Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The Trouble with Eleanor

Most automotive enthusiasts know what an Eleanor Mustang looks like. The iconic movie car from "Gone In 60 Seconds" is well known and popular among collectors and builders of muscle car clones. To thousands of movie fans, it's a perfect example of a 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang. That's the trouble with Eleanor, it is a movie prop, and not an accurate example of a 1967 GT500.
To those of us who have been Mustang fans from the start, Eleanor is not very close to a real "67" Shelby GT500. The hood and front end styling are all wrong. And, "67' GT500's never had side exhaust. Eleanor is simply a customized Mustang, with a few Shelby details, built as a movie "stand in" for the role of a Shelby GT500. In my opinion, the hood and front end are some of the best details of the original 1967 Shelby GT500. Sorry Eleanor fans, but I prefer the real thing.
Eleanor  movie Mustang
Real 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang

Saturday, August 8, 2015

One in a Million

The streets these days are full of ordinary cars, transportation appliances, driven by people who care for little else from their vehicles.Typically, we see small, four door, 4-clyinder powered sedans, mini-vans, or crossover style vehicles. In some parts of the country, we also find plenty of pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles. About half the time these vehicles aren't very well cared for, many not even clean, and some with faded or deteriorating paint.
Those of us who are car enthusiasts, on the streets in our pride and joy specialty cars, find ourselves pretty much the exception, sharing the road with hurds of ordinary transportation machines, literally "one in a million".
As I drive around the streets, it's easy for me to spot a fellow automotive enthusiast, we are so few and far between these days. It is a sad situation indeed, at a time in automotive history, when the best performance cars ever built, are available right now. Maybe I am just part of a dying breed. We can only hope that some of the younger generation will catch our enthusiasm and carry it into the future. Check out my book at;  Grab Some Gears .
My 2015 Mustang GT on the streets of Southern Utah.