The Last From Swope's

It is well worth visiting Swope's Cars of Yesteryear Museum (http://www.swopemuseum.com/Swope-Auto-Museum.asp), especially if you are traveling down I-65 between Louisville and Nashville. Stop off and spend a little time enjoy the cars. Not only is it free admission but you see cars like this Ford Model A. And check out the set of official Ford tools that are on display as well.

Next is a 1914 Ford Model T Runabout. The famed "Tin Lizzy" saw about 15 million cars made during it run between 1909 and 1927. This is the car that really turned us into an automotive society.

Here is a 1924 Chrysler 70 B Touring car. With a 201 cubic inch L Head straight six that had a very high compression, this car had a, for the time, remarkable top speed of 75 miles per hour. Chrysler rode this car to immediate success which allowed the company to soon buy Dodge and introduce the Plymouth and DeSoto lines.

Another successful Chrysler is this 1932 Sport Coup. Proving that bigger isn't always better, this straight six cylinder engine managed to keep up with most of the bigger eight cylinder offerings. This along with an affordable luxury made it popular with young professionals as well as many salesmen.

Another 1914 Model T, this a Touring, is on display at the museum. The availability and the importance of this car in automotive history justify its multiple examples.

The legendary GM designer Harley Earl was instrumental in the creation of the LaSalle line. One magnificent example is this 1931 convertible. The 345 cubic inch L Head V 8 generated 95 horse power.

Shortly before World War II Detroit was still making new car models. One example is this 1941 Buick Super Sport Coupe. Body styling was taking a major shift during this time but it was what was under the hood that really made this car stand out. It was powered by famed straight 8 Fireball engine.

There is muscle on display at the Swopes Cars of Yesteryear Museum. This 1969 Chevy Camero 350 SS Hardtop more than earned the muscle classification. The 350 cubic inch V 8 that powered it was one of the fastest stock motors coming out of Detroit at this time.

Another car flexing its muscle is this 1970 Cobra Torino SCJ. With a monstrous 429 cubic inch SCT Ram-Air V 8 with four valves and a four barrel carburetor, this car was just begging to race.

This 1935 Ford Roadster was one of the fastest and sportiest cars of its time. With a 221 cubic inch L Head V 8, this car could run with the best of them. That engine won a lot of fans, including Clyde Barrow of criminal Bonnie and Clyde fame who allegedly wrote Henry Ford a letter praising how the engine was perfect for powering a getaway car.

Competition for the '30s era Fords came form the likes of this 1931 Chevrolet Convertible Cabriolet. This was the year that Chevy introduced a popular, more powerful six cylinder engine that let it more faster but also reliably. 1931 was the first year Chevy would outsell Ford.

The last car I saw at this fine museum was this 1956 Ford Thunderbird. The Thunderbird was introduced to compete with Chevy's Corvette and actually outsold the Vette in its early years. Redesigns and restyles later converted it into more of a family sedan for a while but this first generation was pure sports car.