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
Cars We Love & Who We Are #4
It’s spring and young men’s and women’s fancy turns to thoughts of… driving their classic cars. Granted our fancy turns to thoughts of other things too, but right now I am talking classic cars.
Unlike all previous springs the joyous social nature associated with our classic car passion has been knee-capped by the Covid-19 pandemic. Conflicted by our unshakable determination to do the “right thing” and our passion for the open road, we yearn for a responsible solution. How about this?
Carnucopia
Carnucopia offers a classic car driving event that combines helping people in need with food and necessary supplies while affording a gathering of friends an opportunity to enjoy a great drive on country roads. All while practicing proper social distancing.
Carnucopia is both a driving event and a fund raiser. Participation in the driving event requires a minimum donation of $25. Larger donations are welcomed. All moneys will go to the Triboro Food Pantry, a Park Ridge, NJ 501C3 non-profit organization. Click on the link to visit their website. They support families across Bergen County. Donations are tax deductible. Please make out all checks to Triboro Food Pantry.
In essence the plan calls for all participants to gather at 8:00 am on the morning of Sunday, May 24th at the Kohl’s parking lot on Route 17 North in Ramsey NJ.
The Drivin’ News 1953 Ford F100 pick-up truck will be positioned where all participants can stop to make their donation and get route directions. Volunteers will direct participants to alternating parking spots to allow for proper spacing. PEOPLE MUST STAY IN THEIR CARS.
The drive leader will depart at 8:30 sharp.
Key Facts
- Starting location: Kohl’s, 1300 Route 17 North, Ramsey, NJ 07446
- A donation of a minimum of $25 is required
- Arrive time: 8:00 am
- Depart Kohls: 8:30 sharp
- Distance: Approx 45 miles
- Duration: Approx. 1.5 hours
- Drive leader: Peter Desbets, 1986 Red Porsche 911
- Directions are provided so that even if you get separated you will know where you are.
- The drive will conclude at the light at the intersection of Seven Lakes Drive and Route 17 in Sloatsburg.
- Triboro Food Pantry 501C3 tax ID# 81-1480802
Covid-19 Rules of the road
- ALL PARTICIPANT MUST HAVE GLOVES AND MASKS WITH THEM
- SOCIAL DISTANCING RULES MUST BE […]
Conversations with People We Value #1
He never saw this coming. Embedded in the classic car culture Matt Maisano, owner of Motorcar Manor a premier collectible automobile storage facility in Ramsey, NJ, has built his business by being a forward thinking guy. Fortunately, He has always strived to be prepared for the unexpected.
Let’s see what he is preparing for now.
Collectible car culture in a pandemic –
An insider’s perspective
Tell us about Motorcar Manor?
I love classic cars. Whether I own the car or someone else does, I love everything about it. If I did not own Motorcar Manor, I would visit it whenever I could. Other than a world class museum, where else could you enjoy such an eclectic collection of automotive art?
I appreciate the joy each of these rare, beautiful and athletic works of art and genius conveys to its owner. As a business, MCM stores all clients’ vehicles the same as if they were my own. Yes, MCM is a business, but for me it is a passion.
At MCM we store special vehicles. We assist people in buying and selling vehicles. We assist in providing vehicles for film and magazine placement. We recently placed vehicles in The Irishman and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
How has Covid-19 affected your business?
Initially it really has not impacted us. We’re still storing people’s cars because the weather here in the Northeast until recently has been pretty gloomy.
That said Regardless of weather, some clients are like clockwork. End of March the car gets detailed and leaves to return in the fall.
However, some cars are staying longer. This impacts MCM because people usually get a premium detailing before taking the car. Detailing is an important source of income. Frankly, I think until people get a better understanding of the virus some people will choose not to expose their prized vehicles to other people.
As well our vehicle sales have taken a hit. I believe the decline in sales reflects people’s concerns about social distancing. I believe that will soon change for the better as people become more comfortable in knowing how to safely interact.
Frankly, some people may just choose to leave cars here until some kind of normalcy returns. Also, I have a couple of clients that are snow birds. I’m willing to bet those guys are not coming […]
Cars We Love & Who We Are #3
Leaving the cold sun of winter behind, May brings the first hot kiss of provocatively lengthening daylight. Memorial Day approaches. Garage doors open to proclaim wrenching’s transition to a summer sport.
Even as the Coronavirus shroud lingers, the summer sun brings hope. Cars we love, like hibernating bears, prepare to leave their caves. We do all we can to help them. This is one man’s story.
Austin Healey? Nope! It’s Austin’s Crosley
Wayne Carini badly wanted Irv Gordon’s 3-million mile P1800, the world’s most famous Volvo. Bob Austin, who had joined Carini at the Long Island garage that housed Gordon’s collection since Gordon’s passing in 2018, possessed an equally passionate desire. However, though a longtime Volvo executive and Irv Gordon’s good friend, Austin’s yearning focused on another car in 
Gordon’s collection, a little green golf cart sized Crosley sports car.
Carini’s effort would bear no fruit. Gordon’s 3.2 million mile P1800 would assume its rightful place of honor in Sweden as a star at the Volvo Museum. Austin on the other hand smiled all the way home as the owner of a 1949 Crosley Hotshot with 4,700 miles.
Austin’s taste in automobiles might best be described as eclectic. Austin’s litany of past drives include a Ferrari, Avanti, Willy’s Jeepster, Cobra, Sunbeam Tiger, MG TD, Volvo 740 Turbo station wagon, a Royale Formula Vee race car (which presently resides in Austin’s living room…no really, his living room), but his heart belongs to Crosley. Austin’s youthful dalliance with an NSU Sport Prinz is best considered a telling behavioral marker foreshadowing his lifelong blind love for anything Crosley.
Peering behind Austin’s unapologetic passion for vehicles born of Powell Crosley’s post-WWII foray into the automobile business reveals, as is often the case with curious behavior displayed in adulthood, a childhood experience.
As a 10-year old, Austin loved his father’s 1957 Chrysler. With giant fins, sleek visual dynamics, hemi power and a massive road presence, that Chrysler bristled with character cues that George Barris would later employ in creating Adam West’s iconic Batmobile. However, young Austin could not conceive of piloting that finned chrome behemoth. Boy and beast just did not connect. But then one day…
Young Austin laid eyes on a Crosley. In recollecting that first glimpse, Austin says, “As a kid I thought hot damn! […]
Here’s this week’s question:
According to Car & Driver magazine, for model year 1978 the fastest American-made vehicle from 0 to 100 mph was not a car but a truck. Name the truck.
Answer to last week’s question:
Most taxis found in American cities in the mid-20th century were made by one company. Checker
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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