RIP Robert Hansen - the man behind The Crosley Report

Woke up Monday to some very sad news: my friend Robert (Richard*) Hansen died of a pulmonary embolism last weekend.

Blast From the Past

Looking through some boxes of club archives tonight and found a set of photos from the 1995 meet - two years before I'd joined. Was VERY surprised to see a photo of the '49 Crosley convertible I bought in 1998! 

I had no idea that the previous owner had been involved in the club, but that's the same license number, and it looks about the same as when I bought it. 

Hard to say for sure, but I'll bet the white station wagon in the background is the one I have in my garage now...

WILD Crosley Stock Car Race Footage Found

Indefatigable Crosley fan John McKnight sent me a link to this recently-posted footage of indoor all-Crosley stock car racing from the fifties. It is NUTS.

Multipla in the Wild!

Here's something you don't see every day: a vintage Fiat Multipla parked on the street.

When Shit Goes Wrong

I got invited to ride along on a vintage car rally last week. My buddy Marcos takes his old Volvos out whenever he gets the chance, and spending Black Friday tearing around back roads in the wine country sounded like the perfect way to burn off some Turkey Day calories.

Etceterini Update: Great Nardi 750 Crosley Video!

Following up on my post from last week, I'm excited to share this great video on a Crosley-powered Nardi 750 that was for sale not long ago.  I missed this when it was first posted, but H-mod fanatic Richard Campbell pointed it out when he saw my etceterini post.

Etceterini on my Mind

I've been reading an old Fawcett book on the "new" European sports cars (Sports Car Album by John Freeman, 1953) that really delivers a feel for the era -- a time when neither Mercedes Benz nor Ferrari were household names in the US, and the Corvette was still just a show car. The book is loaded with photos, and the author visited all of the major factories and many smaller marques. It's well worth picking up if you like that sorta stuff.

The fifties is my favorite era for sports cars, and the early part of the decade probably produced my favorite designs over all. I'm a sucker for low slung slipstream-bodied cars with skinny tires and a driver sporting a necktie.