Motor Musings

Year 2023 was a good one for Merced area old car enthusiasts and I am confident that 2024 will be as good if not better. Vintage vehicle enthusiasts gathered at a number of local venues this year to show off their pride and joy and in many cases one or more charities benefitted from these events. They are relaxed settings that are…

Lately I have been seeing something out on the road that scares me to pieces and I just can't keep quiet about it. Traffic signals have three elements,…

There is no such thing as a bum car show. However, there's no denying that some vintage vehicle events are bigger and better than others. One of…

It doesn't get much better than two big old car shows within two days' time of each other. I was in tall cotton last Thursday at the monthly show put on at the Vista Ranch complex on Highway 140 on the way to Planada. Then all of downtown Atwater was full of delightful dreams last Saturday. That's a double win-win situation for…

I think about cars and trucks all the time. When I don't go to an old car show or cruise night in person, I have innumerable reminders of all the neat…

I think about cars and trucks all the time. When I don't go to an old car show or cruise night in person, I have innumerable reminders of all the neat…

A special milestone is coming up soon in the old car world. The Ford Mustang's birthday cake will have 60 candles on it! The Mustang was introduced in 1964 and has been an unqualified success ever since that time. Except for the brief period in the 1980s when the downsized Mustang II cars were the only ones available, Mustangs have a devoted…

Over the years, we have owned and driven a wide variety of cars and trucks. A few had some grunt under the hood and consequently gravitated to the gas pumps…

It's like driving your living room. Tom Ledford's 1960 Buick Invicta four-door hardtop glides along the road as smoothly as a warm knife…

I can't think of a better job than being able to do road tests on old cars. That's guaranteed fun, not work. So a recent trip out to see an old friend and check out his old cars qualifies as the proverbial "busman's holiday." Send me in, Coach, I'm ready! Greg Avellar has about 18 cars and trucks at his rural Merced home.…