Archive for the ‘53 Concepts’ Category
53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XX…
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Tribute cars… They are out there. I ran across this tribute car (#43 Petty Charger) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in the parking lot. This isn’t a race car… it has a full interior, and was driven to the event.
A couple of years ago I was driving to Charlotte, NC and was passed by a Dale Earnhart #3 Lumina… with a fuel cell and a full rollcage. That was another tribute car.
Way back in the day, I recall seeing a ‘dealer option’ tribute car to Bill Elliot’s Championship winning Thunderbird.
This isn’t just a NASCAR thing, as I have seen sportbikes and sports cars that looked just like their track bred brethren.
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They are great marketing tools for the sponsors, manufacturers and the drivers/teams they represent. In fact, if I were a team sponsor, I would absolutely have my entire fleet in race livery. Trucks, vans, cars… everything. They would all be the same colors and design.
A few years ago I ran across a study of NASCAR sponsorship effectiveness. The study concluded that NASCAR fans were the most dedicated to the sponsors in their sport. Even when they were cheering for the Target sponsored car, they would stop into Target and buy Tide detergent (who sponsored another car) and Little Debbie snack foods (again, another sponsor).
Now, personally, I like the obscure cars… like the Torino Talladega (Ford’s answer to the Plymouth Superbird). And there is one advantage to the historic cars… they don’t change every year.
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View Comments53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XIX…
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Back to the RVs… I want one, so I think about them from time to time. Now, I can’t say that I am going to run out to get one, but if the stars aligned, I could justify one in the driveway. So, let me “build” my perfect RV…
To start with, I have to say that I really like the rigs that are classified as ‘Super Cs’. These are built on Medium Duty truck chassis, such as Ford F750 or GM Kodiaks. They are generally diesel powered. They are often pretty luxurious, too. Or they are ‘Toy Haulers’ with a 10′ garage in the back where the master bedroom would be. Those are usually not as opulent.
But, I don’t think I really need a 39′ or even 34′ vehicle… nor its weight.
I kind of like a lot of the 28′ and 30′ rigs on the market, but I like the diesel power of the bigger RVs. I also want the pulling power of the bigger diesel rigs… I want to be able to tow at least a Jeep on a trailer, about 7,000lbs. It would be even better if I could set one up to tow two Jeeps at 15,000lbs.
I do like the luxurious interiors of some of the Super Cs… but I would be very willing to tone it down a bit, except for the driver’s compartment. I want leather seating, GPS Nav and all of the latest technology.
I shy away from the Class A machines… I prefer the layout of the Class Cs, with the bunk above the driver’s compartment. Another layout preference is a pair of bunks in the hallway leading back to the main bedroom. There should be a couple of slides, too… one in the master bedroom and possibly a ‘full-wall slide’ in the front room.
Storage under the floor, like the bigger Class A RVs would be cool too. Of course a generator, outside entertainment center, awning and other normal amenities should be there.
Nothing too shocking…
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View Comments53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XVIII
- Image by TeeMack Productions via Flickr
I’m surprised I didn’t get to this one sooner…
I have been a fan of surf music since I was a kid… I love the guitar riff and the drums. And, as a car guy, there are a LOT of great car songs from surf bands. So, if only for the cool music, it is time to build a cool surf wagon.
There aren’t that many late model cars that could be surf wagons. The Dodge Magnum comes to mind, as does the Subaru Outback. But I have to go classic here… I’m thinking a 1961 Chrysler Newport Wagon. The ‘hardtop’ version doesn’t have a ‘B’ pillar, the post between the front and rear doors. So, with the windows down, the space is open from the vent window all of the way to the back of the back door. And a 413 could fit in there…
Remember, surf wagons usually weren’t the coolest rides (then), they were what surfers could afford without getting a job. They had to have a lot of space (boards, friends, stuff). The cool came later.
- Image by TeeMack Productions via Flickr
So, in order to make this a Cool Concept, we would need to bring it…
- the previously mentioned 413ci engine with a push button automatic transmission…
- several yards of chrome in the interior… like most of the dash (in this case, that just means stock)
- air-bag the suspension to be able to drop it to the ground…
- 60s vintage mag wheels…
- I’m kind of liking this tan and black… but teal and white might be cool, too…
- maybe the door handles should be shaved…
- gotta have a board rack on the roof, too.
And just to get you in the mood…
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- 53 Cool Concepts… Part XIII (lanebailey.com)
- 53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XV (lanebailey.com)
- 53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XVII… (lanebailey.com)
View Comments53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XVII…
- Image by The Brain Toad via Flickr
I like strippers… That is going to make Google go nuts. But before you rapidly click away, hear me out for a moment.
Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the ‘Big 3′ used to produce a few cars that were heavy on the performance options and light on everything else. Sometimes they were hard to find, and at other times they were sitting on the dealer lots in big numbers… They were kind of like the ‘cop car’ versions of 2 door hardtops.
Dodge turned it into an art… There were Hemi Challengers and Coronets with rubber floor mats and no radio or AC.
I’d love to see some of those come back… and the PERFECT car to make a concept from would be a new Challenger SRT-8. This is what I would do…
- Non-descript color. Those cars weren’t Sub Lime, Plum Loco or Hemi Orange… they were dark blue or maroon. I’d go with dark blue.
- Dog Dish hubcaps on steel wheels. You know the look… think cop car. They are the little hub caps on the black steel wheel.
- I might be willing to keep the A/C, but we could dump the power seats, power windows, power door locks and even the radio.
- OK, I’m not too hip with vinyl seats… leather would be better, but that is because cloth would look wrong.
- There would HAVE to be a shaker hood…
- No chrome badges… and no badges at all on the sides. In fact, minimal brightwork inside and out.
It wouldn’t be the cheapest Challenger on the lot, but it would be the meanest…
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- 53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XV (lanebailey.com)
- 53 Cool Concepts, Part XII (lanebailey.com)
View Comments53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XVI
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Mil-Spec.
It is a simple grouping of letters… it means Military Specification. And it is one that many enthusiasts of different disciplines get excited about. Aviation hobbyists, off-roaders, campers and others love to have equipment that is ‘Mil-Spec’.
What Mil-Spec generally means is ‘reliable, tough and simple’. While there is a lot of military equipment that is very complicated and sophisticated, the components are generally quite proven, reliable and simple. And anything that is designed for use in a battle zone HAS to be tough.
When we think of Mil-Spec, we think of Jeeps, HMMVs and deuce and a half trucks. Black-out lights, covered toggle switches and waterproof electronics also come to mind.
Off-road enthusiasts LOVE military hardware. The entire hobby evolved from the Jeep, built for World War II. Reliable, tough and simple are perfectly exemplified in the original Jeeps. One of my favorite vehicles aside from the original Jeeps is the Kaiser-Jeep M-715. It was loosely based on the Jeep Gladiator pick-up trucks, but WAY tougher. It was rated at 5/4 tons or 1 1/4 tons. It came with very beefy running gear (Dana 60s front and rear, for those that are wondering).
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Chrysler actually paid homage to the M-715 by making a custom show truck/concept based on the latest JK Wrangler platform that was influenced by the M-715 from the 1960s (they were only produced from 1967-1969).
I’d like to go the other way with one… start the build with a vintage M-715, finishing it out with modern running gear from a Dodge 3500 4×4, including a Cummins Turbo-Diesel. Back it up with the bullet-proof 6 speed manual from the same truck, and that would be the basis for a VERY tough, stout rig. The interior would be built out with a lot of touches from the current generation Wranglers… but everything would need to be highly water-resistant if not water-proof. After all, this is a truck with a removable roof. And since the roof does come off, one of the first additions would have to be a tough roll cage.
What I would avoid would be all of the candy stuff… seats, windows, 10 speaker stereo, etc. I might not mind air-conditioning… but that is because it gets SO hot here in the south… but it loses its affect when the roof is off. I also wouldn’t mind a nice GPS NAV system… it would be in keeping with the ‘Go Anywhere’ attitude of the truck.
What do you think.
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- 53 Cool Concept Cars… Part XV (lanebailey.com)
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- 53 Cool Concepts, Part XII (lanebailey.com)
- 53 Cool Concept Cars… Part X (lanebailey.com)
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