I again had the honor of writing some catalog descriptions for Broad Arrow’s RADIUS at the Monterey Jet Center auction on August 17-18, 2023. This is certainly one of the auction highlights of the year since it is in conjunction with Monterey car week. As always, Broad Arrow gives me a variety of subjects to research and write about! Some of the catalog texts I wrote are below:
1948 Divco Twin Coach Half Ton
1962 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8 Roadster
Long before minivans and SUVs ruled the roads, station wagons were America’s people movers. AMC’s large Matador and Ambassador wagons were some of the best: smooth ride, luxurious interior, and good power, all with AMC’s focus on value and reliability. This 1978 AMC Matador Station Wagon has the multi-function tailgate and folding third seat, perfect for families. It also represents the last of the big AMC cars, killed by the second Arab Oil Crisis and the cost of meeting the government’s draconian regulations. After 1978 AMC made nothing but compact cars.
We are trying to photograph the most important cars in American Motors history for The Complete Book of AMC Cars. The 1970-77 Gremlin was certainly one of them, and the ’72 Gremlin X we just photographed is a great example. This Butterscotch Gold Gremlin X is originally from California, and has the special California emissions compliant 304 cu.in. V8, identified by the engine’s red paint. Gremlins were the perfect automobile the weather the economic storms of the 1970, as well as the two Arab Oil Embargoes. My late brother, Ray, drove his Gremlin trouble-free for over 175,000 miles — very common for these cars!
We just photographed this amazing 1977 Pacer Sedan for our upcoming book. It was purchased new at Ken Simonis AMC in Waukesha by the owner’s grandmother, and the family has preserved it ever since, now showing 46,956 miles since new. The Pacer is much maligned today, but it actually was a masterpiece of the AMC philosophy of innovation and finding niches the Big Three ignored. Compact yet amazingly roomy, the passenger side door is 4″ longer to facilitate entry to the rear seats. What a great idea. And had everything gone according to plan, the Pacer would have been narrower and powered by a two-rotor rotary piston engine. You can read the whole story of this amazing people mover when the book is published in September 2024!
The 1959 Rambler was the right car at the right time, launched as the United States was recovering from a serious recession. They were smaller on the outside than most contemporary cars, but the interior was as large as most full-sized vehicles. We recently photographed these 1959 Rambers, a Custom four-door sedan and a Custom Cross Country station wagon for our upcoming book, The Complete Book of AMC Cars. The ’59 Rambler was a huge success, American Motors built 242,581 of them that year.
Baby Boomers may remember Civil Defense drills from Grade School. This original 1963 Rambler Classic 770 served the Civil Defense agency for a number of years. It’s equipped with emergency flashing lights and a Civil Defense radio along with 287 V8, Flash-O-Matic transmission, and Air Conditioning.
This piece of 1960s history will be featured in our upcoming book, The Complete book of AMC Cars for Quarto/Motorbooks.
We just photographed this original owner 1969 AMC Hurst SC/Rambler for our book, The Complete Book of AMC Cars to be published by Quarto/Motorbooks in September 2024. It was purchased on April 25, 1969 from Young Motors in Tipton, Indiana. Of the 1,512 SC/Ramblers built by AMC and Hurst Performance, it is one of about 300 in the toned-down “B” paint scheme. Today it has 42,259 miles on it, and 90% of the paint is original.
Before taking delivery of the Hurst SC/Rambler the owner joined the Army. The car was put into storage while he flew “Huey” (Bell UH-1) helicopters in Vietnam. Ted, thank you for your service to our nation, and thanks for preserving your patriotic Hurst SC/Rambler so well!
Thanks to a chance encounter at the Holz Chevrolet car show July 4th, we were able to photograph the last Dodge needed to update Mike Mueller’s book, The Complete Book of Dodge & Plymouth Muscle Cars. This gorgeous Charger has just 14,000 mile on it, what a great way to finish this book!
We just completed photographing Dodge Challengers for our update of Mike Mueller’s definitive book, The Complete Book of Dodge & Plymouth Muscle Cars. This 2017 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Shaker was owned by my late boss, Marty Straube. Marty was not only Vice President of Supply Chain, but also a great friend and fellow gearhead. Marty passed away much too young in 2019, but I was hoping I could track down his Scat Pack Shaker. Thankfully his daughter and son-in-law are its caretakers now, and we were able to use Milwaukee’s beautiful lakefront as a location. It is such an honor to include this Challenger in this book!
Inspired by the Trans Am racing 1970 Challenger T/A, the Challenger T/A returned in 2017 with Satin Black body graphics, premium-painted Satin Black Mopar Induction Hood, Satin Black rear spoiler with T/A graphics, T/A illuminated air catcher headlamps, Satin Black wrapped roof and decklid, Forged Aluminum wheels and more. The popular “Plum Crazy” paint color from the 1970–71 Challenger returned in 2014. This Challenger will be part of the revised Complete Book of Dodge & Plymouth Muscle Cars.
