John_S_in_Penna

Ah, station wagons still don't get the respect they deserve! It sounds like your friend wants to use his 40-year-old Buick wagon, a car that should be lovingly maintained and preserved, as a tow vehicle!

Some postings may be detailed and very helpful; others are simple, short quips that keep the conversation going. Regardless of quantity, here's to everyone whose postings have furthered the camaraderie and knowledge of their fellow car fans!

As someone phrased it so well on another thread: The owner buys insurance. You can't buy insurance for something you do not own.

Is the maroon roof an authentic '57 Chevrolet color? It looks good, though I've never seen that color combination on a '57 Chevy.

Living in Pennsylvania, I know of several around me. Other people in other areas would certainly know of good places near them. These "ideal and idyllic" places are real and practical to people who know them. Gettysburg, Hershey, Macungie, State College, and Titusville, Penna. (to name a few) have nice locations well suited to car shows. There are undoubtedly dozens more just in our state, though they tend to be removed from the concrete, congestion, and sprawl of big cities. Picture driving an antique to a show on smaller highways without city traffic. Macungie, for instance, has a successful annual AACA local show in a beautiful park that regularly sees more than 1000 antique cars. The campus of Pennsylvania College of Technology, where students can learn antique-car restoration, provided an attractive setting amid landscaped lawns and walkways for an AACA Grand National Meet. These are just examples. Let's set our sights high.

Members naturally think of national meets from their own perspective. In line with Larry's editorial, let's also think of meets from VISITORS' perspectives. After all, members are already on the membership rolls, and visitors who come, interested in seeing the Buicks, are potential members to add to the club. At one local car show, I explained a few cars to some teenage girls who happened by. I explained in terms that they would appreciate. I asked a Corvair owner to open the front "engine" compartment, and there was no engine there! And even a bench seat was novel to them, as a person could get in on either side and simply slide over! Engaging the visitors with antique-car rides and explanations is so much better than having newcomers just walk down rows of vehicles. And I recommend having the meet in a place where the PUBLIC will readily happen upon it: Not in back of a highway hotel at Exit 52A of Interstate 890, but maybe a beautiful tree-studded park in an attractive town where the public will already be. Our hobby is fun. Let's be sure to share it.

That's good to hear, Magnus! Please take some pictures and show us your beautiful new Pontiac. Was this car already in Europe, even in Sweden? Aren't you glad that you didn't enrich a scammer, and found another nice car?

I spoke today with the main editor of one of their car publications. He wasn't aware of the problem, and his copy looked okay to him. (He didn't have access to the newest print run, as he was in a different state.) He said the later run(s) was (were) done by scanning, since they no longer had the original materials used for printing in 2001. Also, the relatively short print run was put out to bid. Those factors may account for the lower quality. But if you've never seen this book, the reading is excellent, and you'll get your $18.75 worth.

The A.A.C.A. Museum, no longer affiliated with the Antique Automobile Club of America, has an annual show every summer. They give rides in a couple of vehicles, which, I think, belong to hobbyists and not to the museum. Our local A.A.C.A. region, on the set-up day before our own annual show, gives rides--and driving lessons-- in Ford Model T's to any member who would like one.

From everyone's horror, I thought the entire thing was plated. With just the trim plated, it doesn't look horrible to me (though I wouldn't opt to do that myself). But gold plating is very thin. Electroplating, the thinnest, may be only two MILLIONTHS of an inch thick. So plating the trim, regardless of the process, doesn't add much value to the car. To each his own, I guess.

I don't think you can find accurately identified illustrations of certain obscure cars on Google. Some of the pictures in this latest edition are dark and mushy enough that you can't see the hood louvers in a side view of the car. If anyone saw what the pictures are SUPPOSED to be like, in an earlier edition or printing, he would be dismayed. Some I call barely acceptable; others are worse. Imagine reading newspaper photos without your eyeglasses. I NOW THINK THE BOOK IS WORTH NO MORE THAN THEIR $18.75 ASKING PRICE.

I got the 3 copies I recently ordered, and I will say, the photo quality is not nearly as good as in the 2nd edition I have. If you compare them directly, you can see. The pictures are darker and mushier in the newest printing, and I think it really detracts from an otherwise superb reference.

I actually have a couple of plaid sport coats from my father! So actually, the answer is yes for a loan! Sorry no 3-piece plaid, though.

I don't know. A few years ago I interviewed a retired high-level GM executive (Vice Chairman) and he said that a buyer COULD get custom orders from GM when he was there. He was a dedicated car guy, retired now for about 6 years. If anyone knows about the present, that would be a great way to break out of the current limited palette.

Meanwhile, maybe some Chrysler hobbyist will have the answer. I'm sorry I don't know, myself.

I like the design of the garage in the back of the picture.

There have been many millions of car buyers, and each is an individual with his own individuality and taste. Unless you knew this Mrs. Pons, or Miss Pons, it's not possible to know why she liked certain colors. We can at least be glad that so many color choices were offered--a happy contrast to today's monotonous colors of gray, black, gray, white, gray, and gray.

Even the vest is plaid! Maybe we can expect the "Library Trio" to be wearing vintage polyester plaid suits in their next clever video.

Here's another car, a 1928 LaSalle, from the inspired Cadillac-LaSalle catalogue, "Color Creations from Nature's Studio." The colors were modeled after those of the mineral "curite," but I think they are good autumn-leaf colors, too. The catalogue says the dashboard was even done in bright orange.

This week has seen the best color of the year. Here are the leaves embowering the fins of a 1961 Imperial. But no matter how I adjust the picture, the photograph doesn't come close to the brightness and glory of the leaves seen in person.

Visionary? Squint hard. It looks good only with blurred vision!

Welcome, Kevin! I was going to call you Mr. Socks, or Mrs. Ocks, until I saw you signed your name. As others have noted, you'll find a lot of expertise here on old-car-related topics. And car fans are always willing to help each other out. The A.A.C.A. is a very good organization.

Terry Bond (posting #5) is a knowledgeable collector of, it seems, everything connected to the automobile. His advice on pricing is therefore worth heeding. My perception is that people would want an oil can in better condition.

Magnus, that website appears to be just a site that gives information. Is that car actually for sale? People in the hobby tend to restore the top-of-the-line glamour models first, and the sporty models. Once those become expensive, hobbyists then start to appreciate the other models--of any line of cars. That is why you see, for example, so many 1953 Buick Skylarks for sale, even when not many were produced. 1958 Bonnevilles fall into that category. So that's why you see more Bonnevilles than other models. The cars that aren't "glamorous" are, to me, just as interesting, because they aren't seen as much. And they are a part of history that needs to be preserved.

The manufacturer's link in posting #1 has a link to the announcement by the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/kidde-recalls-fire-extinguishers-with-plastic-handles-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and#.Wfr3FggcNkQ That commission states, "Kidde Recalls Fire Extinguishers with Plastic Handles Due to Failure to Discharge and Nozzle Detachment: One Death Reported" and further claims, "Hazard: The fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard. Remedy: Replace Recall date: November 2, 2017 Recall number: 18-022"