Hemmings Motor News September 2021

Ginger or Mary Ann? Coke or Pepsi? Star Wars or Star Trek? These were the weighty questions that losers like me were pondering in the 1970s-’80s, while Bill Gates was co-founding Microsoft or while Bono, Adam, Larry, and The Edge were starting up a little garage band they eventually called U2. If only I’d been really into personal computer operating systems or had a boyhood friend named “The Edge,” maybe my life would’ve turned out differently. But it didn’t and, while other guys were writing the code for MS-DOS or goose-bump-raising guitar riffs for “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” I was home staring at Car and Driver trying to decide whether to watch Tatoo announce the arrival of the plane on Fantasy Island or play Grand Prix on my Atari for the 20,000th time…

As species go, human beings are allegedly a highly advanced one. But let’s not kid ourselves: We are simple creatures, easily stopped in our tracks by bright, shiny objects. It’s the visual perception that lures us in. “She’s got a great personality” will only get you so far. A ’69 Dodge Charger gets hearts racing — including the uninitiated. But a ’64 Plymouth Belvedere two-door post coupe, even one with a Super Stock pedigree? Yeah, it’s cool, but it’s not getting invited to the beauty contest. Before I wallow in my complete shallowness, I should add that there is something remarkably visually arresting about that Belvedere, the sort of thing that does stop me in my tracks, but it’s not the car — it’s what’s under the hood. The Chrysler 426 Max…

The letter from Larry Miller in the May issue reminded me of another tale about aircraft engines and automobiles. Back in the ’50s, the hottest car in Scranton, Pennsylvania, my birthplace, was a dual-quad, Paxton-supercharged ’56 Ford belonging to a friend of mine. One Sunday, some friends and I went down to the Forty Forth Airport, which was closed to airflight on selected Sunday afternoons. On this particular day we came driving in only to see Ronnie Ferguson, the ’56 Ford owner, getting trounced by a ’47 Pontiac with its fenders flapping. It was a wreck. What the heck was going on here? It turned out the Pontiac belonged to one of the Arfons brothers, and it was running a helicopter engine. Making room for the engine caused the fender problem! You know…

Chevrolet to celebrate IMSA GT Le Mans 2020 season with special 2022 Corvette To commemorate an outstanding 2020 racing season, Chevrolet has announced it will offer special-edition 2022 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition cars. The Championship Edition starts with an eighth-generation (C8) mid-engine Corvette Stingray equipped with the 3LT trim package and Z51 Performance Package, and adds Corvette Racing-themed graphics (either yellow-on-Hypersonic Gray or gray-on-Accelerate Yellow) plus special equipment that may vary by market. The special equipment includes a high-wing spoiler in Carbon Flash; yellow brake calipers; black Trident-design wheels, with the skull-shaped “Jake” logo on the center caps; side mirrors in Carbon Flash; black rocker panels; and splash guards. Additionally, the yellow-and-gray theme continues inside with a Strike Yellow and Sky Cool Gray interior, with standard GT2 seats, along with…

Without question, Ford was once America’s biggest builder of station wagons. From Ford’s station wagon debut in 1929 through 1960, the automaker sold 1,970,785 wagons in total. Concurrent to this family hauler’s rise in popularity, its market segment went from 2 percent of the U.S. industry in 1950 to 18 percent in ’59. It kept rising through ’61, thanks to Ford’s 256,597-unit output, including this Country Squire. While use of “Country Squire” first surfaced in Ford’s 1950 ads, the emblems weren’t secured to sheetmetal until ’51. It instantly became the division’s top-tier wagon, furnished with equipment that was otherwise optional on lesser models. Further setting it apart, the Country Squire was adorned with faux wood paneling in homage to its origins without the expensive upkeep. That exterior trim remained on the updated…

In the eight generations of Corvette, probably none is as universally appealing as the second generation, or C2, cars of 1963-’67. Among C2s, the most distinctive years may be 1967 and ’63 — the former because of its minimalist trim and big-block engine options. The 1963s are special because not only were they the first year of the design, retaining much of the enthusiasm that surrounded the debut, but they were also the only year to wear Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda’s styling to its fullest extent. The best remembered part of the 1963 Corvette is no doubt the split rear window on coupes, which would disappear after the first year, thanks to complaints over visibility. Engine choices in 1963 all started with the famed 327-cu.in. small-block. The mildest made 250…