by David Burrell – – – The AMHF has an extensive and fascinating collection of automotive brochures and print advertisements. Some date from the 1930s. How many items are in the collection? No one has conducted a count. A small team of volunteers is doing so now and cataloguing them. While the cataloguing continues, I’ve […]
Retro Stories: David Burrell
Ford Crown Victoria – Built for the USA
by David Burrell – – – On 15 September 2011, the last V8 body-on-chassis passenger sedan was built in the USA. It was the Ford Crown Victoria, known to us devotees as the “Crown Vic”. I reckon that the Crown Vic is the most recognised car on the planet. In just about every American TV […]
Secret Solaris: The Australian Connection
by David Burrell – – – Does the car in the photo above look vaguely familiar? A little bit like an HD Holden? A little bit like General Motors’ (GM) cars in the sixties and seventies? Known as the “Solaris” it was one of the most influential concept cars ever built by GM and kept […]
Skoda 1000 MBXL Communist Cult Classic
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – In a quiet corner of the 1966 Geneva Motor show was the Skoda stand. The Czechoslovakian manufacturer had survived through two world wars and was now under communist control, but that did not stop it from turning out interesting cars. While all the attention at Geneva was […]
Albanita: GM’s secret 1933 “aero” concept car
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – Automotive folklore says that the Buick Y Job of 1938 was General Motors’ (GM) first concept car. But that’s only half right. It was the first concept car shown to the public. During the early 1930s GM developed a number of concept cars, but never let them […]
Standard 8: A small triumph
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – The Standard 8 is one of those small 1950s British cars that sold in reasonable numbers, and was built in Australia, but is now largely forgotten. In 1950, Standard-Triumph boss, Sir John Black, challenged his design and engineering teams to develop a modern small car. Black insisted […]
Chrysler’s downsize disaster
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – One of the US car industry’s biggest ever mistakes happened in 1962 when Chrysler shrank its large Plymouth and Dodge ranges based on the snippet of an overheard conversation. It is automotive folklore that sometime in late 1959 William Newberg, Chrysler’s newly appointed boss, supposedly overheard Chevrolet’s […]
GMH’s first sports sedan: 1962 Vauxhall Victor VX 4/90
Retro Stories by David Burrell – – – Many assume that the 1963 S4 EH Holden was the first “sporty” performance sedan offered by GMH. Not so. It was the 1962 Vauxhall Victor VX 4/90. Built from CKD (completely knocked down) packs by GMH, the VX 4/90 was the sports sedan version of the new […]
The 1950 Henry J’s Australian connection
Retro Stories by David Burrell Henry J. Kaiser was a self-made steel, aluminium, ship building, health care and construction magnate. And, he wanted to design and build a car for post war Americans. Joseph Frazer was an automotive executive, having held senior roles at GM and Chrysler while still in his twenties and thirties. At […]
