Clicky

The Kicker

The Kicker The Kicker is an inbox magazine focused on auto health and safety. We cover safe driving tips, car maintenance, buying/selling vehicles, and more.

Operating as usual

A Video History of the Citroen 2CV
10/24/2022
A Video History of the Citroen 2CV

A Video History of the Citroen 2CV

The Citroen 2CV is one of the more important cars in history, but few Americans have ever seen one. Here’s a video introduction to France’s beloved Deux Chevaux.

October 22, 1936 - The first VW test drive - This Day in Automotive History
10/24/2022
October 22, 1936 - The first VW test drive - This Day in Automotive History

October 22, 1936 - The first VW test drive - This Day in Automotive History

On this day in 1936 drivers road tested the Volkswagen Type 1 prototype for the first time. The car, proposed, designed and engineered by Ferdinand Porsche and his team under contract of Adolf Hitler’s N**i party, was labeled Volkswagen, which translates in German to “People’s Car.” It was d...

1911 Hudson Model 33 Roadster Chassis T11240
10/24/2022
1911 Hudson Model 33 Roadster Chassis T11240

1911 Hudson Model 33 Roadster Chassis T11240

1911 Hudson Model 33 Roadster, chassis T11240. Hudsons first-year successes were followed with increased production and additional dealer shipments for cal...

10/23/2022

This guy has skills ❗️

Video: Selling the 1950 Studebakers
10/22/2022
Video: Selling the 1950 Studebakers

Video: Selling the 1950 Studebakers

See the state of the art in television advertising for the early ’50s in this 1950 Studebaker spot.

1958 F.M.R. Tg 500 'Tiger' - Amazing Classic Cars
10/22/2022
1958 F.M.R. Tg 500 'Tiger' - Amazing Classic Cars

1958 F.M.R. Tg 500 'Tiger' - Amazing Classic Cars

One of the most well-known manufacturers of microcars is Messerschmitt. They were designed by German engineer Fritz Fend, who experimented with creating alternative forms of transportation; he found support from W***y Messerschmitt. Since Messerschmitt’s company was no longer permitted to produce ...

10/20/2022

Do Work 💪👀

1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sport Coupe - Amazing Classic Cars
10/19/2022
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sport Coupe - Amazing Classic Cars

1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sport Coupe - Amazing Classic Cars

Known as the Giulia 1600 Sport, the car featured a very distinct design. It was penned by the company’s long-time designer Aldo Brovarone, who certainly reached his artistic peak in the mid-1960s, producing a serious of beautiful show and road cars. The Giulia 1600 Sport was certainly no exception...

10/18/2022

The very good ole days, I remember gas wars when gas was .17-.21 per gal during late '60' and early '70's!

10/18/2022

Future Maserati Bike 🖤

Mobile uploads
10/16/2022

Mobile uploads

10/16/2022

Peugeot 402 Eclipse from 1936.

Via retro calage

10/16/2022

What a classic design!

1953 Porsche 550 Spyder - Amazing Classic Cars
10/16/2022
1953 Porsche 550 Spyder - Amazing Classic Cars

1953 Porsche 550 Spyder - Amazing Classic Cars

The Porsche 550 Spyder is a racing sports car built by the German automaker between 1953 and 1956. The racer was inspired by the 356 model which was built in some Spyder prototypes and used for racing. In 1951, the factory decided to build car purposely for the racetrack and the first Porsche 550 Sp...

10/16/2022
10/15/2022

😈😈 Render Design

45 Times People Had The Courage To Put Up Ridiculous Signs In Public
10/14/2022
45 Times People Had The Courage To Put Up Ridiculous Signs In Public

45 Times People Had The Courage To Put Up Ridiculous Signs In Public

Signage is everywhere. Whether it’s on the road overhead, on the side of the highway, or in a shop window, good luck trying to avoid them because it’s next to impossible. Regarding selling something, most advertising is based on a business model that you can literally get a degree in (marketing)...

10/14/2022

1937 Western Clipper Motorhome

10/14/2022

This car is... (fill in the blank) 😀

10/13/2022
10/12/2022
10/11/2022

Accurate! 👇

1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 - Amazing Classic Cars
10/10/2022
1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 - Amazing Classic Cars

1954 Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 7 - Amazing Classic Cars

The Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica 7, or B.A.T. 7, took up the styling dictates of the previous model, the B.A.T. 5, and worked them to the limit. once again the car was based on the general idea of the 1952 Abarth 1400 coupE, with Alfa 1900 Sprint mechanics. For this 1954 design, as for the other....

Timeline photos
10/09/2022

Timeline photos

Imagine tanking down the road in this 🛣️

10/09/2022

🇮🇹 Italian beauty 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 C Super Sprint Zagato

In 1950, Alfa Romeo thought it was time to replace the glorious but now old pre-war 6C2500 and to make a car keeping up with new technologies that now were proposing the body integrated into the chassis: a car, so to speak, modern. The car, entirely designed under the supervision of Orazio Satta Puliga, born and developed entirely at the Portello plant, would have contained, like Alfa Romeo tradition, several mechanical refinements. The Alfa Romeo 1900 was built between 1950 and 1959 and was the first entirely new post-war project of the company. It was the first Alfa Romeo built entirely on an assembly line, starting the high-quality mass production at the Portello. First monocoque production car and the first Alfa Romeo with left-hand drive. The heart, as in every Alfa Romeo, was the engine. With the 1900 the Milanese house abandoned the six and eight cylinders engines in favor of a fractioning that allowed a lower taxation. Instead, they were in light alloy, with two overhead camshafts and hemispherical chambers. Giuseppe Busso opted for an independent double wishbones front suspension.

Iginio Alessio, then general manager of Alfa Romeo, was concerned for the viability of the independent Italian Coachbuilding industry–the advent of the unibody chassis design was threatening to put the "carrozzerie" out of business. Alessio was also a personal friend of Gaetano Ponzoni co-owner of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, thus from 1951-1958 Alfa Romeo built five different variations of the 1900 unibody chassis specifically for independent coachbuilders. Alfa Romeo gave official contracts to Touring to build the sporty 1900 Sprint coupé and to Pinin Farina to build an elegant four-seat Cabriolet and Coupé. The availability of a suitable chassis led to many other coachbuilders to build versions of the 1900. Carrozzeria Zagato built a small series of coupés designed for racing. The Alfa Romeo 1900 C Super Sprint Zagato represent the maximum expression of Zagato in terms of lightweight bodyworks and aerodynamic efficiency. The fast yet heavy 1900 sedan was reworked by Zagato in order to provide the gentleman drivers of the GT category with a modern and very efficient car, designed on the short wheelbase chassis offered from Alfa Romeo. The 1900 SSZ (as unofficially known) is the sum of many different innovations, like the rounded shapes around the big Alfa Romeo 2-litres engine, the B pillars integrated in the side glasses with an extremely light aluminium frame, an aerodynamic lightweight aluminum body and, on some of the 1900 SSZ built, the famous Zagato's trademark double bubble roof “doppia gobba” which was able to lower the front section of the car and to increase the roominess and stiffness of the roof. These cars were individually hand-crafted. It is thought that just 39 examples (plus two bare chassis) of the 1900SSZ were built, from 1954 to 1957, and they are regarded as the pinnacle of 1950s production Alfa Romeos.

Chassis no. 01931 was delivered new early in 1955 to Vittorio Vanini - a successful wealthy privateer of the period, from the famous family of Swiss chocolatiers - through Sonvico, the Alfa Romeo dealer in Lugano, in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The rakish two-tone Zagato berlinetta was registered ‘TI 13523’. On 1 May 1955, in the hands of Vanini and co-driver Ivo Badaracco, 01931 participated in the Mille Miglia road-race carrying race number ‘451’. Starting, of course, at 4.51am they passed through the Rome checkpoint 6 hours, 44 minutes and 46 seconds later and crossed the finishing ramp in Brescia after 12 hours, 56 minutes and 11 seconds to claim 19th place overall: the first of Alfa Romeo 1900 SSZ and a superb second in class. In addition to their impressive Mille Miglia performance, the Swiss-Italian gentleman driving duo also contested theCoppa Intereuropa at Monza on 11 September, the same year; the GT race preceding the Grand Prix, finishing 11th overall. It has been hidden from view for most of its life and spent over 50 years in the hands of a very private, enthusiastic American owner.

A Time When Cars Were Art - Cars & Motorbikes Stars of the Golden era.

Mobile uploads
10/06/2022

Mobile uploads

10/05/2022

Based on an Alfa 40-60 HP vehicle, the Aerodinamica concept was capable of reaching a top speed of 86 mph (139 km/h). 1910

The Cobra To End All Cobras, Carroll Shelby’s personal 1966 427 Super Snake
10/04/2022
The Cobra To End All Cobras, Carroll Shelby’s personal 1966 427 Super Snake

The Cobra To End All Cobras, Carroll Shelby’s personal 1966 427 Super Snake

There are cars and then there are cars. In this second category, you will find unique, unique, fire-breathing motorized vehicles that are hard to believe were ever legal to drive on the street. The 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra Super Snake, the popular CSX 3015 Featured in our February 1968 issue, the po

Address

600 E Northwest Hwy
Des Plaines, IL
60016

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(847) 635-9552

Website

Products

Peace of Mind

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Kicker posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Kicker:

Videos

Hack your car accessories
Hack your car accessories

Hi, we're The Kicker Blog, and we're making the road safer one car at a time. If you drive rideshare in the US you care a lot about road safety. You've probably heard that driving is one of the most dangerous activities you can do, but it can be made safer and more affordable. We'll do the hard work of keeping you informed of road and car safety concerns, new recalls, new laws, and also keep you entertained. Follow us to learn what you've been missing.

Hack your car accessories
Hack your car accessories

Hi, we're The Kicker Blog, and we're making the road safer one car at a time. If you drive rideshare in the US you care a lot about road safety. You've probably heard that driving is one of the most dangerous activities you can do, but it can be made safer and more affordable. We'll do the hard work of keeping you informed of road and car safety concerns, new recalls, new laws, and also keep you entertained. Follow us to learn what you've been missing.

Shortcuts

Category

Nearby autos & automotive services

Other Automotives in Des Plaines

Show All

Comments

Love it! Innovation, baby
x

Other Automotives in Des Plaines (show all)

Inventions Save Lives Martinez Auto Detaling Mecanico Car sales of North West Suburbs of IL, Chicago land Area Kent-Automotive (Chicago Metro) New Car Liaisons Speedway Logistics Inc.