Thursday, October 6, 2011

Tallahassee Motor Museum


While traveling in the US we visited the Tallahassee Antique Car Museum, Florida. We arrived first thing in the morning at 8.30am and had the whole place to ourselves. It was an impressive and eclectic collection covering mainly US cars, motorcycles, guns, memorabilia, boats and even trains. http://tacm.com/carmuseum/thecars.htm

A Harley-Davidson and the motorcycle collection.

A collection of Whizzer lightweight motorcycles.

Whizzer motorcycles

Vintage bicycles. See also my post on retro bicycles -http://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2011/09/retro-bicycles.html

More bicycles

1957 Ford Thunderbird

1957 Chevy Bel-Air

1953 Cadillac Eldorado

1953 Cadillac Series 62

And another

1957 Chevy Bel-Air

1950 Packard Super Eight

1948 Lincoln Continental

1948 Ford Custom Coupe

There is no car like the 1936 Cord 810. A most remarkable and advanced car for its time.

A trio of remarkable cars - Cord, Bantam and Crossley


1948 Tucker Torpedo. Only 51 Torpedo's were built before the company was forced out of business by a slanderous campaign orchestrated by the US auto industry. They were very advanced cars for their time with their rear mounted engine and trio headlamps. They were undoubtedly influenced by the Czech Tatra of the 1930s. http://www.tuckerclub.org

Another unusual American car - 1954 Kaiser-Darrin sportster. The fibreglass bodied Kaiser-Darrin was intended to compete with British imported sportscars but it was proved to be rather more expensive. Only 435 were built. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Motors



Another misplaced attempt at a budget sportscar - 1950 Crossley. Crossley was a British auto company that built trucks, tractors and small budget cars. Unfortunately there was not much of a market in the US for small sportscars like this fibreglass bodied Super.

1940 Bantam. Another marginally successful budget sportster.

1940 Ford Highway Patrol Car

Streamlined 1940s Fords

1939 Ford Special

1932 Ford Model 18

1929 Auburn Boat Tail

1936 De Soto

1933 Chevrolet tow truck

1923 Packard and a row of 20s cars

1916 Scripps-Booth Model C and 1913 Car Nation Tourer

1909 Babcock Electric. Electric cars were very popular in the first decades of the automobile industry. They sold particularly well to women and people looking for a vehicle for inner city use. http://www.american-automobiles.com/Electric-Cars/Babcock-Electric.html

Ford T roadster

1909 De Witt. These old fashioned high-wheelers remained fairly popular in the US as their high road clearance meant they could navigate the appalling road conditions in the country.

1894 Duryea prototype. This unrestored gem was an amazing barn find. The underside still has the pencil marks and measurements under the flaking paintwork. It is the oldest surviving American automobile. More information can be found here - http://www.earlyamericanautomobiles.com/ & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duryea_Motor_Wagon_Company

1903 Stanley Steamer

1911 Ford Model T's

1907 International

1860 President Lincoln's hearse

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Retro Bicycles in the US


When we were in Lake Tahoe, California, we came upon Rosie's Cafe. It featured an interesting collection of vintage US bicycles. It was a popular stop for motorcyclists too.

In the 1930s through to the 1950s US bicycle manufactures created some interesting and stylish bicycles that had almost as many curves and fins as did US cars. http://www.nostalgic.net/ These are very collectable these days and a bike in pristine condition can fetch extraordinary prices.

A Firestone and a penny farthing hang from the ceiling.

Roadmaster Luxury Liner

My favourite, J C Higgins with portholes.

A Schwinn Black Phantom

A Whizzer moped. The Whizzer was Schwinn's powered bike range.



A Firestone.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Hemmings Auto Museum


In the main street of Bennington, Vermont is a little old petrol station - the Hemmings Garage - home of the Hemmings motor publishing empire. Hemmings produce a range of classic auto magazines and blogs. For anyone interested in classic and unusual autos, the Hemmings Blog is a must read - http://blog.hemmings.com/

A 1960s Harley-Davidson is parked in the garage window.

A wall of license plates

Behind the garage is a small museum of classic cars.





Hudson Tetraplane



An American Bantam microcar. These little sportsters were built in the 1940s.



Cadillac Eldorado



Ford Model A

Ahrens Fire Engine





1886 Benz replica. The first automobile.

Dodge A100

1950s Volkswagen in traditional black

BMW Isetta microcar