Category Archives: vintage

sighting of the day. Corolla?

Yes you heard right!  A vintage Toyota Corolla. But this one is pretty nicely sorted out—-has a very ‘Vintage JDM’ feel to it.  Spotted in Brooklyn.

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foto of the day. 205 T16.

the phenomenal Peugeot 205 T16!

src:  carsMoveUs

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Saab LIVES!

This time it seems it is for real.  NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden), which is a Swedish company—-has purchased Saab!  Price is not disclosed.  BBC reports this as a “Swedish-Chinese investment group”, however I find that a bit odd, seeing as the CEO of NEVS is a Swedish Citzen…..

EDIT: Apparently NEVS is owned by a Hong Kong firm, so ‘Swedish-Chinese’ is accurate assessment!

As someone who has always admired Saabs and at one point wanted a Saab 900 as my first car when I was 15 (i never did get one, but my mum did!), I am really glad to think that the marque may live another day!

Here’s hoping it sticks this time…

src:  BBC

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foto of the day. Veyron.

I love this colour combination, a dull grey and a shiny grey combining to create a visually striking textural enterprise!  As we all know, there have been many limited edition Veyrons cross the stage since the car was launched, primarily for rich sheikhs who have nothing better to do with their pocket change.  That being said, none of that negates the fact that the Veyron is by far the most staggeringly well-engineered production car made in our lifetime—and while i’m never much a fan of ‘open top motoring’ (as I look and feel like Dracula-in-a-convertible every time i have driven a convertible), this Bugatti Veyron Gran Sport Vitesse really does look the part with its ‘Jet Grey’ paint scheme.

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video of the day. GT-R.

The latest in the Depth of Speed series, and in my opinion the best video in the series by quite a margin—Eric Bauer and his KPGC10 GT-R.  Beautiful.  Eric seems genuinely gushing over his purchase, and rightfully so!

Nice video too—with no overdramatic cheeseball piano music like most of the ‘new’ car videos are inserting!

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art of the day. Stratos.

A lovely sketch by the talented Rob Ijbema, which i’ve enthused about many times here…

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the saddest junkyard.

I was thoroughly intrigued when I was told about Gerard Gombert by my friend Misi from the superb Stipistop At first i was enthralled and so excited to learn that a hardcore automobile enthusiast and hermit had aggregated a massive collection of glorious race cars, sports cars, and supercars.  My excitement soon turned into anger when I read this written on Forocoches by “Felishuko” (who assumingly took some of the following photos):

“The sad part is that none of this is available and that after his death, his will says, “the whole lot will be crushed.””

Excuse me while I put my *face in palm*.  Let me just show you a bit of what exactly lies in his garden junkyard. The photos are of graphic degredation and deterioration, especially when understanding what the ultimate fate is going to be of these cars.  Mr. Gombert is said to be an old-school race car driver himself; so then we can assume that he is the real deal.

I will also extend a word to Mr. Gombert (who will likely never read this!) saying that If you are worried about someone monetizing these cars into something and using them to achieve wealth, I can promise you that there are enthusiasts in the world who will NOT do this….they don’t exist at RM auctions, Christie’s auctions, or any other high-brow, artificialized trader market—they do exist in the hearts and minds of true enthusiasts who don’t love cars for money; they love cars for their history, engineering, design, and the feeling they provide.  In fact, some of them at least deserve places in a museum as you’ll see in the photos below.

These cars are serving life in prison, with no parole, and ready for the death sentence:

Alpine A310s:

Alpine A110s (oh the horror…..)

Lotus 30 (oh man…):

At least 2 Lamborghini Miuras (not pictured)

but by far….the most painful thing kept in this junkyard is the 1968 Le Mans class-winning Alpine A210.  IT MUST BE RESCUED!

thanks to Misi for tipping me about this!

src:  Forocoches and classicDriver

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“The Secret Life of Colin Chapman” documentary.

I like people who challenge the status-quo…in fact I most respect people who challenge the status quo.  Whether it is in science, writing, art, or motoring.  In the history of the automobile, there are several names that instantly come to mind; Colin Chapman would definitely be one of them.

This is a fantastic 5-part documentary uploaded onto YouTube, and originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK several years ago.  A pleasant way to spend 50 minutes—-even if his fall wasn’t nearly as graceful as his rise.

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NSU autocross

Over the past several months, i’ve really started loving these NSU Prinz/TT/TT-S models. I have seen a couple of these in the past in person and always get the feeling that these cars must be an absolute BLAST to drive around in.  Lightweight, rear-engined, tossable, stiff, and epic 60s cool.   These are so rare in the US, however they enjoy an enthusiastic following in Germany.  I would love to have a go in one…

Thanks to Marco for sending me these pics, and you can see the full album of photos from this AutoX NSU event HERE


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sighting of the day. Cougar.

The most desirable Mercury Cougars are the 1967 and 1968 versions (1st design); after which the Cougar progressively became bigger, bulkier, and overall worse.  That being said, sometimes in the right light in Brooklyn, when one sees a ‘lost’ Cougar like this 1973 (i’m estimating)….it looks absurdly large and early 70s in a cool way.  Vinyl roof, chrome wheels, and look at the size of that trunk lined complete with flying buttresses!  Pimptastic….and funky.

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foto of the day. GT6

1968 Triumph GT6. lovely!

src:  gt6.ca

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art of the day. Matra cutaways.

Through my love of Alpine, I have also found myself in appreciation of other French racing marques such as Matra and Panhard.   There really is a huge lack of information or literature about Panhard, however luckily such is not the case with Matra.

Automobiliac posted these great Matra cutaway drawings done by Robert Roux a couple of years ago!  Go there to see a blistering video of a MS650 screaming across the track!

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mystery car challenge!

Welcome to the first ever IEDEI mystery car challenge.  I will be very impressed if someone is able to identify this car!  Make and model.  There are no penalties for wrong guesses!

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Rally Heaven.

Chris Harris back in form, riding in a Lancia Delta S4Stratos and 037! 

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Bride and the 928.

These photos may be digitally altered/edited, but it doesn’t matter as they’re pretty damn cool.  I’m digging the minimalist stone background.  “Leda and the Swan”, as described:

“A modern reinterpretation of the Greek myth, the images capture a woman in an Escada wedding dress and a white vintage Porsche 928, photographed by Alex Rank within digital sets designed by adNAU’s Tino Schaedler.”

src:  behance

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foto of the day. Jarama.

I love how funky the Lamborghini Jarama is—and I love that it doesn’t look like any other Lamborghini.  Designed by Gandini, It had cartoonish looks:  dintinctly conventional looking body panels set to a bizarrely low-slung, frankenstein set of proportions.  All in all, i think this may be one of the most underappreciated Lamborghinis ever made—along with my personal favourite: the Islero 

src:  RM

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Dunhill custom shirt.

Unlike many modern workers, I still work in a somewhat traditional environment (Hospital) and each day I wear a dress shirt, a tie (50% of the time), a sport coat or blazer, and dress pants.  I do think that modern men have lost the ability to properly dress for work and it’s a real shame.  I see younger men in NYC walking to work dressed like they’re going to grab a sandwich (jeans, t-shirt, crap shoes), and to be honest it’s a damn shame.

To me, it doesn’t have to do with wealth as much as it does an appreciation of one’s work and respect for the environment around them.  It shows one has the thought to care about their workplace, and has the dignity to spend the few extra minutes a day to look presentable outside to complement staying presentable inside.   In the old days, coats and dress shirts were not only for the wealthy—they were for everyone.  Taxi drivers wore shirts and ties, janitors wore uniforms—people had dignity about the service they were providing.  These days, people don’t care about dignity—-they want their money and they want to go home.  Definitely a damn shame…

If you’ve read IEDEI, you will surely remember that I have quite a big soft spot for Dunhill clothing and accessories.  I do have a few Dunhill shirts and they are extremely comfortable and sharp fitting.

Great video showing the making of a Dunhill custom tailored shirt.

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foto of the day. my garage.

I WISH!

2 S1 quattros.  wow.

src:  audiSport FB

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art of the day. Speed 6 and Speed 8.

In celebration of upcoming Le Mans 2012—-here are two fantastic illustrations by Peter Hutton

The Le Mans-conquering Bentley Speed 6 and Bentley Speed 8. 

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foto of the day. 124 Sport.

Really starting to dig these after seeing a couple of great examples at the Carlisle Import Show a few weeks ago.

Fiat 124 Sport

src: carsFromItaly

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