Hemmings Daily: Newly released document proposes Checker-IH merger

Photos by the author and Mike McNessor. Though both Checker Motor and International Harvester operated in entirely different segments of the auto market, a newly discovered document from the Sixties suggested that a merger of the two would prove beneficial to the two bulwarks of utilitarianism. "There seems to be little doubt that IH is completely committed to expansion in the automotive area, wrote Bob Eppler, vice president of Foote, Cone & Belding, to longtime International Harvester executive Bill Maxw

View in Browser | Subscribe Friday, December 30, 2016 ANNOUNCEMENTS As with last weekend, we're going to take this weekend off for the holiday. Stay safe out there, and we'll see you back here on Tuesday. Newly released document details proposal for Checker and International Harvester merger Posted by Daniel Strohl - Photos by the author and Mike McNessor. Though both Checker Motor and International Harvester operated in entirely different segments of the auto market, a newly discovered document from the Sixties suggested that a merger of the two would prove beneficial to the two bulwarks of utilitarianism. "There seems to be little doubt that IH is completely committed to expansion in the automotive area, wrote Bob Eppler, vice president of Foote, Cone & Belding, to longtime International Harvester executive Bill Maxw... Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1970 Buick LeSabre Custom sedan Posted by Kurt Ernst - >From the seller's description: Up for sale is a very rare 1970 Buick LeSabre Custom 4 door Sedan. The car is all original and is in a great condition for being 46 years old. The engine starts right up and the transmission shift smoothly. Check out my youtube test drive click the link after the pictures. The Interior: Seats are in great condition, there are no tears or cracks. The headliner looks brand new, the dome light is working however, it is missing the lamp cover. Carpet does not have any holes ho...Read More Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance finalizes 2017 special classes Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1956 Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti Spyder at Pebble Beach in 2016. Photo by Kimball Studios, courtesy Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. After establishing and then withdrawing a class celebrating the centennial of automaker Lincoln (which, based upon production, takes place in 2021), the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance has finalized its special classes for 2017. In addition to those previously announced (Isotta Fraschini, Carozzeria Castagna and American Dream Cars of the 1960s), the show has added Jaguar Custom Coa...Read More The Drive Home II, Day 3: Nighthawks Posted by Hemmings contributor - By William Hall. Photos by the author. If you insist on driving your classic car in Manhattan, there is no better time than 4 a.m. The streets are quiet. Most of the night's revelers have returned home, and the folks that keep the city's big machine humming along dutifully go about their business. It's one of the world's most densely populated areas, but at four in the morning it is the vacuum of activity that is striking. Navigating the island's wide, neon-lit avenues is one of the most unique driving experience...Read More This or That: 1964 Shelby Cobra versus 1965 Griffith Series 200 Posted by Matt Litwin - Editor's note: This or Thatis not a comparison report between two vehicles, but rather a feature that enables us, in an idyllic world, to add a collectible vehicle into our dream garage on a weekly basis, but with a catch: We can only pick one vehicle fromthis pairing and it has to be for enjoyment purposes rather than as an investment. This episode of This or That features a pair of high-powered Anglo-American hybrids:a 1964 ShelbyCobra versusa 1965 Griffith Series 200. Both were former Hemmings Muscl...Read More San Bernardino, California, 1956 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: February 1956 Location: possibly E Street, San Bernardino, California Source: BigCheese327 on Tumblr What do you see here?...Read More THIS DAY IN AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY 12/30/1936: United Auto Workers strike at Fisher Body Plant UPCOMING EVENTS 11th Annual Open Classic Car & Truck Show January 8, 2017 - Sunrise, FL Just Sell It Automotive Swap Meet January 8, 2017 - Glendale, AZ Indoor swap meet January 8, 2017 - Enfield, CT NCRS Florida Chapter 39th Regional Event January 11, 2017 - Lakeland, FL Model A Ford Swap Meet January 14, 2017 - Shepherdsville, KY The Simeone Museum Demo Day-Sexy Tails January 14, 2017 - Philadelphia, PA See All Events FEATURED CLASSIFIEDS Sponsored By: 1967 Dodge Polara $4,000 1967 Plymouth Valiant $54,900 1954 Studebaker Commander $8,500 1971 Datsun 240Z $7,900 1949 Simca 8 $37,000 Laforza $28,690 2007 Ford Mustang $69,000 1966 Lincoln Continental $52,500 1984 Chevrolet Camaro $250,000 1942 Cadillac Fleetwood $29,900 PRO SELLER LISTING 1973 GMC Custom $10,500 1967 Mustang Fastback Fold Down Seat $895 View All Classifieds FEATURED IN THE BLOG Sponsored By: Eighties muscle in formal attire: 1989 Mercury Cougar brochure Midweek Matinee: The American Road, Part I, 1953 See All Featured Blog Posts FOLLOW US: View Newsletter Archives WEEK IN REVIEW Thursday, December 29, 2016 Five car hobby predictions for 2017 Posted by Kurt Ernst - Photo by Mr. Muggles. Thankfully, we've survived another trip around the sun, which means it's time once again for our annual gaze into the crystal ball, which smells suspiciously of carb cleaner (reminding us to use a fresh shop rag to wipe it down next year). For the year that was, Mr. Dickens summed it up best by saying, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness" As is tradition, we'll begin with a look back at our accuracy rate for 2016...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1963 Lotus Super Seven Posted by Daniel Strohl - Original 1963 Lotus Super Seven for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: Real factory built 1963 race car (Not a Replica). My Lotus has Significant Race History from the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's by Renown Race Car Driver Bob Roy. Eligible for True Vintage Racing. An Amazing Time Piece. Full Race Engine with Dry Sump and Oil Cooler with New Dual Weber Carburettors. Original Lotus Formula Steering and Adjustable Front Suspension. A Very Fast Car! Built for the Track! (Though Still Road Legal). ...Read More Santa Pod Dragway among this year's British Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductees Posted by Jim Donnelly - Photo by Tony Harrison. Three legends of drag racing in Great Britain, and the island nation's most fabled quarter mile, have been announced as the newest class of inductees to the British Drag Racing Hall of Fame, which was established in 2006. The newly enshrined include the late Bob Keith, Rob Loaring, the late Paula Marshall and the fabled Santa Pod Raceway in Podington, which marked its 50th year of racing this year. Bob Keith was an American who became a pen pal of the pioneering British sports and dra...Read More The Drive Home II, Day 2: The Rule of Threes. Posted by Hemmings contributor - By William Hall. Photos by the author. Everything happens for a reason. Although we may not understand it at the time, even unfortunate situations can prove to be a blessing. The corollary rule is that fate likes to cruelly group these events into sets of three. Ninety miles into our first leg of The Drive Home II, the LeMay-America's Car Museum midwinter trek in three classic cars from Boston to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we experienced our first setback. The trailer of our chas...Read More Reminiscing - Model A Fun Posted by Richard Lentinello - 1930 Ford Model A roadster brochure image courtesy of OldCarBrochures.com. Back in the 1950s, during my early teen years on Cape Cod, the venerable Model A Fords could be had for $25 to $35. They were everywhere. You could run them for a year or two and still get your initial investment back. Model As had a secondary life after their driving days were over for use as "bog buggies," working on the many cranberry bogs that dotted the Cape. But my favorite use for them was for "dune buggies." With all the san...Read More St. Paul, Minnesota, 1950s Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1950s Location: 1400 University Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota Source: Minnesota Historical Society What do you see here?...Read More Wednesday, December 28, 2016 Racing bans, ethanol increases, and more: the biggest old car news stories of 2016 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Photo by the author. Though the collector car hobby - and Hemmings, by extension - focuses almost exclusively on older motor vehicles, that doesn't mean we are bereft of news to report. In fact, with all the organizations dedicated to collecting, restoring, showing, rallying, racing, and selling old cars, the hobby positively buzzes with happenings. With that in mind, we decided to run down some of the most significant news stories that impacted the old-car hobby this past year. In no particular order: 1. Etha...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1975 Lincoln Continental Mk IV Blue Diamond Luxury Group Posted by Kurt Ernst - >From the seller's description: 1975 Lincoln Continental Mark 4 purchased from the estate of the original owner. Garage kept since new, always driven and used (never sat) with only 53,000 original miles. Car is original and perfect working condition. They say diamonds are forever... in 1975 Lincoln introduced the BLUE DIAMOND LUXURY GROUP The Blue Diamond cars were painted in Aqua Blue Diamond Fire Metallic (paint code 45), an exclusive color to this model which made the car quite striking visually. ...Read More McDorman Museum closes less than three years after it opens Posted by Daniel Strohl - Photo courtesy McDorman Museum. Less than three years after it opened - and a year and a half since its founder died - the Bob McDorman Automotive Museum near Columbus, Ohio, announced that it will close and liquidate its collection of Chevrolets and neon signs. McDorman, a Corvette Hall of Fame inductee and Chevrolet dealer known for accumulating and selling off at least three major collections of significant mid-century Chevrolets, opened the museum in July 2014 as a means of keeping busy following his retir...Read More The Drive Home II, Day 1: The New Default Posted by Hemmings contributor - Still shiny. The Drive Home's 1961 Chrysler 300G in Detroit this past summer. Photo by Max Muncey. By William Hall. Photos by the author, except where noted. Somewhere around my last birthday, I reached a sort of existential equinox. I realized that the days would start to get shorter from here on out. Less light to do things by, and likely some long stretches of cold and darkness ahead. That perspective liberated lots of decision making in my life. Once deferential, I now never turn down the offer to dri...Read More "The Most Intelligent Cars Ever Built:" 1985 Saab 900 brochure Posted by Mark J. McCourt - Images from the brochure collection of Hemmings Motor News, courtesy of Bruce Zahor The smaller Swedish automaker was in a pretty good place in 1985, poised to sell a then-record 39,068 units in the U.S. under the leadership of the visionaryRobert J. "Bob" Sinclair. Bob directed his marketing department to capitalize onSaab'sunique design, practicality and famous turbocharged performance.This would be the first year for Saab's DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder engine, which debuted in the 900 Turbo, and boosted...Read More Chicago, 1963 Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: October 1963 Location: Marina Towers, Chicago Source: Look magazine, via Shorpy What do you see here?...Read More Tuesday, December 27, 2016 The top-10 Hemmings Daily stories of 2016 Posted by Kurt Ernst - An open house at the Papa's Toys collection. Photo courtesy the Davis family. Few would argue that 2016 was a year filled with change, and sometimes, change is painful. That theme was reflected in the top-10 Hemmings Daily stories, as four of these dealt with dispersals of collections, while another covered the passing of Wayne Carini's father, Robert. On a more upbeat note, other popular pieces told of the return of the one-off Manta Ray to the spotlight, the early days of RVing, and the reinstallation of a conc...Read More Hemmings Find of the Day - 1948 Brill intercity bus Posted by Daniel Strohl - Former theater troupe's 1948 Brill intercity bus for sale on Hemmings.com. From the seller's description: This 1948 Brill bus is a snapshot from the past. It has remained basically unchanged from when it was first converted back in the day to be used by a travelling theater group. Even through the bad paint you can see the amazing art deco styling, and very easy to imagine what it could look like. There are a number of Brill trollies and city buses around but, the Brill highway buses are pretty rare. They were sell...Read More 2017 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance to feature Movie Cars class Posted by Kurt Ernst - The Rain Man 1949 Buick Roadmaster convertible. Photo by Neil Rashba, Rashba.com, courtesy Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. One appeal of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance (and trust us, there are many) is the diversity of cars selected to appear each March. From the "Cars You Never Knew Existed" class (featuring automotive eccentricities like a four-door Porsche 928, or the aircraft-inspired 1948 Tasco prototype) to famous racing cars and CCCA Full Classics, the show offers something for everyone to apprec...Read More The Class of 25, Part Two Posted by David Conwill - Concept sketch by Clayton Paddison. Well, it happened. My inner contrarian lost out to practicality. If you can call it practicality to own a near-century-old car with the intention of driving it on public roads (note: This is Hemmings, yes you can). I've decided my next car will be a 1925 Ford Model T - I've even toyed with selling my '62 Falcon to make it happen sooner, though my wife is opposed to that. As you'll recall from Part One, my good friend Clayton Paddison is one of the biggest Model T advocates...Read More Lake Arrowhead, California, 1950s Posted by Daniel Strohl - Date: circa 1950s Location: Lake Arrowhead, California Source: found photo via Shorpy (above); Jack Shea (below) What do you see here? ...Read More Hemmings Motor News will not sell or share your e-mail address with other companies. For more information about this newsletter, email webmaster@hemmings.com or write to: Customer Service, Hemmings Motor News, 222 Main St., Bennington VT 05201. If you do not want to receive this newsletter from Hemmings Motor News, you can change your email preferences here.