I Love Station Wagons

I've always loved station wagons.  My very first car was a 1961 Ford Falcon 4dr wagon in 60's brown inside and out.  That car lasted one week before losing most of the front suspension in a hole while doing some off-road hooning with a friend driving a matching 1961 Ranchero. 

Between the clean lines of the squared off back, and the utility of the wagon, they are the perfect car.  Too bad they don't make them anymore, but back in the early 50's, station wagons were being transformed from pure work vehicles to something the family could use.  Steel bodies were replacing wood, suspensions were getting more comfortable and power steering and automatic transmissions were making them easier to drive. 

Check out this article from the Sept. 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics to see where wagons were going back in 1953. 

NBC's $62,000 Camera Limousine

Back in 1950, the television industry was just getting into full swing.  There was a demand for on-the-spot coverage of events.  Rather than to use a truck or van, NBC showed some class and custom built a new Cadillac Limousine to cover the news in NYC.  Read all about it from this article from the June 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics.  

The US Interstate System: The Beginnings

Eddie Valiant: So that's why you killed Acme and Maroon? For this freeway? I don't get it.
Judge Doom : Of course not. You lack vision, but I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on all day, all night. Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food. Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful.

Read all about Judge Doom's vision of the future as told in the 

May, 1957 issue of Popular Science.   

NASCAR: The Beginnings

This is the beginning of NASCAR from the pages of the Sept. 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics.  Notice the mention of Andy Granatelli on page 6.  Also notice the rules of the game...or lack of them. 

1960 T-Bird Caught At The Curb

It's been awhile since I've had some original content, so when I spotted this really nice 1960 Thunderbird sitting in Plano, Texas today, I snapped a few pics.   I just had to.  I used to own a very similar '58 T-Bird.  CATC contributer Rick Aurora also used to have a nice black 1959 T-Bird as well.  We love "Squarebirds" here at CATC.

What A Boss!!

I want to work for this guy!  

From the March 27, 1950 issue of Life Magazine.

They're Not As New As You Think

They're not as new as you think....even in 1949!

From the Feb. 1949 issue of Popular Science.

The Stout Scarab, by William Stout

From the Jan. 1942 issue of Popular Mechanics.

Problems Shipping Cars Abroad Isn't New

Many of the car-people who's posts and stories I read online lament not being able to get, say, a Citroen or a diesel Toyota over here in the USA.  The laws and customs of countries sometimes forbid their importation.  We complain that it "didn't used to be like this", but it was.  In the following article from the Oct. 1930 issue of Popular Science, we are told how hard it is to export cars from the US to other countries.  Sometimes, it's the laws.  Sometime it is the customs of that country.  Enjoy!  

Our Sun Unleashes A Massive CME

From Space.com

 

Watch the video of the CME here.

"The sun unleashed a massive solar storm today (June 7) in a dazzling eruption that kicked up a vast cloud of magnetic plasma that appeared to rain back down over half of the sun's entire surface, NASA scientists say.

The solar storm hit its peak at about 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT), but the actual flare extended over a three-hour period, said C. Alex Young, a solar astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center who runs a website called The Sun Today, in a video describing the event.

"The sun produced a quite spectacular prominence eruption that had a solar flare and high-energy particles associated with it, but I've just never seen material released like this before," Young said. "It looks like somebody just kicked a giant clod of dirt into the air and then it fell back down." [Video: See the sun's June 7 solar flare and eruption]"

Gizmag : Trident Iceni 70 mpg biodiesel supercar set for launch (again)

US$150,000 Trident Iceni 70 mpg biodiesel supercar set for launch (again)

From Gizmag.