Author: Carl Bomstead

Carl Bomstead is a longtime Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance judge and Classic Car Club of America Master Judge. He wrote his first story for SCM in February 1997.

1933 Cadillac Series 355 Roadster

Offered here to the discriminating collector of fine luxury cars is a Cadillac that has splendor, luxury, and rarity all in the same package. In fact, this 1933 Series 355 Cadillac Roadster is number two of only three V8 roadsters produced — and the only one in existence today. It […]

1927 Falcon-Knight Model 10 Speedster

This 1927 Falcon-Knight Model 10 has a one-off 2-seat speedster body believed to have been commissioned by James Harvey Howe III, grandson of the inventor of Tums. He donated it to the St. Louis Museum of Transportation in the 1970s. The car was later part of the John O’Quinn Collection […]

1935 Packard Twelve Sport Coupe

Packard’s most beautiful automobiles of the 1930s were arguably produced as part of the Eleventh Series, and they boasted the first gentle hints of streamlining, such as a slightly angled radiator shell, more deeply skirted fenders, and vee’d headlamp lenses. The 12-cylinder models of this series were the ultimate Packards, […]

1940 Oldsmobile Dynamic Series 70 Woodie Wagon

  In 1941, the station wagon body was only offered by Oldsmobile on the bottom-of-the-line Special 60 Series. Sharing its wheelbase and dimensions with the Chevrolet Special Deluxe Wagon, it offered the brand engineering for which GM was famous. As was the standard practice then, coachbuilding for special models such […]

1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton

One of the few automobiles deemed worthy of inclusion in the Museum of Modern Art in New York — and arguably the most easily recognized American car of all time — the Cord 810 debuted in November 1935, receiving a rapturous reception at U.S. automobile shows. The work of a […]

Darin Schnabel ©2015, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

1927 Miller 91

The Miller 91 was a true tour de force of rear-wheel-drive racing technology. It was so successful and its domination on speedways of the 1920s was so complete that it was effectively responsible for its own demise. The AAA’s rule change for 1930 to the “Junk Formula” was, in fact, […]

1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama Concept Car

  It’s said that Harley Earl, director of GM styling, got the idea for a GM concept car while watching world speed records being set at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. It would be a sports racer called a Bonneville Special. That was when 1954 models were being readied […]

1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III Convertible

The 1958–60 Lincolns and Lincoln Continentals were the most massive American passenger cars produced since World War II, as they were built on a 131-inch wheelbase and had an overall length of 229 inches. The Mark III convertible tips the scales at an impressive 4,928 pounds, and only 3,048 were […]

Courtesy of Barrett-Jackson Auction Co.

1961 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

This beautifully restored 1961 Corvette is powered by its 283/270-hp engine with two 4-barrel carburetors and a 4-speed manual transmission and its original shifter. This car was built with performance in mind. Painted in Roman Red with white side coves, this Corvette features a white soft top and red interior […]

1930 Cadillac V16 Roadster

On January 4, 1930, Cadillac stunned the fine-car market at the New York Auto Show with the introduction of its breathtaking new V16. With it, Cadillac instantly catapulted itself to the head of the luxury class in one brilliant stroke. Until then, only Bugatti had produced a 16-cylinder engine, and […]