Detroit Bound

Off to Detroit (center of the universe...well at one time it was) for the Autorama. So I have included a Cadillac design from one of my favorite designers Harry Bentley Bradley.

Read more at Andrew's cool blog:

http://cardesignart.blogspot.com/2008/09/career-spotlight-harry-bentley-bradley.html

Float Like a Butterfly

The Eldo is off for brake line and exhaust repairs, updates as they happen!

Listening to Elder Roma Wilson: http://reverendfrost.blogspot.com/

Looking for a little divine automotive intervention today.

Brand New Cadillac

Brand new Cadillac, I wish...

In anticipation of a big car day tomorrow, 1975 Eldorado finally goes in for brake line and exhaust repairs, with safety and license plates hopefully soon to follow. Fingers crossed no other hidden problems reveal themselves.

A photo to celebrate, 51 Coupe De Ville and a 61 limo from the Royal car collection in Monaco.

Read about the museum here, worth a visit if you are ever in the Principality:

http://www.palais.mc/monaco/x-net/internet-palais-princier/english/museums-et-culture/private-collection-of-antique-cars/private-collection-of-antique-cars.589.html

You can also find Vince Taylor's original recording of Brand New Cadillac here:

http://elvismarineteam.blogspot.com/2010/02/vince-taylor-jet-black-leather-machine.html

Mrs. Todd's Short Cut

Hunting for something to read, instead of a shop manual, I pulled down a copy of Stephen King’s collection of short stories, Skeleton Crew, and turned to my favorite, Mrs. Todd’s Short Cut.

http://singular--points.blogspot.com/2008/04/mrs-todds-shortcut.html

King might not be a grease under the nails sort of car “guy” but he has a love for automobiles that surpasses that of the public, heck he wrote a whole novel about an evil Plymouth. (As far as I know none of my cars are evil, some have ADD and some are just bad tempered).

This is a great car or better yet driving story that had always stuck with me. The story is about finding a short cut through the back roads of Maine. Things take a turn for the weird when the short cuts are less than the distance between towns as the crow flies. It is also hinted that the short cuts take the driver and passenger to alternate worlds or timelines.

The title itself is evocative, the name Todd summons up images of Wind in the Willows, Mr. Toads’ Wild Ride and tod is also German for death. Oh and Mrs. Todd drives a Mercedes roadster. King pegs the car as a mid sixties model, making it a Pagoda but I think he meant to make it a 300SL as he describes its torpedo shape near the end of the story.

This story is always in the back of my mind as my current drive to work is primarily through the countryside and there are at least two dozen different routes. I quickly worked out the fastest and least radar infested of them and have stuck to it for years….perhaps it is time to do a little exploring.

The photos are taken at a rest stop on The Highway of the Sun, on my own wild ride from Stuttgart to the Mediterranean in a SL55 AMG.

Shape of Things to Come...

I often wondered what seventies era cars would have looked like if the fuel shortage of 73 never happened. These designs courtesy of Dean's Garage http://www.deansgarage.com gives us a good idea. The neo-classic elements that were clearly on display in the entire 71 GM big car line up would have blossomed into a new golden age of "classic" motoring.

The first photo is of a Toronado, I have also seen Cadillac mock ups with these separate blade fenders and side pipes. The second even features a version of the Toro XS rear window but is clearly an Eldorado. In fact both designs have elements that found there way into the 75-78 Eldos.

Some at GM were not true believers in Mitchell's glorious vision of the future and dubbed the Toro prototype the Four-Fendered Farkle....

Mitchell apparently wanted to build one of these for his retirement, GM brass declined, so you can see why the company is such as mess today. Zombie Bill Mitchell only you can save us now!

Love the futuristic computer font of the Advanced Design sign in the top right hand corner of the Eldo photo, shades of SPACE 1999.

Hidden Charms

We visited family friends in Coburg, about an hour and half out of Toronto, while the women chatted, Peter and I a visited an old and unmarked wreckers yard. It was in a beautiful park like setting with the only access being a bridge across a waterfall.

Cars ranged from mid thirties to late seventies, most is a very poor state of decomposition. Found a couple of Lincoln Mark III's, one Mark IV (I have a 72 and a 76 Mark IV) and three Mark V's.

Many long gone marks, Packard, Studebaker, Rambler, some English and German Ford products likely brought to Canada by RCAF personnel from Trenton, a local military airbase.

Hope to return in the spring as the Mark IV had some parts I wanted. The 78 Eldorado is the last photo was in terrible shape and didn't yield any parts for my 75.

Nope no Toronados...

Groundhog Day

Wow, two posts in one day!

Punxsutawney Phil predicts 6 more weeks of winter.....think of it this way, more time to get your ride ready for spring.

Or maybe watch Goundhog Day again, it's a great movie and even has a small scene with a 1974 Eldorado convertible (a fwd favourite here at Toronado XS)....it comes to a bad end. Was it actually destroyed in the movie or does it survive? Bonus shot of an 83 Eldorado from the movie.

Sweet Sweet Schadenfreude

Good essay on Toyota’s free ride in the media…until now that is. Check out Autoextremist for the latest and best take on industry news:

http://www.autoextremist.com/

Even more than the Schadenfreude at Toyota’s expense, it is the mainstream media that really pisses me off. Years and years of attacking GM (plus Ford and Chrysler) finally their attention is turned to the Japanese once they almost destroyed the domestic car industry.

above pictured automobile does not feature plastic accelerator pedal or linkage