Classic Cars!
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Among those welcoming the idea is Philadelphia-based urban planner and antique-car expert Rick Shnitzler. He has proposed a 'taillight diplomacy' that would bring together the sleeping giant in U.S. Cuban relations: old-car aficionados in both countries, John wrote. Shnitzler envisions antique-car buffs and their families traveling to Cuba, meeting their counterparts, and donating the spare parts needed to facilitate the repair and restoration of Cuba's aging fleet.
Cuba’s fleet of more than 30,000 pre-embargo and therefore pre-1960 automobiles is now considered a national treasure. Owners may sell them, but the cars cannot be taken off the island. No longer considered relics of Cuba's capitalist past, these classic cars are now valuable urban icons as important to Havana and Santiago as the cable cars are to San Francisco, the gondolas to Venice, and the red double-decker buses to London.
Nowhere in the world are Detroit's old cars more beloved and pampered running on empty, but still running. The ingenuity of Cuban mechanics is now legend. They use Soviet-era replacement parts or make parts from scratch. Brake fluid? A mix of shampoo and vegetable oil works fine.
With original parts and converters, these cars could be restored to run more cleanly and efficiently, improving the quality of Havana’s air to the benefit of walking Habaneros and those using more than a million two- and three-wheeled HPVs (Human-powered vehicles).
The market is definitely there for our part of the industry, said Jim Spoonhower of the Specialty Equipment Market Association, a specialty auto-parts trade group. Shnitzler estimates that the market is worth up to $80 million.
By Richard Lentinello
Classic Cars
At the gates of Heaven, the angel tells Henry Ford, "Well, you've been such a good guy and your invention, the car, changed the world. As a reward, you can hang out with anyone you want in heaven."Henry Ford thinks about it and says, "I wanna hang with Adam, the first man." So, the angel points Adam out to Ford. When Ford gets to Adam, Ford asks, "Hey, aren't you the inventor of the woman?" Adam says, "Yes."
"Well, says Ford, "You have some major design flaws in your invention:
1. There's too much front end protrusion.
2. It chatters at high speeds.
3. The rear end wobbles too much.
4. And the intake is placed too close to the exhaust."
"Hmmm...", says Adam, "Hold on." So Adam goes to the celestial supercomputer, types in a few keystrokes, and waits for the results. The computer prints out a slip of paper and Adam reads it.
Adam says "It may be that my invention is flawed, but according to the stellar computer, more men are riding my invention than yours."
Classic car
Classic car is a term frequently used to describe an older car, but the exact meaning is subject to differences in opinion. Some are very inclusive, considering any older car in fine condition a classic. Others, including the "Concours d'Elegance" and the Classic Car Club of America maintain that 1948 is the last year for the true classics.Classic Car Club of America Definition
The Classic Car Club of America claims to have invented the term Classic car and thus it believes that the true definition of the term is its. According to the CCCA:A CCCA Classic is a fine or distinctive automobile, either American or foreign built, produced between 1925 and 1948. Generally, a Classic was high-priced when new and was built in limited quantities. Other factors, including engine displacement, custom coachwork and luxury accessories, such as power brakes, power clutch, and "one-shot" or automatic lubrication systems, help determine whether a car is considered to be a Classic.
The Club keeps an exhaustive list of the vehicles it considers Classics, and while any member may petition for a vehicle to join the list, such applications are carefully scrutinized and rarely is a new vehicle type admitted.
This rather exclusive definition of a classic car is not universally followed, however, and this is acknowledged by the CCCA: while it still maintains the true definition of 'classic car' is its, it generally uses terms such as CCCA Classic or the trademarked Full Classic to avoid confusion.
Classic Car Other Definitions
Classic Car United States Legal Definition
Legally, most states have time-based rules for the definition of "classic" for purposes such as antique vehicle registration; for example, Pennsylvania defines it as "A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured at least 15 years prior to the current year which has been maintained in or restored to a condition which is substantially in conformity with manufacturer specifications and appearance."Classic Car Antique Automobile Club of America
The Antique Automobile Club of America defines an Antique car as over 25 years old.Classic Cars in the United Kingdom
There is no fixed definition of a Classic car. Two taxation issues do impact however, leading to some people using them as cut off dates. All cars built before 1 January 1973 are exempted from paying the annual road tax vehicle excise duty- this is then entered on the license disc displayed on the windscreen as "historic vehicle" ( if a car built before this date has been first registered in 1973 or later then its build date would have to be verified by a recognized body such as British Motor Heritage Foundation to claim tax free status). The government Revenue and Customs define a classic car for company taxation purposes as being over 15 years old and having a value in excess of £15,000.Modern Classic Cars
Another division of classic cars is Modern Classics. These vehicles are generally older, anywhere from 15-25 years, but are not accepted as classics according to The Antique Automobile Club of America. These cars are rather enjoyed as classics by auto enthusiasts, and are generally rare, and out of production.Classic Car Styling
There was a worldwide change in styling trends in the immediate years after the end of World War II. The 1946 Crosley, Kaiser and Frazer, for example, changed the traditional discrete replaceable-fender treatment. From this point on, automobiles of all kinds became envelope bodies in basic plan. The CCCA term, "Classic Car" has been confined to "the functionally traditional designs of the earlier period" (mostly pre-war). They tended to have removable fenders, trunk, headlights, and a usual vertical grill treatment. In a large vehicle, such as a Duesenberg or Pierce Arrow or in a smaller form, the MG TC, with traditional lines, might typify the CCCA term. Thus, it may be a classic example of a later period, but not a car from the "Classic period of Design", in the opinion of the traditionalist CCCA faction.The French 1948 Delahaye is a good example of a final year of "Classic Era Design".
1948 Delahaye Among the marques of cars that are usually considered Classic are.
Classic Car Loans and classic car financing
Classic car Finance, which is specifically designed to provide collectors with the most attractive financing terms and the greatest borrowing flexibility. Although your tendency might be to just plunk down your hard-earned cash, you might want to take a step back and evaluate the approach fo buying a collector car. Rest assured you can find specialists who understand why you would want to buy a $50,000 muscle car.Whether you're looking to buy a new collector car, get pre-approved for your next auction visit or would like to refinance your existing collector car loan, you want to make the experience a pleasant one. Realize a number of factors go into a buying decision, and your goal is to make your decision easier by knowing all financing options.
Program Highlights
Simple interest loansNew purchases, pre-approvals and refinancing
Low monthly payments
Competitive fixed rates
Flexible terms up to 12 years
Loans from $10,000 to $500,000
Eligible vehicles are classic cars at least 25 years old and most late-model exotic and special interest cars
If you want to keep your cash in-hand and not deal with astronomical interest rates on a credit card or sign your house away on a home equity loan, then this program is for you.
Classic car insurance
Classic car insurance specializes in collectible car insurance and is operated by Voyager Insurance Services, Inc. Choose a decades old leader in the insurance industry. Since 1958 insurance dealers for classic cars have built a reputation on recognizing that no single insurance program is right for every single customer.A collectible vehicle program includes antiques, classics, custom cars, and modern day exotics. You can also customize a program to insure your vehicle collection. All policies are agreed value and are underwritten by an A rated carrier or better.
Muscle car magazine
Muscle car magazine, in the early 1960's saw that America was embroiled with the Cold War, the Communist threat in Cuba, civil rights and Vietnam. However the feverish consumerism that followed World War II was still calling for bigger and better vehicles and most of all, more horsepower.The 1960's is thought of as the Classic Car Era, a time when American automakers responded to the threat of imported cars with vehicles like the all new Corvair, Fords' Falcon, and Chryslers' Valiant. These smaller cars were considerably lighter than their predecessors and in 1964 factory-built cars with large displacement engines took over the market. These were the Muscle Cars and names like Camero, Firebird and Barracuda became common household words.
However, despite its popularity, the Clean Air Act of 1970 called for pollution control devices that hampered performance. And then the oil embargo of 1973 limited the supply of gasoline. And by the time congress passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule in 1978 the Muscle Car was gone forever.
This proved to be only partially true because many people still long for the feel of a large power plant under the hood. This is where Muscle Car Magazine come into play. Muscle Car Magazine contains al the info on classic and new mobil muscle cars.
Classic Car Storage
So have you ever been sucked in by a gimmick? Bet you have. I know I have a few gimmicky things lying about including some miracle tools offered by a large retail chain and promoted by a famous do it yourselfer which not only don't improve on the original tool, they don't even come close to being able to do anything other than look good laying at the bottom of the toolbox.Some gimmicks however can cost you a lot of money when they fail to work properly. Recently I had occasion to see one such device.
A few years ago a new automobile storage system was offered to the hobby. It is composed of a large storage bag made from plastic into which you place your car by driving it onto the bottom panel and then zipping the top on. You then hook up a supplied fan and the car shelter inflates itself, ballooning around the car to create a little mini garage. There is also a dry pack of silica gel that you are supposed to pack inside and which removes moisture from the air. The catch with the dry pack is that you have to change it every six months or it loses its effectiveness.
So it sounds like a great idea for storing a car doesn't it? I admit that the initial concept is probably fairly sound although you can certainly replicate its better points far more cheaply if long term storage of your car is in the cards. For short term or winter storage I think that it is a total waste of time. It is also not without its dangers.
I had occasion in the last week to go and look at a wonderful 1914 Renault Victoria Landau. This is a magnificent car and certainly a valuable one and is deserving of the finest in care, so the owner bought one of these shelter systems.
Muscle Car Review
Muscle Car Review is jam-packed with restoration and performance how-tos, comparisons of today's modern muscle against the legends of the past, plus the finest featured examples for the most passionate muscle car enthusiasts and builders.Chevy muscle cars
Chevy muscle cars were at the very heart of the classic era of all-American big-cube high performance. That's no surprise when you consider a key appeal of the muscle car was maximum performance for minimal money. The formula played to Chevrolet's strength as a maker of attractive and affordable automobiles.True to its mission, Chevrolet fielded the most extensive and most popular lineup of muscle cars of any manufacturer throughout the 1960s and early '70s.
Chevrolet had built-in credibility as a performance-car builder thanks to its small-block V-8 introduced in 1955. The high-revving V-8 was a favorite of racers and hot rodders, and its role in the success of the Corvette convinced any remaining doubters that Chevrolet knew how to build fast cars.
