Hemmings Auto Blog

On February 17, 1911, the first self-starter was installed on a car. The 1912 Cadillac was the first car to feature the revolutionary invention of Charles Kettering, and would prove a major weapon in GM’s attempts to keep up with Ford.

While this 1905 Pierce Great Arrow for sale on Hemmings.com may very well be one of the most historically significant cars in the history of the famed marque (it’s alleged to be the car that won the 1905 Glidden Tour, an event that helped solidify Pierce’s status as a maker Read more

Inspired by the recent story on International Harvester’s concept minivans and station wagons, we thought we’d go in search of an IHC product that actually made it to production, and came up with this gorgeous 1979 International Harvester Scout II for sale on Hemmings.com. Besides being impossibly clean, we’d rock Read more

This one’s new to me, but then again, I never grew up in the Fifties. The Portal to Texas History has a handful of photos of March of Dimes volunteers selling balloons for donations to motorists in the streets of Abilene. A couple of these shots are dated 1955, while Read more

Those aren’t scales on this 1968 Morris Mini for sale on Hemmings.com; they’re pennies. And this is apparently no run-of-the-mill art car, rather one of three done up this way to promote the Beatles’ song “Penny Lane.” How fun would it be to go through a tollbooth in this and Read more

On February 14, 1896, Edward, Prince of Wales, future King Edward VII, became the first British royal to ride in a motorcar. It was likely a Daimler-engineered Panhard et Levassor, as the event was engineered by motorcar-industry promoter HJ Lawson to celebrate the creation of the Daimler Motor Company.

I mean, who wouldn’t want free candy and puppies? And look, it has the Clownface Seal of Approval (TM). I’ll bet he has ice cream too. (via)

On February 13, 1958, Ford debuted the first Thunderbird with four seats. The redesign offered a different level of luxury and roominess for the American sports car, although it boasted a 352-cu.in., 300hp V-8 under the hood for true “personal luxury.” Buyers quickly flocked to the “Square Bird,” snapping up Read more

Who would have figured that the humble Microbus would have become such a hot commodity in the 21st century? Yet it’s not at all uncommon to see one like this 23-window 1959 Volkswagen Microbus for sale on Hemmings.com, fully restored and accessoried to the nines. This one sits a little Read more

If you don’t know almuck, he’s one of our frequent contributors and constantly reminds us to keep an eye out for pictures that include Studebakers for our carspotting series. It’s a much taller order than, say, keeping an eye out for Falcons for Art Fink, so let’s make him happy Read more