Category: Guest Posts

A Cimarron By Another Name

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Note: Today’s guest post was written by a mystery contributor! Enjoy. -TK

We all know the story of the Cadillac Cimarron, a badge engineered J-body created to be an entry level offering from Cadillac in the early 1980’s. Many “enthusiasts” (who lease homely imports like CR-Vs with absolutely no sense of irony) like to beat up on the Cimarron and make an example of it for their own amusement and inflate their tiny egos. They wax poetically about how crappy they were, how they were the turning point in history and the reason why Cadillac fell from grace, and how it was the beginning of the end for General Motors, who they feel deserved to die.  Heck, some self-proclaimed journalists even call it a Sin of some sort (as he or she may or may not drive to Dollar Tree for ramen noodles). Continue Reading →

1973 Buick Electra 225 Coupe: Brougham Whisperer Buick

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Note: Today’s Guest Post is by Jason Bagge, AKA The Brougham Whisperer, who most of you may recall from the many ’70s land yachts of his I’ve featured here at RG the past few years. -TK

Well-the ’74 New Yorker sold. Going to a collector in Florida who restores these back to original. Same guy who bought Chris’ 1976 Cadillac Calais in Idaho. So with that-here comes the ’73 455 2 door Buick Deuce and a quarter.

The car, upon arrival.

I’m going to change out the wheels and tires. Back to new whitewalls and hubcaps. I’m going to store the rallyes away with the original tires on them. Planning on going cruising with my Dad next weekend. The whole car is pretty gangster. It just has that vibe. Continue Reading →

Guest Post: The Ark On Parade In Hyannis

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Note: Today’s guest post is by my friend Laurie Kraynick, whose excellent 1970 Fleetwood Brougham has previously been discussed here and here. Enjoy. -TK

On a scale of 1-10 the weather was a 12, just a GORGEOUS, warm, sunny, breezy day at the beach
for a classic car parade and show. All sponsored by the Greater Hyannis Chamber of Commerce, the
folks who SHOULD HAVE HAD the annual Father’s Day Car Show this year but wilted to the wishes of all the restaurant and other common retailers on Main Street Hyannis because they lost so much
money last year and this year due to the Hyannis Puritans crushing the local economy with flu
mandates – but I digress….

Continue Reading →

1971 Stutz Blackhawk: Ostentatious Ostentation

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NOTE: Another submission by my friend in Sweden, Billie Biscayne. She previously wrote a column on the Chrysler Plainsman ‘dream car.’ If you missed that one, check it out here. Cheers. -TK

This is the tale of one of the most ostentatious and flamboyant neo-classic luxury “rat rods” ever created, and some of the eccentric, unorthodox and rather dubious owners it has had since 1971!

It all started in the late 1800’s with an Ohio farm boy who had a natural talent for engineering. Harry Stutz assembled his first gasoline powered vehicle, a creation he called “Old Hickory”, mainly from bits and pieces of old farming equipment. One can only assume that he refined these skills somewhat over the years as he later went on to become the founder of The Stutz Motor Company (originally Ideal Motor Company) in 1911. The first car rolled off the production line in Indianapolis, Indiana, that very year and Stutz Motor Company continued to build high-end sports and luxury cars, like the Bearcat and the Blackhawk, there until 1935 when they unfortunately became yet another automobile manufacturer to succumb to the Great Depression. Continue Reading →

Guest Rental Review: 2020 BMW 330i Premium Pack

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Please give a warm welcome to Nick and his Rental Review, sent to me on November 17, 2020 but just published now! I’m sitting on a backlog of great contributions that will be trickling out in the month to come. If you’d like to see your name in here, let me know — jb

Making good on a promise to my youngest son, I picked up a Melbourne Red 2020 BMW 330i (G20) with a Premium Pack from Enterprise, upgrading from a full-size using points accumulated from a few 15-passenger van rentals and a little work travel. The plan – cannonball 1,100 miles to and from Northeast Indiana to Statesville, NC and back in a weekend for some mining, creeking, and fluming.

With my BMW experience limited to driving a friend’s dad’s E36 330i 6MT and a racing teammates’ 228i M-Sport 6MT, I went into this with an open mind and hoped for an improvement over the CVT Fusion Hybrid or Malibu in the full-size area, and the Chrysler 300 in the PXAR zone.

I made the wrong choice.

Continue Reading →

Cal Rayborn: The Life and Death of an Icon

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Note: Another one from Lee Wilcox! Enjoy. -TK

Some would make the case that Cal Rayborn was as much a natural as Mike Hailwood, even though you won’t find his name on a list of most Grand National wins. Only those riders good on both pavement and dirt make such lists, and Cal’s ability and drive belonged with road racing. He stayed with Harley well past the period in which they were competitive, thus proving the point that it’s difficult for loyalty and blind ambition to coexist.

If you lived outside the United States, you might not have heard of him but for one remarkable week in 1972, when he competed against some of the world’s best. While comparing riders is not the intent of this article, a discussion of road races often includes comparison among Rayborn, Hailwood and Kenny Roberts (who, in my opinion, probably was the most complete racer of that group). That said, I shall proceed  to relate the story of the life and death of the remarkable Cal Rayborn.

Continue Reading →

Guest Post: Freneticism Of Communication

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Dreams really do come true at Riverside Green — in my case, it’s the dream of catching up on all the brilliant guest posts submitted in 2018! Thanks to Mozzie for his patience with me, and for his contribution — jb

“And, uhm, it was like so inappropriate?” This is not a verbatim quote. Is there an explanation to the up-talk, verbal pauses, vocal fry, and malapropisms, which are now part of our professional and private lives, outside the broad concept that language evolves over time? I believe that it has to do with the pace at which people attempt to communicate. I believe that people try to talk too quickly and end up saying very little. It almost seems as though people aspire to hold a conversation as if they were spittin’ like Busta Rhymes (or an Aaron Sorkin character, if you prefer). Let’s don the blazer with the elbow patches, set aside the copy of Strunk and White, and consider the elements of contemporary language which some find so unbecoming.

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Guest Post: The 35-Year Payoff

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Please welcome George Jetson with a story of deferred value… published almost a year after it was turned in! I always get around to things eventually! — jb

I don’t recall becoming out of touch with today’s culture (or what passes as such). It just happened. You can tell I’m out of touch by that parenthetical thought — because I am out of touch, I am compelled to comment on being out of touch and the implied terrible state of today, rather than be immersed in it and accept it. But even though I am myself a lost cause, it doesn’t mean I can’t benefit from the world as it is today.

My secret weapon in maintaining contact with reality is cohabitating teenagers, also known as children. They ARE in touch. One of them is what’s known as a “hypebeast”, and knows terms like “colorway”, ”OGs”, “size run”, etc. He’s been at this for two years, ever since we took a walk along Fairfax Ave in Los Angeles and visited Golf Wang and Supreme. I became familiar with “reselling.”

I have invested capital into his business ventures, and he has turned some tidy profits, AND most importantly, some of these profits have even made their way back to my accounts. All in all, this has been an educational and fun experience for us all, while simultaneously I shake my head at the culture that values clothing in these ways.

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1935 Chevrolet Master Deluxe: It’s A Sign!

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NOTE: Another one from Lee Wilcox. -TK

Just west of Huntsville Texas, there is an old coupe still providing a service of sorts. It is unlikely that anything on it will break the way it’s being used and it has been painted in defense against the few straggling Tin Worms that have managed to survive in the area. These days it spends its days as a bar sign, but it’s also a sign of times gone by. Once upon a time, this was a 1935 Chevrolet.

This car is a little further beyond just being a non-runner, more an artifact than a motor vehicle. But it has been “restored” in some fashion. Need replacement parts for a 1935 Chevy? No problem, let’s just head down to Home Depot or Lowe’s! There is no glass with the exception of the headlights and a single taillight; all the other “windows” are gray-painted plywood. On the passenger side, the entire door is painted plywood. The driver’s door has a vent window that helped to identify it, but our faux passenger door does not.

Continue Reading →