Earl “Madman” Muntz is the type of all-American character that we would have to create had he not already existed. In a career that lasted more than six decades, Madman Muntz made and lost many fortunes, in a bewildering variety of businesses. A few highlights of Muntz’s entrepreneurial endeavors include […]

In the days following WWII, man’s “need for speed” manifested itself in many different ways. If your name was Kimberly or Cunningham, you wrote a $10,000 check for a red European sports car. This wonderful obsession for performance had nothing to do with family fortunes, however, and was just as […]

Jim Kellison was a fighter pilot during the Korean War who went on to study aircraft engineering at UCLA. In 1954, he founded his own company, Kellison Engineering, and began building professionally-engineered sports cars with fiberglass bodies. A Kellison J-4 Grand Turismo coupe cost $6,700 in 1959. To put that […]

Inspired by Carroll Shelby’s success in shoehorning a Ford V8 into the AC Ace to create the Cobra, Rootes asked Shelby to perform the same trick with its Sunbeam Alpine sports car. Ford’s 260 cubic-inch (4.2-liter) unit was chosen, similar to that used in the Cobra and more than capable […]

The ACD Newsletter recently ran an article entitled “Cord Shifting for Dummies” with emphasis on gear-changing techniques {vsig}2006-1_1904{/vsig} E. L. Cord was a master salesman who acquired Auburn in 1928 after saving it from bankruptcy by unloading about 700 sedans languishing on the lot. He spiffed up the orphans with […]

In 1929 Errett Lobban Cord, expanding his automotive empire, introduced a front-wheel drive automobile that he named after himself. The Cord L29 offered a distinctive, sporting appearance and great performance for its price. Unfortunately, when the stock market crashed shortly after the car’s introduction, so did the market for the […]

Flames, Flatheads, Fenders, Fatboys: the American hot rod has many manifestations. Each is the personal expression of its creator, which is both the charm and the attraction of the street rods. Some take T-buckets, some favor ’40 Fords, others prefer Plymouths or choose Chevys. The permutations and combinations are endless […]

In 1965 the nine-year reign of the “fuelie” Corvette came to an end. Only 771 cars with the L84 option were built in 1965, making it the lowest production year. It was the only year you could buy a fuel-injected, disc-braked Corvette. This 1965 Glen Green model has traveled only […]

Today, the words “tuner car” conjures up images of an AMG or Renntech-equipped Mercedes. Or perhaps a Stillen-equipped SUV or a McLaren Mustang. But long before these high-impact, sophisticated cruisers existed, a group of dealer-based “tuners” were turning out supercars of a different sort. Baldwin-Motion, Dana, Nickey and Yenko were […]

Capturing the essence of the era’s themes, the ’57 Chevrolet Bel Air represented the pinnacle of ’50s automotive styling. Today, this model remains one of the single most recognized icons of the tall tail fins and excessive chrome age—a time when bigger meant better and there was not a doubt […]