High-rise. Low-rise. Why???

So you own a car. Or a pick-up. And you figure your wheels could be improved. New paint job, maybe. A better hi-fi (heaven help us!) A locker for expensive gear. A power winch to get down into a small canyon or out of a mud hole. These are things I, a pedestrian, can understand.

But what I don't get are all those high-rise (above) and those low-rise (below) vehicle modifications. Exactly what do they get you, except, maybe envy from fellow louts?

Take the high-rise pick-up. More road clearance, a plus on unpaved mountain trails? Nope, if you look closely, you'll note that the differential is actually quite low, quite likely to get hung up on the center of a deeply rutted outback road. Apparently these vehicles haven't been modified for the boonies. So: what's the big deal? (Need I mention that a stereo with loud, booming base appears to be an auxiliary part of a high-rise pickup...)

Then we have the low-rise machine, truly a city phenomenon. As someone who loves the back country mountain roads, I keep envisioning one of these cars motoring up the bumpy, rocky road to the Copper Basin overlook. As. If. (And, as long as I am whinging, why, why, why, ruin the lines of a lovely antique automobile?)

The epitome of a low-rise job. I wonder if this street rod can even make it over a speed bump without ruining that lovingly polished paint job. It certainly wouldn't make it up Demerse Street these days, would it?

Off-the-Wall Links: Surely you've been wondering what how fractals look in 3-D. You know you have. Here's a place to get a few views. How about the domino world record? Two and a half hours for the last domino to be pushed over. I 'm fascinated by volcanoes and found this gorgeous picture of a recent eruption in the Russian Kuril Islands. And to think, the new word of the year comes from the burgeoning social web: the verb, unfriend, which has been added to the New Oxford American Dictionary.

R.E.D. rides

Posting problem: how to differentiate yet another auto show from the previous one? Solution: focus entirely on the R.E.D. rides, in this case street rods. There were certainly plenty of arrest-me-red vehicles at the Middle School sports field over the Tsunami weekend.
Styles and ages varied all over the lot. This handsome pair (above, below) from before the first days of streamlining.

A bright R.E.D. pick-up with two more R.E.D. cars in the background. Below -- with its hood down as far as possible, this sporty auto looks like a clean version of those upended machines at the Cadillac Ranch outside Lubbock.

The weird beak (above) is open to display pristine innards (below).

And a new Govt. Motors moment -- a vintage Fiat, front and rear/

Anybody out there remember when two-tone cars were all the rage? And did any single one of you ever see a two-toner with R.E.D. as one of its elements (even the plum red, below)? I thought not -- no driver in his right mind back then would own a ride that garish.

A vision in plum red and chrome!

Bright R.E.D. trim is another current fashion. Above, wheels; below, motor parts and the running board (remember those?)

Finishing touches for the roadster above (and for this post!)

Older Olds

Posting will be sporadic the next three weeks: Sson and family (no guest cat this time) now here for two weeks, with Omegamom & Omegagranddotter arriving next week for a crossover visit & big family get together. (I love it, as you can imagine.) I've even been invited to the rodeo, which will be a first for me after all these years in Prescott!

In the meantime, back at the Square this past weekend, one of two car shows. All were Oldsmobiles. And it was a different experience, too: no street rods. The antique cars all had proper antique wheels (and antique spares for that matter), which should make my Aussie bro happy. Then there was (below) this reminder of my earliest car memories -- a rumble seat! My pop had a Star roadster; my bro and I always rode in the rumble seat. I recall the family driving across the Arizona-California desert at night (the only time of day to travel the desert back then). Bro & I nearly froze because 1) the desert is so very cold at night and 2) the wind was billowing the one blanket that we kids shared.

This roadster also has a rumble seat, not to mention handsome wire wheels, including the two spares.

A classy sedan. Aint' she sweet? While you're admiring, be sure to enjoy the reflections on all the highly polished surfaces.

Here are the 2nd and 3rd oldest cars. I liked the fact that the vehicles were lined up by age, with the oldest right there at the spot where I arrived, all just waiting for my picture taking pleasure.

Above, a representative from the late 1930s? And below, a post WWII convertible? I'm not a car hipster, so don't take my word for the time periods. But, again, enjoy those reflections.

Here, the most recent of the Olds I photographed -- it was time to merge into the Tsunami crowd; besides, I wasn't as interested in the later models. BTW, are all three of those California plates?

In praise of car collectors

When I'm wearing my egghead hat, I often get pretty snarky about America's love affair with the automobile, especially when watching highways and developers encroach on my favorite places outback. However, I learned a lesson or two in the 70s when I was lucky enough to travel into Eastern Europe during the Soviet hegemony. People I met in Prague and Budapest and Warsaw treasured their small vehicles -- as a form of freedom.

And, deep down inside, I think that is what we Americans also love about the car. It frees one from the confines of fixed routes and schedules and crowds. Another form of freedom: at one time, it was possible for the home or farm mechanic to take his machine apart and put it back together again, in better shape than when it came from the factory. One reason, perhaps, why our engineers were both pragmatic and talented; they got good practice as youngsters on Gasoline Alley. I fear that today's modern computer-controlled ride defeats this informal training, which we will regret.

And so I applaud the collectors of our automotive past. They appreciate an important piece of our history in a hands-on fashion. Perhaps the only places left where folk still understand the internal combustion engine are private garages here and there, the Car Talk boys on NPR -- and Cuba, where the 60s collectible car remains all that is available.

An auto show with a big difference

My neighbor, who teaches at Prescott College, alerted me. A very poorly advertised car show was taking place at the Crossroads Center today. A car show, yet! I usually associate PC students with anti-auto sentiment, but it turned out that this was an appropriate gathering: the Arizona Mini Owners.

And what a wonderful assortment of wee cars it was! Everything from several shiny new front-opening Isettas...

...to hot sports cars from an earlier era, back when such imports were a lot smaller than any American-made vehicles. However, I just noted the lack of wire wheels on the vehicle above -- in fact, it looks like modern low-riders, which, my neighbor who restores cars would explain, make for greater safety on today's high-speed roads.

There were Subes the likes of which I've never seen...

...a mail carrier direct from the UK, still wearing its English license plate.

No indication of this car's origins, unless one went up to inspect it!

As a reminder that at one time, made-in-USA cars weren't the huge gas-guzzlers we now enjoy, a line-up of Nashes. I remember the Nash quite well -- my LH was driving a little brown Nash station wagon when I met him!

Here's another small American car that I recall from the past -- the Crosley. In this case, a sporty convertible model. And below, its engine compartment.


It turned out that this colorful coupe is a work in progress -- bright shiny new two-tone paint on the outside, but in need of furnishings as well as work in the passenger compartment (below).

When your car is a mini, an enclosed trailer is quite feasible. The owner of this unit said that his collection included five little automobiles that he has restored.

And, yes, this wag not only had his jokemobile on display but rode it about to show just how to achieve the ultimate in miniaturization. I doubt if he worries about $4 or $5 gas.