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
Conversations With People We Value #9
A shout out to all of the past members of my pandemic interrupted “Collectible automobiles as a passion” class who donned masks and gathered at Paul’s Motors in Hawthorne, New Jersey last Thursday. An eclectic collection of superior classic automobiles together with a stack of pizzas made for a great night and reminded all, how much we miss getting together. And now on to this week’s story.
Elaine and I take great pleasure in avoiding major interstates when travelling through unfamiliar territory. The rewards of the “road not taken” memorialized by poet Robert Frost have been reinforced time and again in our travels. A few years ago seeking a back way to Charlotte, North Carolina put us on a wonderful well paved two-lane that meandered through rolling farmland and woods. While the road merits inclusion in “Roads We Remember,” the man we met at the end of the road makes this story a “Conversation With People We Value.”
American Pickers meets Hunger Games on a country road
A p
icturesque ribbon of highway, Route 742 weaved through the rural Piedmont region of North Carolina. My personal directional instincts fortified by happenstance, hope and blind luck (We don’t need no stinkin’ GPS) had once again struck pay dirt.
Route 742 would be transporting us on a picturesque and untroubled journey to my favorite destination, “somewhere else.” Encouraged by Elaine’s child-like delight in the joys of being hopelessly lost, we reveled in this open expanse of rural America dotted with healthy farms and infrequent villages that populated this handsome country road.
The striking pristine cleanliness and order of one small community we passed through piqued our interest. We were later told that a local son who had gone off to make his fortune had done just that. The story went that with gratitude for his upbringing he returned to invest in revitalizing his home town. Whether true or not, I had chosen to believe.
Slowing to the end of this idyllic blue highway and poised to leave behind this land of lovely hamlets, an amazing sight entered our view. Before our wondering eyes should appear (Yes, I know, I stole the line but it just fit so well) what could only be described as the land of Oz for pickers and […]
Cars We Love & Who We Are #10
Trusting in the public’s ability to practice proper Covid-19 guidance, the September Park Ridge Car Show soldiered on refusing to be a victim of pandemic panic. As a rare oasis of socialized car culture in the pandemic desert, the show’s magnetic draw surprised no one. With sunshine, blue skies and great cars, people desperately seeking relief from cabin fever flocked to an event that drew three times as many show cars as the previous year.
Always on the prowl for unusual stories, I moved through an eclectic array of beautiful and interesting examples of foreign and domestic vehicles from years past. While these exceptional automobiles more than merited my full attention, a most unusual site across the lot owned my focus. Show cars for the most part enjoyed the loving caresses of dusting brushes, microfiber cloths and detailing spray. Not so the object of my attention. This show car’s hood was about to bear the full brunt of a large sledge hammer.
Crash course for an underage driver
Sledge hammer challenge
A crowd has formed around a competition prepped 1996 Honda Accord. The young owner has realized that people will pay to slam the hood of his car with a sledge hammer. Owner Christian Farquhar has no reservations about the blows to be inflicted. His logic, the blow might actual straighten out an existing dent. After all, his Honda has been prepped for a Demolition Derby.
When older car enthusiasts wonder where the new blood will come from, Christian answers that question both figuratively and literally.
It all started two years ago in 2018.
Far too young for a driver’s permit, Christian Farquhar, a high school wrestler with a stunt man’s heart climbed in through the driver’s side window of his 1991 Honda Accord. He had enjoyed watching such events on YouTube. But now, at the age of 14, it would be him behind the wheel and he would be in front of 4,000 screaming fans. For Christian’s parents, Tom and Lori Farquhar, who considered themselves well prepared for the event, their son’s first drive remains a vivid memory.
“Impacts
are bone jarringly violent and louder than you would expect. All of a sudden it gets real, very real,” says Tom. Lori recalls, “walking in, I was cool with it.” Then […]
Conversations With People We Value #8
Funny what surfaces when digging through old dusty files. Recently some Playboy Bunnies tumbled out of a long forgotten banker box.
Over forty years ago, I hatched the idea for a story that combined interesting cars and beautiful women. Granted, while we’re not talking the great American novel, I did believe the odds of getting published were good.
Based on my proximity to McAfee, New Jersey, my idea called for writing a piece on Playboy Bunnies at the Great Gorge Playboy Resort who drove Corvettes. I pitched the idea to Corvette News. Their response? Absolutely! I was halfway home. Now, I only needed permission and cooperation from Playboy to provide access to the women who fit the story, if they existed, and to conduct interviews and photograph the women on the scenic Playboy resort grounds. How hard could that be?
To my pleasant surprise, Playboy embraced the idea. Game on for “Great Cars, Great Girls, Great Gorge.”
Playboy Bunnies in the rearview mirror
L-R Cathy, Kelly, Marie All photography by Burton Hall
Armed with a note pad, a pair of Nikons and boundless enthusiasm, I assumed the guise of the professional me as I approached the awaiting dream gig. I remember how rural it all felt as I navigated the two lane roads leading to what would be Hugh Hefner’s huge and subsequently failed bet that New Jersey would legalize gambling in the 1970s. My journey cut though farmland, cow pastures and woodlands until the Playboy Resort rose like a Mayan temple above the forest canopy. An approving wave at the security booth confirmed that all systems were go.
I still remember the Playboy PR staff. Jack Prather, Public Relations Director and his assistant, Mary Lander, put it together seamlessly. They introduced me to the three young women who would bring my idea to life. Kelly, Marie and Cathy, stunning in their royal blue VIP Room Bunny uniforms, would join me out in front of the resort to pose with one of their Corvettes. We would then reconvene at a scenic location off the golf course after they removed their Bunny suits and changed into casual clothes.
With bow tie, Bunny ears, cotton tail, 3-inch heels and a bustier-like body suit with a high thigh cut that made legs look like […]
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.
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