Cars We Love & Who We Are
More than the polished parts and hard to find pieces, the special interest vehicles people collect embody the character of each owner. “Cars We Love & Who We Are” profiles individual special interest vehicles and the proud owner committed to its preservation.
Conversations with People We Value
Talking with skilled professionals who support our passion for collectible automobiles.
Roads We Remember
Some roads discovered far from home reward us with a once in a lifetime driving experience. Others are old friends revisited to elevate our spirits and celebrate the joy of life behind the wheel.
In Search of the 7th Royale Series – All the Episodes Here
Roads We Remember #10
With interstates fading in the rear view mirror and blue highways taking their place, complex pinks and oranges paint the sky as the sinking sun of the fading afternoon ushers my driving day to a close. As I descend from Virginia’s Skyline Drive, my journey comes to rest in the bucolic embrace of Nelson County, Virginia. Tomorrow promises to be sunny and unseasonably warm as I seek a taste of the car culture of the Shenandoah Valley.
Taking the Skyline Drive to explore the dusty attic of Virginia car culture
Exiting at the southern end of Virginia’s Skyline Drive and proceeding down the east face of the Blue Ridge Mountains introduces a beautiful tangle of serpentine two-lanes, some paved, some gravel. Welcome to Nelson County.
Delivering a delightful shock to a bored suburban driver’s system, Nelson County possesses a wealth of wonderful roads and a dearth of stop lights. The whole of Nelson County contains exactly one (yes, 1) traffic light.
For those of us whose daily driving environment consists of thoroughfares that, for the most part, resemble a transposed graph paper grid, which is what they basically are, the whole of this region of Virginia pretty much presents itself as a Disney World for people who fantasize about driving on one grand “Tail of the dragon.” Great roads with character and curves, old barns, abandoned buildings, and, it is said, lots of nice stuff tucked away and cared for.
Recreation and agriculture in the form of logging and vineyards dominate the area. No belching factories here. Rich in history as well, historically significant Civil War sites populate the area as does the shadow of Thomas Jefferson with Monticello and the University of Virginia in close proximity.
Virginia’s Skyline Drive
For enjoying Skyline Drive, summer with its lush foliage and autumn with its spectacular colors seems the no-brainer choice for a visit. That said, should one chose to tour in winter, the roads unless closed because of snow, offer a sparse beauty unavailable in other seasons. With trees free of leaves and roads free of tourists, stunning vistas otherwise hidden in high season exist aplenty. Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains Virginia’s Skyline Drive offers a very tasty driving appetizer to enjoy prior to the […]
Conversations With People We Value #32
Tomorrow will commence my Charles Kuralt blue highways, back roads tribute tour. As such, I am yet to have exciting tales hand-picked from road side discoveries to be served up like farm fresh delicacies for your personal consumption.
If one can will the future though, I would love nothing better than to manifest glorious surprises. As my mind wanders I imagine stumbling upon a shabby yet substantial barn nestled in a wooded expanse “out back” of a weathered farm house. Parting the barn’s feeble creaking doors reveals it to be chockablock with classic contents, each resides under a blanket of fine dust that speaks to a rich past like tree rings. All possess histories of once being driven by mid-century Hollywood royalty. It would be enough to make Tom Cotter cry. Hey, you have your fantasies, I’ll have mine.
However, while organizing my back country journey I did come across a fascinating stolen car story with its roots in the closing days of WWII and its resolution well into the next century with a conclusion worthy of O’Henry.
The following offers what I believe to be the best multiple decade stolen car story with an “I did not see that coming” conclusion.
Return of the Zipper King
Threads that interweave to create the fabric of this 21st century ownership puzzle are many and involved. It all began at the 1935 Berlin Motor Show. Heroically displayed as the centerpiece of the Mercedes-Benz exhibit and indeed of the whole event, stood the gleaming
1935 Berlin Motor Show
Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster, chassis number 105380. Built in 1935 during the 1934 and 1936 model run, it shone as a gleaming jewel of advanced engineering and design. Recognized as one of the greatest performance automobiles of the pre-war era, Mercedes-Benz produced a total of 342 500Ks with only 29 being Special Roadsters. Its supercharged (thus the “K” designation) 5.0-liter inline-8 cylinder produce 160 horsepower. Blazing fast in the context of the time, it could easily top 100 miles per hour. The 500K’s advanced engineering extended to the chassis which featured a sophisticated 4-wheel independent suspension with double wishbones at the front, a double-joint swing axle in the rear as well as coil springs and dampers.
As The Autocar wrote in 1936: “This is a master car for the very few. The […]
Roads We Remember #9
“Road Trip!” when spoken like a call to arms, sets the heart a flutter. The mind races with thoughts of new horizons, awaiting adventures and the freedom of the open road. Yes, all true… however. And there always seems to be a “however.” In the case of road trips, the “however,” takes shape courtesy of the seemingly endless miles of endless miles to be covered on the way to the new horizon, miles devoid of any type of adventure or, if left unaddressed, any mental stimulation at all as a driver teeters on the threshold of white line hypnosis.
Such sleep provoking and mind numbing monotony has served as the desperate progenitor of games, distractions and challenges designed to spare drivers of the narcoleptic terror born of endless corn fields, soulless interstates, pitch black back roads illuminated only by the eye fatiguing glare of oncoming high beams and the kind of dull roads ideal for filming commercials for hands free driving features.
Now adding to the long list of keep awake tricks comes Elon Musk’s latest Tesla accessory, the TeslaMic car karaoke microphone set.
Karaoke, Elon Musk’s new weapon to fight driving doldrums.
Last Friday Tesla released its new TeslaMic. Wildly popular, it sold out in less than an hour in China, the only market where the product is presently available. Offered as a set of wireless microphones, TeslaMic basically turns the car into a personal karaoke booth. Designed to function only when the car is stopped, the microphones pair with newly released Tesla in-car karaoke software that includes audio tracks and videos.
Last year, an estimated 500 million people used online karaoke services in China. Prior to Covid, individualized karaoke booths rapidly sprang up like proverbial mushrooms throughout malls, airports and other public places across China. Now, the top Musketeer with his TeslaMic looks to tap into the immense popularity of these individual karaoke booths. Using technology that transforms the Tesla owner’s car into a private karaoke booth, it allows one or two people to sing their hearts out without being heard by anyone else. It seems only a matter of time before the market savvy Musk adapts the TeslaMic as a shower accessory.
Made even more attractive considering Corona virus fears, the ability to transform an owner’s Tesla into a personal […]
Here’s this week’s question:
Most taxis found in American cities in the mid-20th century were made by one company. Name the company.
Answer to last week’s question:
In “Little Old Lady from Pasadena” what car did she drive and what was the car’s color? – Shiny red Super Stock Dodge
About the blogger
Burton Hall has written for an automotive client list that includes Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Peugeot and Volvo. He has also written for The Washington Post, AutoWeek, Corvette Monthly, Jaguar Magazine, BMW Magazine, Hemmings.com, Hagerty Magazine and numerous auto restoration buff books.
A member of the Society of Automotive Historians, he, in 2014, created and has since taught the adult school program “Collectible automobiles as a passion.” In 2020 he originated and has since produced the Drivin’ News blog.
As a classic car hobbyist, He owns a 1961 Corvette that he bought in 1967, a 1953 Jaguar XK120MC Drophead Coupe that he restored after finding it disassembled in a barn in 1980, a 2003 BMW 330i he bought new and a 1951 MG TD that presently serves as a planter and centerpiece in his garden. All are great drivers, except the MG which has a few bugs.
RECENT POSTS
02/02/26 – A Winter Rebirth? Deciding Whether to Recondition My Aging Daily Driver
01/12/26 – Aging Beloved Daily Driver Quandary: Refresh or Replace
12/08/25 – Visiting old writings from the Hemmings bible
11/10/25 – A Car Guy Offers Lessons in Taking Misfortune in Stride
10/20/25 – Intuitive Genius Wielding a Hammer and Chisel
09/05/25 – Classic Autos and Autism, Sharing a Journey to Betterment
08/11/25 – Every Car Tells a Story, Here are 6 Good Ones
07/20/25 – 2025 Mille Miglia; Hot Town, Summer in the City
07/01/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale – (Part 3. Episode 20 – A Snowball’s Chance)
06/14/25 – In search of the Lost 7th Royale – (Part 3, Episode 19 – Frozen Freeway to Freedom)
05/29/25 – In search of the Lost 7th Royale – (Part 3, Episode 18 – End Game)
05/15/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale – (Part 3, Episode 17 – The Best Laid Plans)
05/01/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale – (Part 3, Episode 16 – Bugatti Royale Resurrection)
04/17/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale – (Part 3, Episode 15 – The Ultimate Barn Find)
04/09/25 – In Memoriam – Driving My Sister to Mobile
03/20/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale (Part 3, Episode 13 – Return to a Heart of Darkness)
02/20/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale (Part 2, Episode 11 – A Wounded Bird Points the Way)
02/06/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale (Part 2, Episode 10 – Harrowing Escape into an Unknown Future)
01/23/25 – In Search of the Lost 7th Royale (Part 2, Episode 9 – Priceless Bugatti Lost in the Fog of War)
01/10/25 – Automotive Crimes and the Man Who Solved Many of Them, Talks AirTags, Fobs and Much More Pt. 2
12/04/24 – Jaguars Trans-formation into the New Coke of Automobile Re-branding
11/21/24 – New York City Automotive Crimes and the Man Who Solved Many of Them Pt 1
10/20/24 – The Charming Terror of Driving on Ireland’s Back Roads
09/14/24 – A Secret Sauce and Successful Recipe for Mixing Kids and Classic Cars
08/25/24 – America’s First Car Show for Kids?
08/01/24 – Classic Trucks Loaded With Memories
07/11/24 – Making It Happen: Collectible Car Fair for Kids and Teens
06/20/24 – This Mr. “T” Sells 100-year old Fords to German Car Enthusiasts
06/06/24 – When Car Rustlers Stalk eBay, What Does eBay Do?
05/18/24 – Loving but Leaving the Blue Ridge
03/28/24 – Collectible Car Fair for Kids and Teens
03/14/24 – A Sharp Engineer’s Insights Inspires a Quantum Leap in Methanol Injection
02/29/24 – Betraying the Brand or Smart Business? Part II
02/15/24 – Betraying the Brand or Smart Business? Part I
02/01/24 – The Black Adder VI, An Outrageous Hot Rod Bentley
01/18/24 – Defining Collectible Car
11/23/23 – Amish Buggies, Where Worlds Collide but No One Crashes
11/09/23 – An Old Car Guy Goes Face-to-Face With Facebook Marketplace
10/26/23 – What’s a Burton
10/12/23 – Carvana Confusion – Dude Where’s My Car?
09/28/23 – Mobility Matters – Navigating life in a wheelchair
09/14/23 – MG Shatters Records on Hitler’s Salt Flats in the Shadow of WWII
08/17/23 – In search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 8)
08/03/23 – In search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 7)
07/20/23 – In Search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 6)
07/06/23 – In Search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 5)
06/22/23 – In Search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 4)
06/08/23 – In search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 3)
05/25/23 – In Search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 2)
05/11/23 – In Search of the 7th Royale (Part 1 – Episode 1)
04/27/23 – Charlie Ross, Gooding’s Master of the Auction Rostrum
04/13/23 – Trapped by a Forest of Trucks
04/03/23 – Hundred-year old Bulldog, Beloved but Doomed?
03/16/23 – Read the car, not the book and other words of wisdom that pave a path to Pebble Beach
03/02/23 – Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda with one of America’s most important cars
02/16/23 – A Silver Ghost story. Real or Fake. You decide.
02/03/23 – Fanfare for an uncommon man. A decorated soldier passes at 98.
01/19/23 – Dr. Fred Simeone’s Mona Lisa car legacy. Part 2. Fascinating backstories of cars he preserved.
01/05/23 – Dr. Fred Simeone’s love, vision and priceless racing legacy Part 1
12/08/22 – Driving to history, Visiting America’s oldest tavern and the man who saved it
11/24/22 – How to manage down a classic car collection
11/10/22 – Saving the farm, Barry Wood’s beach club in the Blue Ridge
10/27/22 – When the collection outlives the collector, a daughter’s point of view
09/29/22 – Benny Bryant’s 50-years of building Blue Ridge beauties
09/15/22 – Visiting a community built for car enthusiasts
09/01/22 – Reaching the heights of her dreams on the wings of a deHavilland Beaver
08/18/22 – 35 Below, 16 Dogs, 13 Days. Angie tackles Alaska’s Iditarod.
08/04/22 – Let’s create a Concours d’Elegance. OK…How?
06/23/22 – Does original matter anymore?
06/09/22 – Judged the 32 most historically significant cars in America. Do you agree?
05/26/22 – Hagerty automotive heritage dream conference. Gone for good?
05/12/22 – A Devin’s 47-year journey from scrap heap to Pebble Beach
04/28/22 – Hot Road Missionary and his monster machines
04/14/22 – The monster truck that nearly crushed Volvo
03/31/22 – Drank with Arlo. Dated Alice. Tuned Evel’s motorcycle. They call him Pinto.
03/17/22 – Mr. Thomas’s forest of old Porsches, VW buses and more
03/03/22 – Taking the Skyline Drive to explore the dusty attic of Virginia car culture
02/17/22 – Return of the Zipper King
02/03/22 – Karaoke, Elon Musk’s new weapon to fight driving doldrums
01/20/22 – When blue highways turn white
01/06/22 – Blue highways, back roads – If not now when?
12/09/21 – Hot rod love, family style
11/25/21 – Cars & Caffe’s Tony Boniello is always looking to brew up something new
11/11/21 – Randy the Rodfather and his Green “T” hot rod
10/28/21 – Provenance – Uncovering your car’s backstory
10/14/21 – Comparing classic car sales platforms
09/30/21 – Evolution of the new car brochure (Part II)
09/16/21 – A hot rod life defined by abundance not lack
09/02/21 – The man they trust to rebuild history
08/19/21 – Bring what you love
08/05/21 – Exploring our power within
07/15/21 – Evolution of the new car brochure (Part 1)
07/01/21 – The sputtering Mosquito and the Virgin Loretto
06/17/21 – Raymond Loewy’s 1970s Soviet world car adventure
06/03/21 – 90 GTOs, 30 Corvettes and counting
05/20/21 – An inspired venture to preserve American craftsmanship and vintage Airstream trailers
05/06/20 – When the find is the barn
04/22/21 – Man Cave Garage Sale unmasks Covid boredom
04/08/21 – The odd couple in Vinny Plotino’s garage
03/25/21 – Lemans 1978 – A young man’s memories
03/11/21 – A Sherman tank’s incredible journey from Nyack, NY to the final episode of M.A.S.H.
02/25/21 – Jaguar Archive – Preserving the soul of the brand
02/18/21 – Carried away by Bring a Trailer
02/11/21 – Hollywood dentist Dr. George Schweiger’s fantastic stable of future classic car rentals
01/28/21 – And then, Nuccio Bertone signaled for his personal Miura
01/21/21 – Behind the wheel of a time machine
01/14/21 – Wurst Kase Motorsports
01/07/21 – Singing the CarGurus no title blues
12/24/20 – Rebuild it and they will come – The life of Carburetor Steve
12/10/20 – A Volvo Christmas Classic – “It’s a Vunderful Life”
12/03/20 – Carnucopia II – Classic Car Food Drive
11/26/20 – Vintage Cord binds father and son
11/19/20 – NY Route 9D – A sure cure for Covid boredom
11/12/20 – Confessions of a demolition derby survivor
11/05/20 – Sons of Danger – Mad Men on wheels
10/29/20 – VW Bug restoration is no joke. Ask Jerry Seinfeld
10/22/20 – Guatemala and back in a Karmann Ghia
10/08/20 – A classic Corvette and a soldier’s old letters connect to a kid brother’s memories
10/01/20 – American Pickers meets Hunger Games on a country road
09/24/20 – Crash course for an underage driver
09/17/20 – Playboy Bunnies in the rearview mirror
09/10/20 – The journey is the reward
09/03/20 – More than the next chapter, it’s the next book – Life 2.0
08/27/20 – Old School Larry
08/20/20 – In celebration of a life off the leash
08/13/20 – Asleep at the wheel – Rest Stop Recovery
08/06/20 – Rt. 17A – A sweet ride to Sugarloaf
07/30/20 – What’s a”Vineyard truck?”
07/16/20 – The woman picks up where the girl left off
07/09/20 – When time and other things stand still
07/02/20 – Drive-In movies, Back to the future
06/25/20 – Mystery of the vanishing Indian Motorcycle sign
06/18/20 – Dagavar’s Jaguar, the truth at last
06/11/20 – TAKE-OUT, Lifeline to the future
06/04/20 – Henry Hudson Drive
05/28/20 – CARnucopia Food Drive Results
05/21/20 – CARnucopia
05/14/20 – Collectible Car Culture in a Pandemic
05/07/20 – Austin Healey? Nope, It’s Austin’s Crosley!
04/30/20 – Storm King Highway
04/23/20 – Children We Love
04/16/20 – Mustang Madness Revisited
