Tuesday, July 6, 2010

ABC Wednesday: Y is for yesteryear

Here's another vintage car seen in the 1/4 lb Giant Burger parking lot last Friday night.  Studebakers , with that distinctive bullet nose, are hard to miss.  (Except «Louis» tells me this is a Ford.  Also with a bullet nose.  My bad).  Like all vintage cars, they are portals to the past.  Although I don't pine for the 50s, it's kind of fun to visit now and then.  Car restoration also represents incredible skill and artistry that has endured across the generations.  This little beauty probably never looked this good when it rolled off the assembly line.  For more expressions of "Y" visit this week's participants in ABC Wednesday.
Posted by Oakland Daily Photo at 7:13 PM
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22 comments:

  1. Sylvia KJuly 6, 2010 at 8:38 PM

    Well, that brings back some memories! What a terrific shot for the Y day! And so colorful! Hope you're having a great week!

    Sylvia

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  2. brenda wJuly 6, 2010 at 8:59 PM

    What a beautiful shot! While the purple paint is definitely not from the era, it works. Cool!

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  3. GayleJuly 6, 2010 at 9:43 PM

    What an excellent photo. Do you think cars of today will ever look like "classics" fifty years from now?

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  4. GunnJuly 6, 2010 at 10:37 PM

    Another great shot! Love it!:)

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  5. James MarkJuly 6, 2010 at 11:55 PM

    Once again, this is class. I've paid homage to your yesterday's American beauty in today's JorvikDailyPhoto post.

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  6. jabblogJuly 7, 2010 at 2:23 AM

    What a gorgeous colour! Vintage car enthusiasts are in a class of their own.

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  7. Roger Owen GreenJuly 7, 2010 at 2:36 AM

    i love this shot!

    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  8. Louis la VacheJuly 7, 2010 at 2:41 AM

    psssst.... Carolyn....shhh.....(this is a Ford, not a Studebaker)... Both had similar ideas at the same time - both influenced by jet aircraft, which, of course were still new and novel at the time. This Ford is probably a '49, possibly a '50. In 1950, Studebaker's famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) "bullet nose" appeared. It was Studebaker's high-water sales mark. They sold over 350,000 cars that year, a figure they never again attained. The styling was done by Robert Bourke who worked for Raymond Lowey whose design firm was contracted to Studebaker. Lowey was a Frenchman who founded his design firm in the U.S. and influenced U.S. industrial design for many years. On the Studebaker, Lowey's instructions to Bourke were: "Zee aeroplane, Bob! Make zee front look like zee aeroplane!" Bourke's finest work was the still-very beautiful '53-'54 Studebaker Starliner. Bourke's '53 Studebaker Starliner was the first car ever to be displayed as an exhibit in the New York MOMA.

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  9. FrançoiseJuly 7, 2010 at 4:05 AM

    Jolie couleur.

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  10. CherylJuly 7, 2010 at 5:15 AM

    That photo is exquisite. I wanna ride!

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  11. Rune EideJuly 7, 2010 at 6:22 AM

    It looks as though it has its own personality - which it probably has. Nice catch.

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  12. BirdmanJuly 7, 2010 at 7:55 AM

    Fabulous color.

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  13. gogouciJuly 7, 2010 at 7:56 AM

    Very interesting angle and perspective. Great shot.

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  14. jennyfrecklesJuly 7, 2010 at 12:18 PM

    Fabulous colour - I love these solid old cars.

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  15. MaraJuly 7, 2010 at 1:18 PM

    I must visit the wrong burger joints: I never see such gorgeous cars! I love the one you posted on Monday especially, so beautiful.

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  16. Tumblewords:July 7, 2010 at 2:53 PM

    Excellent shot! Love vintage cars.

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  17. CarolJuly 7, 2010 at 7:45 PM

    Great shot! A wonderful bump of color for the middle of the week.

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  18. Bob CroweJuly 7, 2010 at 7:52 PM

    Geez, this car is almost as old as me. They look cool to us today but no seat belts, no air bags, terrible gas mileage, etc. I'll keep my '06.

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  19. Leslie D.July 7, 2010 at 11:05 PM

    Man oh man. I want one of those. Plus a 57 Chevy Bel Air (convertible, of course)

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  20. Sweetums5July 8, 2010 at 2:57 AM

    Stopping by from ABC Wed. Wow, great photo! Thanks for sharing.

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  21. MoJuly 8, 2010 at 2:15 PM

    Love it

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  22. VirginiaJuly 8, 2010 at 8:37 PM

    WEll I hate to admit that I remember this model. We had a navy blue one when I was growing up. Great composition here. Great shot.
    V

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