Category: Every car is a story.
-
FOR ALL MANKIND
Sal Gitarious had been at The Facility for nearly a dozen years, toiling away on one project after another in relative obscurity, hoping for his shot at The Big One. It was difficult enough working somewhere that didn’t allow anyone to discuss anything they actually did. Not even knowing how most of your work fit…
-
CHINA MOON (Part II)
CHINA MOON Part I was posted yesterday. The static view out the window, constant drone of the diesel engine and overall boredom lulled him into a near sleep state, but the heat kept him from giving in. The Stockton Telegram-Dispatch finished, the only thing left to read in his old leather satchel was a stack of technical data…
-
CHINA MOON (Part I)
God it was hot. Even though he was wearing a linen suit, his shirt was already soaked through and he hadn’t even boarded the bus. He wished he could have worn a short sleeved shirt and pair of khaki pants, but the informality of such an outfit would have caused a stir and possibly doomed…
-
A MORGAN FOR THE END
Normally the regular BaT crowd clears out by noon over at the Grounds for Divorce so they can all go home for lunch and the paying folks can have plenty of room. But it’s so hot outside that the regulars didn’t go anywhere and the paying folks stayed home, not wanting to brave the temperatures. Probably a good…
-
TAG IT AND BAGGETT
Back in the fall of 1948 Pappy Longbranch was still a young man. He kept the hair in his nose trimmed, had absolutely no hair on his ears, and was decades away from wearing his khaki pants hiked up to damn near his armpits. It was back when he played sax with the ‘Cactus Pricks’…
-
TOP DOWN, TIME OUT
Ben Tolbert was a man of exceptional taste in 1957. Imagine Don Draper, but with morals. Don’t confuse exceptional with ridiculously expensive. Anyone with boatloads of money can buy the finest products available and come across as refined. Ben’s secret was taking the relatively mundane and making it look damn good. “If you can’t look good wearing a Rolex and…
-
GREG’S WOODY
When Mike went down to Quincy Chrysler-Plymouth and picked out a brand new gleaming yellow Plymouth Fury Sport Suburban he thought it was all the car he’d ever need. “This’ll be perfect for my three sons!” A successful architect, he appreciated the sturdy build and engineering that went into the wagon. Then he met Carol.…
-
GOING COMMANDO
This is cooler than a snow cone in Anchorage, and much more satisfying. Don’t imagine there were many of these to be seen in ’68, much less a half century later. Only one anyone can ever remember seeing in Fort Stockton was about a decade ago. Same colors. It even had California plates, as well.…
-
ON THE WAY TO PALM SPRINGS
Now I’m not swearin’ this story is true. But I am a firm believer that if you repeat a tale long enough it’s almost true, and that’s the next best thing. Back in the 80s there was a dealer meeting that Iacocca attended in San Antonio to wine and dine the Chrysler-Plymouth faithful and treat…
-
WORST THING EVER
On Saturday, November 14, 1992 former Wall Street trader Annette Herfkens boarded a plane with her boyfriend, 22 other passengers, and 6 crew members on Vietnamese Airlines flight VN474 for a five-day romantic vacation in Nha Trang, a resort on the South China Sea. Being claustrophobic, she would have preferred some form of ground transportation,…