cars

1939 Auto Union V16 Type C-D Bergrennwagen the racing car history of what is known as audi

the trademark double rear wheels

the V16… 8 pipes on each side one for every one of its 16 cylinders

this was such a beautiful design. i had a silver toy version of this as a child, and i remember staring at it in awe. i didn’t quite understand design then but i could tell this was not an ordinary car.

“auto union was a joint venture of 4 car manufacturers in germany during the great depression, which eventually came to be known as audi, as we know it today. the trademark symbol of auto union, the four overlapping rings, symbolized the four member companies represented the four marques of auto union: audi, DKW, horch and wanderer. although the company used the four ring logo, it was only used on it racing cars in that period, while the member companies used their own names and emblems. the company has evolved into present day audi as a subsidiary of VW.” more here. by uh


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marianne moore

in 1955, eccentric and brilliant poet Marianne Moore found a letter in her Brooklyn mailbox from Robert Young of the Ford Motors Company.  Mr. Young was interested in having Marianne conjure up names for their newest automobile.  he wanted the name to establish, “some visceral feeling of elegance, fleetness, advanced features and design. a name, in short, that flashes a dramatically desirable picture in people’s minds.”  Moore instantaneously agreed, and from the end of October through December of that year she came up with a list of names she wanted to include. her final choice was, “utopian turtletop” which unfortunately did not make the cut.  Young decided on “the Edsel” instead, which completely flopped!  serves him right for not listening to a wordsmith. you can read the rest of marianne’s list here. my personal favorite is the thunderbender.  who wouldn’t want to drive a car that can alter the state of sonic shock waves? by sv

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black beauty: 1972 citroen SM with maserati engine


the french manufacturer citroen purchased italy’s maserati in 1968 hoping to incorporate the legendary maserati’s gran turismo V6 engine with its legendary citroen suspension. the result was the flagship citroen SM, a hopeful follow-up to the sought after DS and a contender to the jaguar and the aston of the time. the french car provided a combination of comfort, sharp handling, and high performance not available in any other car at the time not to mention the the shortest stopping distance of any car tested until then. now who would have expected that of the french? however with all its accolades the SM flopped, possibly due to to the fact that it was french, and possibly due to its less than elegant tail. the french have always been shy about bragging (although they usually have the goods to back it), something the americans, italians and the brits thrive upon. unfortunately now the italians are bankrupt, with thanks to berlusconi and the french have sarkozy working on bankrupting them. citroen on the other hand will remain as proof of french genius. by dd

CATEGORIES: cars