Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Fields  West: Trunk Rack don't know nuttin about Classic Cars. He thinks fire trucks are classics. ;-) OK, pierce arrow powered fire truck asside, I can think of 12 reason's why I like Pete's Packard. |
= = = = = = = =
For those of you who are not "old hands" in the CCCA, and thus dont "get" our clowning around, let me explain our exchange of "in jokes" and sarcasam.
Declining Membership means the end of the CCCA ?
Only problem with that theory is, many of us feel the best years of the CCCA, when we had the most active membership, with great tours and driving events all over the USA, were when we had about 2,000 members, just about all of whom understood our "exclusive" purpose - to preserve the "best of the best' of the super-luxury cars built prior to the "stream-lined" era of the 1940's.
"Classic" fire engines?
C'mon, guys, it was a JOKE ! Yes, I had a V-12 American La France fire engine from the 30's (not the smaller one with the Pierce-based 420 in. V-12; I had the "real" one with the 750 cu. in over-head cam V-12). And yes, as a "stunt" I submitted it for consideration.
Many "like minded" folk then active in CCCA affairs correctly figured out I did this to FORCE the Nat'l Board of the CCCA to THINK before further "dilluting" our Club. It didn't work. They actually thought I seriously wanted my fire engine in the Club!
Even then, there was such a complete "disconnect" between the "traditionalists" and the "used car salesmen" types, that it went right over their heads.
How to tell a NON classic what would be eligible for our new NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA ?
C'mon, guys - are some of you so dense you dont know when someone is teasing you ?
READ my saracastic "post" again! Whole idea was to under-score how silly it is to call everything under the sun, a "classic"!
Again, if a used Ford or Chevrolet or nice old Buick, or ANY nice old car is a "classic", then what do we call the "best of the best" of the era before stream-lining?
Again, what to call the super luxury, super powered elegant luxury cars made prior to the '40's.. ? They are SO different from the ordinary cars of THEIR era, we came up with the word "classic" to underscore how "apart" they were.
Which brings us back to the big fight "admitting" the 1941 Cadillac Fleetwood 60 Special. Anyone lucky enough to own and operate one of these knows how vastly superior a driving machine it is to a "real" classic Cadillac - take, for comparison, a 1931 V-16 "Empress Imperial limo.
By 1941, look at all the engineering and "comfort" improvements the '31 did not have. "Insert" connnecting rod bearings for extreme speed durability. Pressurized cooling system for those extreme speeds in hot weather. Independent front suspension for comfort. Automatic temp. control for heating, and "factory air" conditioning, power windows, radio, etc. Four-speed automatic transmission, with a "high" numerical axle ratio, enabling the '41 to cruise effortlessly at speeds that would destroy the '31 V-16. Modern sealed beam headlights and directional signals. The list of safety and comfort features goes on & on.
The admission of the '41 Cadillac Fleetwood did not, as best as I can recall, cause the earth to fall into the sun. It did, however, illustrate a gross failure on the part of SOME of our CCCA membership to understand what the word "classic" DID mean when we had the concept of "precision of speech".
We knew what the word "classic" meant in those days. It meant "classic" lines, where a hood, fenders, headlights, were all separate, defined by their function. As good as the '41 Cadillac 60 Special was and is, technology had by then brought us STREAM-LINING, the blending together of the various functions into a smoother-appearing entity. The very antithesis of "classic" design. And, by then, engines suspended in rubber motor mounts, more power thru-out the price range of cars available to the ordinary folk, so that the differences between cars of ALL price ranges was no longer so spectacular.
Example, a '41 Ford or Chevrolet is nowhere near as fast or as roadable as a '41 Packard 180/160 or Cadillac. But it is a heck of a lot closer, than, for example, a 31 Ford Model "A" or "Stove Bolt" Chevrolet was to that Cadillac V-16 I used in the above example.
These posts are for FUN...folks - and for EDUCATION.
There is a lot to learn by studying how technology has evolved. Let's be honest; if we needed to make a fast trip across town, or an even faster trip cross-country, how many would take that '41 Caddy over the '31...?
4 Weeks Ago
Linear Mode
