MAY 20 STAR OF THE WEEK: A TALE OF TWO MOPARS-NUMBERS DO MATTER
MAY 20 STAR OF THE WEEK: A TALE OF TWO MOPARS-NUMBERS DO MATTER
This looks like a simple exercise on the surface.
Two Dodges – one is a 68 Monaco two door hardtop with a 440 Magnum engine and the other one is a 69 Super Bee with a hi-performance 383.
The question is basic. Which Dodge would win on the street?
The Monaco weighs 4120 pounds and it runs 375 horsepower and 480 ft lbs of torque.
The Super Bee weighs 3470 pounds and the 383 pumps out 335 horsepower and 425 ft lbs of torque.
Clearly the performance advantage would be found in the smaller car. The Monaco was a car that bankers owned and the Super Bee was built for a 21 year old kid who wanted to build some street credibility.
This race shouldn't be close, but in fact the Bee beat the big Monaco by only .2 of a second to 60 mph (6.8 vs 7.0), topped out at 126 mph vs 125 and beat it by .3 seconds in the ¼ mile (14.9 vs 15.1).
Star of the Week-2 1960s Mopars built for different missions...one is clearly a wolf in sheep's clothing.
MAY 19 STAR OF THE DAY: 1959 PONTIAC CONVERTIBLE-WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME?
There are cars that you see occasionally in traffic. Cars like 60s Camaros and Mustangs are relatively common sights in 2012 because of their overwhelming popularity with car guys.
They still look great in the humdrum world of cookie-cutter modern cars because a classic will always be a classic. It's like the difference between Justin Bieber and Van Morrison.
A 1959 Pontiac convertible takes the concept of classic to a higher level-a Van Morrison level.
This one was spotted in traffic 3 years ago and it made today's Star of the Day an easy choice.
MAY 18 STAR OF THE DAY: 1955 JEEP PICKUP-A TRUCK STRIPPED DOWN TO THE BASICS
There's nothing like a vintage Jeep to really nail down the concepts of rugged and reliable. This 1955 Jeep truck is a text book example of function over form.
Jeeps weren't built to win beauty contests; they were built to win knock-down brawls in areas where lesser vehicles would collapse in a cloud of smoke with a broken axle as a consolation prize.
This Jeep was at a show last night and it telegraphed the word "tough" from 300 feet away...a Star of the Day with a bad attitude.
MAY 17 STAR OF THE DAY: 1967 MUSTANG DEMONSTRATES WHY THE BEATLES WILL OUTLAST LADY GAGA
There's a timeless quality to the term classic because the very definition of classic is based on timelessness. This white 67 Mustang fastback is a classic in the truest sense of the word.
This car was built at the peak of the Beatles era in 1967 when Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was out and Magical Mystery Tour was around the corner.
Two classic 1960s icons—the 67 Mustang fastback and The Beatles, will still be relevant in 50 years. Try to apply that same label to a 2012 Hyundai and Lady Gaga...sober and without hallucinogens.
The real Star of the Day will emerge. It'll look like this Mustang and it won't be playing toxic waste like Lady Gaga on the radio.
STAR OF THE DAY: 1927 CHEVROLET -THE FIRST GENERATION TOW TRUCK
The horseless carriages of the early 20th Century had one ironic drawback...when they broke down they usually came home behind a horse.
A guy named Ernie Holmes saw a need for something more high-tech than a Clydesdale to haul sick Model Ts back to a garage (or livery stable) so he invented the tow truck.
The early ones were like this 1927 Chevy. They were cobbled together out of donor vehicles and put into service on an as-needed basis.
If your town had 2 only Model Ts you were probably looking at the back end of a horse.
By 1927 tow trucks were a part of the automotive fabric so this 27 Chevy would have been a reasonably common sight.
This one was at a show last year and anyone as who has ever needed a tow truck knows...it's a Star of the Day.
MAY 15 STAR OF THE DAY: 62 MERCURY-TWO WORLDS MEET FOR PERSPECTIVE... 50 YEARS LATER
Most observers affectionately remember full-sized cars of the early 1960s as land yachts. Giant land yachts...
But were they the biggest crop of vehicles ever seen on modern roads? The answer seems obvious if your control model for a modern car is a Suzuki SX4.
This 1962 Mercury could carry one in its spacious trunk and still have room for a lawn chair.A crash scenario between an SX4 and this Merc would end in Mazda obliteration.
The full sized 2012 truck vs 62 Mercury is a much different story – this picture adds perspective.
That full-sized Merc looks like a Cocker Spaniel next to a Bull Mastiff but one thing remains constant...
The Star of the Day is 50 years old.
MAY 14 STAR OF THE DAY: 64 IMPALA DOING WHAT IT DOES BEST ON THE OPEN ROAD
There are few things more classically Detroit than a white 1964 Impala on the open road.
Everything works in this shot because a 64 Chevy Impala is more than a car-it's a cultural icon.
There are many reasons why a love of old iron runs deep in every car guy but it distills down to the simplest image...a classic ride and an open road.That's what makes an mscc Star of the Day
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