Steve Moskowitz Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Well, we had a beautiful Duesenberg in our atrium for quite a long time but we have gone "a different direction" in showcasing Wayne Carini and Ralph Marano's 1957 Spohn. Yes it is unique, yes it might be ugly to some and yes it is a small piece of automotive history. However, it IS history as Spohn made about 200 cars before they went out of business. We are enjoying trying to research the car and the company and are actually excited to have something so different in our building. So, make all the jokes you want about the car. That is expected, heck even Ralph and Wayne make jokes at its expense but please do not make any derogatory comments about Ralph or Wayne as that will not be tolerated ( I had to make this statement as I saw a blog about Spohns that got out of hand). 6 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Didn't Auburn Rubber Co or Tootsietoy make a toy version of that? Pretty obvious it stole styling cues from the Buick Lesabre. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrData Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 I remember those episodes of CCC. A very interesting car, very evocative of the styling of that era. Sort of the love child of a Cadillac and a Daimler SP250. It is art and everyone will have an opinion. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Well it’s a bit different. Looks at home. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Kingsley Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Is this a permanent addition or just a temporary visit? I'd like to see it in person but don't have a 4ish hour one way ride in me right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Sure would be easy to find in the parking lot😀. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 13 minutes ago, rocketraider said: Didn't Auburn Rubber Co or Tootsietoy make a toy version of that? Pretty obvious it stole styling cues from the Buick Lesabre. I have one or two of those rubber models around here somewhere, and yes, one can see Buick LeSabre in the design. 1 minute ago, TerryB said: Sure would be easy to find in the parking lot😀. So, I wouldn't need to stick my orange (?) Union 76 Ball on the antenna, just like dozens of others in the same lot? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsfarms Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 I know nothing about this red futuristic automobile. What is the main base platform for this custom car? Some say even the first Corvettes were not the most beautiful things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 Spohns were built in Germany by a coachbuilder who built bodies for Maybach in the pre-war days. He purchased leftover cars from thus US military and took custom orders for coachbuilt cars...no two alike. This car built on a 39 Ford truck chassis and with 53 Caddy V-8 and a Ford standard transmission. Billie, we expect this car to be here until at least "Hershey". 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a griffin Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) That is.........unique. Really though, does Roger Rabbit know you have his car? I kid. You need to get a picture of it's "good side" Serious, though, is it pronounced "Spawn" or "Spoon"? And what material is the body? Steel, aluminum, or fiberglass? Edited June 22, 2023 by a griffin (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 The pronunciation is in question I think. Most of us pronounce it like the pitcher Warren Spahn, however, one young upstart I know disagrees and calls it a Spone like in phone. Actually it is one of the things we are researching. Oh and we are also researching the good side! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Well....it's different. Personally, it's like they pulled everything in the 50s that I dislike and put them on one vehicle, but it is at least interesting. And the good side- has to be the rear, as it is driving away from ya. 🤣 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE POLLARD Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) Someone over on FB said it has a nickname already.... Mosko ? 😄 Edited June 22, 2023 by STEVE POLLARD (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Moskowitz Posted June 22, 2023 Author Share Posted June 22, 2023 2 minutes ago, STEVE POLLARD said: Someone over on FB said it has a nickname already.... Mosko ? 😄 That someone needs to get a new joke writer!! That's the best he could come up with? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 2 minutes ago, Steve Moskowitz said: That someone needs to get a new joke writer!! That's the best he could come up with? It sure is interesting………personally, I would name the car “Double Flush”. Since I know Wayne and Ralph well, they won’t mind…..especially since I was so kind in my choice. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 That is about the ugliest car I've ever seen. 6 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 1 minute ago, JV Puleo said: That is about the ugliest car I've ever seen. Doesn't say much for the Le Sabre in which it seems to be emulating. I will submit that the Le Sabre is just as ubly. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 If I recall my high school German properly (it was over half a century ago?)? "Spohn" would most likely be pronounced with a long "O" and a nearly silent "H" like "phone" but with a very slight "hiss(?)" between the "O" and the "nnnnn". But I could be wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 It appears to be an acquired taste. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George K Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Maybe pronounced spawn as in the devils spawn. At least it’s resale red devilish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Steve Moskowitz said: This car built on a 39 Ford truck chassis Given my druthers I'd much druther have the Ford truck............Bob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31Buick96S Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Interesting conglomeration. Like many cars of the late 50’s, fins and jet plane styling seem to have been tacked onto the car. Not to my taste, but interesting nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) Sometimes custom coachbuilding goes horribly wrong...produces a gorpy hodgepodge. Edited June 23, 2023 by 58L-Y8 addendum comments (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkhammer Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Wow! I looked at that first photo of just the tail end in the trailer and thought "hey, that actually looks pretty cool", and then I scrolled down and saw the rest of the car. They should've had the designer that drew the rear 10% design the rest of the car! 😜 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 (edited) When designing a car like that, the possibilities are so vast-- outline, shape, details, color. And presumably, the designers are talented at their craft. So, of all the possible shapes and grille details, why do they come up with something like that? Can't they tell, from the first pencil sketch, that that concept is painfully ugly? Can't the owner or client tell them, or does he follow blindly too? "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," it's said, but few would say that this is the most beautiful car that could be made. Edited June 22, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 If the car was not such a bright color - more neutral , the outrageous abundance of exaggerated features would not be quite as noticeable as they are. Was that the original color on the car when it was built? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsmoke Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 I would never question the good intentions of the AACA folk in selecting cars for display. Sometimes it might even be nice to see a strange one, we can see lots of gorgeous ones. As for the Spohn, for many who stop by for a look, like me they will struggle to imagine just how it came to be and what folks were smoking back in '57. There is virtually nothing about it that makes design sense, be it the strange fins, that awful front bumper, that center nose on rear, the hi-low headlights and the 3 chrome pimples on each side. It's like someone toured a junkyard and grabbed the worst stuff from 1/2 dozen disparate cars and welded them together. But the wheels are nice! Will be interesting to hear what AACA visitors have to say. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, West Peterson said: Doesn't say much for the Le Sabre in which it seems to be emulating. I will submit that the Le Sabre is just as ubly. What makes the LeSabre special and unique is its engine. The engine that was compromised for Buicks V-8 of 1953. The LeSabre cylinder head was compromised from a Hemi to a 1/2 Hemi for production cost. among other minor things. Edited June 23, 2023 by Pfeil (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander Wildeisen Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3macboys Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 2 hours ago, wayne sheldon said: If I recall my high school German properly (it was over half a century ago?)? "Spohn" would most likely be pronounced with a long "O" and a nearly silent "H" like "phone" but with a very slight "hiss(?)" between the "O" and the "nnnnn". But I could be wrong. I thinking that it would be similar to sponson and yes, I've been wrong before and no doubt I'll be wrong again, just don't tell my wife 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30DodgePanel Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 Sure is buttiful The rare and unusual ones still deserve a place in auto history (good or bad). I'm guessing Wayne & Ralph lost a bet and we'll see more of this story in the near future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3macboys Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 I'm trying to piece the different parts together - center tail light looks to be 56 Ford, rear bumper corners 55 Cadillac. What else can you ID? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 7 minutes ago, 3macboys said: I'm trying to piece the different parts together - center tail light looks to be 56 Ford, rear bumper corners 55 Cadillac. What else can you ID? Porsche 356 doors. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, 3macboys said: I'm trying to piece the different parts together - center tail light looks to be 56 Ford, rear bumper corners 55 Cadillac. What else can you ID? I think that is exactly the problem! The designers tried to capture styling cues from disparate manufacturers and while they may work well on the original model (Cadillac exhausts through the bumper ends for example) scrambling them up in one design just doesn’t work… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 LeSabre concept: Pfeil, do you still have the diagrams of the supercharged 215 hemi that powered this car? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan G Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 I would drive it. Can't see the front from behind the wheel, anyway! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 6 minutes ago, rocketraider said: LeSabre concept: The face only a mother could love. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 And even its mother would have a tough time with the Spohn! But we have to acknowledge such cars' place in history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1957Birdman Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 Maybe it would look better with the convertible top up. Nah.... Lew Bachman 1957 Thunderbird Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted June 23, 2023 Share Posted June 23, 2023 6 hours ago, Marty Roth said: I have one or two of those rubber models around here somewhere Pictures please if you find them, Marty. Pretty sure I had one but it may have been modelled after the LeSabre. 6 hours ago, Marty Roth said: So, I wouldn't need to stick my orange (?) Union 76 Ball on the antenna, just like dozens of others in the same lot? An aside: my Mama got one of those orange 76 antenna balls for her 69 Impala, thinking being able to find her car quickly in a parking lot was a great idea. She and I went to Kmart on a Saturday morning, got there just before they opened at 10am. She put the orange ball on, and when we came out about an hour later, there was a sea of orange antenna balls in the Kmart parking lot. Mama didn't often say anything out of the way, but upon seeing all those orange balls, she said one word. "Damn". 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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