J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

My photo
Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Monday, August 30, 2021

1957 Canadian Pontiac

 
from Alex Emond:
"This Pontiac was at the Tim Horton's in Strathmore, Alberta. Smoke haze was thick that day . I am not sure of the exact model . I suspect that all the chrome bits have been redone because they were suspiciously flawless. Not as common as the Chevy's of that year . Cheers , Alex "

AL: Let's call it a Laurentian. Or a Strato Chief. I think that Canadian Pontiacs of that era were Chevys is all but sheet metal. Like this '62 Pontiac Laurentian. Or this '59 Strato Chief. How about this 1959 Pontiac Laurentian Safari wagon?







Saturday, August 28, 2021

Thursday, August 26, 2021

1962 Studebaker Lark convertible

 

Saw the car at Motorland in Arundel, Maine. We posted a 1950 Studebaker Commander in New Hampshire a few months back. And an extremely original 1953 Studebaker Commander in West Texas. Try the search widget and you'll see a bunch more.




Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Brooks Stevens and the 1947-65 Jeep pickup.

From Jonathan Welsh on Deer Isle, Maine. Willys-Overland and Kaiser Jeep built these no-nonsense pickups from 1947 to 1965 with surprisingly few changes. Engines gained displacement and power, eventually growing to six cylinders from four. But visually they all seem pretty much the same. Grille details place this one in the 1950-53 range. Renowned industrial designer Brooks Stevens penned the truck and later came up with the Jeep Wagoneer, which also had legs (produced from 1962 to 1991 and making a comeback, in name at least, this year).
AL: See the 1954 Willys Jeep station wagon we caught a while back. And a '59 Jeep Pickup this spring. Yer basic Willys Jeep CJ in Colorado Springs. A 1957 Willys Jeep FC-170. And, oh yeah, the Willys street rod.





Sunday, August 22, 2021

1949 DeSoto for sale.

 

AL spotted the car between Bangor and Bucksport.




That would be area code 207...







Sunday, August 15, 2021

1941 Ford COE

 Reis Cunningham in Wilton, NH: "I was driving by and jumped out for a few quick pictures and then was back in the car. Only later did I realize that my phone camera was in wide angle, so the weirdly distorted pictures. I like the truck enough to send you pictures to enjoy even if I don't think they are up to Autoliterate standards for the site."                                                                                                             AL: How about this Ford COE out in the Nevada desert? And this Chevy 5100 COE in New Mexico? And a '47 Dodge COE in Colorado Springs.                                                                                                        p.s. AL is still trying to get the resident 15-year-old to explain how the AL  iPhone Pro camera works, or doesn't.






Saturday, August 14, 2021

1962 Chevrolet Impala

 from Michael Moore in Colorado--"North end of Pueblo, 104 in the parking lot of the Cactus Flower, a geriatric white people’s Mexican restaurant…"




Friday, August 13, 2021

1930 Ford Model A. And yes, it's an automobile.

Jonathan Welsh caught the car on Deer Isle, Maine. " I think we have to call this one an "automobile". Ford's Model A had the difficult task of succeeding the company's ultra-best-selling Model T, which was in production from 1908 to 1927. The A ran for just four years but sold well and helped Ford catch up with competitors whose vehicles had surpassed the aging T in styling, comfort and performance. Model A production totaled nearly 5 million. The cars came in a range of configurations from a basic roadster, starting just under $400, to a fancy town car at $1,400.The asking price for this well-kept coupe, in 2021 dollars, is $19,500."






Thursday, August 12, 2021

Robin Grove and CARS

 
from a Bloomberg piece on Robin Grove. The chief executive officer of Classic Automotive Relocation Services (CARS), Grove moves most of the blue-chip cars that descend on the world’s most prestigious car show and auction event, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this weekend in Carmel, Calif.

"...Rates range from around $10,000 to get a short-wheelbase Porsche 911 to LA from, say, Amsterdam—the smaller size means the car can fit on the cheaper lower deck of the cargo plane. To move a Bizzarrini from London to Carmel can run $40,000, because it’ll need to be inside its own wooden crate. It can cost as much as $67,000 to air freight, say, a Ferrari F40 into LA from Hong Kong—to be sure, the far-flung distance and special cargo-box air freight command a high sum, but it’s just a fraction of its $1.6 million overall value..."