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10/03/2026

10/03/2026

1948 Crosley CC Four "Happy Wagon"

An ice cream vendor in Erie, Pennsylvania, known as Mr. Happy, once sold from a fleet of 12 Crosleys. It's easy to see why. At about $930, a Crosley wagon cost less than nearly any other new car in America.

Sundberg & Ferar of Royal Oak, Michigan, designed the postwar CC body. The wagon was all steel and rode an 80-inch wheelbase. At roughly 12 feet long, it could park almost anywhere.

Under the short hood sat the CoBra engine, a 44 CI overhead-cam four made from copper-brazed sheet steel. Crosley had developed it for military use during the war. It made 26.5 hp and weighed about 60 pounds.

The sheet-metal engine didn't hold up well. Electrolytic corrosion could cause leaks, and Crosley switched to a cast-iron engine in 1949.

Crosley's best year was 1948, and wagons accounted for 23,489 of the cars it built.

09/19/2026

1947 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe Convertible

Studebaker beat Detroit's Big Three to market with revolutionary postwar styling that arrived in the spring of 1946 as early 1947 models.

Designed under the direction of Raymond Loewy, with significant contributions from Virgil Exner and Robert Bourke, the Champion's forward-thinking appearance sparked immediate debate, particularly the Starlight coupe's wraparound rear window that prompted jokes about whether the car was "coming or going."

The Regal Deluxe convertible topped the Champion lineup at a starting price of approximately $2,060. Its design featured clean envelope-body styling, pull-type door handles, and hydraulic brakes, while the 113-inch wheelbase provided balanced proportions for the open-air body.

Power came from a 170-cubic-inch flathead inline-six producing 80 horsepower, paired with a three-speed manual transmission. Optional overdrive improved highway cruising capability while delivering fuel economy that could approach 30 mpg under favorable conditions.

Studebaker built over 165,000 Champions for the 1947 model year, validating the company's gamble on advanced design. The styling forced competitors to accelerate their own postwar programs, though the arrival of all-new Big Three models by 1949 leveled the competitive field.

09/09/2026

1915 Ford Model T C-Cab Calliope Truck

Mobile entertainment took an inventive turn when Ford Model T trucks received calliope modifications in the mid-1910s. These specialized vehicles combined Ford's reliable C-Cab truck platform with elaborate fairground organs, creating traveling music machines that could be heard over a quarter-mile away.

The striking sight featured gleaming brass organ pipes mounted prominently on the truck bed, along with decorative elements designed to attract attention at parades and community events.

These calliopes operated using compressed air forced through organ pipes, playing music from punched paper scrolls or pinned metal cylinders (similar to player piano rolls). Companies like Tangley Manufacturing of Iowa supplied the musical equipment that transformed standard Model T trucks into mobile concert stages.

The vehicles served as practical solutions for outdoor entertainment before portable recorded music became widely available, making them popular for family gatherings and civic celebrations.

09/06/2026

1956 Fiat Eden Roc Beach Car

Pinin Farina transformed the utilitarian Fiat 600 Multipla chassis into one of automotive history's most whimsical creations when commissioned by Gianni Agnelli to transport guests around his French Riviera estate.

The Italian coachbuilder crafted an entirely doorless, open-air body with nautical design elements inspired by yacht tenders, including curved mahogany bumpers encircling the perimeter and distinctive wraparound rear seating formed from curved teakwood slats.

Debuted at the 1956 Turin Motor Show, the design featured a forward-control driving position with an exceptionally low windshield and vertical side panels that emphasized its beach resort purpose.

Just two examples were documented as completed, with the second commissioned by Union Oil chairman William Doheny after seeing Agnelli's car displayed at the Paris Motor Show.

A rear-mounted 962-cubic-inch inline four-cylinder engine with twin-throat Weber carburetor generated approximately 50 horsepower, sufficient for its intended leisurely pace between villa and shoreline.

The four-speed manual gearbox and coil-spring suspension with anti-roll bars provided surprisingly competent dynamics despite the car's specialized recreational focus.

08/28/2026

Which is your favorite?

08/24/2026

1935 Ford Convertible Sedan w/ Teardrop Travel Trailer

08/16/2026

1956 Citroën C10 Coccinelle “Ladybug From the Future” Prototype

A teardrop-shaped four-seater with a drag coefficient of just 0.258, this Citroën prototype could slip through the air more cleanly than many cars built decades later. Citroën engineer André Lefèbvre began the C-series project in the early 1950s, aiming for an affordable, aerodynamic family car positioned between the utilitarian 2CV and the more sophisticated DS.

Lefèbvre kept the styling in-house, and the result, nicknamed “Coccinelle” (ladybug) or “goutte d’eau” (water drop), used an aluminum body over a lightweight frame with Perspex glazing (Plexiglas) in place of conventional glass. The Perspex scratched too easily for windshield wipers, so the windshield could instead be lowered a few centimeters, giving the driver a clear view over its top in rain or snow.

Hydropneumatic suspension was fitted, and half-doors topped by lifting glass panels replaced the impractical gullwing doors used on earlier prototypes in the series.

Power came from the 2CV's 425cc flat-twin, mounted beneath the front seats, and the C10 was capable of roughly 68 mph. The finished car weighed just 842 pounds (382 kg), a figure made possible by its extensive use of aluminum and Perspex.

Completed in 1956, the C10 was the last and most refined of the C-series prototypes, but it never reached production. Lefèbvre’s stroke brought his career to an end soon afterward, and Citroën ultimately pursued a more conventional small-family-car direction with the Bertoni-designed Ami 6, introduced in 1961.

The sole surviving C10 remains in Citroën’s Conservatoire collection at Aulnay-sous-Bois, outside Paris.