Cars

The Volkswagen Beetle is a car we are all familiar with.  More than 20 million were sold.  While the name “Porsche” is associated with expensive cars, Ferdinand Porsche had a life-long interest in a small car that an average working person could afford.

Underneath the futuristic Buck Rogers fiberglass bodywork beats the heart of a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit diesel with a five-speed - no warp engines, sadly. The rear axle has obviously been narrowed, but otherwise, the drivetrain is intact, and reportedly gets over 50 MPG.

In 1966, the Volvo 142 was introduced. It was hailed as ‘the safest car in the world’ and was voted ‘Car of the Year’ in Scandinavia

Former SKF Bearing executives Gustav Larson and Assar Gabrielsson saw an opportunity to build cars in Sweden after WWI, and approached their former employer about using an underutilized factory. SKF liked the idea, and backed the pair for years, even allowing them to use a trademarked name, Volvo (Latin for “I roll”) for the new venture.

Kenny Howard, aka Von Dutch, was a motorcycle mechanic, metal fabricator, artist, and, most notably, a ground-breaking pinstriper of hot rods and motorcycles from the 1950s until his passing in 1992. Along with Dean Jeffries and Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, he is considered a founder of the Kustom Kulture movement of the 1960s and ‘70s.

The five-door Camping-Limousine seen here is but one of half a dozen body styles made available by the nationalized East German manufacturer. Seen as very much a “German Car” and upscale in comparison to the Trabant, which was the only other option available to the general public in the GDR, the 311 was still a far cry from modern designs emerging in the West.