Pontiac At the All GM Show

 

In 1926 General Motors created the Pontiac division as a companion to their Oakland mid range cars. Manufactured in Pontiac, MI which was named for a famed Odawa Indian chief, began quickly outselling its "big brother" line. By 1931 GM dropped Oakland and funneled those resources to Pontiac. Pontiac slotted above Chevrolet and below Oldsmobile in the GM line up. The brand was eliminated by GM in 2010 as a cost saving measure. Still, plenty are around and quite a few showed up at the 3rd 20th Century All GM Car Show. Among them was a rare Grand Prix 2+2 , a Trans Am, a Bonneville, three different Firebird models, a GTO, and a Grand Prix GT. 

 

Olds At the All GM Show

 

In 1897 Ransom E. Olds started an automobile company that within four years would become the first high volume gasoline powered manufacturer in the United States. In 1903 it was the largest selling car brand in America. A year later, due to internal disputes, Olds left the company he started. He went on to start the REO Motor Car Company which had a famous vehicle called the Speedwagon (cue the band, please). Oldsmobile went on to become part of General Motors and was slotted in as a mid range brand in GM's hierarchy, fitting just below Buick and above Pontiac. At the 3th 20th Century All GM Car Show there were a lot of Oldsmobiles on hand. Among them was a Cutlass, a Cutlass Supreme, a 442, another 442, another Cutlass, and a couple more 442 models. 

  

3rd 20th Century All GM Show

 

Imagine having a car event for nothing but 20th Century General Motors automobiles. Well, that's what the 3rd 20th Century All GM Show was all about. Held on a beautiful day around 200 cars and trucks pulled into the Milford headquarters of Jeff Wyler's auto empire. Among them was a very nice looking Chevrolet Corvair, a 1970 Buick Gran Sport, a 1941 Pontiac Torpedo Silver Streak, a Chevy Nova Super Sport, a rarely seen because so few survived Chevy Chevette, a 1950 Chevy Business Coupe, another Nova Super Sport, a 1952 Chevy Coupe, and, to prove that not ever vehicle on display was a GM product, a 1941 Dodge WC40 1/2 ton military weapons carrier.

 

One More Look At the Father's Day Car Show

 

Father's day may have been a while ago and the rain scared off a bunch of people but a few showed up for the 21st Father's Day Car Show at the First Church of God. Among them was Dodge Challenger T/A,  a custom Chevy van, a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, a 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, a new Camaro, a 1998 Corvette, a 2004 Pontiac, another Camaro and another Vette.

 

21st Father's Day Car Show

 

Yes, I know Father's Day was a number of weeks back but that's what happens when I cover an event like the Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance. The 21st Father's Day Car Show at the First Church of God faced some iffy weather. The threat of rain may have been a major reason only a handful of vehicles showed up. Still, there were some pretty fun rides in the lot including a Volkswagen Type 181, often referred to as The Thing. Also in attendance was a C4 Chevrolet Corvette, a Volkswagen Beetle that was converted to electric, a 1959 Chevy El Camino, a 2015 Dodge Charger Hellcat, a Plymouth PT Cruiser, a Chevy Camaro, and a Chevy 1500 pick up truck. 

 

Sport Classics At the Concours

 

The Sport Classic class is one of my personal favorites. It always has a wonderful selection of fantastic machines. One such car is this 1958 Porsche 356A Speedster.  Only 4144 Speedsters were made between 1954 and 1959, 552 in this model year. The car is driven by a 1488 cc, 78 horse power flat boxer four cylinder engine mounted in the rear.

A different body style for the 1958 Porsche 356A was this Sunroof Coupe. It has a sliding sunroof. Only three per cent of 356As had this feature. It also came with a slightly larger engine, a 1582 cc flat boxer four.

Here is a first generation, or C1, 1957 Chevrolet Corvette. With a 283 cubic inch V-8 engine pushing the fiberglass body for 270 horse power, this was a quick car for its time. This car has won numerous awards from the National Corvette Restorer's Society including a National 1st Prize.

This 1957 Ford Thunderbird is very much like the one my adoptive mother once owned. Unfortunately the car was gone before she came into my life. Dubbed a Personal Luxury Car, the T-Bird wasn't technically designed to be in head to head competition with the Vette but many saw it that way. With a 312 cubic in, 245 horse power V-8 engine this car's top speed was a tick over 120 miles per hour.

 This 1960 Chevy Corvette has been in the same family since 1975. This car has also won multiple awards from the National Corvette Restorer's Society.

 

In 1957 Road & Track magazine called the Byers SR-100 the "world's most beautiful sports car." This is a 1959 and is number 17 of the total 24 ever made. The car has a 289 cubic inch V-8 worth 210 horse power.

 

This wraps up my coverage of this year's Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance. If you haven't been following you might want to scroll back through the previous posts to see some pretty amazing automobiles. Feel free to let me know what you think by either leaving a comment (no ads, please) or by dropping me an email at turnerbudds@yahoo.com. 

Automotive Oddities At the Concours

 

Without a doubt one of the most fun and interesting collections at the 47th Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance was the special class for automotive oddities. This was definitely a group of cars you won't see every day. Among them was a 1983 Citroen 2CV6 Speciale.This car, with its 602 cc flat boxer two cylinder engine was designed to carry eggs across a field without breaking them.

 

Believe it or not this isn't a Little Tikes kiddie car but a 2008 Smart Fortwo which was actually made by Mercedes Benz to resemble the toy car. It has a one liter, 70 horse power, three cylinder engine.

Well, this isn't quite the James Bond Lotus that can turn into a submarine but it is the West German made 1967 Amphicar Model 770. It is a true amphibious car that has two propellers in the rear.

 

This may resemble a Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle at first glance but is actually a coach built 1949 VW Hemuller and Sons cabriolet body built on a Type 1 chassis.

 This is a 1952 Crosley Skorpion. Crosley Motors was a Cincinnati based car maker owned by Powell Crosley, Jr. who also owned the local baseball team, the Reds, as well as media power station WLW. The car has a 44.2 cubic inch, 26 horse power inline four cylinder engine.

This three wheeler is a 1960 Mazda 360. Actually designated as a light truck, the 360 was designed specifically for the narrow roads of Japan. It is powered by a 300 cc, 11 horse power V-twin two cylinder engine.

Here is a 1958 Meadows Friskysport convertible. This is one of only 15 of these cars known to exist world wide and one of only five in the USA. It's powered by an 18 horse power motorcycle engine with four forward gears and, by running the engine backwards, four reverse as well.

 This 1950 Crosley Super Sport sold for under $1000 back in the day. That means in today's dollars it would cost a whopping $13,000. It has a 44 cubic inch, 26.5 horse power inline four cylinder engine.