Nice cars other than x-fire

[LE BARON]

The car you're looking at right now is one of the most historically significant vehicles in American motorsport history, and almost nobody realizes it. The Super Six name first appeared in 1916, making it one of America's first high-performance cars. It set records at Daytona Beach and Pikes Peak, was discontinued in 1928, briefly revived in 1933, came back again in 1940, and by 1941 became the powerplant at the heart of the new Commodore line.

The 1947 model is a particularly fascinating piece of Hudson's story because of its timing. This car rolled off the assembly line immediately before Hudson's most revolutionary engineering achievement arrived. Hudson set the American auto industry on its ear in November 1947 with its new 1948 Step-Down unibody sedans, retooling to build the much larger, completely redesigned cars in only 23 days after the last 1947 model left the line. The 1947 Commodore is the final expression of the pre-revolutionary Hudson, and it wears that distinction beautifully.

The engine under this hood is Hudson's proven 262 cubic inch flathead inline six producing 121 horsepower with a balanced crankshaft that allowed it to spin far more freely than its displacement suggested. That balanced crankshaft was the same fundamental architecture that would go on to dominate NASCAR competition in a bored-out form, and the higher revs it allowed made all the difference. Hudson Hornets, using a developed version of this exact engine family, won 27 of 34 NASCAR Grand National races in 1952, followed by 22 wins of 37 in 1953, and 17 of 37 in 1954.

When Pixar Studios needed a cantankerous former stock car legend for Cars in 2006, the Hudson Hornet was the only choice. Paul Newman voiced Doc Hudson, and the legend lives on for another generation. This 1947 Commodore is where that legend quietly began.

 

[LE BARON]

Most people know the Hudson Hornet from Pixar's Cars. Far fewer know that the platform it used to dominate NASCAR was designed largely by Betty Thatcher, the first female designer ever employed by a car manufacturer.

Hudson set the U.S. auto industry on its ear in November 1947 with its new "step-down" unibody sedans, arriving a full model year ahead of the Big Three, accomplishing the retooling in only 23 days after the last 1947 model left the line. The floor pan was lowered to the bottom of the frame, with the frame rails passing outboard of the rear wheels, encircling passengers and dramatically dropping the center of gravity below every American rival.

The Commodore Six used a 262 cubic inch flathead six producing 121 horsepower, while the Eight relied upon a 254 cubic inch straight-eight at 128 horsepower. That same low-slung architecture gave the Hudson Hornet its unbeatable handling on NASCAR's dirt tracks. The Hornet collected 80 NASCAR victories and over 131 total wins during its short racing span, before Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator in 1954 and disappeared entirely. The Commodore started all of it

 

[LE BARON]

For 1970, the Super Bee received a redesign with a new front end that Dodge Public Relations called "bumble bee wings," a twin-looped front bumper unlike anything else on the road. Three engine choices were offered, but the smart money always landed on the middle option.

Mopar engineers took the 440 cubic inch V8 and replaced the single four-barrel carb with three Holley two-barrel carbs on an Edelbrock Hi-Riser manifold. Only the center carburetor operated during normal driving; plant your foot down and all six barrels opened simultaneously. Valve springs, a hotter cam, and upgraded connecting rods boosted output to 390 horsepower. The 440 Six Pack could match a Hemi all the way to 70 mph and cost roughly $500 less.

Buyers noticed. A total of 1,268 Six Pack Super Bees were ordered in 1970 versus just 42 Hemi cars. The base price was $3,074, and new high-impact colors like Plum Crazy and Panther Pink were available, with Panther Pink representing the rarest choice at only 39 examples ordered.

1970 was the final year of the first-generation Super Bee on the Coronet platform. It lasted one more year on the Charger, then disappeared entirely. The street never forgot it

 

[LE BARON]

America's participation in World War II curtailed 1942 Cadillac production, which began October 1, 1941 and ended less than five months later in February. Total production reached only 16,511 units, roughly one quarter of the record 66,130 built in 1941. Starting March 1942, the Cadillac factory switched entirely to churning out engines and Hydra-Matic transmissions for tanks, plus airplane engine parts. This funeral car was built in that razor-thin window before the factory went to war.

The Flxible Company of Loudonville, Ohio began life in 1913 making motorcycle sidecars, transitioning to funeral cars and ambulances in 1924, primarily on Buick chassis but occasionally on Cadillac. The intentional misspelling of "Flxible" wasn't a typo; it was deliberate so the name could be trademarked. Of the 425 Series 75 commercial chassis Cadillac produced for 1942 on the elongated 163-inch wheelbase, Flxible used just three to build this body style, with its distinctive hand-carved wooden rear coachwork and chrome spear trim.

Beneath that long hood sat Cadillac's 346 cubic inch V8 producing 150 horsepower. Three built. One known to survive. Rarer than almost anything Cadillac ever made

 

[LE BARON]

Most folks see a cool spoiler on the back of a 1970 Javelin and think it is just a styling trick to sell cars to teenagers. They are completely wrong. This is the Mark Donohue Edition and that ducktail wing is a piece of serious racing equipment.

Mark Donohue was not just a driver for Roger Penske he was a legitimate mechanical engineer. In 1970 AMC was the ultimate underdog fighting Ford and Chevy in Trans Am racing. Donohue realized the Javelin had zero rear downforce at high speeds so he did not wait for a designer. He grabbed some clay and hand-formed the shape of this spoiler himself to keep the back tires on the pavement at 150 mph.

But here is the valuable part for the gearheads. To make this wing legal for the track NASCAR rules forced AMC to build a minimum of 2,500 units for the public. They ended up producing exactly 2,501 of these specials. It came with a functional Ram Air hood and a high-compression 360 or 390 V8 engine.

If you look closely at the right side of that massive rear wing you will see Mark Donohue's actual signature stamped into the metal. It is the only car in Detroit history where the aerodynamics were dictated by the man who actually had to risk his life driving it. While everyone else was buying Mustangs the smart money was on the engineer's car. Finding an original 1970 Donohue Javelin in Big Bad Blue today is like finding a signed rookie card in a pack of gum. It is pure racing soul disguised as a street car.

 

[LE BARON]

It was a two seater that shared its basic bones with the Corvette but the technology was far more advanced. Look at the roofline. Because the car was so low the designers had to invent roofettes. These are little panels that tilt up automatically when you open the door so you can get inside without knocking your hat off.

But the real valuable piece of trivia is inside the cockpit. If you sit in the driver seat you will notice the dashboard is empty. That is because the speedometer is actually located right in the center of the steering wheel hub. It used a tilt steering column decades before it became common.

Under that gold hood was a high compression 324 cubic inch Rocket V8 producing 275 horsepower. That made this car incredibly fast for its weight. You can see the DNA of the 1963 Split Window Corvette and the 1971 Boattail Riviera in these rear lines. It was a one of one masterpiece that proved Oldsmobile was the coolest brand in the building back in 1956.