Film Review of the 1978 Release, "Corvette Summer"

Oh, I wish I was back in 1978. I didn't watch many films that year, and in retrospect probably didn't miss that much. Here is the review of Corvette Summer, a version of which will appear in my next book, Stealing Cars: Technology and Society from the Model T to Today.

1978 must have been a good year for goofy comedies about car theft, because that year "Corvette Summer" was also released.[1] Starring Mark Hamill as Kenny Dartley and Annie Potts as Vanessa, the film is to a point entertaining before it's slow pace takes over. The story begins with a high school shop class going to a salvage yard in order to pick up a project car. Kenny ends up saving a Corvette Stingray from the crusher, and soon he leads the class in what becomes a custom restoration of the shark-nosed vehicle. Kenny sees the final product as "perfect;" his shop teacher, Mr. McGrath, cautions his student not to get to involved with the car, as automobiles "always let you down." This viewer saw the car as one of the most garish creations in all of automobile history!

During a night of celebration at a local cruise-in, the car is stolen by organized car thieves, and while authorities are resigned to the loss, young Kenny refuses to give up and consequently begins his search for the vehicle, an odyssey that eventually takes him to Las Vegas.

On the road Kenny eventually meets a young woman who will become the love of his life, Vanessa, a wanna-be hooker who drives a customized love-making van. At first, Kenny resists Vanessa's come-ons, preferring the love his lost car to that of a young woman who was excessively thin before that thin was "in." Indeed, his love is for a car that is not his, but rather the high schools, and thus his obsession is with his work and creation, rather than with personal property.

After making it to Las Vegas and several sightings, Kenny finally tracks the car down to the Silverado Auto Body Shop where he discovers not only the car, but the fact that his mentor back in Los Angeles, Mr. McGrath, is a part of the stolen car ring. After a time of acceptance of the loss of the car and actually taking on work at the body shop, Kenny decides that the right thing is taking the car back to LA anyway, even though he has heard arguments that "a car is a commodity to be bought and sold," that "the crime was victimless," and that the insurance Company can afford it. Finally, after a chase scene in the desert outside of Las Vegas, and the return of the car to the high school, Kenny comes to his senses and walks off with Vanessa. In the end, the girl does become more important than the car, and human relationships triumph over one with a machine.

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[1] "Corvette Summer,"DVD, 1978, Turner Entertainment.

Porsche 911T is back on the Road!!!!

A lowly hemostat -- the key tool that made the job of shutting off fuel flow from the tank easy to do.
Hi folks -- just a quick note to say that the Irish Green 1971 911T targa is back on the road. I had correctly diagnosed the problem as the failure of the electric fuel pump. Got a new one from NAPA this morning, put it in along with a new fuel filter upstream from the pump, hooked it all up, and "bam," the car ran like a top again.
One key to the whole job was shutting down the flow of gas from the tank to the fuel filer and pump. Yesterday I bought a Hemostat at Harbor Freight for $4.99 that did the job. Made in Pakistan, probably by the Taliban. But with the fuel flow shut off, it was easy to take my time to do the repair.

Film Review of Ron Howard's "Grand Theft Auto," 1977

One wonders if this love would really last!
Collin's mother defies the law. A recent court ruling says that this kind of gesture is OK, given our right to free speech.

Three years after the release of Halicki's "Gone in 60 Seconds" another feature film centering on auto theft appears, this time a zany comedy with the title "Grand Theft Auto."[1] A cross between "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and "American Grafitti," "GTA" was the first film directed by Ron Howard, while also drawing on the talents of B-grade film creator Roger Corman, who served as executive producer. The plot is as silly as it can be, and this viewer could not wait for the film to end. Filled with mindless special effect explosions, car chase scenes and crashes, and slanted characters, I guess Ron Howard had to start somewhere as a director. Despite its flaws, the film did make money, as it parlayed a $600,000 investment into a $16 million profit.

The "GTA" story centers on two very young lovers who want to get married, Sam Freeman (Ron Howard) and Paula Powers (Nancy Morgan). Paula, the daughter of wealthy gubernatorial candidate Bigby Powers, is one of those headstrong and independent young women so characteristic of that day, and is dead set on marrying Sam, contrary to the wishes of her parents. Instead of Sam, Bigby desires his daughter to marry wealthy Collins Hegeworth (Paul Linke), a foolish prig of a young man to say the least. As the young couple elope from Los Angeles to Las Vegas as fantastic chase ensues, as the couple take off from the Powers estate in a 1959 two-tone Rolls Royce. With a reward on their heads and numerous pursuants, the trail takes them (and us) through the desert wastes of California and Nevada, ending at the Nevada Speedway. As one might predict, love triumphs in the end, as the rich young girl chooses to follow her glands rather than her pocketbook.

Beyond the rather anti-materialistic message, Grand Theft Auto does contain a latent meaning concerning auto theft. From the moment Paula "borrows" her father's Rolls-Royce to the demolition derby scene at Las Vegas, characters "borrow" the cars of others to suit their immediate convenience. In fact, Paula remarked that she is merely "trading with dad," since she cannot drive off in her own Fiat X1/9 because he had taken the keys away from her. Consequently Collins drives off with a Dodge Charger, and then later a battered, yellow pickup truck. Collins mother, concerned over her son, "borrows" a servant's VW Beetle. Later, 2 gas station mechanics, 1977 clones for Beavis and Butthead, borrow a kit-car that was in their garage for service, and later a Chevy Luv pickup with a camper attached. A policeman "borrows" a bus filled with senior citizens, who do little to protest when they discover that they are going to Sin City. In sum, Grand Theft Auto perpetuated the notion that stealing a car was often not stealing, but just temporarily suing a motor vehicle because of a personal need.

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[1] "Grand Theft Auto," 1977, DVD, Buena Vista Home Entertainment.

My Porsche 911 Dies on the Side of I-675: A Suspected Fuel Pump Failure

Hi folks -- a bit of excitement last night, although not the kind I like. Driving my 1971 Porsche 911 T targa to tennis last evening, about 7 p.m., when I suddenly started to lose power. The first sign of it was on the ramp leading on to I-675. I tried to keep the revs up but after a mile or two I had to pull off the road. Called my Haggerty Insurance towing service, and it took more than an hour for someone to get there (we'll be there in 35 minutes (ha!)). In fairness, the flatbed guy did a very nice job in taking car of the car. Centerville, Ohio cops also showed up after a while, but they were there more because of a closure of the interstate due to construction than my misfortune. Several friends also stopped by to help: Rise' Kreitzer and her husband from UD and Kirby Gabori from Five Seasons. Very hot weather here, so I'll try to get under the car early this morning and get at the fuel pump. Hopefully, photos will follow.

Cars from 1948: a very good year?

A 1948 Chevy Fleetmaster. My family had one of these, but not the convertible.
A 1948 Oldsmobile -- beautiful red color!
a 1948 Buick. A nice, unusual color and interior
1948 Cadillac. Wouldn't you like to drive this on Route 66?
A 1948 Ford. My mother and father-in-law had one of these.

A Plymouth convertible, like in "Karate Kid 1." Wax on, and wax off.

Desoto. My aunt Rose had a 1948 DeSoto sedan.
The Classic Chrysler Town and Country
1948 "Pregnant Elephant" Packard

Hi folks -- June is birthday month for me, and so I thought I would post photos of convertible automobiles that were made the year I was born. Detroit was slow to convert from wartime to peacetime, and thus autos of that year normally were slightly modified designs going back to 1941, before the U.S. entered the war. Cars were hard to find in those years immediately after the war, as there was material shortages, and far more buyers than cars for sale. Waht did American troops fight for in WWII? In large part freedom, and freedom was best expressed in the cars that were driven after the war was won.

Eddie's New Ride: Anniversary Silver Audi A5

This is a nice car! it better be, at $43 k! Ed Garten came by today to show me his newest acquisition, taking the place of his Volvo C30 and Pontiac Solstice GXP. Fit and finish tops on this car, inside and out. Special anniversary silver paint. Turbocharged 4 cylinder and 6 speed.
Audi Ingolstadt makes great cars. Back in 2009 I visited the factory, and wish Ed could have experienced a lunch at the factory and museum restaurant followed by a personal pick up. I hope he gets to the birthplace of his car in the next few years.

The electronic controls on this car stagger someone like myself who continues to drive older cars. Germans love complexity, and this Audi A5 is a typical example. So many menus on the dash you need to be pretty smart driving one of these. No hope for a Bevis and Butthead to get behind the wheel, I guess!