You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[flyingn]

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

Although the event was the annual Chevrolet Nationals, the star attraction was a re-creation of the Smokey and the Bandit jump by a Pontiac Trans-Am.

Things went well as the car launched 30 feet into the air and soared 120 or so feet through the air. But driver Ray Kohn, making his first such jump, was unable to stick the landing, the car going nose-first into the pavement.

The stunt was staged by the Northeast Ohio Dukes stunt team. A huge crowd that gathered to watch was appreciative of the effort, said organizers from Carlisle Events.

We were there and saw it live. Pretty neat

[Lee Stewart]

Auto industry icon Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca dies at 94. He helped launch the Ford Mustang and saved Chrysler from bankruptcy.

Lee Iacocca, the automobile industry executive who helped launch the Mustang at Ford and save Chrysler from bankruptcy, and whose cunning, ingenuity and swagger made him one of the most successful salesmen of his generation, died July 2 at his home in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles. He was 94.

The cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease, said his daughter Lia Iacocca Assad.

For a vast swath of the American public, Mr. Iacocca was the face, the voice and the symbol of the car business in Detroit at its most resourceful and industrious. The hard-charging Iacocca, an immigrant’s son who rose to a vice presidency at Ford at 36, first gained broad renown in 1964, when he helped take the company to a new level of stylishness and panache with the Mustang sports car.

Iacocca participated in the design of several successful Ford automobiles, most notably the Ford Mustang, the Continental Mark III, the Ford Escort and the revival of the Mercury brand in the late 1960s, including the introduction of the Mercury Cougar and Mercury Marquis. He promoted other ideas which did not reach the marketplace as Ford products. These included cars ultimately introduced by Chrysler – the K car and the minivan

[Lee Stewart]

People just aren’t ditching their rides like they used to.

Instead of getting rid of their car quickly, Americans are actually holding onto them longer than ever. A new report from IHS Markit shows that so far in 2019 the average age of vehicles in the United States is 11.8 years, surpassing the previous record. What’s more, the trend is supposed to keep going up past 12 years by the early part of the next decade, and we have technology to thank for that.

This means more dated cars are tooling around in cities and on country roads throughout the nation. Better build quality, which has been possible through technological improvements for manufacturing, has resulted in people thinking twice before kicking their ride to the curb. Cars just plain last longer than they did before.

There’s another factor causing people to hold onto their rides for more time than before. With longer loans becoming almost common, including payment terms of up to seven years, people keep driving their ride for a longer period than before. That’s because they want to drive a payment-free vehicle as a way to save money.

Where car owners in the United States live has an effect on how long keep that old set of wheels. In the west the average age of vehicles is highest at 12.4 years. Montana leads all other states at 16.6 years for the average car.

If you live in the northeast part of the country, you’re more likely to ditch your car earlier. The average vehicle there is just 10.9 years old, while Vermont is at the bottom end for all states at 9.9 years average.

This trend means some of the preservation and restoration techniques used in the collector car niche could become more mainstream. Drivers who want to keep using their aging ride could be searching for ways to refresh everything from exterior plastic trim to the headliner and upholstery.

Another area of growth will be the aftermarket parts market. Both manufacturers and sellers of components, as well as shops that offer to install them, should see an increase in business.

[Lee Stewart]

Are you a Baby Boomer? If you are . . . enjoy this walk down Memory Lane:

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]