W Is For Willys - Missoula, Montana

Growing up, my older brothers were often kind enough (hmmm...or perhaps required by our mum?) to let me tag along on errands in their cool cars. And when you're six, any car is pretty cool. So perhaps it's partly childhood nostalgia that draws me to parking lot conversations around the open hoods of noteworthy vehicles.  A sunny lunchtime earlier this week provided opportunity for my education about the Willys Super Hurricane straight six and other fine points of this 1954 Willy's Truck. Freshly - & gorgeously! - refinished, it is probably now exempt from mundane chores of firewood hauling and the like.

Curves, Missoula , Montana

Yes, I said it before, but they really just don’t make ‘em like they used to. I gained a whole new appreciation of this '64 Falcon’s beauty while varying my perspectives as cloud shift altered the lighting. Four-door cars rolling off today’s assembly lines just don’t display the design and detail variety of their counterparts from thirty and forty years ago. And they certainly don’t have hood ornaments that make me think of the Silver Surfer.

Click here to indulge in the best of the stockpiled Chevy beauties sold at this past weekend's landmark auction in Pierce, Nebraska.

Hi Flyer, Missoula, Montana

Call it cliché, but it’s still true: they don’t make ‘em like they used to. At least it’s true about hood ornaments; the present-day variety are rarely as inspiring as on this seen-better-days 1953 Ford Victoria. Six decades ago, auto makers were apparently a little fixated on futuristic aircraft designs. View a quick image search for “1950s jet hood ornaments” and you’ll be inspired to watch at least one retro episode of the Jetsons!