[ajay99]

I am starting a new thread meant for posts regarding,obsolete, not well known facts/snippets/trivia regarding various vintage/classic marques
to start with the french car FACEL VEGA

this car was the dream project of the frenchman Jean Danninos who started manufacturing this car when the world was in the midst of WW2.
Danninos had made lot of wealth via his metal firm named FACEL .he even was a supplier to PACKARD.
His first car debuted in the 1954 Paris Motor Show as the "FACEL VEGA''.
The craftsman behind this was a guy named Jacques Brossiuer and it was priced $7000 then.He sold 54 cars in the next 24months.
In 1959 he introduced a 2seater coupe named 'FACELLIA"' for $12800. But the quality of this entirely French car was a problem. The company was inundated with guarantee claims and lost its reputation with this model.
The company was liquidated and put under a receiver and in 1964 FACEL VEGA became history

[ajay99]

The Edsel was a marque of the[COLOR=#0066cc] Ford [/COLOR]during the late '50s
. The brand is known best as one of the biggest commercial failures in the history of American automotive industry.
Edsel was actually the name of the only son of HENRY FORD and this name was given to this model as per the suggestion of a Ford factory worker.Unfortunately for Ford Motor company its production lasted a mere 2 years.

[harit]

Originally Posted by ajay99

The Edsel was a marque of the Ford during the late '50s. The brand is known best as one of the biggest commercial failures in the history of American automotive industry.
Edsel was actually the name of the only son of HENRY FORD and this name was given to this model as per the suggestion of a Ford factory worker.Unfortunately for Ford Motor company its production lasted a mere 2 years.

So how many Facel's and Edsels are/were there in India?
Well, to my knowledge no Facel ever came to India. Why not I wonder because some Maharaja could have fancied one. But never say never, recently I saw a Daf in India, never knew that even one came here.
About Edsel, there is a station wagon in Delhi in the famous DT collection. But there was another one seen in Mumbai many years ago very near to the Juhu Bandh. It was a 4 door sedan. No clue to its whereabouts today, or even if it has survived.

[ajay99]

Another manufacturer from Germany with a chequered history.1n 925, they launched the Hanomag 2/10, a 370 kg (816 lb) open two seater with a rear-mounted 500cc single-cylinder water cooled engine. Named Zweisitzer Limousine . Although made in large numbers, 15,775 in total, it did not make much money for the company.

In 1932, a car, the 1.1 Litre, was introduced and it was renamed the GARANT in 1934, later by the 1.5 litre Rekord in 1933 with independent front suspension. these cars were made upto 1942.
Later hanomag was merged with Daimler Benz.
Few cars did come to INDIA and 2 nos still exist here

[avishar]

This an interesting topic for a thread.Hope it is filled with lots of trivia in the days to come.
Also can we write about specific models which have an interesting history but have become obsolete of time?

[FourWheelDrift]

Thanks for starting this thread Ajay99.

I think we need to invite Ram (and other stalwarts on the Official Guess The Car Thread) to post on this thread ... he's a walking encyclopedia of information on storied / obscure automobiles.

I think it'll be fantastic and fun learning for most of us.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[anjan_c2007]

The 1963 Pontiac Bonneville that carried President John F Kennedy's Star Spangled banner draped casket, from the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C. to The Bethesda Naval Hospital and later to The Capitol, seating VVIP passengers like Jaqueline Kennedy, Robert Kennedy in 1963, represents one of the significant moments of the 20th century according to Steve Davis of the Barrett Jackson auctioneers.
This historic ambulance is up for auction now. For details please follow this link:

Old Cars Weekly - For sale: Historic ambulance that transported JFK

[anjan_c2007]

Ex-Beatle and the late pop star John Lennon's 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 coupe is on the block and is set to be auctioned.
Its John's first car that he evidently bought after passing his driving test in Feb 1965.By November 1965 it was offered for sale and changed owners.
The fact remains that this is the first car ever owned by John Lennon.
For details its this link:
Old Cars Weekly - John Lennons Ferrari to sell at Bonhams

[john a milne]

Originally Posted by ajay99

The Edsel was a marque of the[COLOR=#0066cc] Ford [/COLOR]during the late '50s
. The brand is known best as one of the biggest commercial failures in the history of American automotive industry.
Edsel was actually the name of the only son of HENRY FORD and this name was given to this model as per the suggestion of a Ford factory worker.Unfortunately for Ford Motor company its production lasted a mere 2 years.

I grew up close to Windsor Ontario which is across the border from 'MO-TOWN" Detroit.

My dad purchased an Edsel 4 door hardtop with a 424 cubic inch V8 with push transmission buttons on the steering wheel. It was a Beast! Wish I had a photo of it to share, better still the Car which has become a great collectors item.

I came across a Custom "ROD" that Edsel had designed and built for himself that is my All Time favourite car of the 30's. It was auctioned of by RM in 2008 for $1,760,000!

[the mole]

Originally Posted by ajay99

Another manufacturer from Germany with a chequered history.1n 925, they launched the Hanomag.

Few cars did come to INDIA and 2 nos still exist here

Hi Ajay recently a Hanomag was purchased from Gujrat (Baroda I think) by a collector/friend in Mumbai. A late 30's with an original diesel engine. Is this amongst the two you mention?

[harit]

Originally Posted by the mole

Hi Ajay recently a Hanomag was purchased from Gujrat (Baroda I think) by a collector/friend in Mumbai. A late 30's with an original diesel engine. Is this amongst the two you mention?

Apart from the black saloon in Dadar you mention, there is one more open tourer but unrestored in Gujrat, and was there not one in Kerala too?
I always confuse, was the Delhi car a Hanomag or a Hansa?
Hanomag did business in India, it is just the survival rate which is poor. Remember, after the war spares were not available, these were common-use cars and therefore discarded. Like DKW, Adler etc. Ford A and Austins remained alive for long because spares were available, with Ford selling reconditioned Ford A engines for many years.

Cheers harit

[ajay99]

Originally Posted by the mole

Hi Ajay recently a Hanomag was purchased from Gujrat (Baroda I think) by a collector/friend in Mumbai. A late 30's with an original diesel engine. Is this amongst the two you mention?

I dont know much about its engine,but it is the one among the 2 I mentioned.There used to be a Hanomag long back in Kerala,but left Kerala a few years ago

[the mole]

Originally Posted by harit

Apart from the black saloon in Dadar you mention, there is one more open tourer but unrestored in Gujrat, and was there not one in Kerala too?
I always confuse, was the Delhi car a Hanomag or a Hansa?
Hanomag did business in India, it is just the survival rate which is poor. Remember, after the war spares were not available, these were common-use cars and therefore discarded. Like DKW, Adler etc. Ford A and Austins remained alive for long because spares were available, with Ford selling reconditioned Ford A engines for many years.

Cheers harit

The one in Dadar came from Baroda, and it was acquired recently. It is a diesel. Could it be the oldest running diesel car in the country? Apparently Hanomag preceded Mercedes in the popularization of diesel Technology. I think the Delhi car was a Hansa.


Speaking of diesel engined cars. A trivia question for all

Which is the oldest existing diesel engined car in the country?

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The 1963 Pontiac Bonneville that carried President John F Kennedy's Star Spangled banner draped casket, from the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington D.C. to The Bethesda Naval Hospital and later to The Capitol, seating VVIP passengers like Jaqueline Kennedy, Robert Kennedy in 1963, represents one of the significant moments of the 20th century according to Steve Davis of the Barrett Jackson auctioneers.
This historic ambulance is up for auction now. For details please follow this link:

Old Cars Weekly - For sale: Historic ambulance that transported JFK

This Saturday's auction of the ambulance that carried President John F. Kennedy's body has garnered worldwide attention. The only problem? It's a near-perfect fake. Here's how a group of historians discovered the truth about what happened to the real ambulance. In a probe with as many twists as one might expect from a JFK assassination artifact, the history buffs of the Professional Car Society (PCS) were able to not only poke holes in the documentation provided by the seller of the '63 Pontiac Bonneville ambulance, but produce photographic proof that the real vehicle ceased to exist in 1986. After weeks of its own research, and its original touting of the ambulance's history, we're now told that Barrett-Jackson will hold a press conference Friday to reveal the findings we lay out below.
Touted since late last year by the auction company, the slate gray JFKambulance received hundreds of profiles — from the Wall Street Journal to CBS News, almost every major news outlet ran a story about this Saturday's auction.
But the longer they looked, the more questions the Professional Car Society found. The JFK ambulance was described in some cases as "unrestored," yet the lettering on the sides and rear did not match that of the ambulance shown in the 1963 films at Andrews Air Force Base; the Barrett-Jackson car had periods between the "U" and "S" where the original did not.
On Tuesday, PCS director Steve Lichtman got the proof the auto society had sought. On June 26, 1986, the hearse had been crushed in a Boston junkyard, under witness from the John F. Kennedy Library, apparently at the request of the Kennedy clan. Photos from that day show the ambulance with the ID numbers from 1963 still on its rear door.
After sending the photos to Barrett-Jackson, Davis sent a new message to the forum, announcing the auction house would hold a briefing Friday to announce what it's found out so far about the vehicle:

It's important to understand that Barrett-Jackson is not affirmatively making any representations as to the history or particular provenance of this car, and we will be clear about all of these facts with the bidders who register at auction to participate in the sale of this vehicle. What we are trying to do is uphold the high standard we've set for ourselves in following up on legitimate inquiries and questions related to a vehicle as important as the Kennedy ambulance.

A spokeswoman for Barrett-Jackson confirmed the company would hold an event Friday, but did not provide full details of what the auction house would say. Based on the dogged work of the Professional Car Society, there's one less mystery surrounding the Kennedy assassination.


This letter under the US Freedom of Information laws (like our RTI Act 2005 in India )opened a can of worms!!



SOURCE JALOPNIK

[anjan_c2007]

This is about an old 1912 Buick Model 43, an upmarket car that used to cost $ 1725 way back then. Its been with Hopkins family since the 1950's.
More on this link:
Old Cars Weekly - Car of the Week: 1912 Buick Model 43