Greyhounds and Cars
Retirement came with a couple of unexpected realizations: I was in a good position to adopt a dog, and having prepared for retirement meant stocks left me by my mother were uncommitted. For many years my 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I was my only car since as a San Diegan I could ride my Harley…
2015 Motoring Challenge Winner: Charlie Walter
203 out of a possible 223 points. That’s what it took to be the top Challenger of 2015. Charlie Walter ran a quiet and steady race. When I said to him in an email, “Usually I’m aware of the folks that are putting in big miles. Not this time!” he replied: “I didn’t do this…
Motoring Challenge: Baby on Board
This year’s challenge was a little tougher than last year since as of January 8th we have a newborn! As with years past, we stuck predominantly to back roads and trying to find small towns since they tend to be more interesting than highways. Sometimes our daughter went along for part of the ride, other…
Men in Sheds – Hamblin Cadet & De Luxe
Sid Hamblin was a proficient panel beater based in Dorset who fashioned an aluminum body for installation on an Austin Seven chassis in 1956. The design was attractive and the mechanicals were plentiful and inexpensive to obtain so Hamblin decided to offer the body for sale as a kit. The Hamblin Deluxe was launched in…
Men in Sheds – Fairthorpe Cars
Unlike most of England’s men in sheds, Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett was an accomplished man prior to his involvement with automobiles. He served in the Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force and was appointed to command the Pathfinder forces during World War II. He piloted the first commercial airliner out of Heathrow following the…
Moss Morgan Challenge
Some of my friends participated in the Motoring Challenge in their MGs in 2013. It seemed like it could be a lot of fun. My wife and I thought it might be something we could do. We like touring in our car. Much more fun that sitting around at a car show. But my British…
Profile – Triumph Stag Fastback
Triumph had once accomplished the transformation from an open roadster to fastback coupe with the Triumph Spitfire and GT6 and management was keen to see whether lightning could strike twice with the conversion of the luxurious Stag to an enclosed coupe. The Triumph Stag Fastback was originally the idea of Spen King, who had taken…
Names to Know – Jaguar’s Sir William Lyons
Sir William Lyons was born in Blackpool in 1901, the namesake of an Irish father and an English mother. A bright boy, he was curious about machinery and good at school work. His family secured for him an engineering apprenticeship at Crossley Motors where he developed an intense interest in the burgeoning automotive industry. In…
The Cat in the Shadows
When I was a kid, the most influential car to me was a dirty, dingy jalopy that was stored at my babysitter’s house. Everyone saw it as this old relic in a dark corner of a country garage. I was 4 1/2 – the half is important at that age – and saw this dust…