Mah Ha’Inyanim? Today we head back to the gangster-scene! This great Funès movie, titled Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob, is about Victor Pivert (like Woody the Woodpecker) who gets himself into some big trouble in the underworld… By the way Pivert a is great driver, safety at all times, as you can see… Continue reading
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POTW – THE CHESHIRE CAT APPEARING ON A CADDY THIS TIME!
To get back to the amazing Maharajas, here is a POTW with a kind of ‘Cheshire Cat’ (re Alice in Wonderland) sitting on a 1930 7-passenger V8 Cadillac hood. Wondering if this is the Caddy of The Queen of Hearts… ; ) If so then better run for yr life! Like me this Cheshire Cat is just a crazy madhatter! So a very suitable POTW that represents the CHB concept; cars, jokes and fun with a touch of seriousness. Let me surprise you next time, who knows what I have in store then, of course after you became famous in de the Dutch WW2 movie… Missed that one? Make sure to check it out NOW!
LE CORNIAUD GANGSTER – UN CAPOLAVORO FRANCESE!
And … ACTION! Let’s get into some French humor with the incredible Louis de Funès movies! I’ve been watching all those movies and the Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez series since I was very young and I continue to just love it! And another good thing about these movies is that they used great cars, as well as funny ones, on the set. Not to forget the ultimate French actors Louis de Funès and especially Bourvil, who plays truly convincing as a naïve Corniaud, which… Continue reading
PURDAH CARS, THE HISTORY OF TINTED CAR WINDOWS
Tinted car windows are not a hype of the 21st century, they were already used since the 11th century for the purdah, which means the seclusion of women. Purdah found its way thru India by the conquest of the Islam. The Royal Muslim as well as Hindu Maharanis lived quite unseen. Outside of their zenana (secluded women’s apartments) they were moved around in different kinds of vehicles like palanquins and (animal dawn) carriages, that were shuttered with heavy curtains. And of course later also cars with blinded windows… that we still use today!
Traveling in purdah wasn’t very easy… Continue reading
THE ART DECO LOVING DANDY MAHARAJA YESHWANTRAO HOLKAR II OF INDORE – PART 2
Yeshwantrao had a deep understanding of the automobile. He knew exactly which car to buy, how the car’s lines should flow and how the body was to be fabricated. Unlike his dad he was a true patrol head who knew almost how to build a car by himself.
Every car that Yeshwantrao owned had the ‘Holkar Hallmark’ – an outstanding sense of design and proportion with individually designed interiors. Attention was paid to every single detail of the car and even the door handles were specially designed with Art Deco motifs. Correction, a true perfectionist patrol head!
His cars were all painted in sunglow and black and had black ebony dashboards with orange dials and white lettering. The cars were famed by… Continue reading
THE ART DECO LOVING DANDY MAHARAJA YESHWANTRAO HOLKAR II OF INDORE – PART 1
First some background! Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar III (1890-1978) ruled the Princely State of Indore (9,519 square miles with 19 gun salutes) from 1903 to 1926. He was already quite an unconventional Maharaja and one of the first in Central India who, around 1906, acquired an automobile! He always purchased (lots of) cars for a reason… for some kind of a utilitarian purpose. He was just more of a practical collector than a petrol head.
Now about that futuristic master dandy, which he really was… Continue reading
COACHWORK-LEGEND PININFARINA AND THE WEIRDEST FERRARI EVER! – PART 1
Most of the glorious coachbuilders we can remember have disappeared, but Pininfarina is of course still very much alive (sadly not literally, because big boss Battista Farina as well as his son Sergio aren’t there anymore)! We know Pininfarina for its magnificent classic designs and the Italian design house continues to come up with highly refined designs, like for instance the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé, also thanks to their expensive windtunnel and R&D that I briefly discussed in the intro.
Carrozzeria Pininfarina is an independent Italian car design house and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy. It was founded by Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina in 1930. A fun little fact about the name ‘Pinin’ is that… Continue reading
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