 1957 Dual-Ghia at Gooding’s Monterey sale Read more

Digital projection is a threat to drive-ins everywhere. Screen grab from Project Drive-In video. Invented by Richard M. Hollingshead, the very first “Automobile Movie Theater” opened in Camden, New Jersey, on June 6, 1933. From a single location, the drive-in theater concept soon spread across the United States, fueled by Read more

Indy Roadsters at Pebble Beach. Photos by Kurt Ernst. The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is most often associated with luxury and sports cars, bearing names like Packard, Duesenberg, Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce, but the show also highlights other automobiles of significance, including historic racing cars. For 2013, that category included Read more

Photo by Terry Shea. If, while perusing the list of class and award winners from this past weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, you should see a few familiar names, that’s because a few of them have appeared in one of our Hemmings titles. So congratulations go to Don and Diane Read more

While Hamburger Handout eventually prospered and begat a few additional locations in Southern California before its founder switched the whole chain to Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises, its seems the original location – at the corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Centinela Avenue in Culver City – is the one most people Read more

The 1953 Willys Aero Falcon four-door sedan, like this example currently for sale on Hemmings.com, is a rare bird indeed. Produced for just a single year, Willys built a mere 3,116 total examples with four doors (and another 3,054 with two doors), making this a unique domestic compact that you Read more