The Little Jalopy That Could

So if you've read this blog thoroughly (which isn't saying much as this is my 11th post), you must know I refer to all 1984 and older Mercedes-Benz as Babymamas. You will also know that it's all in honor of my very own 1984 300SD Turbo Diesel Babymama :) Those who know me personally know that I am absolutely smitten on that car. I love her like a person and she keeps me safe. Babymama is my first car and I fully intent to keep her forever, even if that means keeping her by means of her "nose" (hood ornament) if, God forbid, anything tragic happen. Anyway, I would like you to get to know her better. Most people don't look twice when they see a 1970s - 1980s Benz. I do. And I always say "babymama!" with the biggest freakin' smile on my face. That's affection. Despite the fact that she's been beat and totalled and has suffered technical hemorrhages galore, I adore her. My Mister has said it quite well, scars give you character. True true true, even for cars. If you came across my post about Concours D'Elegances, I'm sure you get a sense that I love a well kept classic. However, there is something about a car that has seen life, that has trucked through it and said "bring it" to whatever rough terrain it had to go through. Such was the case of my Babymama.

She was picked up from Stuttgart, Germany in 1984. She's a true Euro! Mercedes-Benz offered my parents a 1 way ticket to Stuttgart to pick her up straight from the factory! Included in the program was a complete tour of the Mercedes Benz factory. Once they picked her up, they drove her through the Black Forest. Once it started raining, my dad (USA) turned to my mom (FRANCE) and said quite bluntly: "this is your weather, you drive". They encountered a funny piece of land that sat in the middle of the 3 lane freeway: a little house who's owner refused to sell. Babymama drove them all around France before they dropped her offand handed over her keys at a parking lot at Avenue de la Grande Armee in Paris. From there she made her way onto a boat a travelled across the seas. Two months later a phone called informed my parents that she had made it to San Pedro, CA. Why Diesel?? Emission laws in California made it terribly complicated to get a gasoline car from Europe. That's the reason my mom had to forfeit her sexy little Mercedes Coupe, you know the ones with the pagoda roof you could forget a cup of coffee on, and it would make it across town just fine...

Now she's travelled her way into my hands. I can't say I've always treated her the way I should. I don't mean I call her names or hate on her! She's my first car. I've hit a pole or two, I've driven over those obnoxious parking cement blocks and got her oil pin stuck in the oil pan (that means oil leak!!!) and I've gotten two flat tires. But she gets a "good morning" and a "thank you" and a "good night" every day. I know her faults, her foibles, her troubles, and her triumphs! I go by Randall "Memphis" Raines' philosophy (Gone in 60 Seconds) : you take care of me, I'll take care of you. I believe it. I wash her myself almost every week and try to vacuum her every now and then. I check the oil level frequently as she's known to leak. You may think I'm a lunatic-wierdo by now, but that's OK. If you're really in-tune with your car, you'll get it. There is a reason a car is often referred to as "my baby". A car is usually a person's second greatest purchase in life. You definitely want to show proper care to something that important. I live in Los Angeles, so your vehicle is even more important considering the unimpressive public transit system (not to diss the Big Blue Bus, of course!). However, car care and car love are distinguishable. I don't think the dude over there driving on PCH like a befuddled version of Michael Schumacher in his expensive, new Porsche quadriporte, after having 10 people detail his car, really gives a rat's ass about it. It's an item of luxury. It's a sign of wealth and social status (and who knows, he could live in a shit hole and have invested it all in his ride just for looks). I'm making a gross stereotipization here, but I've encountered that "type" in the past. He cares enough about it on the surface, he keeps it in pristine condition, both physically and mechanically. But when I see the older man in his 1965 BMW 2000 CS, somewhat beat it may be, I know it's love. When I go to Pomona and see greasers drinking beer and talking car at 8am, its definite car love! And that, to me, is worth more than a million dollar car.

Here's a circa 1965 BMW that chills close-by to where I live. It's got charm! Below is a 1960s Chevrolet I saw a little old man get into. He actally looked at me funny as I was snapping shots of his car.

A "Misfit of Motordom"

...as considered by the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The exhibition, "What Were They Thinking?" features the bizarre and innovative cars throughout motor car history. I got to see it in person and it was FANTASTIC. One car in particular stuck out as "drivable", and that was the Edsel. I also fell upon a gorgeous 1958 Edsel Roundup at the Pomona Swap Meet in March.

If you're in town before June 6th and want to see some out-of-the-box automotive styling and engineering, check out the Petersen's website: http://www.petersen.org/

Here's the 1958 Edsel Citation at the Petersen Museum.

The Edsel make was named after the late Edsel Ford, president of Ford Motor Company, who died in 1943 at the young age of 49. Most of us only know of Henry Ford as Edsel apparently wasn't behind most major decisions for the company.

The Edsel was only in production from 1958 to 1960. The car was deemed a "failure" and "disaster" by the Edsel Owners Club itself. The model nearly pushed Ford Motor Company into bankruptcy in the late 50s. The Edsel's original target was "young professionals". The car made its debut in 1957 in showrooms across the US. The hype around the new Edsel was huge. Ad campaigns aimed to keep the car's full appearance a secret, only depicting the hood ornament. Dealers were warned that if they revealed the car at any point before its release date, they would get a fine or even lose their franchise. Edsel was playing on the curiosity and excitement of the crowds to see and purchase this new, unseen car. It was a mystery and everyone loves a good mystery. The ads only mentioned "The Edsel is Coming", as if it were long-awaited event approaching in the near future.

Unfortunately, people came to look, but only to look. The daily minimum sale of 400 cars per dealership was never met. The initial design of the Edsel definitely stood on its own. Its prominent feature was the front end of the hood, which contrarily to other cars of its time that all looked similar, broke the horizontal line flow on the grille with a vertical hood ornament that spelled out EDSEL from top to bottom. Apparently that design is now referred to as a "horse collar". Fair enough. The feedback from reviewers ranged from positive, to saying it resembled "an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon". Some reviewers were not even sure if they loved it or thought it was a design disaster. The designers idea behind its unique appearance was to make it distinguishable from far. That, it was. The mechanics behind the look were not up to par either. Many owners complained about various problems with their Edsel. According to Failure Magazine (good name) who quotes Bob Ellsworth, owner and operator of http://www.edsel.com/ "there were cases where the cars that weren't exactly complete showed up at dealerships. They would have a list on the steering wheal saying which parts were missing." The Edsel program was to be ended in November 1959, but the last car rolled off the production line a year later in 1960.

There is a lot of information available out there in books and on the web about the Edsel's disastrous history, Failure Magazine online has a well detailed article about it: http://failuremag.com/

Here's the '58 Edsel Roundup in Pomona. The Epic Fail car seems to be alive today. I think it looks cool. Would I drive it? You bet.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Fairest of them All

A Competition of Elegance or Concours D'Elegance. I've always wanted to attend one, and somehow always managed to miss one. I am committed to going to the Huntington Beach Concours D'Elegance on June 5th and/or 6th, primarily because one of their featured makers is Ferrari!!! (I've had a love affair of sorts with Ferrari since age 5). It's their Silver Anniversary (25 years!) The show honoring Ferrari as well as Ford will actually be on Sunday. And of course, that same day includes the Pomona Swap Meet...

Check the site out for additional information http://www.hbconcours.org/

The Concours D'Elegance dates all the way back to 17th Century France, when aristocrats would parade around in their horse-drawn carriages in Paris during summer weekends. When the first automobiles were introduced, the Concours become more of a competition amongst vehicle owners. The rules were simple and very straightforward. The best looking car wins. However, along the course of the years judging became much more strict. A car is examined by a trained judge, and is inspected very thoroughly in its entirety. To be eligible for a trophy class, the car must be, for a lack of better words, perfect.

There are Concours D'Elegance for new and for classic cars. One focusing on classic cars will emphasize on originality over condition; by originality I mean how close it is to the way it was when it rolled out of the factory. Judges want to see a car that is in the same or better condition than the way it was once it got off the production line. Modifications are not allowed unless they are original.

Because of all these demands, a Concours car is usually not one used for driving. During the show, it'll get maintained and dusted often to upkeep its flawless look.

Estimable Concours include the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance, the Meadow Brook Concours D'Elegance or the Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance. Concours are not limited to cars, they have them for motorcycles as well. In fact, the Huntington Beach Concours will feature Ducati motorcycles and other manufacturers.

*notice the 1960s Ferrari 25o GTO on the image... yea I captured one of those :) *

Citroen Goddess

Oulala la Citroen DS...

Up until fairly recently I thought it was named Citroen Deesse as opposed to the simple D and S letters.To me it implied the car was godly. And for good reason: "deesse" means "goddess" in French and is pronounced the same as DS. Coincidence? For all you french theorists and philosophy enthusiasts out there, the DS was described "as if it had fallen from the sky" by Roland Barthes.

This French whipper-snapper is one of my all-time favorite cars. It's got a great design that cannot help but capture a bystander's eye. Little do they know it's BADASS (yes just like the Lincoln Continental). Why? What is so special about this little number? How about a hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension?! A hydronew-blabla-what? Citroen introduced the first rear self-levelling suspension in 1954 on the unique looking Traction Avant, followed by an all wheel self-levelling suspension in 1955 by using the hydropneumatic system on the DS. This means that instead of using the ordinary steel spring suspension system most cars have, the DS was equipped with a system powered by a special hydraulic fluid. That suspension system provided the driver with ride-height control for rough terrain, which rural France was known for back in

the day.

Unveiled before a stunned crowd at the Paris Motor Show in 1955, the Citroen DS was quickly referred to as "the most beautiful car of all time" by Classic & Sports Magazine (you can find the press release at http://www.jalopnik.com/) It boasted almost "space-age" like features in its design, demonstrated clarity of purpose, clean lines and most of all, proportion. No wonder it received such high praise at the time.

A tid-bit of history: contrarily to the Presidential Lincoln Continental Limousine that didn't do much to save President Kennedy from assassination, the humble DS did manage to save President De Gaulle.

Interested in more about the "goddess" automobile? Do yourself a favor and watch the British TV show Wheeler Dealers' episode about the Citroen DS. You should just watch that show regardless.

I wish I had better pictures, I must have some from when I was a wee little kid in France... no digital back then. This gorgeous one was driving around West LA. I made my mom, who was driving me around at the time, follow it to try and get a clear snapshot.

Suicidal Tendencies

My Mister mentions the band every now and then... the word "suicide", despite all its negative and heavy connotations makes my mind wonder towards the ever-so-stylishly badass 1960s Lincoln Continental.

The Continental was first produced by the Lincoln division of Ford Motors in 1939. Lincoln the Continental, the Mark II, III, IV and V consecutively. Although all very imposing and beautiful cars, I'm most fascinated by the 1960s Continentals purely due to the fact that they sport suicide doors. I think they just look cool. The 1960s Continental is the most well-known suicide door vehicle and that feature remains its most striking one. Suicide doors were most popular in the 1930s in the midst of gangster era... which is probably why I think the 1960s Continental is so freakin awesome. In addition to that, the Lincoln insignia on the front somewhat says "rifle scope".

The 1961 Continental was completely redesigned and was actually two feet shorter than its predecessors. The suicide door feature was apparently more practical. After 1969, the Lincoln Continental forfeited its suicide doors.

It is only fair to mention that John F. Kennedy was assassinated in one of the revamped 1961 Continental. The Presidential Limsousine SS-100-X had a removable "plexiglass bubble top" in case it got too hot for the passengers inside the car. Such was the case in Dallas on the fateful November 22, 1963. After the assassination, the car was returned to its originating factory in Ohio, where it was modified and had the removable roof transformed into a fixed roof to better serve its purpose. This car is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan.

These two Continentals were spotted respectively parked in West LA and zipping through Santa Monica.

Bronco VS International Harvester Scout

I am a huge fan of off-roading sport utility vehicles... classic ones that is. My A #1 is the early Ford Bronco. Let's not associate him with OJ Simpson anymore. His wasn't an early Bronco anyway. Lately, however, I've been crossing paths with an International Harvester Scout. I see it parked here and there on my usual route to work. It's somewhat beat (and if you've read my previous post, I like beat) and has definite character. It's grey in color and has a removable soft-top roof.

As far as the Bronco goes, I'm only interested in the classic ones. Produced from 1966 to 1996, they were in direct competition with the International Harvester Scout. Broncos can actually be divided into two production categories: earlier Broncos (1966 to 1977) and the later full-size Broncos (1978-1996). I'd like to set the focus on early Broncos.

Ford's production manager, Donald N. Fray, came up with the idea. He was also the one behind the Ford Mustang. Contrarily to the Mustang, who'se design was based on the Falcon, the Bronco's body design wasn't shared with any other vehicle and stood on its own. The very first Bronco's were a daunting drive, with no power steering or automatic transmission. Three models were available, the pick-up, the wagon and the less popular roadster.

For more detailed information about the early Broncos, you can check this site out: http://www.76bronco.com/

1. Bronco shot taken in West Hollywood
2. Bronco parked on PCH in Malibu


International Harvester Scouts were in production slightely prior to the Bronco and had a shorter in-production span, from 1961 to 1980. The International Harvester manufacturing company was originally building trucks since the early 1900s. In the late 1950s, they were starting to conceive a vehicle which could compete with Jeep's CJ. The first Scouts were the Scout 80, in production until 1965. Following the Scout 80 was the Scout 800, built until 1968. Its successor was the 800A, followed by the 800B. The Scout II came into proction from 1971 up until 1980. The last IH Scout rolled out of the factory in October 1980 :(

For more detailed information about the IH Scout (and IH), check out http://www.binderblues.com/

I have yet to snag a shot of the IH Scout I see on an almost daily basis, but as soon as I do I'll share straight away!!

The Ranchero is NOT half an El Camino

Sorry... but you're wrong . I mean... it may not be as beastly but the little guy has heart.

In production by Ford motor company between 1957 and 1979, this car-pick-up hybrid struts its stuff with a classy yet badass design. Keep in mind that it was the first of its kind (car with truck bed)! The Ranchero came was received with immediate success, which then prompted Chevrolet to come up with its own El Camino.

Interesting fact about the Ranchero. It was always designed after a specific Ford car which was already in production. During its first years, the Ranchero was patterned after the Fairlane and featured the same engine options. In the 1960s, the Ranchero's designed was that of the Falcon. This was a truck to have.

The 1964/1965 Ranchero also had been patterned after the Falcon. Deluxe Rancheros, which were rare, featured two-toned paint in 1965. That's the one I'm after... red with a white stripe, in good Ford Falcon style.

In 1967, the Ranchero once again had the same design as the Fairlane. These guys are pretty popular amongst Ford collectors.

The sporty Ranchero turned to papa Torino for its pattern in 1968. Through 1971, these awesome trucks continued to sport one of the more powerful production motors.

The gist of it is, these car-trucks are AWESOME and tons could be written about them.

Here are some snap shots taken at the Pomona Swap meet in march 2010. This one clearly displays the classic Falcon scheme.

Here's a picture i came. Idealy, my Ranchero would pretty much resemble this one:

Dino Yabba Dabba Doo!

Dino Ferrari (to the right, Enzo to the left)

Ferrari Dino

One of my all time favorite Ferraris, and classic cars.

In production between 1968 and 1980, the Ferrari Dino was named after the founder's late son Alfredo"Dino" Ferrari. Dino was Enzo's first son. He was born in 1932 but died in 1956 of muscular dystrophy.

The Dino was set to be the "budget" Ferrari, having V6 and V8 engines as opposed to the rip-roaring V12 and flat 12 engine of the other Ferraris. The Dino was intended to be a more affordable, yet elegant and classy sports car.

Now, 35 years later, there are rumors of a Dino comeback. In 2008, spy pictures were allegedly taken of a new Dino, only computer images have been released...

I recently came across a site dedicated to the Dino, an essential Ferrari model: http://www.dinoregister.com/

more information to be added here....

"Beaters"

I love beat up old cars. I think they're beautiful and have character. You're not going to find me relentlessly chasing after the newest, "bestest", fasted model of so-and-so car. No sir.

Car featured above... It moves around due to street cleaning restrictions so it does work.. somewhat! This gives me hope. I want to find a car in a field, behind a shed, in a barn... abandonned. I want to save it.

I found this book called "The Hemi in the Barn" by Tom Cotter. It is a compilation of stories he's collected about "automotive archeology", or how people come across these fantastic vehicles in forgotten locations and whatnot. That's the kind of life I'd like to have. If you share that passion, read the book and lets go find cars!

Things every BABYMAMA fan ought to know

So I work at a Chamber of Commerce. I hate talking business... I don't particularly care for government affairs, basically I do not really know why I'm there. But anyhow, I do enjoy talking gearhead material with the boys. One of my coworkers in particular seems to understand why I have such an inclination towards Babymamas. Yesterday he taught me the basics of what SD, SEL, SL and whatnot actually stand for. Crucial information I would say for someone who is a self-proclaimed car geek. I further researched these findings and wish to share them with you.

S Class (debut in 1972) - derived from the german "Sonderklasse", which means "special class" or "a class of its own".

500SEL - These letters come from German terminology. DUH. S being "Sonderklasse" or sedan, E referring to "Einsprintzung" or engine size of 5,000 ccm with fuel injection (E) and L being "Lang" or long wheelbase.

* NOTE: SL not analogous to the S and L in SEL -- SL stands for "Sport Leicht". SL roadsters are NOT S-class vehicles.*

For my personal pleasure, and just because.... I'd like to spotlight on the 1 and only Babymama Turbo D, MY baby.

This 3800 lb great old car gets major kudos for roominess and seat comfort. The sunroom makes it all the better. Mine's silver in color... subject to change of course. She's seen a lot of travel and a lot of life. My parents bought her in Stuttgard and drove her over to France, before literally ship-ping her over and getting her to LA. She's seen the world and has scars to prove it. Everyone knows scars add character, and character is very plentiful in this "super"car. She's my tank. You hear that door close, BAM safe. And the bumpers....

Speaking of bumpers, have you ever taken a gander at earlier Benz models? Ever noticed the power of those bumpers? These babies are imposing and beyong protruding. You know that asshole who zooms by and nearly hits you? Yea its a garantie that turd's plastic vessel will get decimated by Das Deutsch tank build of your Babymama and those excellent bumpers... oh bumpers....

And for visuals...

1. Babymama limo (West LA) -- notice how the owner also owns two other fine Babymamas... 2. Babymama technicolor dreamcoat (Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades)

Babymamas

BABYMAMAS. That's what I have decided to name all Mercedes 1984 and older. It's an endless love story that begins with my first (and current) car, and example of fine german "tank" engineering. My baby is an 84 300SD Turbo D! (diesel) I love her beat ass to death hence the endearing name and a choice to pursue all Babymamas in the whole wide world and give 'em the kudos they deserve. Here's to you, B.