On February 17, 1972, the 15,007,034th Volkswagen Beetle came off
the assembly line, breaking a world car production record held for
more than four decades by the Ford Motor Company’s iconic Model
T, which was in production from 1908 and 1927.
After more than 60 years and over 21 million vehicles produced, the
last original Beetle rolled off the line in Puebla, Mexico, on July 30,
2003.
On January 17, 1953, a prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car
made its debut at General Motors’ (GM) Motorama auto show at
the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The Corvette, named
for a fast type of naval warship, would eventually become an
iconic American muscle car and remains in production today.
On October 16, 1958, Chevrolet began to sell a car-truck hybrid that
it called the El Camino. Inspired by the Ford Ranchero, which had
already been on the market for two years, the El Camino was a combination sedan-pickup truck built on the Impala body, with the
same “cat’s eye” taillights and dramatic rear fins. It was, ads trilled,
“the most beautiful thing that ever shouldered a load!” “It rides and handles like a convertible,” Chevy said, “yet hauls and hustles like
the workingest thing on wheels.”
On June 28, 1953, workers at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan, assembled
the first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would become an American
icon. The first completed production car rolled off the assembly line two
days later, one of just 300 Corvettes made that year.
The idea for the vehicle originated with General Motors’ pioneering designer Harley J. Earl, who in 1951 began developing plans for a
low-cost American sports car that could compete with Europe’s
MGs, Jaguars and Ferraris.
(FoxNews) – Sean Kiernan may get as much as $4 million for a piece of
Hollywood history that his father, Bob, acquired for just $3,500 and
refused to sell to Steve McQueen, the actor who drove it in the 1968
action film "Bullitt."
When the classic-car insurer Hagerty sent car expert Kevin Marti to
authenticate the vehicle, he couldn’t believe his eyes, according to a
New York Times report: “Ninety-eight percent of the original car is
there,” Marti told Hagerty. “It’s an incredible artifact.”
Since ‘Bullitt’s’ release, the 1968 Highland Green Mustang has become
one of the best-known vehicles shown on the big screen. McQueen
himself even tracked down Bob Kiernan in 1977 and wrote him a letter
asking to buy the muscle car back, according to the Times.
“I would like very much to keep it in the family, in its original condition
as it was used in the film, rather than have it restored, which is simply
personal with me," McQueen wrote in the missive detailed by the Times
which reported that Bob Kiernan never wrote McQueen back.
Sean Kiernan of Nashville stands next to the Ford Mustang GT 390
driven by Steve McQueen in the cult classic film "Bullitt."
Steve McQueen, starring in the title role of "Bullitt," steps out of his
car after a pursuit through the hilly streets of San Francisco.
