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 #6
Recently a scary event with my 1961 Corvette reminded me why some companies remain in business for decades while others do not.
So, a shout out to Hackensack Auto Spring & Wheel Alignment in Hackensack, NJ. Owned and operated since 1964 by three generations of the Zillitto family starting with founder grandfather Joe, then son Frank and now grandson Bryan, all have been called upon to service my Corvette going back to 1968.
Recently it was time for front end work. Victoria at Hackensack Spring answered my call for an appointment. I mentioned that I had always respected the work of Jimmy but that was decades ago. She responded, “Oh, Jimmy is still here.” Jimmy first worked on my Corvette in the 1970s. We booked it.
I arrive. Door rolls up. Grandson Bryan welcomes me as I pull in. I roll to a stop. Bryan looks at my car and yells, “Holy S*%t!” A puddle of gas is building under the front of my Corvette. We lift the hood to reveal gas pouring out from below the bowl of the front Carter WCFB like a high octane Mr. Coffee. Luckily puddling gas had not reached the hot exhaust manifold.
All owner Bryan said was, “Do you want to call AAA.” I told him I felt I couldn’t be in a better place than right where I was if it was okay with him. While his business focuses on suspension, Bryan made fire extinguishers available and without hesitation told his guys to take a look. Dave, a technician with extensive small block experience, pulled the front carburetor after draining the bowl. He found that a press fit rivet that sealed access to the bowl had popped out. Amazingly lucky for me, the rivet had remained on the top of the intake manifold where it had landed. Dave returned the sealing rivet to its rightful place. My Corvette would make it home where both carburetors would be removed and rebuilt.
Everyone had remained calm, professional and focused on the unexpected job at hand. Everyone accepted my problem as their problem. Disaster was averted for which I thank Hackensack Auto Spring.
…And speaking of Thanksgiving, it appears that for 2020 finding alternatives to large gatherings tops the menu.
A drive on New York Route 9D through the historic Hudson Valley offers a worthy consideration.
NY Route 9D – A sure cure for Covid boredom
Conversations With People We Value #13
Last week my F100 pickup required a flatbed. Upon calling AAA I discovered that while a flatbed would be sent for my truck, I could not accompany my vehicle, AAA’s Covid policy. It would be up to me to get personal transportation.
AAA only tells you this when you call for assistance. Questions relating to proper delivery of the vehicle and disposition of the vehicle key remained unanswered. Be warned.
Luckily in my case, a friend nearby came to my rescue. We accompanied the flatbed to the repair shop.
In a classic lemons to lemonade story, while visiting the repair shop the following day, owner and good friend Bob Tasman shared a great story as retold below.
Confessions of a demolition derby survivor
High Anxiety
Bob Tasman epitomizes the hard core automobile driving enthusiast who grew up in the mid-twentieth century’s golden age of the automobile.
As a Drivin’ News reader, Bob while looking at my truck tossed out an offhand comment about a recent Drivin’ News story that described a teenager’s passion for driving in demolition derbies (“Crash course for an underage driver”).
Though a big time dirt track racer for many years, Bob said, “Reading that story gave me an instant flashback to my first involvement in demolition derbies.”
Since the 1970s Bob had been competing in dirt track racing, often at the Orange County, NY Fairgrounds. Like dirt track racing, demolition derby enjoyed a great following at the Fairgrounds with a highlight being the demolition derby held at the annual fair.
OUCH!
1982 saw Bob and a number of dirt track racing buddies decide demolition derby looked like fun. To a man “Let’s all do it” rang out as the dirt track racers’ battle cry.
When asked if he had any trepidations about entering his first demolition derby and a very serious one at that, Bob says, “I was a race car driver. I pretty much figured I wouldn’t be seeing anything I hadn’t seen before. I mean I’ve crashed. I’ve been on fire.” Bob understood the prevailing mindset for anyone entering this land yacht battering ram version of a steel cage wrestling match saying, ”I think probably the best asset anybody can have in a situation like this would be the killer instinct.”
Clearly Bob knew it would not be for the faint of heart. It promised […]
Conversations With People We Value #12
Featuring expensive suits, slicked back hair, martinis and land yacht lifestyles; HBO’s “Mad Men” portrayed the man’s world of Madison Avenue with a decidedly mid-20th century Gentleman’s Quarterly persona.
Far afield of HBO’s take on advertising’s Mad Men resided an accomplished, respected and loosely affiliated band of Madison Avenue road warriors. Self-assured, self-deprecating and self-named they were the “Sons of Danger.”
Sons of Danger – Mad Men on wheels
Sons Of Danger enroute to Laconia, NH Motorcycle Week 1984
“Sons o
f Danger” as a group could only have been born in the halcyon days of the later 20th century when automobile accounts pumped excitement and money into advertising agencies and magazines. Populated with automobile and motorcycle racing champions, automotive industry leaders, creative minds from advertising and publishing and gifted free spirits, the “Sons of Danger” roster boasted a selective coast to coast who’s who of fun loving motorheads. Those who belonged included cultural icons such as Malcolm Forbes; Paul Newman; Olympian Bart Conner; writers Brock Yates, P. J. O’Rourke and David E. Davis; champion drivers Dan Gurney, Kenny Bernstein, Don Garlits, Tom Sneva, Sam Hanks and Steve “Yogi” Behr; and Corvette designer Larry Shinoda. The list goes on. Membership could not be requested. It could only be offered.
Milt Gravatt on a Malcolm Forbes ride
A mid-1970s brainchild that sprang from the fertile minds of Volvo Advertising Manager Milt Gravatt, Petersen Publishing Account Executive Charlie Alexander and Chuck Riley of Young & Rubicam, “Sons of Danger” was envisioned as a loose affiliation of men of similar character sharing a common interest in all motorized vehicles that moved fast. It also afforded a relatively anonymous and spirited way to bleed off the stress accompanying the demands of leadership, creativity on demand and/or celebrity.
Other than unscheduled, informal and randomly attended gatherings at Brews, an East Side NYC pub, now long gone, members solely assembled when personally drawn by the magnetic pull of a motoring event of interest. Events spanned a wide spectrum from the down and dirty to the simply splendid.
Malcolm Forbes ride participants at Forbes Building
As a billionaire, “good guy” and “Sons of Danger” member, Malcolm Forbes would stage an annual motorcycle […]
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
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11/10/25 – A Car Guy Offers Lessons in Taking Misfortune in Stride
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08/11/25 – Every Car Tells a Story, Here are 6 Good Ones
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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)
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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
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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
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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?
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11/23/23 – Amish Buggies, Where Worlds Collide but No One Crashes
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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)
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04/03/23 – Hundred-year old Bulldog, Beloved but Doomed?
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02/03/23 – Fanfare for an uncommon man. A decorated soldier passes at 98.
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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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)
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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
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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”
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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
