October 2014 - Greater Cincinnati Automobile Dealers Association

The Serious Hot Rodder’s Model of Choice

Sometimes it’s our everyday craft that prepares us for a great mission we’ll come to conquer in the future.  That sure seems to be the case for 35 year-old, Fender master guitar builder, Paul Waller of Temecula, California.  After speaking with A.J. Baime of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), we’ve got the scoop on this hot rodder and his model of choice.

The hot rod phenomenon began in the late 1920s; young guys would find junkyard cars to fix up, put big motors on them, and race through the streets.  But it was the 1932 Ford that introduced the “highly modifiable and affordable flathead V8” which became the hot rodder’s model of choice.  Paul Waller tells WSJ how his father began building his 1932 Ford three-window coupe, but never finished it.  So, they made a deal and Waller took on the rest of the job.  Being a fender guitar builder, he explains that in his occupation, he does a lot of sanding, shaping and prepping for paint – which is the same approach he took for building the 1932 Ford.  “I built the car to look like something out of the late 1950s, with skinny tires and a chopped roof.  The paint job took six months, I had to take the car apart – every nut, every bolt…”  One of his father’s contributions to the car, is its 327 Chevrolet engine from an old El Camino, which he confirms does well by him, since he drives the vehicle to work most of the week.  Waller tells WSJ, “While it has updated brakes and three-point-harness seat belts, it’s not exactly ergonomic…the car handles likes a school bus on peanut butter in turns.  But in a straight line doing 80?  It’s just a different kind of fun”

He’s got the checker cabs!

Mike Riley, a Superior Court Judge of Ellington, Connecticut has been sitting on a fleet of Checker cabs from the mid to late 1900’s for some time now.  Riley tells The Wall Street Journal that, he was working as a mechanic while in school, when one day an abandoned Checker cab got towed into the garage.  He later purchased the cab at an auction for $200, fixed it up, and drove it through college.  Apparently the car was so spacious, Riley says that you could fit eight guys in there.  “We took it from Connecticut to Fenway Park so many times, we called it the Fenway Flier.”

Mike Riley tells WSJ that he has owned a lot of Checkers cabs over the years, and he currently has five, one which is a 1981 New York City cab that he bought over 20 years ago and restored himself.  It must be one of his more impressive cabs, because he’s put about six figures into over these past 20 years.  Riley’s three kids all drove a Checker cab in high school, and now that they’re all grown up – each one married this year, they all wanted to use the 1981 New York cab in their wedding.  Seeing something he’s given a large amount of time to, next to his family, and career, in all three of his children’s weddings had to be a sight to see.  Recalling the amount of time and money put into that particular cab over the years, Mr. Riley confirms that the memories are priceless.

Self-driving cars will change retirement

Normally, when we see advances in technology, it’s the young adults who are first to embrace the change.  However, for the revolutionary transportation – self driving cars, it’s the 50+ crowd that is expected to become early adopters for this innovation.  In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Former Google Car Team-Consultant, Brad Templeton explains, “…I don’t think anyone wants to be shut-in.  The boomers all moved to the suburbs, and the suburbs don’t have good transit.  When boomers get to be seniors, they will find themselves without as much driving ability and without the ability to use transit to get places.  Sometimes the only alternative will be to move out of your house.  If [a self-driving car] lets you keep your house rather than having to move, I think you’ll see people who aren’t necessarily early adopters go for it.”  Templeton says they’re calling the self-driving vehicle Robocar, because when you say it, people know what it is. 

To read more into Templeton’s interview with The Wall Street Journal regarding Robocar, click here.

Texas dealer Sam Pack thins vintage car collection

Sam Pack, an antique car collector and Texas businessman, will share more than 100 of his 473 vintage automobiles with the collector world November 14-15, as they are auctioned off in Dallas, TX by RM Auctions.  Well-known and respected in the automotive industry, Sam Pack’s museum collection represents more than a dozen years of acquisition and extreme dedication.  It even reflects his lifelong love affair with automobiles – a passion he shares with his immediate family. 

“It has been in my DNA from Day One.  I always had a love affair with cars,” says Pack, who operates four Dallas-Fort Worth area Ford dealerships branded Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford.  However, he didn’t get serious about collecting cars until he fell in love with and bought a 1939 Ford convertible.  The rest is history.  Pack will bid adieu to 132 of his automotive gems, in hopes of reducing the collection to a more manageable size.

For more information and a sneak peek at some of Pack’s automobiles that will be auctioned off, click here!

Walt Sweeney Ford Dealership is in the Halloween spirit!

Things have gotten spooky over at the Walt Sweeney Ford Dealership!  They’ve plastered the walls, inside and out, with huge 6 ft. tall spiders in light of the Halloween spirit.  Business Development Manager, Brandi Armes says, that they were looking to make things sort of fun and spooky to observe the upcoming holiday.  Their tagline for the month is, “Prices so low, they’re spooky!”  To see the giant spiders at Walt Sweeney Ford, check out our Facebook page.  Is your business celebrating the holiday season in a fun or unique way?  Let us know!  Send your information to jcwalker@gcada.net

20 best movie cars of all time

We all can name at least one car film we’ve seen and loved.  In fact, when it comes to our favorite one, some of us think of the film’s impressively memorable car, as the star of that movie.  What’s interesting, is that many actors and actresses who have starred in films with an automobile as a co-star, are very aware of the effect the car itself has on viewers.  MSN’s auto section has compiled a list titled, Movie cars: 20 best of all time, which consists of their best “actor and actress picks for the 20 greatest four-wheeled stars ever to hit the silver screen!”  Click here to view the list.

Find the right car seat for your child!

Though Child Passenger Safety Month has ended, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is still campaigning to increase car seat safety!  NHTSA has launched a new tool for parents called The Car Seat Finder; it’s an online tool utilized to help parents and caregivers select the proper car seat or booster for their child.   Users simply enter the child’s birth date, weight, and height, and then are provided with child safety seat results that fit their child according to NHTSA’s best practice recommendations.  To find your child’s proper safety seat, click here.

The chef who rides like law enforcement

Dennis Leary, a 44-year old chef, has made headlines this past week for his resourceful transportation methods, in a city that seems like a driving dystopia.  Leary is a San Francisco-based chef who operates a number of stores around the city; he spends a couple of hours every day transporting goods – bread from his bakery, homemade kale chips, etc.  It’s because the city seems so congested, and people are aggressive, that Leary bought two used GO-4 Interceptors for under $4,000 each, to better maneuver through the city.  If you don’t know, a GO-4 Interceptor is an urban utility vehicle, designed and engineered for navigating with ease in space conscious locations.  It has been operated as a parking enforcement vehicle for cities like Seattle and San Francisco since the early 1990′s.

“I’d never admit to doing anything illegal, but put it this way:  These things can go on sidewalks.  You can park in a motorcycle spot which is key in San Francisco, where parking is a blood sport.   They have Hyundai engines – basically big lawn mower motors.  I can’t remember the last time I had to fill the tank.”  People often think they’re official vehicles; Leary gets asked questions all the time, and responds, “Dude, I’m not traffic enforcement.  This is a civilian vehicle.”  So, if you ever pass by a man maneuvering through the city of San Francisco, driving a GO-4 Interceptor, and smell baked goods as he goes by, you will have witnessed the chef who drives like a traffic cop.

 

Source:

Baime, A.J. “The Chef Who Drives Like a Traffic Cop.” The Wall Street Journal 1 Oct. 2014, Cars sec.: D4. Print.

Congratulations to our winners!

Thank you to all who helped promote our Safe Travel For Kids™ Campaign throughout September to support National Child Passenger Safety Month!  We appreciate those who took the time to enter our Car Seat/Booster Seat Giveaway, and would like to congratulate our 12 winners!  “We’re very pleased with the turn out we had for the Giveaway”, said Charlie Howard, Executive Vice President, GCADA.  “We’d like to thank our partners, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Evenflo for their donation of car seats and boosters, and just want to remind caregivers to have their child safety seats fitted properly to promote Safe Travel For Kids™.”