When someone asks you to talk about your favorite car, where do you start? The wonderful and yet sometimes frustrating thing about being a car lover is that there is so much to love about any vehicle. A lot of things are accurate As Edmonds notes The average vehicle has about 30,000 individual components, and many of those components help create other unique facts and numbers that add up to those special interests. Are you still overwhelmed?
From horsepower to spec numbers and design to quality build, tires, engine, you name it – there’s a lot to like about a car. Some of us become attracted to specific brands. Or take former Jalop Jason Torchinsky’s penchant for taillights (which just made us love them a little more). If you didn’t know about it yet, having a special interest is an important part of working at Jalopnik.
That’s the beauty of this site because we not only focus on our special interests, but celebrate your special interests too. And by combining all of our special interests, we can learn some pretty cool things about our favorite cars. So I would like to know, regarding your special interests, what unforgettable detail in a car do you always appreciate?
I thank you, Donut Chaser, aka Goddess of Speed
Growing up in the metro Detroit area, I could almost drown in the never-ending car shows of Detroit’s powerful and jet-aged cars. But two shows gave me an extraordinary next level of car showmanship: Eyes on Design and the Concours d’Elegance of America (of which I was president in later years). Sure, the shows are really prestigious, and can be hard-collared. But the cars on display were another level of existence for someone who grew up just outside Detroit. The classification of hood ornaments was also similar.
I remember my first “doughnut chaser”, the Goddess of Speed ornament found on the hoods of old Packards, and a man who stopped to explain the story behind it. My curiosity increased from there. Whenever I find a show with more hood ornaments, you’ll probably find me checking them out. I’m terrible with their names, because I’m terrible with names for everything, but I love trying to keep track of which companies used which figures and seeing how they changed until the hood ornaments went out of style.
Additionally, the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, not far from my home here in West Michigan, also has an extraordinary collection of hood ornaments. If you think you know hood ornaments, this room of hood ornaments will prove to you otherwise. I like to stop by at least once a year and take a look at things.
I could also talk about my fondness for old dashboard gauges as well as the too-pretty-to-describe designs of Auburns and Cordes, but I’ll leave it there. For now. Simply because it’s your turn to share. Tell me what unforgettable details of a car you’ve always admired, and we’ll share them with the rest of the class this weekend. Please feel free to provide your feedback.
