It is said that there are, now, more GTOs and split window Corvettes than ever left the factory new. Many have been fabricated from modified versions of less expensive but very similar models. This fact matters to a lesser degree when looking for a good driver and paying a good driver price. However, when authenticity and factual accuracy factor in as concerns for rarity, desirability and price, then, “provenance” becomes a major issue. Provenance describes the documentation of the history of ownership and authenticity of a valued object such as an automobile. Needless to say provenance determines in large part both the asking and selling price of a premium collectible automobile. It goes without saying the higher the price the more provenance becomes a factor.

To understand the many challenges in establishing provenance and the significance of making an accurate determination of provenance, Drivin’ News spoke with provenance expert Mr. Jeff Murray of Vintage Car Research, LLC.

Provenance – Uncovering your car’s backstory

What to do upon retirement often poses a significant challenge if facing 6-hours of golf a day for the rest of your life does not set your heart aflutter. When retiring as an attorney and college professor, Jeff Murray looked around his office and faced a library of vintage car books that he had started collecting in 1959. The bulb lit in his classic car filled brain and illuminated the idea for a company that would research classic car provenance. Thus was born Vintage Car Research, LLC. Its purpose would be to research the history of a rare vintage automobile for a client considering purchasing that automobile. In the subsequent 18-years Jeff’s idea has blossomed into both a profitable enterprise and a pursuit that affords him great satisfaction from working in a field built around a personal passion.

Jeff’s research sends him far and wide to pursue the many facets of his provenance research. His research covers identifying original production specifications, title searching, identifying true ownership, determining clear and clean title, possibility of a car being stolen, tracking down a previous owner and finding research material.

Jeff prefaces all his comments on the value of provenance research with this mantra for when buying a vintage car: Ready – Set – Aim – Fire. He bemoans that he has many customers who follow a different sequence. He says, “Ready, set, fire.” He references one gentleman who spent $200,000 on a Mid-sixties Corvette. Jeff says, “Never checked the provenance. He shows up at a Corvette show to have it judged. They showed him proof of its inauthenticity.”

Jeff points out another example. He says, A fellow brought me a Porsche supposedly worth $500,000. Car was a fake.” It had been entirely assembled from parts. It looked good but failed scrutiny. From this experience Jeff points out a very interesting feature about Serial numbers. He notes that whoever stamped the engine number used a proper number but used the wrong type font.

While on the subject of inauthentic serial numbers, Jeff identifies one of his most valuable resources on this topic to be firearms examiners. Jeff says one expert told him, “If a serial number is ground down you can always find the original.” The expert said, “It is not rocket science. Stamping reorganizes the molecules, and there’s always some evidence of the original stamping.”

In this case the firearms examiner came with his tools to inspect a 1969 Model Year vehicle. The inspector’s assessment was that the stamping was done the week before.

Jeff notes that Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN#) offer access to a mother lode of vehicle-specific data. Starting with the 1981 Model Year every new car in the world has a 17-digit VIN number.

Jeff says, “If you’re interested in buying a car, Google the four letters N-I-C-B.” It stands for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. There will be a place to enter the VIN number for the NICB VINCheck.” Jeff says, “Double check to make you’re your copied the VIN number correctly.” VINCheck is a free lookup service provided to the public to assist in determining if a vehicle has been reported as stolen, but not recovered, or has been reported as a salvage vehicle by participating NICB member insurance companies. As an additional benefit NICB sells a CDROM showing the location of VIN numbers for every car from 1937 to 2011. Jeff says, “It is $100 and includes a VIN# decoder.”

Another source providing title data may be found on the National Motor Vehicle Titling System www.vehicle history.gov/. This site offers several research services. Jeff uses InstaVIN. Examples of other valuable sources include the Corvette C1 registry (www.c1registry.com) or the XK Jaguar registry (www.xkdata.com) or the Porsche 356 registry (www.porsche356registry.org/). Many marques have similar registries.

Another rich resource for important vehicle information is what Jeff calls “The keeper of the flame. There is always somebody out there who knows a lot about the car you are researching. Almost every marque has one. Check with the specific marque club to find him or her.” That person keeps the interest in the vehicle alive. He keeps records. He will be pleased to answer the phone to satisfy a question about the vehicle that ignites his passion.

According to Jeff, “Don’t screw around with car titles.”  A car title is one of the most important documents because it is the legal form that formally makes you the owner of your vehicle. You receive a title whether you buy a new or used vehicle from a dealer or a private citizen. Jeff says, “When you buy a car you want the title. No title, No deal.”

A title will provide information such as identifying information for the vehicle such as the VIN number, make, model, and year. It will also provide technical information, such as the gross weight and the owner’s name and address.

Jeff says, “Clear title and clean title identify two very important descriptors when buying a car. A clean title means a car does not have a salvage title. A clear title means that the car has no liens or outstanding bank loans.

Jeff provided an example of the importance of knowing what title you are getting. Jeff described a call from a French investor. He has just bought a confirmed authentic 427 Cobra. It is crated up and ready to be shipped back to his home in France. The buyer tells Jeff he wants to confirm that the title is both clear and clean. Jeff says, “I checked very quickly by going to www.cscglobal.com/service/cls/ucc-search to check for liens in all 50 states.” For a small fee Jeff found out that the selling owner still owed $500,000 on the car. The buyer froze the deal until the lien was satisfied.

Finding and vetting people represents a challenge that often must be faced in researching a car. Jeff recommends a low cost system called Whitepages premium. They provide the current address, past addresses, land lines, mobile numbers and the person’s age. They can also do a reverse number search. He also recommends ancestry.com and in the UK genealogy.com.

If you suspect that the party you seek has passed away www.stevemorse.or/ssdi/ssdi/html offers, free, the Social Security Death Index. The index does not list a person until three years after their death.

Of equal or even greater value comes with vetting people with whom you may do business. Said another way, how can you prevent doing business with a felon? Jeff suggests www.searchsystems.net/springapp/premium as a source. However Jeff strongly recommends leaving this task to professionals. He says, “A good attorney is the best choice.”

Lastly Jeff finds rare books a priceless resource for which he does not wish to pay the price. He therefore recommends a resource called www.worldcat.com. To use, simply enter the book title in the search bar and up will come addresses of libraries having that book starting with the one closest to you. If the book resides in a far away library Jeff suggests calling the librarian and ask if they could do the research for you. Jeff has found librarians to be extraordinarily willing to assist.

So remember when buying a classic car – Ready, Set, Aim, Fire – and you will be far less likely to shoot yourself in the foot.

For some of us of a certain age, recalling the 1960s and 1970s rekindles recollections of passionate pursuits of cars we desperately wanted though not necessarily needed. In those days the path to finding a used high performance or collectible car passed through the dog eared pages of the regional Want Ad Press, the local newspaper classifieds or the classified section of the Sunday New York Times. Except for national magazines (Well beyond consideration for most of us) nothing else existed except maybe the bulletin board at the entrance to the local auto parts store, back when locally owned parts stores existed.

Want Ad Press

Back then good cars when advertised were gone in hours. Wildly eager to beat everyone else to that clean Corvette or 240Z or whatever it was that made our pulse race, we would impatiently troll the newsstand waiting for the bundle of Want Ad Presses to land at the curb. I personally spotted and followed a New York Times delivery truck until it reached its next stop at Rockland Stationers in Teaneck New Jersey to toss out its bundles of Sunday editions that contained the precious latest auto classified ads. It was 1:00 am on that Sunday morning.

Today the classic car buying world would be unrecognizable to our bell bottomed selves of yesterday. Choices of platforms for making vehicles available for sale fill communications channels some of which did not even exist a few years ago.

With that in mind Drivin’ News will take a look at today’s marketplace and compare the platforms now available for finding the vehicle we want. To help us in our journey will be friend of Drivin’ News, owner of Motorcar Manor and experienced classic car sales agent Matt Maisano.

Comparing classic car sales platforms

RM Sothebys auction

Today, whether looking to sell or to buy a classic or performance vehicle, the variety of platforms available offer significant choices far beyond anything we dreamed of in our early car buying days. A broad array of venues utilizing the full spectrum of available media exist with each platform possessing its own unique personality designed to appeal to a market segment with specific characteristics.

The mind boggles when considering how many classic vehicles change hands every day and the vast amounts of money associated with those transactions. It does not boggle the mind of any sentient being that with this vast amount of money in play that the number of platforms for advertising, promoting and facilitating these transactions in recent years has exploded. As always, with the introduction of choice comes the potential for confusion. In the days of the classified ad, the choices were few. Basically it fell to deciding what publication to choose for placing a few lines of copy and should a few extra dollars be spent to include a fuzzy black and white photo.

Matt Maisano of Motorcar Manor with Nash-Healey headed to Bonhams auction in Greenwich

Today websites, on–line auctions, in-person live auctions, social media (Facebook Market) and some print offer what can be a confusing constellation of choices when considering the best place to buy or sell a specific vehicle.

Matt Maisano of Motorcar Manor has for over a decade provided concierge services for classic and performance car enthusiasts looking to buy a car or sell a single car or a collection of classic cars.

Matt has extensive experience counseling on the purchase and sale of premium vehicles across the full spectrum spanning from vintage Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and Maseratis to American Muscle cars and low volume special edition vehicles such as Nash-Healeys and Kaiser-Darrins.

When asked about the state of the market, Matt simply says, “The classic car market is insane. Cars are selling like crazy.” Matt also says, “What some call modern classics are skyrocketing.” Matt considers Modern Classic Cars dating from 1982 on. He acknowledges that most consider the starting date as 2002.  Matt’s opinion about the overall market is mirrored by the latest Hagerty Market Rating for September 2021. Hagerty says, “As we near the end of the second Covid Summer, it’s amazing the difference a year can make. This time last year, the rating was at an all time low, but now the Hagerty Market Rating has increased for a sixth consecutive month to its highest point in over 5 years. After a strong showing at Monterey, auction activity is back to pre-pandemic levels and optimism among our industry experts is at its highest point in over seven years.”

Gooding Company Auction

Without a doubt the expanded democratization of the buying process has benefitted from Covid’s creation of legions of bored, house bound people. Exploring the web, these home bound denizens of the internet armed with computers and money discovered the excitement of online bidding. Game on. An equally important contribution to expanding the market has come courtesy of the increasing number of venues affording access to the buying and selling process and the ease each brings to that process.

Clearly, today, websites and live in-person events dominate the business of selling collectible vehicles. They have almost totally replaced print. Websites, on-line auctions, live auctions and to some degree social media in the form of Facebook Market presently reign as the preeminent players.

While the opportunity still exists to place an ad in print, newspapers and penny savers no longer have much value. Print ads are best placed in auto themed national publications, marque specific club publications and the still reigning king of print car ads, Hemmings Motor News. While Hemmings Motor News still stands as a worthy go-to resource, most other placements do not have the broad reach of the web or pack the concentrated sales power of an auction whether in-person live or online.

For the lower end of the market websites are where much of the  action is. Sites like eBay, Facebook marketplace (Craig’s list), Classic Car.com. and Classics.Auto Trader.com offer affordable access to mostly five figure collectibles.

Bring a Trailer website

P-Car Market website

Certainly some sites rank higher, sometimes, significantly higher than others. Two that have lost much of their early luster are eBay and Craig’s List. eBay, infected with so many scams, and petty annoyances has turned a lot of people off. Though it still has national reach it has suffered from a considerable decline in respect and business. As for Craig’s list, Facebook Marketplace basically has eaten Craig’s lunch. Facebook Marketplace offers a lot of vehicles and benefits. Most significantly it integrates with Facebook’s huge   audience’s social media activities. With people constantly on their phone it offers a powerful opportunity for passive exposure. Most appealing, it costs nothing.

Classics.Autotrader.com provides a collectibles version of the traditional Autotrader site. Both work the same way. When looking for a vehicle one simply keystrokes in the what you are looking for and the site calls up any matching vehicle from its large inventory of actively available cars.

However, significant short comings exist for these low cost platforms that can hinder getting a true a understanding of the vehicle. Content suffers from the amateur writing and photographic skills of most individuals placing the ads. Information is incomplete compared to on-line auctions or in-person auctions. Supporting photographs are few, maybe 30 at most. Asking price often suffers from amateur best guesses or hopeful dreams. As well placing a car on the site can produce a frustrating bevy of time wasting tire kickers and robocalls offering to help sell your car.

Autotrader.com website

For Autotrader.com the fee for placing an ad depends on the term and ranges between $40 and $100.

Classiccar.com offers a site functionally similar to Classics.Autotrader.com but provides a dedicated site rather than an offshoot from the main site. As such classiccars.com is probably a better bet for your tri-five Chevy.

On-line auction sites have truly been where the action is. Established with an offering of three cars in 2014, the Bring a Trailer on-line auction has become the gold standard of digital on-line auction platforms. This year BaT has over 450,000 users and 200,000 bidders. Both figures continue to grow. In 2019 BaT sold over 11,000 cars. In 2020 BaT car sales exceeded $400 million. For 2021 both numbers are trending significantly higher.

While BaT has some issues it is widely considered the go-to site. BaT features an inexpensive listing fee of $99 and an optional added $250 if photo service is desired. With listings running for 7 or 10 days depending on the car, BaT offers a significant benefit for a seller with the ease it provides for posting hundreds of photos of the car from every angle as well as videos showing a walk-around or the car being test driven. No sales website offers that. In theory and most often in practice, this extensive visual reference reduces the need for a distant buyer to personally inspect the car, though a PPI (Pre-purchase Inspection) is always advisable if possible.

A downside to BaT results from its success. First your car must be accepted. Just cause you want to list on BaT does not mean your car will be accepted. A bit of work goes into the submission process. Then, if you want a reserve it requires negotiating with a BaT staff member. Finally if you pass all of the hurdles, you will have to get on a significant line and wait for weeks or months to have your listing posted.

Buyers pay a 5% fee on top of the final sale price to BaT, with a minimum of $250, and capped at $5,000.

Unlike websites with cars for sale the BaT and all other on-line auctions have a bidding process that usually lasts seven days. One nice feature of BaT is that, unlike eBay, sniping with a last second bid is prevented by having two minutes added to the bidding time after any last minute bid.

1999 Ferrari 355 Spyder headed for BaT

One element initiated by BaT and unique to on-line auctions is the comments section. Here users can write comments about a car that has been listed. While some comments provide constructive insights about a car, Matt says, “Primarily on Bring a Trailer, you definitely have people bid a $1,000 on a car just so they can claim that they’ve bid on cars before just to do comments. Some of which are just ridiculous. You know they had one situation or  heard from a friend. They write as if they were experts. The downside is that you get guys with the negative comments. They could hurt the sale. It takes one comment from a guy trying to sound like an expert that kills the sale.”

On-line auction fees compare very favorably to the 10% to 12% charge common to in-person live auctions.

New on-line auction sites playing off the highly successful BaT model appear on the scene with regularity. The most popular include Cars and Bids, Hemmings, P-Car Market and RADwood. All impart their own special flavor to BaT functionality.

Cars & Bids spun off from the large following of blog personality, the knowledgeable and entertaining, Doug DeMuro. C&B adapts the basic functionality of BaT with its own special treatment. C&B limits itself to listing vehicles it describes as anything cool and exciting from the 1980s to 2020s. As well, playing off the popularity of DeMuro, your vehicle, if selected, will benefit from the extra eyes and extra buyers DeMuro will bring to your listing by reviewing your car on C&B.

Barrett-Jackson Auction

Less expensive than BaT, Cars & Bids buyers pay a 4.5% commission, capped at $4,500. Sellers list for free and receive 100% of the sale price.

Reading the hand-writing on the digital wall, historic friend to the collectible car enthusiast, Hemmings, entered the on-line auction fray in 2019. Basically conforming to the Bat functionality with less of the BaT panache, Hemmings Auctions offers anyone listing on the auction six months of Hemmings classified ad space for free if the car does not sell at auction during its 14-day listing. To qualify for a Hemmings auction, the car must be roadworthy and you must submit to an assessment with a listing specialist.

Hemmings auction listings offer an eclectic mix of vehicles  across a range with some modern but usually more classic cars including brass era every once in a while. Listing backlog is usually two to three weeks. Far better than BaT. The seller’s cost to list is $99.95. Buyers pay 5% with a minimum of $500 and a $10,000 maximum.

P-Car Market initially started as a dedicated Porsche site, but now, they do everything. Sellers have a choice of listing options and associated fees ranging from $99 for either a traditional Reserve or No Reserve listing to $500 for a Blind Auction that hides the bid amounts until the reserve is met. Buyers pay a 5% non-refundable buyer’s premium with a (minimum of $500.00 and a maximum of $5,000.

RADwood presents a platform focused on the automotive lifestyle and culture of the 80s and 90s. It will list cars, trucks and motorcycles from 1980 through 1999. Sellers pay from $45 to $125 based on the terms of the listing. Duration ranges from 7 to 10 days. Buyers pay 4.5% with a minimum hold of $150 and a maximum of $4500.

Mecum Auction

In-Person live auctions represent the red carpet events of the classic car selling world. Gooding, R&M Sothebys, Bonhams, Barrett-Jackson, Russo & Steel and Mecum represent the big players with many other smaller operations filling the field. The big auctions present elaborate shows rich with theatrics and a robust party atmosphere often tied to a high visibility event such as Amelia or Pebble Beach. Though the auction itself is a destination.

Every auction has a personality expressed by the nature of the cars it fields. Matt says, “Gooding – High end more modern cars, race cars, 1970-80-90. German, M-B, Porsche, Ferrari. Not brass. RM Sothebys –  Top notch venue, older vehicles Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Jaguar, a good mix. Bonhams – Similar to RM. Mix, 60s and older, more brass, some RH drive. Barrett-Jackson – Muscle cars or a restomod. Traditional American classic cars. At certain locations. You might be able to get a foreign sports car in there but you’re not selling a 356 Porsche Speedster at Barrett-Jackson. Mecum – basically the same as Barrett-Jackson, except one advantage that makes Mecum different is you can put a reserve on a car where at Barrett-Jackson you can’t. Russo & Steel – Mix, modern, high mileage Ferraris.

Bonhams Auction

Live In-Person auctions possess a visceral electricity because you have buyers in the room. Matt says, ”The buyers are there nine times out of ten. They do have bidders on the internet and on the phone, but essentially the buyers are there.” Auction houses typically do a great job in marketing. They will market an event, three to four months in advance. Matt says, “They’re going to market individual cars as well as the event itself. For example, look at this great Bugatti that’s going to be auctioned.”

At an In-Person Live auction the auctioneers are professionals and experts in their field. They have gone through every car and know everything about each specific car going through auction. Matt says, “A potential bidder can ask them a million questions without having to go to the owner where the owner is emotionally attached to the car and might embellish things. The auctioneer will tell you everything you want to know without any of the stories,  smoke, and mirrors.

Here one can find the truly unique and special high value vehicles. Matt says, “Chances are the individual considering buying that car already knows about that car. They already know who owns it. Now that potential bidder may talk to the auctioneer and discuss everything about that car. He might be able to take it for a test drive. The auctioneer is going to relate the entire history of the car. And again, these cars are vetted by the auction house. They’ve gone through it. They know everything about it. They’re not going to put in a Bugatti that potentially is not a real Bugatti.”

While it is often felt that a vehicle can sell for more at an In-Person Live auction, compared to other platforms buyers fees are considerable. Until recently the buyer’s premium stood at ten percent. Matt says, “Now from my understanding certain locations have gone up to 12%. It depends on where. Scottsdale is 12%. I think Amelia Island is 12%. I’m going to say, Greenwich is probably still 10 percent.”

Regardless of the platform selected when looking to purchase a collectible vehicle the best advice is to do your research, make a plan, set a budget and, most important, exercise discipline.

A number of weeks back Drivin’ News took a look at the birth and adolescence of the printed new car brochure from 1900 up to World War II.

Mirroring the explosive advancement in automobile design and execution as the Depression ebbed, the new car brochure came of age just as the world plunged into global warfare.

The creative outpouring poised to blossom in automotive literature would stall until millions of men and women would march off to war to save the world from the greatest tyranny civilization had ever faced.

Marked by the exhilaration born of war’s end, American consumerism exploded with an insatiable appetite for things decidedly modern, exciting and innovative.

With a population exhibiting a manifest destiny-like determination to create a better future, the years following WWII ushered in the dawn of the pinnacle period for a dominant American automobile culture and the accompanying golden age of the new car brochure.

As noted in Part I, the dawn of 21^st century digital delivery efficiencies would doom the high quality, brilliantly photographed, aesthetically striking and increasingly expensive print bibles of the new car sales effort.

In Part II, Drivin’ News looks back at the high point of the new car brochure genre in the latter 20^th and early 21^st Centuries.

Evolution of the new car brochure, Paper to Pixel –

Books that sold the American dream

(Part II 1946 to 2010)

1952 Buick brochure

Just like the postwar automobiles they featured, new car brochures in the 1950s radiated a bold vitality with vibrant colors and striking presentations. They embodied the fruits of greater graphic design sophistication, the ready availability of high quality art and the emergence of photography as a powerful creative tool. Brochures grew in size. Artistic representations of new car models grew in size and in scale when compared to the stature of their blissfully confident diminutive drivers and passengers.

Lifestyle dominated every spread with family an important theme. Images on the page in the fifties displayed greater color saturation but continued to be lacking in detail due to period limitations of the printing process.

By the mid-1950s four-color photography gathered support as a tool considered superior to high-end illustration as a source of hero imagery. Research decidedly favored photography over illustration as the superior technique for delivering visual impact.

1956 Thunderbird brochure

Post WWII America, confident, motivated and determined, embraced the automobile. The automobile empowered millions to fuel the explosive growth of suburbs where they could enjoy the fruits of their efforts and live the good life. It was a life vividly displayed throughout period new car brochures. 1950s new car brochures not only sold cars, they trumpeted the achievable rewards of pursuing the postwar American Dream.

1960s to 1974, Muscle cars to gas lines

1960s drag racing

As all those postwar babies started growing up, American culture would convulse through seismic shifts that reconfigured social, environmental and automotive values. Early on, muscle cars burst onto the scene sparking an intense love affair with power, performance and aggressive automotive design. Horsepower wars sounded a steady and loud drum beat heralding escalating competition on the track and on the street. At the same time other Americans gave their hearts and loyalty to small cars especially the Volkswagen. In many ways consensus splintered as perspectives and paths diverged. However, by decades end with environmental and safety restrictions winding down the horsepower, performance and land yacht party, the stage was set for the last nail in the coffin of the mid-century performance joy ride. Enter “The gas crisis.” For new car brochures it was, at first, the best of times and then abruptly the worst of times.

The 1960s witnessed photography supplant illustration as the dominant source of new car brochure imagery. That changing of the guard coincided with two partnerships that stood above all others as giants in the history of automotive promotional imagery.

Fitzpatrick and Kaufman Pontiac art

Illustrators Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman and Boulevard Photographic founders Jimmy Northmore and Mickey McGuire reside in the pantheon of automotive artistry. Fitzpatrick created deliciously distorted visualizations that powerfully expressed a stylized vision of a vehicle’s attributes. Kaufman, a former Disney animator, created evocative lifestyle imagery employing exotic places and attractive, active people. The two then collaborated to combine their separate creations. They did so brilliantly. Their work in creating and promoting Pontiac’s “Wide Track” promotional imagery stands as the signature representation of their artistic genius. In viewing Fitzpatrick’s and Kaufman’s work, most notably for Pontiac from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, there is no doubt who did it.

Boulevard Photographic towered as a creative force thriving on photographic challenges. Boulevard, powered by the collective visionary genius of Northmore and McGuire, literally willed photography into the forefront of automobile commercial imagery.

Printing’s ability to put ink on paper improved significantly during the 1970s as did the finishing process. Breathtaking imagery and exciting graphic design supported by exquisite typography transformed the new car brochure into a dynamic sales tool that offered a new fresh perspective.

Powerful photographic images displaying a driver’s point of view demonstrated a greater emphasis on interior design. The use of coated glossy paper stock with a richer feel became more prevalent. Full color gatefolds pulled out for more powerful presentations.

During this period American showrooms witnessed the appearance of foreign cars, predominantly European. Initially brochure work for imports reflected a conservative approach to layout with design featuring photography that offered a straight forward depiction of a product usually fairly well devoid of romance. This would change as American attitudes towards brochure imagery migrated to Europe. To quote Mickey McGuire of Boulevard Photographic, “We introduced Europeans to sex and romance…at least as far as car advertising is concerned.”

Boulevard Photographic photo for Jaguar

1975 to `1990, The thrill is gone

By the mid-1970s the execution of the traditional automobile new car brochure had reached a point of maturity in design, production and printing. Brochure production had found its groove. The automobile business, on the other hand, was anything but groovy. America’s gas crisis of 1973 and the ensuing 1975 government CAFÉ standards disoriented an automobile industry already stumbling in its response to the restrictions imposed by the creation of the NHTSA in 1966 and the Clean Air Act of 1968.  America’s automobile marketplace would, now, for the most part, offer for sale smaller, slower, often odd looking and frequently badge engineered products often at odds with the traditional interests of the new car buyer.

1982 Cadillac Cimarron

For the new car brochure, the challenge was daunting. Faced with significantly less steak to sell, new car brochures offered a double dose of sizzle with efforts that often emphasized and aggrandized the trivial. Copy sought every possible way to impart excitement to features like smaller engines, overdrive, improved efficiency, weight reduction and the mini-spare. In these dark times for automotive excitement the new car brochure served as the metaphorical “Potamkin Village” of automobile marketing.

After 1975, new car brochures grew larger as horsepower and vehicle dimensions shrank. Bold photography of boring cars filled oversized brochure pages. Striking gatefolds, improved printing, sophisticated page coatings, and perfect bindings did their best to infuse anemic products with life. For some niche brands such as Volvo, the new age of increased safety awareness and clean air concerns benefited sales.

1986 Volvo brochure touting safety cage

Volvo trumpeted its safety design and Lambda-sond emissions control with showroom brochures that were well executed but reserved, just like the brand. Others such as GM suffered from short cut attempts that resulted in underpowered and unreliable diesel engines and unadvertised brand mingling of parts that resulted in embarrassing and apologetic mea culpa copy. However, on the horizon technological advancements in materials, technology and design brought hopes for the light at the end of the dark tunnel of boring cars. However, for the traditional new car brochure, that light would be attached to a distant but onrushing train.

1990s to Today  – Evolution to Revolution

The 1990s ushered in three transformational forces that would challenge the very existence of the new car brochure.

• Digitization of print design and production
• Elevated environmental consciousness
• Rise of the web

DIGITAL REVOLUTION

Revolutions produce casualties. Digital revolutions are no different. By the turn of the 20th century dead professions littered the field of print design and production. The old ways stood defenseless before the powerful onslaught of digital technology. Digital-based desktop publishing, PageMaker in particular, by the start of this new century would dominate print design and production. Simultaneously CGI or Computer Generated Imagery revolutionized image creation resulting in a profound change in creating product photography. By the early 2000s, CGI made it unnecessary to have the real car to produce a high quality photograph of the car.

Computer generated Image (CGI)

With CGI, brochure images, at most, only needed a background into which a CGI created car image could be placed. As well, the first decade of the 2000s witnessed the ascendance of digital photography (No film, no Polaroids, no processing, no waiting). At the same time, Photoshop revolutionized image modification. Now an already digitally produced photo could be manipulated to reflect a designer’s vision, if not reality.

By the second decade of the 21^st century digital presses employing Variable Data Printing equipped a print run to personalize each individual brochure to target a different person. Digital printing quickly supplanted traditional print for short runs and variable data applications.

By 2010, technology allowed for a digitally created PDF of a brochure to be posted to a website where anyone with a web connection and a color printer could download and print the brochure. While of significantly lower quality than a professionally printed brochure, the download gave manufacturers a significantly cheaper alternative to the printed brochure.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Environmental concerns as related to printed matter first moved to the fore in middle 1990s new car brochures. Initially some new car brochures would contain copy proclaiming their efforts to be environmentally responsible.  Next, recycling Icons showed up on back covers. With the dawn of the 2010s the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) icon approached ubiquity on new car brochures. A voluntary program, The Forest Stewardship Council set standards for responsible forest management.

As we approached the third decade, “carbon footprint” has stepped to the fore in the environmental conversation with profound implications for the printed new car brochure and its important role as a messenger of history for future generations.

A peek at the future may have been provided by a columnist for the Wall Street Journal covering a recent World Economic Forum in Davos. He was informed by an aide at the registration  desk that, ”no paper maps of the town were being distributed to reduce the event’s carbon footprint.”

We will return to the implications of that mindset shortly.

THE WEB

Around the late 1990s web addresses began quietly appearing on new car brochure back pages. Initially, websites peacefully coexisted with 1-800 customer service numbers and Business Reply Cards. However, as a new, fertile and promising mediascape for creative applications, websites were quickly embraced and thrived. By the mid-2000s the auto industry fully embraced the power of the web. By the early teens the auto industry harnessed the web with QR codes, e-brochures, configurators and social media networks.

Mercedes-Benz social media page in 2007 brochure

Social media rapidly expanded its influence into automobile marketing. Model year 2012 saw icons for Facebook, Twitter and You Tube prominent on back covers. By 2015 social media had fully embedded itself in the new car buying experience.

Virtual reality headset

Today, analytics reign supreme like a metric tail wagging the marketing dog as manufacturers struggle to harness the potential power resident in the available flood of marketing and social media data. Tomorrow is already knocking on the door with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality applications.

Looking Ahead – The Perfect Storm

Digitization, carbon footprint and the web, Is this the perfect storm that will doom the new car brochure as the ubiquitous sales tool for enticing new car prospects. In a word, yes.

What does the future have in store for the new car brochure? At present, there appears two divergent paths.

For most mass market product lines, the print new car brochure has been replaced by the downloadable e-brochure. Alternatively, hypercar brands distinguished by their performance and exclusivity will offer premium, frequently hard cover print pieces. However, rather than traditional new car brochures, these pieces offer detailed and exciting brand profiles employing production values consistent with the superior quality of the exclusive product.

e-brochure

In our current world where bean counters outrank any individual concerned with quality at the cost of an extra nickel spent, the life prospects of the print brochure equate with the proverbial snow ball’s chance in hell. The wasted money from discarding outdated literature in inventory, the inability to immediately adjust to product changes and the cost of printing and shipping in the face of digital technology efficiencies ensured the rapid disappearance of the new car brochure.

As with all profound changes, the law of unintended consequences rears its head in the disappearance of the new car brochure. While not the intent of the manufacturers, its value as a meaningful record of history cannot be dismissed.

Archiving solutions may require museums and libraries to develop closer relationships with manufacturers in the hope that the OEMs can transfer files to ensure that our museums and libraries have the digital records necessary to continue the valuable role new car brochures fulfilled as messengers of future automotive history.

Many things that were once commonplace, today, we now hold dear for their rarity. Such things as having a live and informed person respond quickly when we call customer service, or an auto parts store owned by a family not a franchise or a gas station attendant not speaking on an ear bud to a friend 10,000 miles away, all were once accepted as a given.

Now for those of us old enough to remember a time when superior craftsmanship merited respect and a plentitude of business, we sadly note the dwindling presence of those practicing craftsmen. That so few of these skilled experts at combining art and engineering exist seems incomprehensible in a way that shocks our sensibilities.

Drivin’ News believes in the importance of recognizing the remaining gifted and dedicated craftsmen who sustain our passion for the enjoyment and preservation of classic vehicles. Meet Charlie Olsen, owner of Olsen Engines.

The man they trust to rebuild history

Charlie Olsen with Ferrari Daytona engine

Disarmingly genial and engaging, Charlie Olsen resides within the sparse ranks populating the pantheon of active “go-to” machinists and classic vehicle engine rebuilders.

Charlie Olsen working on Honda 250cc engine

Though chockablock with exotic engines, parts and pieces, Charlie’s Olsen Engines shop somehow projects a reassuring sense of confident orderliness. Since opening for business in 1982 Olsen Engines, has been entrusted by some of the world’s most famous people and most respected professionals to work on some of the world’s most treasured automobile, motorcycle and inboard marine engines.

Maintaining a shockingly youthful exuberance for his passion to bring mortally wounded high performance and exotic engines back from the dead, 67-year old Charlie was born to excel at the work he loves.

Charlie says, “I always had a love for gas engines. By eight or nine-years old I was fixing all of the lawn mowers on the block.” If he found a mower that did not run, he would make it run. By the age of twelve Charlie had graduated to motorcycles. He says, “I bought some old cycles cheap and got them to run.” From then on Charlie’s budding talents for curing the ills of anything that ran on gas blossomed into full bloom.

Ferrari 4-Cylinder

In high school a stint at a local gas station exposed him to the challenges of rebuilding transmissions. He excelled. By 1976 Charlie’s employer at the time, Competition Research of Nyack, New York, closed and a Suzuki dealership took its placed. Charlie accepted the new owner’s invitation to stay and took the opportunity to work on the dealership’s motorcycles and the cars that the owner raced. The experience allowed Charlie to hone his engine rebuilding skills. When the Suzuki dealership closed in 1982, Charlie took over the facility, opened Olsen Engines and the rest is history.

When entering Charlie’s shop one never knows what museum worthy piece of motoring history will be awaiting final touches in advance of shipping. On one prior visit when I was bringing the heads for my 1961 Corvette small block to be rebuilt, I spotted three extraordinary and completed engines poised to bring to life significant examples of the mid-twentieth century’s golden age of motoring.

Glickenhaus GT40

All painted, plated and perfect, there sat a 1972 V-12 for a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, a 331 cu. in. hemi for the first Chrysler 300 and a truly rare Aurelio Lampredi designed dual distributor 4-cylinder for a mid-fifties Ferrari 750 Monza. For Olsen, these extraordinary power plants intended for automotive royalty represented just another day. More about these gems later.

Emblematic of Charlie’s easy going self-effacing nature, he explains his philosophy saying, “I just try to do it as best as I can, maybe try to do it even better than I have done it before. Certainly I want to do it better than anyone else.”

When asked about the difficulty of working on a vintage engine that he may never have seen before, Charlie’s response innocently betrays his humility in addressing how his natural gifts,

Ferrari Daytona

years of experience and work ethic inform his approach to accurately resurrecting a piece of engineering history.

He says, “It is all about paying attention to detail.” He speaks about the existence of subtle nuances present with every engine. He says, “If you know of them it becomes mechanical. You can figure it out. After all a four-stroke engine is a four-stroke engine.”

When asked about the kind of nuances other people might miss Charlie easily rolls off a litany of subtle yet meaningful attributes. They include cylinder wall finish, honing procedures, valve guide material, valve seat material, material used in cylinder heads, fastener torque, sizing for crank bearings and roundness of main bores and rod bores.

Chrysler 300

In applying his expertise for famous restoration shops and famous people like Billy Joel, Jim Glickenhaus (Glickenhaus Collection), Craig

Jackson (Barrett-Jackson), Ralph Lauren, Michael Strahan and David Letterman among many others, Charlie has put his stamp on extraordinary milestones in automotive history.

Over its almost 40 years in business, Olsen Engines has seen a wide diversity of exotic and historically significant engines pass through the hands of Charlie. The following examples offer a taste of the performance bounty that has benefitted from Charlie’s touch.

1966 Ford GT40

In sorting out the exact provenance, it has been represented that this big block GT40 identified

Ferrari 750 Monza

as car #4 was one of the three that finished one, two, three at LeMans in 1966. Later research may have indicated that it was one that ran in 1967. At that time of the rebuild it was the only one of the GT40s that had the engine rebuilt. It had been sent to Charlie to do balance work, crank work and block work

Mid-1950s Ferrari 750 Monza

Though a 3-liter 4-cylinder, the engine was a strong performer that ran nearly as fast as the V-12 cars. Charlie says, “I just did the top end. I was getting the clearances right on the bevel drive for the whole front of the engine with the bevel drive operating the generator and both distributors. That engine had two distributors. Finally I had to set up the valve clearances.

That engine was pretty different because it’s a roller cam. It was something I had never come across before.”

Vector

1955 Chrysler 300

Charlie has done a number of early hemis. He says, “They have their idiosyncrasies, a couple of little oiling issues and strength issues.” For the most part the ones he has done were rebuilt for stock performance.

Ferrari 166M

Powering a very rare Ferrari, this engine comes from a late 1940’s model produced before Enzo Ferrari got into the street car business. With a 2-liter Colombo V-12, It’s intention was for racing in events such as the Mille Miglia. Charlie says, “The small bore, small stroke Colombo engine was quite interesting.”

The old Colombo style valve springs on it offered a very unusual “mousetrap” design.

Ferrari 166M

It differs from your usual coil because the spring has two arms that come around to hold the valve up.

1990s Vector

Currently Charlie has turned his attention to the engine of a very interesting rare supercar from the early 1990s, a Vector. The 358 cu.in. fuel injected Chevrolet power plant features a twin-turbocharged design. Charlie says, “ I think there may only be 10 or so of these cars in existence.”

Honda 250cc motorcycle engine

This six cylinder motorcycle engine represents one of only three made and the only one not in the Honda museum.

Raced in 250cc class and GP motorcycle racing during the early 1970s, it is a 250cc, 6-cylinder, four-valves per cylinder engine with a 7-speed transmission. It idles at about 11,000 RPM and will run up to seventeen or eighteen thousand RPMs.

Big Block Grenades

Charlie has done his part for outrageous engines with four figure horsepower builds. He built a number of 2,000 HP turbocharged and blown race engines for Camaros and Mustangs. However, his most vivid description of work he did he describes as “Big Block Grenades.”

Reasons for a rebuild

Charlie recalls in the 1990s how clients for really high horsepower drag race engines wanted to have 4 to 6 thousandths of main clearance. Charlie recalls, “The customers wanted to have a bit more freedom to allow things to move around inside the engine.” Charlie continues, “ I would take these engines apart and you could just see how hard the engines had been working.” At the most these engines stood to hold up for 10 to maximum 20 runs.

Often in engine building the topic of balancing and blueprinting comes up. Charlie certainly shared some interesting insights. He says, “Back in the 1980s when I was running in the IMSA Fire Hawk series I could go through blue printing processes on a 305 cu. in. 200 HP Chevy small block and get an additional 125 HP without changing any parts.” It simply stood as a matter of maximizing compression within the rules and getting all cylinders equal. He did a lot of flow test work to achieve that balance.

Balancing called for individually balancing all rotating and reciprocating parts both statically and dynamically for the smoothest possible operation. Blueprinting called for rebuilding an engine to the precise OEM specs by re-machining each component to the precise measurement in the factory blueprint.

In discussing engine rebuilding for 21^st century modern engines Charlie says, He does not recommend rebuilding an engine for a stock production vehicle. He recommends simply buying a new engine.” Interestingly Charlie says that OEM production techniques have improved so much that modern engines are close to blueprint quality due to the superior production and inspection technology used today.

In reflecting on the his ongoing goals Charlie says, “I hope I never stop learning. I hope that I can always keep trying to improve so that my engine work reflects the pinnacle of my capabilities.” Smiling and showing a sliver of self-satisfaction Charlie says, “I just love it. It’s a passion.”

In reflecting on his future Charlie says, “I’m thinking about slowing down a little bit and maybe just taking on, you know, a couple of projects a year. However, I don’t think I’m gonna ever stop as long as I am capable of doing the work.” Flashing a big grateful smile He says, “I just love the diversity of all the different engines that I get to work on. Almost every day I get something unique come through the door.”

While Charlie acknowledges that what he does can be taught, he clearly believes that, like the art of great musicians, much of the magic he brings to his work is realized through gifts with which he was born.

Undeniably, audiences of classic car owners and drivers revere the tune that an engine rebuilt by Charlie Olsen sings on open roads and closed tracks alike.

Please allow me this digression from my normal Drivin’ News themes.

Recently while at the gym I encountered a friend who is both a dedicated nurse and a thoughtful student in the school of “what’s happening now.” Our conversation quickly evolved to acknowledging a disturbing undercurrent that stains the space in time that the collective “we” presently occupies. Much like a disquieting subsonic tone, it seems to reside on the edge of our consciousness while shaping the character of the times in which we live. “I pray every day,” she said.

Yes, Covid certainly exacerbated it, but only like a hobo joining a disparate cohort all hitching a ride on the same runaway train. Though many among us acknowledge our gratitude for what we have, few if any seem to be blowing noisemakers at a party thrown by life. It seems that the content, perspectives and attitudes dominating our culture’s information channels and shaping the zeitgeist offer little solace to the inner “us” that seeks joy and peace and benefits from the emotions generated by words like love, inspiration, happiness and hope. That inner, decent us, longs for sanctuary from a steady diet of self-doubt, disappointment, anger, betrayal, anxiety, conflict and a host of other unhealthy negative feelings foisted upon us by our environment and our own thoughts. It creates a lens through which we view the world, shape our future life and potentially harm ourselves. What to do?

Personally, I pulled the emergency cord on my life train and stepped off to attend a retreat and explore the unconventional beliefs of a visionary neuroscientist. I would experience a week with 12 to 14 hour days of high intensity immersion in the power of meditation and mindfulness at an event entitled “Piercing the Veil.” The following thoughts are not intended as the advocacy of an apostle. I retain a healthy skepticism. However, they do represent the impressions gained by an open mind exposed to beliefs once dismissed by a scientific community that is now taking a very serious second look.

Meet Dr. Joe Dispenza, doctor, scientist and, for some with a metaphysical streak, modern mystic.

Exploring our power within

Clinging for dear life to the front bumper of a speeding Ford Bronco seems like a curious point of origin for a revolutionary vision with the potential to profoundly advance the physical and psychological betterment of the human species.

It began in the biking leg of a California triathlon in 1986. Trim and fit, 23-year old Dr. Joe Dispenza cranked through the corner as the police officer waved him on. No one saw the red Bronco fast approaching. It hit Dispenza’s bicycle square from behind sending him airborne forward. Not slowing, the Bronco kept coming hitting him again. He clung to the front bumper till the elderly driver came to a stop.

Attending physicians found six broken vertebrae, compression fractures in the spine spanning from the shoulder blades to the kidneys with the damage compounded by a large amount of shattered fragments pushed toward Dispenza’s spinal cord. Their findings presented a harrowing expression of skeletal devastation. Numbness, tingling and difficulty executing basic movements accompanied the physical damage.

Attending physicians left no doubt. Repair would require cutting away damaged vertebrae and then screwing and clamping two twelve inch stainless steel roads along both sides of Dispenza’s spinal column. Left unrepaired the spine would collapse if left to bear his body weight resulting in paralysis from the chest down.

Dr. Joe Dispenza

However, Dispenza says, “I decided against the expert’s pronouncements.” Dispenza held a strong belief in an intelligence, an invisible consciousness that maintains, protects and heals each one of us every moment. He would test his beliefs with his life. He decided that he would take his attention off the external world and focus within himself to connect with that healing power.

Nine and one half weeks after the accident Dispenza walked back into his life having no body cast or surgery. At twelve weeks the recently shattered tri-athlete had returned to training and weight lifting.

Those 3 months launched Dr. Joe Dispenza on a journey of discovery and enlightenment that at first met with contemptuous disregard by traditional scientists. Now, decades later, recognized for its profound promise to promote healing and mental health, Dispenza’s carefully documented findings find themselves the subject of serious research by respected scientific and academic institutions worldwide.

Much like taking a drink from a fire hose, the torrent of data and profound experiences associated with my week long exposure would quickly overwhelm the ability of this brief overview to provide a properly thorough explanation. Thus, I will selectively address subjects I find meaningful as well as provide links affording a deeper understanding of the limitless possibilities that exist when the mind, body, and spirit—of both an individual and a community—merge into one field of consciousness.

MEDITATION

An eclectic gathering of 1500 people filled the Gaylord Resort ballroom. The vibe given off by the group filled the room with a an eager anticipation and a visceral sense that they would be experiencing something special. Indeed they would.

Meditation resides at the heart of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s efforts to revolutionize how people can develop and call upon the natural power resident in the human mind and body. As Dispenza says, “the purpose of meditation is to move beyond the analytical mind so you can access your subconscious mind, That’s crucial since the subconscious is where all the bad habits and behaviors that we want to change can be found.”

Dispenza’s life changing recovery experience that sighted the path for his future teachings taught him to put all of his conscious attention on the intelligence of his body and give it a plan with very specific orders. Having done that he would surrender his healing to that greater mind as he honed his meditative capability to tap the mind’s unlimited power.

I did not come to this retreat as a seasoned meditater or, frankly, a meditater of any kind. However, I certainly left with a profound respect for the power and the promise of the practice.

For individuals such as my self, meditation represented a passive means for escaping the day’s slings and arrows. In the hands of Dispenza, however, it has been transformed into a mental earth moving tool with the power to reconfigure the world you experience. Dispenza had us meeting at 4:00 am and put us through breathing exercises to keep us on the brink of sleep to get the benefit of optimum early morning hormonal balance for a special meditation. During the week we meditated seated, walking, laying down and standing.

Dispenza views the arena where our lives play out as an expression of one of two worlds. Depending on how we chose to live our life the choice offers either a Newtonian world (named after the view of the physical world advanced by Sir Isaac Newton of the falling apple fame) or the curious world of quantum physics.

In essence The Newtonian world offers a predictable future based on the old model of reality as a subject of cause and effect. It is all about waiting for something outside of us to change how we feel inside of us.

However, the curious world of the quantum field states that any event has an infinite number of possible outcomes. The ultimate outcome only becomes real when it is observed.

Here comes the kicker. Dispenza advocates for the belief that the Newtonian material world of objects, people and things is a low energy three dimensional visible world where making changes demands expending energy and time to create or move things in three dimensional space. For example, let’s say you want to acquire the wealth that will allow you to open a yogurt cafe. You have to plan, get loans, find a location. All the while as you prepare to get the funds for your yogurt shop, you live in a state of lack waiting for the outcome. In Dispenza’s Quantum world the experienced meditater elevates his or her consciousness to a high level where that person experiences no one, no body, no where, no thing, no time. This high frequency meditative state the individual achieves pure consciousness. In this state the mind manifests what the future outcome will be. For example, I will need a certain amount of money to achieve my dream of opening a yogurt cafe. In this high state of consciousness the individual will have aligned his or her thoughts with the one frequency among the infinite possible outcomes in the quantum field that matches the future the person desires. When the person returns to the 3D state in which we live they will experience life as if they have already achieved their goal. They do not experience a life of lack. SKEPTICS ALERT! I Get it.

It may sound crazy, but there existed enough examples in the room among the 1,500 attendees present to give one pause. It is not necessary for you to believe it only to be aware of the potential power and be mindful of supportive evidence that you may come across.

PAST THOUGHTS DISRUPTING YOUR PRESENT LIFE

A large percent of attendees acknowledged that past thoughts had a detrimental effect on their ability to function as they would like.

Problematic past thoughts troublingly draw attention away from the present where the energy could be constructively directed towards creative pursuits. Whatever gets your attention gets your energy. If you are focusing on the past you have decreased the energy you can direct to your present. It makes sense.

Walking meditation

A traumatic memory whether caused by a person, experience or event takes a certain time to get over. This bounce back time is called the refractory period. The stronger the emotional reaction to the trauma the longer the refractory period. It is an insidious process as one can literally become addicted to one’s negative thoughts. How? Read on.

Interestingly the body cannot tell the difference between an actual original occurrence and a memory recalled. When a person recalls a past event the body produces the same chemistry produced by the original event. The body then reacts as if the original event is occurring. It is firing and wiring the same circuits. Sending the same emotional signature to the body. When this happens repeatedly the body becomes the unconscious mind. It does not know the difference between the original event and the memory. In recalling the traumatic experience, the body is living in the same past. It can go into a loop 24/7.

The emotion from that past experience gives the body a rush of energy. People can become addicted to the rush from that emotion. When the past event looms so large in the mind some people welcome the pain because at least they can feel something.

So when those past derived negative emotions influence certain thoughts, the thoughts create the same emotions. They create the same thoughts. Resulting in a person’s entire state of being trapped in the past.

So how do we go from, I have this negative emotion. It’s controlling my life. It’s got me in this cycle where I think about the emotion which then triggers a chemical reaction which trains my body to feel that way. This makes it more likely that I will do it again. So, now, I find myself in this unconscious vicious cycle.

The same power of imagining can help build a better future. Meditate, close your eyes and mentally rehearse the positive action of what you want. If you are truly present, your brain does not know the difference between what you are imagining and what you are experiencing in the 3D world. It makes you brain not a record of the past but a map to the future.

STRESS, A KILLER

All organisms in nature can tolerate short term stress. A deer grazes quietly. Chased by coyotes, the deer outruns the coyotes. The deer then goes back to grazing. The stress response is what the body does to get itself back to order.

Your driving down the road and get cut off. You react and then settle back down to driving. However, what if it is a co-worker who stresses you out, sitting next to you. All day long his mere presence turns on those stress chemicals because he just pushes all of your emotional buttons. This, as well as any other unrelenting stress, presents a serious problem.

No organism in life can live in emergency mode for that extended period of time. When you turn on the stress response and can’t turn it off. It can trigger a disease. It is a scientific fact that long term the hormones of stress down regulate (degrade) genes and create disease.

The size of the human brain further exacerbates the issue for people. Just by the nature of its large size, the human brain can turn on the stress response just by thought alone. Humans can simply think about those problems and turn on those harmful chemicals.

This means that our thoughts can literally make us sick. Conversely if our thoughts can make us sick is it possible that our thoughts can make us well?

Emotions connected to survival anger, aggression, hostility, hatred, competition, fear anxiety, pain suffering, guilt, shame, unworthiness, envy, jealousy create hormones of stress.

If survival gene is turned on, you could have 10 great things happen in a day and one bad thing. However you cannot take your attention off that unhappy thing because the survival gene is turned on.

Research conducted at one of Dispenza’s earlier advanced events, like I attended, measured 7,500 gene expressions. Participants Meditated seated, walking, standing up and laying down. At  the end of four days of the common eight genes that were regulated 2 were genes to suppress cancer cells and tumor growth, 2 genes promoted neurogenesis meaning they supported the growth of new neurons in response to novel situations. One gene signaled stem cells to go to damages areas to repair them. One gene for oxidative stress was up-regulated. In 4 days it strengthened genes that caused the body to flourish. Imagine after 3 months.

COHERENCE HEALING

In an emotionally charged coherence healing event, fifteen hundred people slowly exited the Gaylord Resort ballroom to enter the glaring Denver sunshine. Their shared intention would focus 1500 hearts and minds on achieving coherence with the goal of focusing this coherent energy as a force of mind and nature with the purpose of healing individuals around the country suffering from severe afflictions.

The solemn assemblage slowly, quietly circled the courtyard of the building. Many participants moved with hands pressed on hearts. Reentering the ballroom each attendee found a photograph on their seat. There would be ten identical photographs clustered around the massive ballroom, one each for every person in a group of ten. The subject in the photo would be in need of healing for a serious affliction. People solemnly held the photos to their breasts as Dispenza guided the meditation.

Coherence Healing in person

Hands would briefly leave the photo momentarily as lumberjacks and light-weights alike wiped tears suddenly discovered to be running down cheeks. I know. My photo reminded me of someone I loved dearly. At the conclusion of the meditation, each of the ten photos were placed in an envelope which would be signed by each of the ten members in the group. Each signee would receive a letter with the describing the change in the condition of the subject subsequent to the coherence healing meditation.

For a compelling look at subjects of coherence healing you can go to the following link to watch and listen to stories of personal breakthroughs, miraculous healings and profound transformations.

https://drjoedispenza.com/pages/coherence-healing

https://drjoedispenza.com/pages/stories-of-transformation

RESEARCH

Brain scan

As Dispenza’s work enjoys rapidly mounting recognition resulting from the sheer power of its compelling findings, scientific and academic institutions have turned their focus on substantiating his claims. The following link provides a look at the research surrounding Dispenza’s work.

https://drjoedispenza.com/pages/scientific-research

REFLECTIONS

I left “Piercing the Veil” drenched in knowledge, observations and questions delivered by the relentless Dispenza information fire hose. I learned much about myself. My observations both provided convincing affirmations and generated questions that marked a path forward to personal growth.

The people I encountered displayed an appealing mixture of self effacing personal awareness, minds hungry for knowledge and deep appreciation for the potential and reality of the breakthrough work spearheaded by Dr. Joe Dispenza.

Back home I have begun working with guided meditations led by Dispenza. I also have humbler but maybe no less important goals like reminding myself to stay in the present, I find so many more good things happen there.

It would be my first job in the automobile industry. It was 1975 and Mercedes-Benz of North America hired me to create their first audio-visual technical training system. I would be creating educational programs to train technicians at the dealership. I was thrilled to be working for the iconic three-pointed star – A good company, with good people and great cars. I had no clue that I stood on the brink of what would be a  lifetime avocation.

It happened so serendipitously. One day early in my career at Mercedes-Benz I encountered the very polished Count, yes Count, Marcus Clary a Public Relations executive. He was discarding new car brochures from previous years. I asked if I could take some. Help yourself was the reply.

Thus began a lifetime of opportunistic dumpster diving at North American car companies as decade after decade I witnessed most automotive manufacturers indiscriminately discarding what they viewed as outdated sales literature and I saw as important future messengers of history.

Over 100 years ago the new car brochure came to life in a world cluttered with expensive hand built cars desperately seeking to be noticed.

Over coming decades the new car brochure would evolve as a powerful 20^th century sales tool and a valuable reference for the future study of automotive history.

Now as we witness, with some sadness, the sacrifice on the altar of digital efficiency of the high quality, brilliantly photographed, aesthetically striking and increasingly expensive bibles of the new car sales effort, I would like to take an admiring look back at whence they came.

Evolution of the new car brochure

(Part 1 – 1900 to 1940)

1936 Ford

In the early 1900s the emergence of the automobile as a commercial venture demanded printed material that would help present, position and promote this new contraption.

Over roughly the next one hundred years the new car brochure would tide a wave of evolution and sometimes revolution in design, technology, socioeconomic conditions, societal values, editorial style and graphic delivery.

One need look no further than the very first page of the very first Cadillac catalog to see the role set aside for the new car brochure. The year was 1903.

1903 Cadillac

“Being unable to reach the majority of prospective purchasers of automobiles by Agencies or personal calls we hand you this catalogue which, in a measure, gives a knowledge of the Cadillac and its most important features and at the same time illustrates and explains the vital points so that comparisons may be made with other vehicles and thus enable you to satisfy yourself as to our claims for superiority over all others.”

Granted while that explanation makes for one hell of a sentence, buried within that mouthful of wordy formal prose resides the essence of the new car brochure for the next 100 years. Its purpose was established as a means to “provide a tool to engage, inform and persuade prospects to purchase the product.” Its progress would be marked by increasingly higher quality materials, idealized imagery and persuasive copy integrated ever more professionally to motivate a new car prospect to be a new car buyer.

1903 Ford

It would do so, in part, with an emotional appeal that paired the purchase of a new automobile with a romantic vision of the real life experience that that automobile would deliver.

When the automobile arrived on the popular scene in the 1900s, it cost an average of $2000 to $3000 and up at a time when the typical American worker made around $500 a year.

In this early age of motoring most everything associated with the automobile, its operation and its value was an unknown. Skeptics abounded. Many viewed automobiles as the rich man’s toy and a passing fad. This skepticism posed a daunting challenge for those tasked with writing persuasive copy for the print automobile brochure. The challenge posed demanded that the early new car brochure advance a strongly substantiated value proposition to an often dubious populous dismissive of this new mode of autonomous mobility.

1909 Ford

Early new car brochures displayed the work of journeymen graphic designers whose names have been lost to history. Brochure content displayed a visually staid countenance featuring a forthright presentation of product and corporate stability.

1906 Cadillac Factory

An image of an imposing factory was often a prominent feature to assure a wavering prospect that this manufacturer was stable, substantive and here to stay. Even then, the very concept of and need for the automobile required explanation.

Designs featured basic type with custom hand drawn fonts for graphic interest. Art was predominantly illustration. Color was used sparingly, Image reproduction employed the recently available half-tone technique. From this basic beginning would evolve a century of ever improving methods of putting ink on paper.

Henry Ford

In this unsteady beginning all the automobile companies struggled. Then, late in the 20^th centuries first decade came Henry Ford’s announcement, “I will build a motor car for the great multitude.”

The game was about to change. The age of the automobile was about to dawn and with it the selling power of the printed brochure.

Between 1908 and 1913 Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile with the model T and automobile production with assembly line mass production. Together those two achievements launched both the American consumer and American society into the automotive age.

By 1915 America was home to 100 million people and most everyone wanted an automobile.

Between 1903 and 1917 yearly new car sales skyrocketed over 1000 percent from roughly 18,000 units a year to 1.9 million units a year.

1920 Ford

Through the teens the meteoric rise of the automobile business coincided with the ascent of the advertising agency foreshadowing a coming marriage made in sales and marketing heaven.

New Car brochures would soon reflect the increasing influence of professional copywriters. Copy now emphasized a more detailed, competitive, brand-specific, Feature-Advantage-Benefit message. Riding the tidal wave of automobile acceptance, brochure content, while still wordy, had started a decades-long journey to delivering a more crafted and focused message.

Paper quality received more attention for both its feel and visual appeal. Printing quality improved. However through the teens visual treatments continued to feature forthright mostly staid presentations of the product. The preponderance of images for the most part remained high quality illustration. This was about to change.

The Roaring Twenties arrived fueling a profound transformation of automobile ownership from the exceptional to the commonplace. Automobiles were not only for the wealthy, adventurous or early adaptors, the automobile was for everyone.

Model T price

1908 – $800          1914 – $490          1921 – $310          1924 – $265

By 1925 40% of the work force earned $2000 or more. The average work week had shrunk from six days to five. People had more time, more money and America had 700,000 more miles of paved roads. And just as more people had more money to spend, Henry Ford was lowering the price of new car ownership

1928 Cadillac

New car brochures entered the decade employing an almost clinically cold display of technical features. That would quickly change. With the suddenly booming economy and exploding appetite for new cars, brochure graphic treatments fanned the flames of desire by displaying automobiles not just as sturdy servants but as sources of excitement, pleasure and fashion. Evocative graphic treatments linked automobiles and lifestyle.

The emergent advertising industry to which manufacturers had delegated much of the responsibility for new car brochure production rose to the challenge and embraced the opportunity with creativity and skill. Visual presentations employed exceptional artistic executions including illustration, etchings, photography and a more compelling use of color.

Automobile ownership soared in the 1920s

YEAR             NUMBER OF CARS SOLD

1910         0.45 Mil

1915         2.30 Mil

1920        8.10 Mil

1929      23.10 Mil

America’s love of the automobile had forever changed American life. Depression and war was about to change the world.

“We are the first nation in the history of the world to go to the poorhouse in an automobile”

Will Rogers

1936 Cadillac

Just at the point when the North American new car brochure was coming into its own, the American economy hit the wall. The depression crushed the automotive industry. By 1932 new car sales plummeted by 75%. Luxury automobile sales literally dried up. Over 30% of the American workforce was unemployed and 40% of nation’s mortgages were in default.

Faced with the challenge of economic conditions, new car brochure copy reflected both an economic reality and, some might say, a Pollyanna-like optimism. Reference to de-contented models, reduced prices, high value, promotion of trade-ins, and financing from GMAC and Ford credit all spoke to the economic truth of the times. However…

1936 Dodge

As the 1930s progressed, new car brochure content, not unlike the glamorous fantasy world portrayed by Hollywood, displayed a comfortable even luxuriant lifestyle that for many was at best a memory.

When present, people depicted in new car brochures were decidedly of the upper middle class or higher. Even lower end brands such as Ford utilized imagery that portrayed the product with a bold countenance.

1934 Ford 3D catalog

Luxury makes such as Cadillac employed richly illustrated depictions of life being enjoyed to the fullest. Stronger visual imagery and more graphic layout design gave new car brochures vitality that foreshadowed the evolving visual character that would continue in the post war years.

The creative use of embossing, foil stamping, even 3D imagery together with photography, illustration and true 4-color printing sought to bring glamour to a marketplace and world that was anything but glamorous.

Through the Depression, the automobile industry had battled to fight its way back to solvency with technical innovation. As well, the sales literature that promoted those new products displayed a sophistication reflective of the same level of advancing capabilities. But, now, the automobile industry and the world were about to face an even more virulent challenge – World War II.

Part 2 – 1941, War and beyond (Coming later in the year)

Entering Ed Jurist’s Vintage Car Store in Nyack, New York offered a visual wonderment of not only vintage automotive but, as well, vintage aircraft art and artifacts. A 12-cylinder Merlin engine, the type famous for powering the P-51 Mustang, sat proudly cradled where it could be viewed through the building’s large front window that faced the street.

On this day in 1982, I had originally strolled in to interview Jurist about a Sherman tank he had sold to a Hollywood rental business years before. As the interview wound down to allow Jurist to depart for dinner, the topic of vintage aircraft surfaced. Suddenly dinner could wait as an animated Jurist held forth on his experiences purchasing vintage war planes from around the world. While the tank story was written and published, the telling of Jurist’s vintage war plane exploits never made it to print, until now.

Buckle your lap belts and hang on for the story of the sputtering Mosquito and the Virgin Loretto.

The sputtering Mosquito and the Virgin Loretto

DeHaviland Mosquito

Though pilot and copilot alike had faced death before while flying bombers in WWII, concern tinged their voices as their eyes flicked across the dead black skies above the jagged, unforgiving and equally black Pyrenees mountains somewhere below. As to how far below, they could only venture a sweaty guess. Spotting a light, any light filled the content of their unspoken prayers as an engine of the vintage WWII DeHaviland Mosquito twin engine bomber sputtered and coughed in what portended to be a death rattle if the plane could not find a place to land and land soon.

Jurist was never a stranger to aircraft adventure starting with his exploits as a wartime B-17 bomber pilot with the Eighth Air Force. Shot down over Nazi Germany, Jurist actually escaped from the Nazi prisoner of war camp where he had been held. In later years Jurist set up business in an old Cadillac dealership built in 1927 that was home to his Vintage Car Store. There, in addition to travelling the world in search of rare and valuable automobiles, he dedicated himself to finding and preserving vintage aircraft, primarily of the military variety. Jurist during his years of searching out vintage war planes brought in more vintage military aircraft to the United States than any other single private individual in America.

Hawker Sea Fury

In 1979 when Iraq was upgrading its air force to jets, Jurist arranged a deal with the Iraqis to purchase 24 of the propeller-driven Hawker Sea Fury fighters being retired. Jurist virtually lived in Baghdad to shepherd the deal. He oversaw the negotiations, watched the planes loaded onto a freighter and, once arriving in America, unloaded at Cape Canaveral.

It was in 1971 that Jurist located a WWII Mosquito fighter bomber. Purchased from its owner in England, the Mosquito, which had appeared in British films, had been maintained in flight worthy condition.

Known as the “Wooden Wonder,” the Mosquito began life as the subject of ridicule primarily because many viewed its wood construction as unworkable. Predominantly made of plywood, Its fuselage consisted of a frameless shell of balsa wood pressed between sheets of birch. However, the shortage of the light metal alloys required in airplane construction made the Mosquito’s reliance on wood a major advantage leading to its acceptance by the RAF. That decision proved to be a very good one for the RAF. By the end of war, the Mosquito’s speed, rate of climb, versatility and durability had made it one of the most respected and admired war planes of WWII. As a testament to its durability, elusiveness and ruggedness, the Mosquito experienced the lowest loss rate of any aircraft in the RAF Bomber Command Aircraft.

Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the Mosquito had a maximum speed of 415 MPH that made it the fastest aircraft on either side during much of the war. It had a range of 1,500 miles with the ability to carry a bomb load of 4,000 lbs. That bomb load equaled the capability of the four-engine B-17 flying fortress. With a crew of two consisting of a pilot and navigator/bombardier, the Mosquito filled a broad range of roles including bomber, fighter and special operations specialist. One wonderful Special Ops example highlighted the Mosquito’s ability to execute high speed, pin-point, low level attacks. It took place on the morning of January 31, 1943 at a parade in Berlin billed to feature an address by Hermann Goering. As head of the Luftwaffe, Goering had boasted that no enemy aircraft could fly unscathed over Berlin. As Goering prepared to present to the assembled crowd, a squadron of Mosquitoes appeared out of nowhere and effectively put an end to the morning’s festivities. Later that afternoon a second squadron of Mosquitoes  put an exclamation point on the RAF’s refutation of Goering’s claim of enemy free skies when a second parade intended to feature a Goering address received the same treatment as the morning festivities.

Squinting into the darkness blanketing the Spanish mountains below, the glorious history of the Mosquito ranked very low on the crew’s thoughts. One of the high performance 12-cylinder Merlin engines spewed bad noises that reflected declining performance. Though brave and stalwart men, the point of furrowed brows and sweaty palms had been reached. Almost like a cross between a curse and a prayer, Jurist recalled barking out in frustration, “There has got to be a God damned town somewhere down there.” At this point their greatest hope resided in finding a space big enough so they could crash land with some possibility of surviving.

With both hope and eyesight strained to the limit, Jurist spotted a faint blur with the luminance of a distant star. No doubt existed in either crew member, their fate would hang on the ability of that distant blur to be their salvation. The faltering engine would not tolerate a plan B.

As the Mosquito limped on above the unseen but none the less foreboding mountain peaks below, the dim blur began to acquire definition. Initially unsure of what they saw, it became shockingly evident that the character of the dull blur now taking shape came from two rows of torches that framed the full length of, unbelievably, a runway.

Jurist set the faltering Mosquito down squarely on a remote mountain airstrip at the center of a joyous celebration. As the crew left the ailing Mosquito and surveyed the robust life and jubilation that surrounded them, their abilities to comprehend were sorely challenged, and then the priest appeared.

The priest welcomed the unexpected visitors to the festival where the Aeroclub of the  village of Vigo, Spain was celebrating the Feast of the Virgin Loretto – The patron saint of pilots.

As joyous celebrants encircled the Mosquito crew someone placed a Virgin Loretto metal around Jurist’s neck. For the rest of his life Jurist never took off that metal.

A side note:

Hanging on the wall by the front door of the Vintage Car Store was a very large framed photo of the Mosquito crew, the priest and a few villagers in front of the Mosquito. I have never been able to track that framed photo down. I believe it was sold when the stores contents were auctioned off in the 1980s. If anyone has any information relating to that photo please let me know.

All Americans had been warned. No meaningful correspondence should be tossed into a hotel waste basket. Assume that your room has a listening device. Any private conversation should be held outdoors in the open square. These warnings were to be taken seriously when working behind the Iron Curtain during the cold war. So recalls Patty Moore a member of a unique team of exceptional design talent assembled by 20^th Century industrial design icon Raymond Loewy. Talented and brash, the team faced the daunting challenge of creating a world car for the Soviet Union to market around the globe in the 1970s.

Though an American citizen, Mr. Loewy was French by birth and thus acceptable to the Soviets. However, the small team he assembled to create the design was 100% American.

For American and Soviet alike, pronounced egos and sharp elbows bruised at every turn. Conflicting creative styles and attitudes born of clashing ideologies destined the project to be equal parts car story and John le Carre novel.

In the early 1980s, I had been in contact with Mr. Loewy as well as members of his design team. I have taped interviews conducted in 1982 with design team members as well as what may be the only existing images of the concept car.

What follows is the birth story of the ill-fated Moskvitch XRL.

Raymond Loewy’s 1970s Soviet world car adventure

Initial version of Moskvitch XRL

For the Soviet Union in the 1970s, it was a bold undertaking. The Soviet plan called for producing a family sedan, the Moskvitch, to sell in the new car showrooms of the western economies. To pull it off they reached out beyond the Iron Curtain to a Frenchman by birth and a naturalized American citizen by choice. He would be the man bold enough to succeed. He was Raymond Loewy, father of industrial design, creator of the Avanti, Studebaker starlight coupe, Shell logo, modern Coca-Cola bottle and hundreds more cultural icons.

Early Moskvitch sketch

In this era of Nixon and Brezhnev, Détente was in bloom. This warming of relations coincided with a Soviet 5-year plan that emphasized aggressively marketing consumer goods to the West. The red stars had aligned to create a profound need for a serious upgrade of Soviet consumer product aesthetics.

Loewy anticipated the extraordinary opportunity. As the creative genius who fathered the field of industrial design, he enjoyed a good relationship with the Soviets that dated back to the early 60s. The Russians liked and respected Loewy. Loewy had cleverly positioned himself to achieve something no one had done before or would do again.

Signing of 5-year agreement with Dr. Jermen Gvishiani of VNIITE

In signing an historic design services contract with the Soviet Union, Loewy stands as the first and only person to direct a design exchange between an American company and the Soviet Union. In his own words Loewy called this design exchange, “the most important achievement of my long career.” In addition to the Moskvitch, the contract called for the design of a broad spectrum of products including clocks, cameras, motorcycles, hydrofoils and more.

1974 witnessed Loewy assemble a unique collection of gifted American designers in their 20s and early 30s to create the Soviet dream car, the Moskvitch XRL (X – experimental, R – Raymond, L – Loewy).

Team members included Patricia Moore, then in her early twenties, and responsible for the interior. Moore would go on to be named the Most Notable American Industrial Designers in the history of the field. And in 2000, was honored as one of The 100 Most Important Women in America.

Raymond Loewy and Yuri Soloviev

Syd Mead served the team by creating contextual visualizations of the Moskvitch design. Mead would later become famous as a neo-futurist concept artist who visualized environments for science fiction films such as Alien, Tron and Blade Runner.

Though well respected by the Soviets, Loewy held no great admiration for their political system. Loewy’s impressions from his Soviet experiences where sharp and divided. He had great respect and admiration for many of the individuals and professionals with whom he dealt. Yuri Soloviev the Director of VNIITE (The Soviet All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Industrial Design) was one. However Loewy felt nothing but loathing and contempt for the communist system of governance. In a letter to partner William Snaith following Loewy’s first visit to the USSR in 1961, Loewy wrote, “In spite of the wonderful welcome, we returned more than ever convinced that communism is the greatest hoax in the history of the world. I cannot tell you the dreariness, the gloom of life under this system.”

Loewy after signing of 5-year agreement standing with iconic Avanti designed by Loewy

When worlds collide might best describe the cross cultural interactions between the two decidedly different cultures.

It evidenced itself dramatically when a young Patty Moore took a team of six visiting Soviet Project Managers and a Soviet psychologist on a walking tour of Manhattan. The Psychologist viewing the experience from a psycho-social basis was interested, intrigued excited by everything.

The Soviet engineers and scientists, however, displayed the attitude that the Soviet Union unquestionably stood superior to America. They clearly viewed America as the enemy and a competitor.

As the late afternoon sun lengthened shadows, the Russian Managers crossed Manhattan’s 5^th Avenue. Like Darwin first touring the Galapagos, they faced a world both foreign and fascinating. They swam through waves of American culture swirling in the canyons of New York City. High heels, long legs, bell bottoms and bright colors. Late summer of 1975 greeted them. They had come to see the automobile that Raymond Loewy, iconic father of industrial design has created. They ended up getting much more than they ever could have dreamed.

During the walking tour the Soviet psychologist would frequently become excited and animated at the New York experience. His exuberance would be quickly and consistently squelched by senior officials sharing the tour. In Russian he would be directed to refrain from speaking in such positive terms.

Final Version of Moskvitch XRL

American team members when visiting Moscow had significantly different but equally telling experiences. Never relaxed, team members would purposely leave important looking but useless documents in their hotel trash cans. Conversation outside of buildings enjoyed a significantly different flavor. Inside meeting rooms, positive comments highlighted deadlines being met and schedules moving according to plan. Conversations in open air parks revealed a totally different truth comprised of missed deadlines and poor follow-up. Still, under Loewy’s stern and sharp oversight the Moskvitch XRL concept itself moved on as promised.

Loewy, both confident in and adamant about his vision of the world car his team would create for the Soviets, envisioned the Moskvitch with wide tires and a wide body with flush wheels set out at the corners and a low beltline with a forward slanted body silhouette. However, having provided that direction he said, “Let’s see what the kids have on their mind when given leeway.” Those “kids” were his highly talented team of youthful American designers in their 20s and early 30s all who would speak  deferentially of Mr. Loewy throughout their lives.

Loewy, with steely conviction, directed the final concept accented by a color pallet featuring gold and a signature sharp slash at the “A” pillar. Loewy envisioned the driver’s seating position as a cockpit, executed in darker richer leather. In his mind the driver’s seat would be a throne superior to the other seating positions.

While delivery of the completed Moskvitch XRL concept received a warm welcome from the approving Soviets, it coincided with a perfect storm whose winds blew no good for the future of Loewy’s concept.

Moskvitch XRL Interior

As Loewy noted in a discussion of Soviet manufacturing capabilities, “In nucleonics, rocketry, steel plants, and heavy machinery, they do outstanding things. Consumer goods on the contrary are terrible, only fit for a captive market.”

Stated simply, the Soviets did not presently possess the ability to build Loewy’s design. The Loewy team had designed a dream for the Soviets which they were incapable of making. At the same time a new Soviet 5-year plan with a reduced emphasis on foreign markets now held sway. Loewy’s Moskvitch XRL would not be built.

Loewy’s greatest professional achievement proved to be his final professional achievement. Financial problems had surfaced with maintaining such a large operation on multiple continents. By 1977 Raymond Loewy International had filed for bankruptcy.

In retirement Raymond Loewy and his wife Viola moved to France where they continued to live an active life where all was art. Raymond Loewy died in 1986 at the age of 92.

After Loewy’s death two of his former associates wrote in the New York Times saying, “Raymond Loewy altered the look of American life by bringing his streamlined style to nearly every aspect of our lives.”

Loewy at the age of 82 boldly sought to do the same for the Soviet Union. While his designs for the Soviets did not make it to the marketplace, Loewy profoundly advanced the field of industrial design in the Soviet Union by introducing a new language of design and fresh insight into the importance of user-friendly solutions.

For decades Rosell’s Auto Repair has been a Muscle Car eye candy treat that snapped you to attention, compelled you to slow and maybe linger a little too long as you digested the visual feast, and only then, to move on. The small neat structure sporting two bays housed in an immaculately maintained shop, sits on neatly groomed grounds populated by an ever changing eclectic assemblage of really interesting special interest automobiles. Solid examples of rust prone mid-fifties Detroit iron, such as 1957 Fords and Forward Look Plymouths often grace the grounds as do hot rods, tweaked Model Ts, Mopar muscle, Corvettes, 442s and Pontiacs, lots of Pontiacs. The owner is a classic as well, he is as genuine a New Jersey product as Taylor Pork Roll and Bruce Springsteen. Meet Al Rosell.

90 GTOs, 30 Corvettes and counting

If there can be a middle of nowhere in Northern New Jersey, Rosell’S Auto Repair can be found in it. Like a collectible car oasis situated in a wooded sprawl of forest and fine homes, Al Rosell’s four acres of automotive finery, years ago, served this once rural area as an off the beaten path, back road Citgo Service station. To this day no other commercial property exists for a mile at least in any direction.

Raised in Westwood, New Jersey, Al harbors a real passion for Pontiacs. It all began at the age of eleven in 1974 when his sister’s boyfriend, now husband, blew the engine in his 1965 GTO and parked the dead Pontiac in Al’s family driveway where it sat all summer. Throughout that summer young Al could be found sitting in that GTO for hours at a time stoking the fires for his future Pontiac passion.

At the age of sixteen Al bought the first of his 90 (and counting) GTOs, a 1966 hardtop with no drive train. He swapped in a Chevy V8 by himself with sufficient expertise that he enjoyed driving that car for a year until someone offered to buy it for twice what Al had in the car. Sold! In that same year young Al started pumping gas at a local service station. Within a few months the skilled beyond his years teenager had been taken inside to apply his considerable talents to ever increasingly demanding projects. A few years passed and Al moved on to a repair shop with higher level challenges including electrical trouble shooting, air conditioning and some custom work. With a few more years of experience under his belt, Al knew the time had come to go out and run his own shop. 1n 1996 Al purchased the little back woods Citgo station in River Vale, New Jersey. While having  high hopes Al had no idea of the bright future in store for the little gas station as a classic car Mecca.

Given the opportunity to buy all four acres surrounding the station, Al jumped at the chance. He knew this would afford his business the opportunity to grow. Grow it did, but never to where it lost the appeal and high octane charm of Al’s small “can do” performance boutique dedicated to delivering a very personal and consummately professional experience.

Brokered car off to buyer

Rarely if ever caught without a lit Marlboro wedged between index and middle fingers, 58-year old Al, now a seasoned and gifted classic car technician and shop owner, moves through work areas cleaner than most kitchens with the poise of a relaxed predator scouting for a target. In Al’s case he stands ready to contribute to the efforts of his two expert mechanics Greg Martino and Scott Jodzio.

Al’s approach to business has earned him the respect of the classic car community as both a skilled resource and an honest partner in advocating for what he sees as the proper course of action even if it means turning the job down.

Al notes that less and less of his shop’s clientele involves the traditional everyday work associated with keeping the family vehicle running. With his reputation for skill and ease with conquering high performance and vintage vehicle challenges, the working lifts in his bays most of the time serve a second purpose as classic car display pedestals.

“We do everything except body and paint”,” says Al. Rosell’s Auto Repair eagerly accepts power train and chassis challenges. Al says, “We do new engines, great motors for speed, a wide range of conversions, suspension upgrades, disc brake work, all of that kind of stuff. We also do interior work.” In describing his favorite work Al says, “I love doing engines. We will pull an engine, rebuild it, dyno tune it, detail it and if the customer wants, we incorporate chrome touches to whatever degree desired. When finished, that engine stands out as a work of art that can smoke the tires through all the gears.”

In observing the state of the performance shop industry, Al bemoans the relentless disappearance of the machine shops, true auto parts stores with knowledgeable staff and the expert craftsmen that reside at the heart of custom performance solutions. Al says, “These guys are the very soul of the business. I am watching their numbers melt away without any replacements.” He also notes that the really good auto parts stores are disappearing. He says, “There is no money in it. Nobody has bearings pressed on and off anymore doing U-joints and such.”

1965 Bonneville 421 cu. in. tri-power 4-speed

In recent years Al has expanded his services to address the desire of classic car owners to separate themselves from the sale of their vehicles.

Al  says, “I have found myself selling more and more collectible cars for people.” Unlike earlier times when car guys bought and sold their cars, a new generation of owners don’t want to be troubled. They have the money to buy what they want. When they grow tired of it they want somebody else to deal with the inconvenience of its disposal.  Al says, “People with money come in expressing an interest in having me assume the process of selling their classic car. The reasons are always the same. ‘I don’t want people in my house. I don’t want to deal with scheduling. I don’t want to negotiate.” For Al it offers a double benefit. He brokers the deal and becomes the “Go To” guy who people come to rely on when they look for their next collectible car. Al says, “It’s like an annuity. Some people develop a pattern of short term fascination with a classic car and then quickly tire of it. I can benefit on both ends of that romance.”

One significant trend that Al has observed over the last few years is the ascendance of the restomod as a preferred choice by many enthusiasts versus the traditional classic car with its original equipment.

Pointing to a nice mid-sixties Corvette Al says, “If you took this car and put an LS motor in it, it would increase its value by $50,000. More and more that is what the new generation buyer wants today.” Many, now in the market, instead of seeking originality want reliability, handling, comfort and air conditioning. Al says, “They don’t want the old stuff. People are different today. They want all the creature comforts of their new car, but the look of the old. The demand is there.”  When asked when the market changed  Al indicates that the change in priories became evident about five years ago.

When asked about interesting cars that came out of his shop, Al recalls a 1930 Model A. He ripped out the original drive train and replaced it with a Ford Pinto four-cylinder motor with a C4 transmission. He used the same rear, put in an adapter kit and got rid of the torque tube. Al says, “Car’s phenomenal 90 horsepower versus 40, electronic ignition. Thing runs beautiful.”

Two very interesting cars reside in a special place in Al’s heart. In 2015 an older gentleman approached Al describing a 1966 Corvette that had been in his garage since a bad accident in 1971. Al saw the car. It rested under a deep shroud of dust. Al bought it. He did a complete frame-off restoration. Al says,  “Every piece of the car is new except the antenna and the grill. “The  Nassau Blue beauty sits proudly in Al’s personal two-bay garage he built on his 4 acres. The other bay holds the subject of a love lost and found.

In 1996 Al bought a 1970 Orbit Orange Pontiac GTO Judge. He then sold it to a friend who had it for fifteen years. It was sold again with the next owner keeping it for 7 years. When it went up for sale again Al bought it back. Since he first sold the car, the two subsequent owners had driven the car a total of two times. Of his 90 GTOs the Orbit Orange Judge ranks at the top.

In reflecting on his years running Rosell’s Auto Repair, Al displays a balanced perspective. He says, “I have a great group here. I love my business. I even still have 30% of my hair.”

Nowadays conversations about things that have traditionally mattered to those having the discussion often deteriorate into a bemoaning of the unchecked disappearance of the topic of interest in question. Whether products displaying exceptional craftsmanship or the skilled craftspeople possessing the ability to produce the superior product, both seem to live in the crosshairs of a culture fast losing its appreciation for hand crafted excellence.

In the face of such a perceived depressing trend, a rare feel good story came out of the pandemic that featured a world-class company renowned for producing premium trade show displays.

Though suffering a considerable loss of work from Covid-19 cancellations, the business, with a belief in better times returning, turned its attention to ensuring that it retained its staff of highly skilled craftsmen. With great hope for a better future when the world would return to normal, they allowed their imagination to stray way outside the box. Their brainstorming gave birth to an inspired plan to keep their highly respected craftsmen working, preserve a part of iconic Americana and possibly creating a new market opportunity. They would turn their craftsmen loose on restoring and updating vintage Airstream trailers.

Meet Dimensional Worldwide.

An inspired venture to preserve American craftsmanship and vintage Airstream trailers

Unbeknownst to all involved, the actual seminal moment for the vintage Airstream venture came when Dimensional Worldwide executive Lee Martindell asked Company President Doug Fixell if, during the Covid downturn, he could employ the company’s presently underutilized stable of skilled craftsman to rebuild his personal 1959 Airstream trailer. Martindell says, with the great skills our guys have, there was no reason our guys could not do the whole thing.” Fixell agreed saying that hours would be logged and Martindell would be billed. The agreement poised to unleash a torrent of talented carpenters, cabinet makers, metal workers, electricians. painters and printers on Martindell’s 1959 Airstream.

In recognizing the potential of this suddenly activated high quality Airstream restoration juggernaut, Martindell’s imagination took a leap. He approached fellow company executive Karen Samnick with one of those “this may be crazy but, what do you think” blue sky thoughts.

1936 Airstream trailer

Historically the original brainchild of Oregon native Wally Byam, Airstream trailers always had a following dating back to Airstream’s beginnings in 1931. They originated with a DIY Popular Mechanics article written by Byam on how to build the trailer. Soon people asked him to build the trailer for them. Airstream as a business came to life.

Since the beginning, Airstreams have earned an extraordinary reputation for longevity built on the quality of their materials and construction. Byam’s design focused on function with aerodynamics and low weight being critical design objectives. Airstream’s signature steel frame featured a riveted aircraft quality aluminum hard shell ensuring Byam achieved his desired superior strength and light weight.

Martindell suggested to Karen, “What if we went down the rabbit hole and restored vintage Airstreams as a business?” Initially aghast, Samnick’s says, her first thought was, “We are going to search for and work on trailers that have had more mice in them than people in the last, you know, decade or two?.”

However, Samnick quickly warmed to the idea as Airstream owner Martindell’s deep affection for Airstream trailers and the associated culture of quality and commitment that surrounds them took hold of her imagination. Samnick says, “So I am listening to Lee tell the story of why people like these trailers and what this world of Airstream people is really like. Then, the next day we are going to a meeting out in Montauk. We pass an RV trailer park, and there’s literally a bazillion Airstream trailers. I do a little quick research and find that you can’t even get a reservation. It’s all booked.”. That was enough for Samnick. She was sold on the idea.

With Karen on board Martindell pitched it to President Fixell. Without hesitation Fixell’s replied, “Great let’s do it.”

However, Martindell and his team quickly realized that the search for a solid east coast trailer would closely parallel the search for a solid vintage car not riddled with damage and deterioration. That said, the Airstream aluminum body represented a significant plus.

While being very particular in the quality of the trailers selected, success was realized with three being purchased. (1968, 1975, 1978)

At this point President Fixell had an epiphany. Fixell realized that it did not make sense for Dimensional to sell the trailers. They needed to establish a brand. They needed to create an entity dedicated to marketing and selling the restored Airstreams. Thus, Rivet Custom LLC came to life as the home of high quality restored vintage Airstream trailers.

As the Rivet vision morphed into reality the wisdom of its creation quickly displayed itself.

Martindell says, “We knew that even with no work in the shop or on the horizon, these guys were so talented, so special, that if we laid them off we were not getting them back. Not only are they skilled craftsman but, they are also really good people. The kind of quality individuals you want as the foundation of your organization.”

Fitzroy Hutchinson

Craftsman Fitzroy Hutchinson says, “ With the Covid lockdown we were all scared that we would lose our jobs.” Hutchinson’s last employer closed for good in 2009 when the economy took a nose dive. Hutchinson had worked there for 17 years. Being laid off deeply concerned all of the Dimensional staff.

Plant manager and super skilled craftsman Jerry Cardillo says, “As to Lee’s crazy Airstream plan, needless to say it excited the guys to have an alternative to having no work.” Initially some of the guys had known about Airstream trailers, other guys had no clue.

Hutchinson ads, “We quickly got the hang of it and, then, the fun began.” The Airstream adventure brought an added source of pride to already highly accomplished craftsman. Hutchinson says, “The guys love it because it’s like bringing a classic car back to life. Cardillo laughs saying, “Maybe we can get our own TV show, Trailer Tales.”

Jerry Cardillo

It soon became evident that the Airstream project not only provided meaningful work, but work that inspired already accomplished craftsmen with an elevated sense of purpose born of preserving recognizable and treasured pieces of American camping and highway history. And while the focus had been on preserving jobs, It became evident that Rivet may have stumbled upon a concept with significant sales potential.

Right now there is a two-year waiting list for a new Airstream. At this time Rivet can provide a totally rebuilt vintage Airstream for about half the cost.

A well spring of curiosity has bubbled up from commercial interests. Martindell with a smile says, “We would like nothing better than an order for a half dozen custom Airstreams from Corona Beer or a similar number from a glamping site looking to permanently station them for nightly renting.”

Each one of the Airstream trailers provides Rivet with a one-of-a-kind opportunity to preserve the past and at the same time introduce new families into a brand new “vintage” camping experience reflecting a past distinctively American lifestyle. Martindell says, “We believe Covid sensitized families to the value of being together.” He sees a real interest for the unique combination of high quality and the more traditional character of Revit Airstreams.

Martindell goes on to say, “I’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of TVs in inventory. None will go into a Rivet Airstream as a standard install. We have the ability to give you Wi-Fi so that the kids can have their iPads and their iPhones. Our Airstreams will have none of it. We believe Rivet Airstreams offer people a unique opportunity to personally reconnect with each other. I believe in these times it is a most worthy goal to pursue.” If people request an Airstream to be equipped a certain way, Rivet will of course integrate a quality installation.

Martindell’s own experience illustrates the powerful attraction of vintage Airstream ownership. He says, “With log books often available, we would love to provide new owners with a diary of the journeys experienced by the original owners. We want to  share the lives these trailers have already lived as part of the Rivet vintage Airstream experience. Connecting with the people and experiences once enjoyed paves the way for a new round of adventures and delivers a powerful emotional connection across generations.” Rivet offers products with the exceptional and unique power to generate fresh memories for a family afforded the joy of continuing in the spirit of the earlier family’s wanderlust.

Martindell personally owns a 1959 Airstream that came with a log of the campgrounds that the prior owners visited. Martindell says, “This September I’m intentionally taking the trailer back to Maine to the same camp grounds that they had visited in 1961.

Right now there is a two-year waiting list for a new Airstream. Rivet can presently deliver a totally rebuilt example for about half the cost. Examples will be on display May 22^nd At Dimensional Worldwide in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Rivet’s motto  says it all, “preserve the past, plan for the future, build for now. But above all enjoy the journey.”