I was searching in the Cambridge Antique Market for small items of automotive ephemera and I saw the headline on a Motor Trend magazine which said “The Billion Dollar Smog Hoax”. I was fascinated to hopefully read what they thought of the beginning of the clean-up of exhaust pollution, but what I got was a rant about Ralph Nader, even down to his origins and education. They were not pleased, but a wonderful article in the magazine was contributed by my childhood hero, Stirling Moss, in which he described all the benefits of the 4 wheel drive system invented by Ferguson, installed in a regular street vehicle.
This was very interesting because we recently sold a Jensen Interceptor which was the first car to offer the option of the Ferguson 4 wheel drive system. Reading his description of all the advantages was just amazing considering that in Canada now so many vehicles are fitted with it.
The test car of the month was the Firebreathing Pontiac Firebird, the lead editorial was a rant about Senator Muskie and his crusade for clean air and all the safety features that were being legislated, to quote the editor: “which holds that Americans should be given a kind of all-forgiving, padded confessional to drive around in”. How far we have come!
LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons
Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.
