Author Archives: Marty Densch
“With the Speed of the Wind and the Simplicity of a Bicycle”: The Orient Buckboard
In the early 20th century automobiles were being manufactured nearly everywhere and by nearly everybody with any kind of mechanical bent. Waltham, Massachusetts became a center for manufacturing in the 19th century, producing everything from textiles to watches to bicycles … Continue reading
Does This Hunk Of Metal Carry The James Dean Curse?
This mangled piece of metal is all that’s left of the Porsche 550 Spyder that carried James Dean to a violent death along Route 466 about 25 miles east of Paso Robles, Calif., on September 30, 1955. The rest of … Continue reading
Ghost in the Woods: Meadowdale International Raceway
Pictured above is the ghost that haunts Raceway Woods outside Chicago They say a ghost meanders through these woods. You can, in fact, see it in the photograph above. You don’t have to squint or look really close and you … Continue reading
Scarborough’s Tour Book, 1917
Early motorists faced many challenges – awful roads, angry farmers who detested their presence, mechanical breakdowns, a dearth of filling stations, etc. – but one of the biggest challenges was just finding one’s way. Until 1917 there were no official, … Continue reading
2013 Chicago Auto Show: The Tchotchkes
Press previews for this year’s Chicago Auto Show were unusually low key. To give you an idea of just how low key it was, one of the most exciting reveals was the refreshed Toyota Avalon. Really. The tchotchkes, those inexpensive … Continue reading
What You Say About Yourself Says A Lot About Yourself
Here’s a brilliant observation: Corporate slogans are as old as corporations. Some are classic such as “Better Living Through Chemistry” (ironic, too, I suppose) or “The Quality Goes In Before The Name Goes On”. Not all carmakers bother with making … Continue reading
Confusing Highway Signs: Which Way Now?
I ran across this set of confusing highway signs on a trip to Wisconsin’s Door County last November. It would appear that once you reach the stop sign, you can’t go any further since neither right nor left turns are … Continue reading
Playing by the Old Rules
Several weeks ago when I scored a 1925 Wisconsin highway map on ebay I thought I had struck gold. It was in very good condition and came packaged in the folder that Gimbel’s Department Store of Milwaukee prepared as a … Continue reading
The Holy Grail of Wisconsin Road Maps
I’m a maphead. I became interested in old maps when I was researching older, historic alignments of U.S. Highway 51 through Wisconsin in my (successful) attempt to plot a modern day road trip on those old alignments. The oldest such … Continue reading
Sweet Dreams
For those of us living in northern climes that saddest of autumn tasks will soon be upon us – putting our precious summer toys to bed for the winter. I put my 2001 Miata in storage today, a couple … Continue reading