Mini-truck mayhem

Look at this Cushman mini-truck hard at work on the grounds of the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vt. Cushman is an American-based motor company that manufactures golf carts and light-industrial vehicles. Cushman is currently owned by the conglomerate Textron - which is also the parent company of Cessna, Bell Helicopter and AAI (which designs and builds unmanned aircraft for varies armed forces across the globe) - but during the mid 90s, the era from which this vehicle came, Cushman was owned by Ransomes-Jacobsen, a British firm.

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Known informally as "white-trucks" these hardy, Mitsubishi-powered mules put out about 75 hp and are rated for loads of up to a ton. It should be noted that the top speed of the Cushman is limited by a governor to 25 mph. Weighing in at 1500 lbs Cushman trucks are very fuel-efficient and could make a great alternative to the gas-hungry pick-ups offered by Chevy, Ford and the rest. Unfortunately, Cushman mini-trucks are not road-legal in the United States or I would acquire one for dump runs, trips to the Home Despot -spelling error intentional- and junk yard raids. Of course, I would remove the governor.

I hope it is true that a man can die and yet not only live in others but give them life, and not only life, but that great consciousness of life. - Jack Kerouac

A quote for you, my friend, for you were so easy and willing to provide me with unorthodox advice and outlandish quotes and I, sadly, was not always in on your joke.

Lake Willoughby

As seen from Route 16 in Westmore, Vt. Willoughby is a glacial lake over 300' deep in places, making it the deepest lake entirely contained in the state.

St Albans Car Show

Well, there's our '74 Baja amidst the show's stars. I'm proud to say that our first car show was a success. Nope, didn't bring a trophy home. My measure of success is making it to the show and home again without a breakdown.

Milton Car Show!

Here's some tasty sheet-metal as seen at the annual Milton, VT car show. Small car shows afford the spectator a real opportunity to spend substantial time admiring a handful of nice examples. If the field offered is too deep, the spectator can suffer from auto-show fatigue. Symptoms of this condition include dis-ordered thinking, poverty of content of speech and severe reduction in emotional expressiveness.





























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All cleaned up for Sunday's show!

Julia has convinced me to enter the Beetle in a local car show. So, I spent a good portion of the day cleaning up our '74 Super. It's amazing what you notice about your vehicle when you're cleaning it. Every stone chip and blemish presents itself in a very annoying "paint-me-now" sort of way. So it goes.

In other news, progress is being made on the Inari Jetta project. After wet sanding and buffing, the valve cover is just about finished. Look below for the pictures.

Up! date.

I must admit that I am disappointed that the nano-sized Volkswagen Up! - the bold, rear-engined concept car cum production reality - has been altered in a most fundamental way. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn announced that the new micro-VW will not be powered by a rear-mounted engine nor will it be rear-wheel-drive. Instead of being reminiscent of the classic Beetle, the production Up! will be based on VW's modern front-engine, front-wheel-drive architecture.

Winterkorn explained that "the rear-engine layout had to be nixed due to cost constraints and the limitations it imposed on passenger space." It was also announced that the platform change would bump the car's show room debut into 2011.

What a blow to my hopes that Volkswagen was returning to its roots. It seems, however, that the change was made, in part, to keep production costs down. Let's hope that Volkswagen can make good on its promise to offer the Up! as an affordable people's car. At least, that would be in keeping with Volk's tradition, and, it should be noted, serve as a departure from the "up-marketing" philosophy that has produced failures such as the Phaeton and W8 Passat. After all, VW is for the Schmidts and BMW chasing should be left to the Audi end of the organization.

Vermont Auto Enthusiasts' 51st Annual Antique & Classic Car Meet at Stowe, VT

Inspired, in part, by the promise of freedom offered by the bold American cars being produced during the first half of the 20th century, "Jack Kerouac uttered the question, "Whither goest thou, America, in thy shiny car in the night? " Of course, Kerouac was equally inspired by booze, drugs and a insatiable appetite for high adventure on the open road.

But that was then. Today we must ask, wither goest America's shiny cars? Today's autos are fast, smooth and quiet machines capable of providing efficient and safe travel. In a new Ford or Chevy it is almost guaranteed you'll reach your intended destiny. How boring. There is as much soul in '08 Impala as there is in my Kenmore upright. No wonder sales are down.

But this weekend, in Stowe, the old cars, in all their flamboyant glory, are back. Behold these marvels, these finned, chromed and bedazzled gems of the old roads. Now close your eyes and imagine burning through the soft prairie night on a cross-country bender. That's driving. That's living. That's the kind of ride for me.









Look at this! Vespa made cars! I think this fuel-sipping, micro car makes the Smart Car look like a Ford Expedition. My daughter has requested a Mustang for her 16th birthday but maybe she'll get one of these. There's certainly no room for necking. Ha ha ha!




The '55 Vette is a favorite of mine and I was elated to see one at the show. In terms of appearance the '55 was almost identical to the '53 and '54 models. What set this particular vintage apart from its predecessors was its powerplant. It should be noted that America's first sports car was originally equipped with an anemic, 235 cu-inch inline six that produced 155 horsepower. It wasn't until 1955, in an effort to make the Corvette a viable alternative to the debuting V8-powered Ford Thunderbird, that Chevrolet offered an eight-cylinder engine for its fiberglass-bodied speedster. Beneath the hood of this specimen lurks a 265 cu-inch, 195 hp V8 lifted directly from Chevy's passenger car line. When mated to the optional, three-speed manual, the V8-powered '55 Vette was truly sporting. Unfortunately, most '55 Vettes, like the one pictured here, came equipped with a power-robbing two-speed automatic gearbox.







Whoah, after seeing this German military Pinzgauer - equipped with real, assault rifles - I was on the lookout for goose-stepping David Duke types.








The Fiat Multipla: I'm very infatuated with this multi-purpose Italian utility wagon. I wouldn't be opposed to owning such a vehicle - even if it only has a 25-hp engine. Gee, my lawn mower has a 6-hp Briggs and Stratton unit and it requires me to invest all the power needed for forward motion. On second thought, I bet - with a bit of finessing - a modern sport-bike mill would fit the existing engine bay. With a small-displacement Honda bike engine - which typicaly produce 100 hp or so - this little Fiat could keep up with traffic.