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learn firsthand how Firebird conquers the wind
Oh, 1982. Back before cable TV, back when it was a big deal that ABC was premiering Superman: The Movie for network television audiences, back when the third-gen Firebird so innocently dove headlong...
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plastic-bodied 1941 Ford
Henry Ford was many things to many people, but the thing I most admire about him (besides his great baseball swing, apparently) was his straightforwardness. Would you see anything like the picture...
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Wayback with the FC Jeep Van
A couple of weeks ago, Dan asked if anyone knows where Brooks Stevens’ 1958 FC Jeep Van was today. The answer’s still “no,” but I knew I’d seen something about it. ‘Turns out it was in the December...
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surrender to Toledo – Brooks Stevens wasn’t the only one
Right about the same time Brooks Stevens was doing all sorts of crazy things to his Jeep FC van, Willys had themselves a somewhat similar idea. They’d build a van, too, but tailor it for the U.S. Navy...
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three (among many) reasons to admire Brooks Stevens
Had I not made it apparent here earlier, I’m a pretty big fan of Brooks Stevens’s automotive designs. I can’t say I thoroughly dig all of them, but I appreciate his willingness to incorporate...
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Briggs & Stratton, the unlikely great-grandpappy to the Prius
Ask and ye shall receive. After mentioning my desire to dig up information on the Brooks Stevens-designed, Briggs & Stratton-built Hybrid gas-electric automobile prototype of 1980, Kit Foster...
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SIA Flashback – One-Day Wonder
More Brooks Stevens love, yes, but he whipped up so many unique and interesting designs, and if we had to choose one day to spend with him, it would likely be December 12, 1963, when he met with...
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The Tornado returns – and it’s brought a friend
Could it be? Could Red Baron Auctions have finally realized that the Tornado, my automotive arch-nemesis, is not, nor has it ever been, a concept car? The auction house has finally backed off that...
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Automobile art in design patents
In our recent post on the Alex Tremulis flying saucer hood ornament, we came across its design patent, which led us down the rabbit hole that is Google Patents, via which you can search through more...
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SIA Flashback – When Henry J Didn’t Get His Way
Think back to our post on automobile-related design patents, and you’ll recall one odd patent by Brooks Stevens (D154080) with no context attached. Fortunately for us, Richard Langworth wrote an...
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Randomness from the 2009 Hershey swap meet
Recession? This year’s Hershey was big. More vendors than the last few years; just as many spectators; 1,600 cars in the car show; and business was reportedly brisk for every major vendor. Oh, and the...
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Lost Museums: Brooks Stevens Automotive Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Auto museums never really seem to come and go – instead, they appear to be timeless, non-contemporary and not affected by change, perhaps due to their focus on history and apparent situation in the...
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SIA Flashback – 1956 Gaylord: A Grand Turismo in the American Manner
The Gaylord, when mentioned nowadays, draws a lot of criticism for its, um, quirky looks. (It’s a Brooks Stevens design – what’d you expect?) Most people trot out the big-headlamp prototype, yuk it...
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Wally Cohn, Europe’s answer to the boys of the 478th
While some boys out in the Pacific decided to rebody their Jeeps using aircraft drop tanks, Wally Cohn came up with a different approach. Much like Brooks Stevens with the Victory Car, Cohn envisioned...
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SIA Flashback – SIA Profile of Brooks Stevens
Perhaps Richard Langworth’s tendency toward purple prose in this profile of Brooks Stevens in SIA #71, October 1982, is appropriate, given the picture he paints of the legendary designer: cordial,...
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Hemmings Find of the Day – 1982 Excalibur Series IV
In today’s SIA Flashback, Langworth mentions Brooks Stevens’s Excalibur neoclassic, one of which just so happened to recently pop up on Hemmings.com. This 1982 Excalibur Series IV also just so happens...
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Besasie’s bodacious blast – the 130 MPH Excalibur kart
Quite coincidentally, given the recent SIA Flashback on Brooks Stevens, we recently heard from Dan Flanders of the Vintage Karting Archives regarding his Excalibur Formula Kart Experimental, a one-off...
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SIA Flashback – Home is Where You Park It
When the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association celebrated the centennial of the motorhome earlier this year, the history they provided seemed rather thin. I would’ve rather read a history more...
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The FC-150 van – now in color!
David LaChance made my day recently when, digging through the SIA archive files, he came across these color photos of the Brooks Stevens-designed, Reutter-built, one-of-three Willys Jeep FC-150...
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Besasie’s bizarre batmobile: the X-3 Explorer
Most car people familiar with the Besasie clan of Milwaukee probably know of them in connection with designer Brooks Stevens. Ray Besasie Sr. had been Stevens’ personal mechanic since 1940, Joe...
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