Classic cars and classic car insurance are more than just our job – they’re our passion. That’s why we travel around the country attending car shows, and why we know that classic cars are so special to their owners. We’ve been blogging a lot about classic cars, collector cars, and antique cars. Here are the most popular blogs from recent weeks.
There are so many things that can make a car special – the way it looks, the way it drives, the way it was built… and all of these are great reasons to own a classic. What makes this car special? Find the answer next week!
The ’48 Tucker Torped0, also known as the Tucker Sedan. Only 51 copies were sold before a number of factors shuttered the Tucker factory, but the car still stood as a grand symbol of the time. An aspirational time for America – it was certainly a car with lofty aspirations of its own. Its enormous 589 cubic inch engine was daring, as was the styling, but the true innovation lay in the various and unique engineering concepts. The Torpedo was rear-engined, rear wheel drive, and had a third headlight in the middle of the vehicle that swiveled to illuminate the road when turning. Further, the vehicle was available with an automatic transmission, had a number of passive safety features, and had the gas tank up front. All of these coalesced into a brilliant design that would have revolutionized the auto industry, were the brand not put to death by circumstance and conspirators, namely the big three in Detroit.
This car represents the bold thinking that swept postwar America. A beautiful, if sad reminder of a bygone age of dreamers. Almost everything about this car is unusual and intriguing…
A Citroen DS19! Truly a car that took the world by storm, Citroen received ten times the number of orders it had anticipated at its debut in 1955 at the Paris Auto Show. The car showcased many novel features for its time including power windows and power steering (among others), but its true innovation was the hydraulic system underlying most of the operating aspects of the vehicle. The hydraulics served as motivation for the power windows and steering, but also the suspension, widely considered a revolution in the trade-off of ride comfort for handling. To this day, a late and well-kept example can sell for six figures. But any model from its two decades of production can make a unique contribution to a collector’s garage, as it did to the modern automobile industry.
What makes today’s mystery collector car special? A number of engineering feats for its time that still challenge us today. Admittedly, the car is a bit iconic, though much less for Americans that elsewhere. What is this classic, and how is it unique? Check back next week to find out.
