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THE CONCEPT CAR YOU NEVER SAW. UNLESS YOU'RE AUSTRALIAN

Can you remember where you were and what you were doing in 1969? I certainly can for I was living in New York, writing Ford ads for the J. Walter Thompson agency. I was driving a BMW 2002. My family and I watched the Apollo moon landing live on TV. It was also a "life-changing" year. In September of 1969 I was transferred to London where we underwent a culture adjustment and fell in love with England and Europe.

Needless to say, I admired the wonderful Italian concept cars that were annually unveiled at the Geneva and Turin auto shows. But, as with so many others from the US and Canada, I had little knowledge of the Australian auto market, which is larger and more innovative than most people realise. The GM Holden and the Ford Australia operations have considerable design and engineering autonomy and are not tied to Detroit for approvals. Thus it was that Holden was able to design and build a concept car, the Hurricane, that was just as exciting as anything from Turin, and yet went all but unnoticed outside its home market.

That's 42 years ago, folks. When the Hurricane had finished its Australian show obligations, Holden tucked it away in a hidden corner until 2006, when a group of Holden designers and engineers volunteered to do a total restoration. The Hurricane is now returned to "as new" condition, ready to show off its exquisite lines and highly advanced technology. Features included a camera for reversing, digital instrument readouts, and a route guidance system (GPS didn't exist at the time so it depended on magnets imbedded in the road).

Instead of a pair of doors, one on each side, passengers entered via an electro-mechanical canopy, which pivoted forwards to reveal two seats that rose to "greet" the soon-to-be occupants. Driver and passenger were kept safe by inertia-reel seatbelts, kept comfortable by a climate control system. Safety innovations included a foam-lined fuel tank, integrated roll-over bar, ignition safety locks, interior padding and a fire warning system. And this Hurricane performed like the real thing thanks to its lightweight, slippery aerodynamics, and an experimental 262 hp 4.2 liter V-8.

Holden is recognized globally within General Motors as a center of excellence for concept vehicle and show car development and is one of only three GM design studios capable of designing and building concept cars. Australians are lucky that Holden decided to keep this car and even more fortunate that the volunteers decided on a restoration. I hope that General Motors eventually ships it to Europe and America for appearances in some of the major concours, for the Hurricane is a gorgeous work of art and deserves to be seen and admired by the rest of us. It would surely win "best of class" in any show where it appears.

For more interesting background and history on the Holden Hurricane, just click here.

[Photos: GM Holden. Article Lead: Classic Driver.com]

TWO HISTORIC MOTORCYCLES ON AUCTION, ONE POWERED BY STEAM

I'm not a motorcycle enthusiast, though I admire them as machinery. So you'll rarely see motorcycles mentioned in this blog. But today I'm making an exception because not one, but two, remarkable vintage bikes are coming up for auction. The one that first caught my eye is truly unique. It is the world's first steam-powered motorcycle. Who knew there were motorcycles driven by steam engines? Cars, yes, but the engines, boilers, and fuel are bulky and heavy, making them an unlikely candidate for a two-wheeler.

The 1894 Roper Steam Motorcycle, one of the world’s oldest motorcycles, is the second of just two steam-powered motorcycles built by Sylvester Roper of Roxbury, Massachusetts, predating early examples produced by Orient, Indian and Harley-Davidson. The revolutionary design features a compact rectangular boiler, burner and grate, and a small steam engine on the right side. A water tank was located directly over the boiler, from which a smoke vent exited. All controls were located on the handlebars.

Regularly used by Roper, it averaged a record speed of 40 miles per hour on the Dorchester Road in Boston in May 1896. Following Roper’s passing in 1896, this historic motorcycle was sold to a Long Island museum and after moving through a series of other museums formed part of two private collections. Its most recent showing was at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, celebrating the induction of Sylvester Hayward Roper, America’s first motorcyclist. Auctions America’s upcoming Las Vegas auction, Jan 12-14, represents the first time it has been offered at a public sale.

The other Historic Motorcycle is a 1913 Flying Merkel Twin Belt Drive, not quite as old as the Roper but no less interesting. It will be offered at Auction America's Lee Roy Hartung auction, November 4th, at the Hartung Automotive Museum, Glenview, Illinois. I know nothing about this machine, other than what the auctioneer tells us: "One of the highlights of the collection, this very desirable Flying Merkel remains in outstanding original time-warp condition boasting both original paint and components." A similar machine was apparently a very successful board track racer. In 1913 it was claimed to be the fastest motorcycle in the world.

Even with my minimal knowledge of motorcycles, I find these two quite fascinating and would especially love to own the steam-powered machine. Just imagine the sight and sound as I rode it along my town's main street!

[Roper Photo Credit – Paul Eddy © courtesy Auctions America by RM]

AT LAST, F1 WEST AND F1 EAST IN USA!

Not since the great road races at Watkins Glen has Formula One had a permanent home in the United States. By 2013 it will have two, one in the east and one in the west. The announcement today of the New Jersey F1 race is great news for fans in New York and New Jersey, and even for enthusiasts living hundreds of miles away.

I'll admit that when I first heard of the possibility months ago I was skeptical. With a mildly prejudiced view of New Jersey, nurtured when I lived across the Hudson in New York, it seemed an unlikely place for a race. Manhattan would have been a better choice, I thought, though the chances of blocking off the streets for a motor race were between nil and none. But after learning of the circuit layout and its location I've done a complete turnabout. This New Jersey F1 event could be a huge success.

The locale is just fine with me, for the view on TV should be spectacular. New Jersey governor Chris Christie confirmed that the race would be run on a street circuit around the Port Imperial area in Weehawken and West New York, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. She went on to say that "it will be a 3.2 mile road race, run on existing roads through Port Imperial and at the top of the Palisades in Weehawken and West New York... people from the whole world will come to New Jersey to see this unique and exciting course."

No doubt they will, but I can also see fans coming from Toronto, Buffalo, and Boston, who might otherwise go to the Montreal F1 race. And I can imagine tens of thousands pouring in from New York City, possibly even arriving by ferry or other forms of public transit. I'll even go so far as to suggest that if you like the Monaco and Valencia GPs because of their spectacular seaside setting you'll find this one attractive for the same reason.

The mayors of Weehawken and West New York, both of whom are enthusiastic about the event, are eager to point out that the intention is not to use public funding as it would be deeply unpopular in the present financial climate. Weehawken mayor Richard Turner and Felix Roque, his counterpart in West New York, believe the race could kick-start a stagnant local economy. "In these uncertain economic times when every direct and indirect revenue source is vital, our own Formula One race could be a very positive boost to our citizens," they said in a joint statement.

I noted that the course has been laid out by none other than the same Hermann Tilke engineering group that drew up the plans for Austin's F1 race, as well as the new Indian GP circuit, and new or recently-built tracks in the Mid-East, such as Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. A positive step, for Tilke is an experienced race driver who knows what makes racing exciting for both competitors and spectators.

June, 2013, seems a long way off, by which time we'll learn much more about the New Jersey race. And by then the first Austin, Texas F1 race will have been run and won. I'm looking forward to both races and, God willing, I may be able to attend at least one of these events. Having covered, as a race reporter, the Watkins Glen and Mosport GPs back in the 1960s, it might be appropriate, don't you think?

[Photo Credit: The Telegraph]

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME: PIERCE SILVER ARROW FOR SALE

High on my list of classic cars that I would like to see in person is the 1933 Pierce Silver Arrow. Basically a concept car intended to lift Pierce out of the depression doldrums, it was both an experiment in aerodynamics and a boldly beautiful automobile. Only five were built, as the Silver Arrow was never intended for production, but the cars did keep the company's image alive, albeit briefly. Amazingly, at least three Silver Arrows survived and one will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson at Scottsdale in January.

This Silver Arrow will be sold on a "reserve" basis, which is unusual for Barrett-Jackson. Don Williams of the Blackhawk Collection, who has pursued Silver Arrows since the late 1960s and has at one time or another owned all three of the remaining examples, reminds us that no Pierce Silver Arrow has sold at auction since 1973, and no Silver Arrow has changed hands in the last decade. Obviously a rare chance for a collector to possess one of automobile history's gems.

Phil Wright was the Silver Arrow's designer. Among the features he included were an all-steel roof, side mounted spares enclosed in the front fenders, a body that eliminated running boards, and a fastback roofline integrating the trunk. The streamlined body stretched in a unified sculpture from the characteristic Pierce fender-mounted headlamps all the way to the rear bumper.

The only discordant note was the rear window: two tiny slits that nicely echoed Wright's design but might have made safety a problem. I'm guessing, however, that it perfectly lined up with the rear vision mirror.

Underneath that gorgeous body was a chassis driven by Pierce-Arrow’s 175hp, 462-cu.in. L-head V-12; obviously the car's performance would have matched its elegant looks. History tells us that Pierce and Studebaker joined hands for a brief period, then went their separate ways, which was unfortunate as they each had something special to offer. But the Silver Arrows kept the company alive and inspired less radical successors in 1934 and 1935.

So what would it cost to add a Pierce Silver Arrow to my personal fantasy collection? Blackhawk's Don Williams recalls that the last Silver Arrow sold for $1.5 million and guesses that this sale should net somewhere between $2 million to $3 million. Although I wasn't planning a trip to Scottsdale in 2012, the Silver Arrow is one car that would tempt me, just to be in its presence. Or I could go to Paris and see the Mona Lisa.

Thanks to Hemmings for the background to this story.

[Photos: Daniel Strohl]

LEGENDARY NASSAU SPEED WEEK RETURNS TO THE BAHAMAS

Nothing could be nicer, in the midst of a frigid winter, than to fly south to Nassau, enjoy a welcoming planters punch, then watch several days of great road racing. That's the way it was, from 1954 to 1966. And hopefully that's the way it will be as the Nassau Speed Week (renamed Bahamas Speed Week) is being revived in 2011: November 30 to December 04.

For the racing fraternity, the original Speed Week combined a vacation with a chance to have fun. There were no championships involved, no fight for points, just a chance to duel it out on an airport circuit. Cars and drivers came from Europe, from the US, and from Canada. The parties, it was said, were as good as the races. If you couldn't beat the guy into the first corner, well, heck, you could always toss him into the pool. And nobody cared.

Decades have passed since those halcyon years but the combined efforts of racing enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic plus the willing Nassau tourist folks are turning back the clock, then giving it a special twist. These will not be vintage track races. The now-international airport can't be closed and there are no Bahamas race tracks. Instead, a temporary street circuit has been set up for timed sprints by vintage sports racers. Each contestant will be allowed three laps, in an effort to set best time. Running next to the sea, the track nicely combines a fast straight with several turns, assuring that a combination of skill and power is needed to win.

You, as a spectator, might miss the fender-to-fender racing that comes with vintage events but that shouldn't deter you from attending. There's something special about watching vintage cars being driven at speed, including the sounds of once-great engines. For the drivers it's an opportunity to test the cars and themselves without taking unnecessary risks. Nobody really cares who wins, except the winner. The same applies to hillclimbs and amazingly (to me at least) Bahamas Speed Week includes a hillclimb! I'd worked on Grand Bahama Island as a young guy, attended the 1963 Nassau Speed Week, and visited Nassau since, but never saw anything taller than an anthill. But apparently the Fort Charlotte road is vertical enough and long enough for challenging timed runs.

In some respects the Bahamas Speed Week is aimed more at owner/drivers than we humble spectators. They'll be feted and entertained, and led on a tour to an island paradise owned by Sir Sean Connery. Considering all the great cars that James Bond drove it would seem appropriate that he might be in attendance, but the organisers have made no promises.

For an amusing aside to our trip to the original Nassau Speed Week, click onto this Constellation airliner blog.

FANTASY COLLECTION ADDS JAGUAR MK IX, ASTON-MARTIN, FACEL-VEGA

I'm a fantasy collector. Girls? Yes. A townhouse in London and New York? Yes. A luxury power yacht moored stern-first at Monaco's harbour next to the F1 race circuit? Yes. Classic cars? Absolutely. The reason they remain fantasies? At my age the girls run faster than me and back in the days when they rarely did I blew whatever money I made on... girls, cars, and a 21' SeaRay moored stern-first in Toronto harbour. Too late for regrets.

But whenever I spot a vehicle for sale that I'd love to own, I add it to my fantasy collection in my fantasy museum. This week there are three, one being sold privately and two at a European auction.

The car I'd most like to add to my collection is not the rarest nor most expensive. But it's probably the most practical for occasional use and appeals to my love of Jaguar automobiles. It's a 1960 Jaguar Mark IX sedan, or "saloon" as the Brits call them. The Mark IX was the last of a series that began soon after WW2 ended (with the Mark VII) in which hints of pre-war styling could still be seen, even though the DOHC six under the hood was the same engine that won five LeMans 24-hour races. The Mark X that followed brought Jaguar sedans into the modern era though it was, in my opinion, too bulky to be beautiful.

The Mark IX seen above appears on Hemmings.com "find of the day" and has been owned by the same person for 34 years. He eventually did a complete frame-on restoration and won a number of concours trophies. No trailer queen, it has been on a 1,000-mile annual road tour for the last 5 years "with no issues."

From here we go to Paris. And what better excuse than an auction where a number of desireable classics will go on the block. I'm talking of Artcurial's season ending event, where a left-hand-drive 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 MkII convertible will be sold for an estimated 160,000 - 220,000 euros. This car appeals to me because it represents Aston-Martin when I first got to know the marque. A few years later I had an opportunity to buy a similar coupe for a very reasonable price but was put off by a test drive. Accustomed to the lightness and handling of a Porsche, I found the Aston to be heavy and less responsive. If only I knew then what I know now!

Perhaps the Facel-Vega would suit me better. I was always entranced by Facel's styling, which was applied with equal talent to both Vegas, the smaller, Volvo-powered car and the larger Chrysler hemi-powered tourer. Facel was a maker of automobiles intended for "grand touring" when GT actually meant something, especially if you were driving from Northern Europe to your Swiss ski chalet or your Riviera villa. The firm never made its own powertrains, turning instead to Volvo and Chrysler. This 1963 Facel-Vega will sell for an estimated 80,000 – 120,000 euros.

Even with fantasy euros burning a hole in my pocket, I'll have happy dreams. Meanwhile those who live in the real world can make an offer for the Jaguar MK IX or travel to Paris to bid on the Aston-Martin or the Facel-Vega, via ClassicDriver.com.

WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL AIRLINER FLIES AGAIN

Anyone who has ever seen a Lockheed Super Constellation would probably agree that it was the most beautiful airliner ever to have flown. Its curvaceous, dolphin-shaped fuselage and triple tailfins made it instantly identifiable. Until recently there was only one "Connie" still flying (in Australia) but the Swiss watchmaker Breitling, which has long been associated with aviation, recently sponsored the restoration of a second Super Constellation.

You think restoring a classic car is expensive? Imagine an airliner with its four 18-cylinder piston engines, complex airframe, wings and tail, its electronics, controls, and wheels that disappear and reappear with every takeoff and landing. Such restoration boggles the mind and yet there are enthusiasts (some with very deep pockets) all over the world willing to spend years bringing an aircraft back to life.

Learning of this restoration through Airliner World magazine reminded me that there once was a time when we could tell one airliner from another at a glance. Even in the beginning of the jet age it wasn't difficult to spot the difference between a Boeing 707 and a Douglas DC-8.

The original short-haul jet airliner, the French Caravelle, was novel at the time for having two engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage, though what made it easy to differentiate from the later Douglas BAC 111 and DC-9 was the triangular shape of the windows and the curved tailfin. Like the Constellation, the Caravalle was a very pretty aircraft.

Today it takes a sharp eye to instantly identify, for example, a narrowbody Boeing 737, Airbus 320, Embraer 190; or a widebody Airbus 330 or Boeing 767.

For me, as an aviation enthusiast, it had long been an ambition to fly as a passenger in a Super Constellation. In the early 1960s Air Canada was making the switch to jets and so it seemed the dream would never happen. But my wife, our baby son Philip, and I had flown to Nassau for the annual Speed Week races and when we arrived at the airport for the return flight I was delighted to find us boarding a Super Connie. A flight to remember, though not as hoped.

Just short of the halfway point between Nassau and Toronto, the captain shut down one port-side engine due to rising temperatures in two cylinders. To reduce weight, excess fuel was dumped from the wingtip valves. We slowly turned south and landed safely in Miami, where Air Canada put us up in comfortable hotel rooms. The next morning we flew home in a DC-8.

Note: That little tale should have been the end of this memoire but just as I was to begin writing the blog I checked the Marque1 e-mailbox and to my astonishment... there sat an invitation to attend the revived Nassau Speed Weeks on Paradise Island. I'm not making that up. Honest!

VERTICAL MOBILITY IN BROOKLYN: RESTORED WAREHOUSE FEATURES CINEMA WITH GOURMET CAFE

Few cities are better at rejuvenating old buildings than New York. And that, of course, includes Brooklyn. A two-storey, mid-century warehouse in the district of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, has been transformed into a three-screen cinema with a cafe and bar. The Nighthawk Cinema is a recent project of Caliper Studio, which packaged it in, as Wallpaper Magazine relates, "a custom zing panel facade with 2,000 hand cast glass disks, backlit by low voltage LED lights".

It includes three floors of residential apartments above the cinemas, bar, café and commercial kitchen below.

Well, that's architecture talk, but here's some of what the Nighthawk offers: "We are a new cinema that offers an experience like no other in New York. We have a street-level neighborhood cafe where you can enjoy cocktails or gourmet concessions anytime. In addition, we feature table-side food service inside our three theaters for each film."

Wow! An entirely new way of enjoying the movies, far better than my usual dinner on the couch while watching a lousy TV show. In fact, it seems like a contemporary version of the old show-and-dinner formula that made the nightclub scene so exciting. Or a dinner-and-a-movie-evening-out except that it all happens in one place. No need to eat dinner, drive to the cinema and hope to find a parking spot before the first reel rolls.

In case you're wondering, marque1.com has not changed its direction in order to promote movies. We're still a classic car site that also looks at ways of making cities a better place to live while (hopefully) reducing urban sprawl. My wish is that the Nighthawk returns the favour by including the fabulous F1 documentary "Senna" in its list of upcoming films. And that About.com's car czar Bob Schulties, who lives in Brooklyn, is in the audience. Are you listening, Bob?

THE GREAT ETHANOL SCAM AND ITS EFFECT ON HISTORIC VEHICLES

A few short years ago when Colin Hefferon and I were testing cars for About.com the automobile news media was alive with reports of how ethanol was going to save the world. Made from low-cost corn, which was a staple of American agriculture, ethanol could cut the use of conventional fuel by up to 20%, simply by adding it to gasoline. Or so they said. The reality was quite different, as Colin and I suspected. He, by the way, was an expert on the subject of alternative fuels and whereas my feeling was based on instinct, Colin's was based on scientific fact.

Suddenly farmers were converting crops from food to fuel. A land rush occurred, with opportunists grabbing up anything that could grow (government subsidised) corn. Prices inevitably began to climb. Ethanol became a convenient bandwagon for politicians, ill-informed environmentalists and, of course, fuel marketers.

But it was all a scam, however unintentional. The cost of harvesting, refining, and shipping ethanol, then blending it with gasoline, actually made the finished product more expensive. Reckoned in terms of power produced, it was inefficient. Any supposed environmental advantage ignored the amount of water corn sucks down to make it grow. And in a world where millions are starving, no one stopped to consider whether it might be immoral to use corn as a fuel for automobiles rather than as food.

Have you noticed that while some automakers do offer flex-fuel engines, none are rushing to promote ethanol as a means to reduce fuel consumption?

And that brings me to the subject of this blog, something of vital interest to owners of older, collectible automobiles. Ethanol is bad for your engines, folks! Marque1 contributor Nigel Matthews, Canadian manager of the Historical Vehicle Association, brought this to my attention and I'm pleased to pass it on to our collector car owners. You can read the facts in an HVA newsletter article "Kernal Knowledge: One Man on a Mission to Show how Ethanol is Wrecking Your Engine".

A second article, "Under the Hood with Ethanol and Your Classic Car", includes a fascinating video with Ed Syrocki—owner of EMS Classic Car Care in Warren, Michigan—who has embarked on a one man, grassroots mission to educate historic vehicle owners about the damage ethanol fuel is doing to their engines.

I'll confess that when Colin and I became concerned about the ethanol hype we weren't thinking of the damage it could do to historic vehicles. And I'm not suggesting that we were the first to shout "the Emperor has no clothes on" but as two guys who loved cars we knew there was a better way. It's called "Diesel."

[Photo Credit: modifiedmag.com]

GAS STATION HAS A UNIQUE PLACE IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY

Great architects create magnificent skyscrapers, beautiful homes, sometimes entire communities. But gas stations? They wouldn't waste their talents on something so commercially prosaic. Yet Frank Lloyd Wright, renowned as one of America's greatest architects, was not only willing to design a gas station, he did it with typical enthusiasm and ingenuity. He had a vision in which the station would be a cornerstone of a planned community and a gathering place in which to have a coffee, read a newspaper, or chat with a neighbour.

The service station, in Wright's words, would be "the future city in embryo," which would "naturally grow into a neighborhood distribution center, meeting-place, restaurant ... or whatever else is needed."

That station, located in the town of Cloquet, Minnesota, still exists although the modernised three-bay service doors and contemporary pumps somewhat spoil the effect, which must have been simpler and more distinguished when new. Nevertheless it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, with the added distinction of being the only gas station in the legendary architect's portfolio. Indeed, he was too busy to supervise the construction, leaving that job to apprentice Robert Pond, while he worked on New York's famed Guggenheim Museum. Now 81, Pond still remembers the location as being ideal. "You come over the hill there, and there's that gas station right on the corner. It was perfect," said Pond. "Especially when they first put the copper roof on, it glowed! Of course, then we treated it to turn it green." Sadly, Wright never lived to see his gas station. He died during the building of the Guggenheim.

Annie Dugan, curator of the Carlton County Historical Society, says the triangle canopy creates an arrow that directs your eyes across the street toward the St. Louis River. "That was subliminal," she says: "It was Wright's way of connecting the past with the present, with river traffic to vehicular traffic." It's now quite the draw for architecturally-aware visitors, who like to photograph the station's unique triangular canopy, which covers four gas pumps. The original sign for the station is on top of the canopy.

One of Wright's unique concepts was a glassed-in waiting room on the second floor, which overlooked the pumps and the waterfront. The architect visualised it as a place where people would like to gather, a social and cultural center. But most people had other things to do and they weren't willing to sit around, read newspapers and sip coffee.

The writer of the Jalopnik column, Ray Wert, where I found some of the background for this story, thinks it provided the inspiration for Starbucks. With all due respect I must remind Ray that coffee houses where one can read, sip, and enjoy a tasty treat, existed in Europe long before the automobile was invented. They still do, and with respect to Starbucks this time, the coffee is better and so, by far, are the sweets. There is talk of turning it into a museum of sorts, a splendid idea if the R.W. Lindholm station can be restored to the way it looked on Day One.

[Story Lead: Nigel Matthews. Colour Photo: Della Roy Nohl]