Somewhere in the rural lands surrounding the city of Langley, BC, is a farm, and on that farm is a large blue structure that could contain anything from chickens to tractors. So anyone stepping inside would, if not forewarned, think they'd stepped into a time capsule where the calendar was stuck somewhere in the 1960s. The theme, however, is strictly automotive and anyone who loves old cars or has fond memories of soda bars and jukeboxes would be delighted to spend an hour or two reminiscing. I cannot, however, tell you exactly where the collection is located nor its name. The images shown here came from long-time friend Diana Carter who discovered them on the Web without photo identification. If anyone knows, please use the "comments" box so I can add a proper credit.



Obviously there are many wonderful old cars on display, either restored or in perfect original condition, but what I particularly admire is that the owner chooses to portray a lifestyle as it existed in those years. In my view, that's what makes a museum truly interesting as opposed to row upon row of classics and nothing else, no matter how attractive the cars may be. Look at that lovely old soda bar, for example. In an earlier era it would have been a gathering place for young people who, unlike today's generation, didn't need liquor or drugs to help them socialise. Just order a raspberry soda and the guy or gal on the next stool would be happy to talk. Come to think of it, who in modern times actually knows what a "soda" is made from? And does anyone know a place that still serves sodas?



I'm dating myself with this but I much prefer service stations the way they once were. I'd far rather drive up to a pump (especially the gravity-feed kind) and have the attendant clean the windshield, check the oil and top up the tires, than struggle to get my credit card right side up or dash through the rain to hand it to a surly kid who'd rather sell me a bag of potato chips. And don't even get me started on the subject of modern air pumps! Give me, instead, an old-fashioned service station pump with a clock-sized gauge where the desired pressure could be set simply by turning a handle. Ding! Ding! Ding! ...and when the dinging stopped the tire was ready. Okay, those pumps weren't always accurate but at least they made filling the tires quick and convenient.



Now that we can download any new or old song from iTunes and fit a radio that plays our choice of music via satellite (sans commercials) and now that we can walk or jog with an iPod strapped to our waists, the idea of a jukebox seems quaint, indeed. But you know what? Managing a machine lit up brighter than a theater marquee, selecting a choice of music from flipover cards, inserting a quarter to get the music rolling... offered a satisfaction level comparable to shifting gears manually vs. letting an automatic transmission do the job. Make the right choice and you'd look real cool to every patron in the place. The owner of this car collection has not only honoured the jukebox (I'm assuming it works) but accompanied it with couches made from period autobody parts. As for the cars, there's a diverse group ranging from original Thunderbirds to a Ford GT40 to an exquisite first edition Chevy Nomad wagon and a couple of moderns. A nice place to spend an afternoon sipping a soda and listening to the Erskine Hawkins band play After Hours. (Fooled you with that one, didn't I?)

The Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance has a new home for 2010 and it is nothing short of spectacular. In fact I would rate this location as equal to, or better than, any concours location in the US or Europe, including California's Pebble Beach and Italy's Ville d'Este. Formerly held in the city of Palm Springs, the event has moved east a few miles to the La Quinta Resort and Club, a 45 acre oasis in the desert with five championship golf courses, one of which has been set aside for a showing of more than 150 classic cars. With the Santa Rosa Mountains as a backdrop and the clear desert air helping define the artistic bodyworks of these rare automobiles, I can't imagine a more perfect setting.



The event takes place over three days and will include displays of other collectible items such as jewelry, watches and art. Visitors will enjoy fine food, beverages and music while viewing rarely seen automobiles, many from private collections and museums. Highlights include Saturday's Tour Classique, when car owners participate in a drive through the desert roads that's fun for spectators, too, as it gives them an opportunity to see how these vintage automobiles looked on the road and in some cases, how they sounded. So if you plan on being in the Palm Springs area from February 26 through the 28th, 2010, or even if you're not but are within driving distance, I highly recommend spending a few hours at the Desert Classic Concours d'Elegance, treating yourself to the sight of these rare and beautiful automobiles while absorbing the unique splendor of the La Quinta Resort and Club.

[Classic Car Photo: Gregg Felsen]

The average non-enthusiast onlooker, seeing the 1925 Brescia Bugatti that was rescued from the bottom of Italy's Lake Maggiore last summer, would probably describe it as a piece of junk. If they were told that it sold at Bonham's Rétromobile auction in Paris for 260,500 euros (about $361,200) they'd probably walk away in amazement, thinking the buyer must be mad. In a way I'm with that average man, for it does seem like an extraordinary amount of cash for something ClassicDriver magazine describes as a "vintage sports car now reduced to a latticework of corroded metal." Even the original auction estimate, about a quarter of that price, bordered on the absurd.

Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I can't conceive of the kind of wealth that would allow someone to buy an old car that had spent 84 years of its life underwater even though it was brand new when it took that dive into the deep. Come to think of it, I can't imagine anyone actually pushing a Bugatti into a watery grave, but the story behind the Brescia is rather intriguing.

The post-WW1 Bugatti Type 13 was a fast, hand-made racing car. In 1921, Bugatti redesigned the original engine with one of the first four-valve heads in the industry and fielded a team at the Brescia Grand Prix, where it claimed the first four places. It renamed the car Bugatti Brescia and began selling copies to eager customers. An article in Autoblog relates that "four years later, a Swiss dealer placed an order for three Bugatti Brescias, and while the first two were paid in full, the third customer somehow failed to pay the applicable duties to import the car and it was subsequently abandoned in Lake Maggiore in northern Italy along the Swiss border. There it sank deeper and deeper for decades before being discovered by divers in the 1960's."

And there the Brescia remained until one Sunday in July, 2009 when a recovery team brought it out of the water, where the car immediately took a bow by exploding one of its tires in front of a startled crowd.

The winning bidder, a European representative of the Peter Mullin Collection in California, successfully outbid another American collector who had planned on restoring the vintage sports car. Instead it will be displayed in its 'as found' condition. The good news is that the sale benefited the Damiano Tamagni Foundation, which works to prevent youth violence, so whatever I or others may think about the value of a rusty old hulk, the money was well spent. And who knows, if ever I see that Bugatti Brescia in the metal perhaps I'll drop on one knee out of respect for "The Lost Jewel of Maggiore."

I doubt there is a commercial vehicle anywhere in the world that's as much loved as the Volkswagen Transporter, or "Van" as most North Americans call it. Built on the Beetle platform and using the Beetle's air-cooled, rear-mounted engine, it was so popular and long-lasting that thousands are still on the road and used daily. I never owned one but had the use of an "Office Van" as a trackside base when reporting on motor races for the TV show Wheelspin. Interestingly the Office Van was never sold in North America (mine was here for a season-long evaluation) but it demonstrated just how versatile the Transporter could be. The VW Transporter was, of course, the first minivan. The Double Cabin Pickup was decades ahead of Detroit in offering what we now call a crew cab. A panel delivery version eliminated multiple windows in favour of enclosed bodysides. And then there was the famous Camper, a cult vehicle that historians have said was responsible for an entire new way of vacationing. It was also useful for another form of entertainment but I'll leave that subject for another day. Well, okay... it was the best damn shaggin' wagon ever invented.

Many books have been written about the Beetle and its variants but now there's a superb publication devoted entirely to the species called "Volkswagen Transporter: The First 60 Years." Written by Richard Copping with Brian Screaton, it celebrates in words and pictures the 60th anniversary of the launch of Volkswagen's ubiquitous Transporter. A treasured memento of a landmark in production and an authoritative point of reference, the hardback is a whopping 400 pages long and contains 400 colour and 100 b&w illustrations. The story includes early Transporter designs, award-winning self-deprecating ads produced by Doyle Dane & Bernbach in New York, the 'bay window' years and a succession of larger engines, the switch to water cooling, and finally the modern age of the front engine, front-wheel-drive T4. Copies have just arrived at eautomobilia.com, the online outlet of Wilkinson's Automobilia in Vancouver. At $74.95 Canadian (a few pennies less in US bucks) this book will be a treasured addition to your library.

One of the most interesting cars at last week's Scottsdale auctions, the 1948 Tucker convertible, failed to reach its reserve price. A survivor of the windstorm that blew down Russo and Steele's tents, the car suffered some minor damage but it's doubtful that had anything to do with the situation. Justin Cole, President of Benchmark Classic Restoration, which restored the car, agreed to repair 100 percent of the damages. Neverthless bidding stalled at $1.4 million, with the reserve rumored to be $1.5 million. Either way, this would have been the most ever paid for a Tucker. The convertible had always been the subject of controversy, with some claiming that it wasn't a legitimate factory car but a recent investigation, assuring that it had, indeed, been designed and built internally, settled that argument for good. You can read more details about the beautiful Tucker convertible in our previous blog by clicking here.