Style In Steel

North American muscle car expert Jim Bodanis has a rather tidy collection of his own, but he always admired the dentist’s car when he was growing up. Being able to locate one as an adult was a personal sign of success for Jim He takes us on a tour of this wolf in sheep’s clothing: the 1970 Chevelle SS LS 6 4 speed, one of the seven 4-speeds out of a production line of 4000. One of the most sensational classics of the 1930s is the 1931 Avions Voisin C-20, known as the Mylord Demi-Berlin. This one-of-a-kind automobile owes its unique design to the engineering genius of a French aircraft designer, Gabriel Voisin. The interior feels like the cockpit of a plane, and the exterior looks as if it could be owned by Cruella de Ville… this became the iconic design of the time period.

Gordon Miller Buehrig was just another young designer at the thriving Auburn Automobile Company in Pennsylvania before the war, when he was tapped to design what would be considered one of the top ten cars: the 1936 Cord 810. The Cord was low-slung, high-powered, and front-driven -- with its engine tucked in BEHIND the transmission. At the time, it was unlike any other car on the road. The Cord became so sought after that production demand nearly tanked the company. It took 30 years for the echoes of the 1936 Cord 810 to be felt. The 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado was a tribute to its coffin-nosed predecessor with a stunning design that featured a horizontally-lined grille, hidden headlamps, and vented hubcaps. But the Toronado’s allure faded like young love. Sales dropped by half one year after its introduction, and although the Toronado name led a modest life over the next 25 years, this once great car never gained car collector status, became nothing more than a memory. It’s a situation that collector Mike Markowski was determined to change.

The 1938 Delage was one of the most stylish, curvaceous, and exotic cars ever built – all in the pursuit of a beautiful woman. Men may have bought the 1970 Corvette Stingray to attract women, but this car’s hourglass figure spoke to the male of the species. And the 1970 Roadrunner Superbird was created by Plymouth in an effort to win the heart of only one man: superstar stock car driver, Richard Petty.

This rare and outrageously expensive Rolls Royce had the engine of a 1939 model, and the body of a 1947 ‘dream car’; built by a New York businessman, its sole reason for existence was to tempt beautiful high society women into its luxurious interior. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the working man’s 1947 Ford, owned by a successful small-town real estate agent, reminds him of his youth and the girls he was able to get with it back in the day!

The fans and their muscle cars from Ford, Chrysler and Chevy.

Pulling up in the glamorous 1932 Dusenberg Model J sent a clear message to the world: you had arrived. It’s hard to imagine that the automobile industry was just 20 years old when the greatest American car ever built rolled into production. Today, Dusenberg’s are considered the most collectible car, routinely selling for one million US dollars. The 1935 Auburn Sedan may have been considered one of the most beautiful cars ever built, and its powerful straight 8 engine and 2-speed axle can cruise down even modern highways with ease and keep up with any kind of traffic.