Hemmings Classic Car December 2018

“During Detroit’s glory days, manufacturers went out of their way to give buyers options.” I’ve been entertaining the thought of buying a new car next year, and so began checking websites and going to showrooms to see what’s available that meets my needs. I truly want to buy an American brand, but have come to the sad realization that our choices are not only very limited, but basically the auto manufacturers are building cars in a way that maximizes their profits; they have zero interest in offering the buying public variety, or catering to our needs and desires. We either buy what they build, or we don’t buy at all. Be it Buick, Chevrolet, or Ford, if it’s a car you want, you have no choice but to buy a…

Henry’s Camper ONE OF HENRY FORD’S CAMP CARS IS NOW ON DISPLAY at the Lincoln Motor Car Heritage Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan. This 1922 Lincoln transported Ford and his friends, collectively known as “The Four Vagabonds,” on various camping trips. Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone Sr., and John Burroughs, the original vagabonds, were among the biggest names of the time. The group would later include President Warren Harding, Luther Burbank, and E.C. Kingsford. The camp car would venture into the wilderness and mountains all over the country, from California to the Deep South, and even made a trip to visit President Calvin Coolidge at his home in Vermont in 1924. Built on a 136-inch-wheelbase Model L chassis, the camp car would be expected to carry food, utensils, equipment, tools,…

THE ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA has released its 2019 schedule and national events are set to take place all over the country. There will be no shortage of shows and tours that all specialize in older American classics. The club currently has more than 60,000 members, so get ready to find some good deals from some of the most enthusiastic hobbyists. AACA is constantly updating its events page, so be sure to check www.aaca.org for information about its regional shows and national meets. FEB 7-9 • Annual Meeting • Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaFEB 21-23 • Winter Meet • Ocala, FloridaAPR 4-7 • Southeastern Spring Meet • Charlotte, North CarolinaAPR 29-MAY 1 • Southeastern Divisional Tour • Wilmington, North CarolinaMAY 30-JUN 1 • Annual Grand National • Auburn, IndianaJUN 2-7 • Founders…

January 6 • Sumter Swap Meet Bushnell, Florida • 727-848-7171 www.floridaswapmeets.com February 22-24 • Big Three Parts Exchange San Diego, California • 818-879-3965 www.big3partsexchange.com March 8-10 • Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Amelia Island, Florida • 904-636-0027 www.ameliaconcours.org April 12-14 • Englishtown Swap Meet Old Bridge, New Jersey • 732-446-7800 www.etownraceway.com April 24-28 • Spring Carlisle Carlisle, Pennsylvania • 717-243-7855 www.carlisleevents.com May 16 & 30 • Hemmings Cruise-Ins Bennington, Vermont • 800-227-4373 June 7-9 • The Elegance at Hershey Hershey, Pennsylvania • 717-500-5191 www.theeleganceathershey.com June 13 & 27 • Hemmings Cruise-Ins Bennington, Vermont • 800-227-4373 June 22-30 • The Great Race Riverside, CA, to Tacoma, WA • 423-648-8542 www.greatrace.com…

Saturn Via Iowa THE CUSTOM CAR IN THIS 1976 PHOTO OF A CHICAGO PARADE that we found in the collections of the University of Illinois at Chicago should have been familiar to us, and indeed, we’d come across it nearly a decade ago. First, the car: Lloyd Templeton and his sons in Ames, Iowa, built the car from 1950 to 1952, starting with a Mercury chassis. Over the next few years, Templeton showed it all over the country, and Bob Hope reportedly owned and drove it for part of that time. Then, over the next few decades, it circulated in and out of the Templeton family’s possession before it crossed the auction block at RM’s Arizona sale in 2009 (and sold for $148,500). Now, the circumstances: Templeton apparently owned it…

RM Sotheby’s at the Petersen RM SOTHEBY’S IS MOVING ITS SANTA Monica event to the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, slated to take place December 8. The sale is expected to have over 50 automobiles and is an appropriate backdrop housing hundreds of rare cars, making it one of the best automotive museums in the world. The auction has limited consignment space and is expected to attract many collectors and enthusiasts. For more information, visit www.rmsothebys.com. Mecum Monterey MECUM SAW A 38-PERCENT INCREASE at Monterey this year, with sales reaching $47 million. The top sale was a 1933 Duesenberg Model J convertible coupe that pulled in $3.85 million — all the firm’s top-10 sales were above the million-dollar mark. This 1932 Packard Eight 902 coupe really caught our eye, though.…