John_S_in_Penna

I agree with everything Doug wrote. If a hood must be up, keep it up only until the judges have finished. Then put it down so everyone can enjoy the styling and overall view of the car. Personally, I'd rather see the hood down all the time, unless the engine is something quite unusual. I take pictures of cars for our regional newsletter, and have done so once or twice for our national magazine, and the cars are ALWAYS pictured with their hoods down. It's a shame to pass up some interesting cars because the hoods are up and the owner isn't around.

Yes. For example, the illustration makes the car's wheelbase a lot longer than it really was. Pontiac was a rather small car.

Look at their bicycle--the Model 95, the first one in the sequence, for example. It looks practically the same as a bicycle from today. Then contrast the 1903 car with the car of today. Bicycles have changed little; cars a lot!

Mr. Tattoou, to help you sell your Buick, you'll need to indicate your car's location, and give some contact information too. Otherwise, we don't know whether you're in New Zealand, New Hampshire, or the New Hebrides. (Our forum reaches all over.) It's just like you're putting an ad in Hemmings Motor News. A few more pictures would be beneficial, too. All the best to you on your sale.

Dave, your testimony is valuable. I think those Park Avenues had beautiful curvaceous styling, but I can see why Buick was losing market share around that time. While Buicks may have had some problems, I checked out for the first time the foreign cars that Consumer Reports rated "much better than average." I now have a new criterion for new cars: They must go 100,000 miles without the SLIGHTEST thing going wrong. Mine did.

These are very attractive cars, still reasonably priced. You probably know that they came in one of two colors: white and metallic red. All interiors were the same, dark red leather. Actually, for the limited production of these Riviera convertibles, there are quite a few around-- many of them probably were saved--though they tend to have high mileage from being enjoyed.

That's a criminal committing fraud. I hope you don't know him TOO closely, JV, because justice will catch up to him! As it's time to write another check for car-storage rent, I appreciate the fact that I can find reasonably priced garage space. But, let's face it, hobbies work better in some areas than in others: Rural Pennsylvania is not a good place for opera and art museums. Snowmobile fans don't do so well in Georgia. Horse lovers and ranchers don't have much room to ride in Los Angeles. But every area has its advantages, and we can all appreciate what we have.

Mr. Farmer, if you give us a price range that you would like to achieve, that will help us to help you. For example, there's no need to point out a $50,000 1958-60 Buick convertible if you'd prefer to be in the $10,000 range. I like the full-size Buicks from those years. Most people pay attention to the 1963-up Rivieras, and the 1960's Skylarks, and pretty much overlook the full-sized 1960's models. All the best to you in your search!

In his heart, I think he is. Well, maybe 21.

I think you mean September 5, don't you? (That's 9/5.) Yes, it looks like a very nice car. I appreciate seeing things that are out of the ordinary.

I know someone who got a Pierce 66 a couple of years ago. He confirmed what I had read: the body panels are not aluminum sheet, but cast aluminum. (There was at least one other make and model that did the same back then.) The seller states that this 1913 example has sheet aluminum. Did Pierce change their method by this time?

It's interesting to learn that Florida charges extra fees for out-of-state cars. Interesting, but not pleasant! Every state is different: Pennsylvania charges the same regardless of what state the car came from.

That's a good question, David, and it lets us see why having the name of "AACA" on an unrelated entity can cause confusion--even among our own members! The public would understand even less, and assume the club and the museum are one and the same. I know the club and museum are working to resolve this point of befuddlement.

I don't need to watch television to see interesting cars. I can walk out to the garage and appreciate my small collection. Better than seeing them on a screen, I can get in them and drive!

Craig's List, I have found, is the place to locate the occasional old well-kept car that hasn't yet been recognized as a collectible. As you say, there might be a retired couple in Florida who are selling their well-maintained Park Avenue.

I'm glad to hear you say you got over his concerns. Your friend sounds as if he's not a true car expert, but one who heard the term "matching numbers" and thinks everything now must be justified that way. While he's searching for matching numbers on a '57 Ford, others are simply driving the car and enjoying it. There's so much more than possession, prestige, and profit in what we do!

Our hobby, I think, is putting far too much emphasis on "rarity." Surely everyone likes to have something different, being an individual, but hasn't everyone noticed how often the term "rare" is overused these days? "Rare," "very rare," "ultra rare." Even a common model may be said to have a rare color or rare combination of options! When perhaps 20% of cars advertised are promoted as being rare, it shows us that they really aren't rare. Let's forget "rarity." To the general public, machines manufactured 40, 60, 80 years ago are all scarce compared to today's vehicles. Enjoy the cars for the historical pieces they are!

Paul, since cars take some work to sell these days, you'll find that the Forum's buy-sell suggestions will be very helpful to prospective customers. Much more information will be useful:

High-regulation countries, as much as we love our brethren overseas, hurt themselves when they go overboard. Business fails to thrive. How often does the rest of the world see appliances made in England or cars made in France? Regretfully, not very often. Thankfully, I don't think Australia has come close that stage. The world developed a great fear of asbestos, a product used effectively for decades. No one wants to see asbestos miners sickened, or rivers running brown with pollution, but there has to be the common sense that DavidAU espouses. No one ever died from an asbestos gasket.

I got rid of my television service once and for all, about a year ago. Most programming no longer appealed to me: 8 minutes of ads for every 22 minutes of content; increasing raunchiness throughout the line-up; and reporting I can no longer trust to be honest and accurate. "Reality" shows don't portray reality--they're just cheaper to make. I don't miss television one bit!

Mr. Wright, you might want to clarify the day of the week and date of this event. It sounds like last year's announcement was copied, unrevised.

The ad didn't state what body style came with that Stutz chassis. But for any potential restorer's inspiration, here's a 1927 Stutz roadster that I went to look at. I didn't buy it, but this older restoration sold for about $45,000:

I can't speak for southeastern Penna., but I know it's more built-up. South-CENTRAL and other parts of the state are entirely different. Where I used to work, if I took the alternate route, I could sometimes drive FIFTEEN MILES on my route to work and not see a car coming the other direction. Most often, there would be 2 or 3 other cars in 15 miles. Ah, to experience other parts of the country and see their benefits!

Good point, Greg. And driving the old cars on miles of scenic back roads is probably more fun, too! Here's a nice example of what you can see on the country roads of northern Pennsylvania:

I agree up to a point, Mr. CVS. Those high-cost urban areas probably would have a lessened demand for antique cars. Demand certainly could be more if all the cities' good-paying jobs were accompanied by lots of affordable places to put the old cars. However, it's certainly not an effect across the entire antique-car market. In south-central Pennsylvania, the area of A.A.C.A. headquarters, there is plenty of open land, car storage is affordable, and the hobby has blossomed. Other parts of the country could say the same. People in cities often have summer homes in the country. Instead of buying a whole house, why not rent a country barn to store your cars, and go out on sunny week-ends to enjoy them?