A Roof for War, a Landscape for Peace, Lockheed to Subaru

This blog, friends, has little to do with automobiles but I think you'll enjoy it. During WW2 the Lockheed Burbank plant was turning out thousands of planes, among them the Hudson bomber/trainer, the Lockheed Harpoon, and the magnificent P-38 Lightning twin-engine fighter. Military authorities believed it might be vulnerable to attacks by Japanese aircraft although no enemy carriers had been sighted anywhere near California. And so, in one of the most incredible acts of camouflage ever created, the roof of the giant factory was rebuilt by the Army Corps of Engineers to look like a typical residential suburb. Homes, streets, shrubbery, even cars were put in place. The Japanese attack technicians would have been completely fooled. Or would they? In wartime, spies existed on both sides. Who's to doubt that someone might not have tipped off the enemy? In a delightful twist of irony, Subaru's Indiana plant landscape is a "designated backyard wildlife habitat." Deer, coyotes, beavers, rabbits, blue herons and other water fowl live in peaceful coexistence with cars, not warplanes.
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Related Entries:

Classic Guy's Subaru Test Drive - 23 November 2006

Rare Hudson Super Eight With British Custom Body Up For Grabs - 15 February 2007

We Test Subaru's "Station Wagon on Stilts" - 02 July 2007

Classic Streetcars and Vintage Hillclimb Highlight 2009 Subaru Test - 30 May 2008

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2008 Gumball 3000, Invitation to Disaster?

We seem to be in an era when ultra-long distance car rallies (around America, around the world) are popular with those who can afford the time and expense. Let's start with the Gumball 3000, inspired by the Gumball movie. I must confess I'd never heard of the Gumball 3000 - even though it kicked off in April, 1999 - perhaps because it was promoted as "the most rock 'n' roll car rally ever staged." Rock is okay (even though I'm a jazz guy) and rallies are fun, but the connection between rock and rally escaped me. Apparently I was wrong. It was created as a 3000-mile party around Europe to bring together the music, film, fashion and sport industries. Anytime Hugh Heffner, Daryl Hannah and 50 Cent join with other celebrities to drive around Europe it has to be an event worth noting.

According to the 2008 pr release, "for its 10th anniversary founder and British business mogul and socialite Maximillion Cooper is taking it from San Francisco to Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and then off to Asia, including a ground-breaking trip to North Korea and a finish in Beijing during the Olympics. In North Korea, working with the UN, Gumball will present the country's first-ever rock concert! Entrants include David Hasselhoff driving the legendary K.I.T.T. car from Knight Rider, famous drummer Travis Barker, MTV's Rob Dyrdek (Rob & Big) in a fully customized '69 Camaro as well as Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the "Jackass" guys…driving everything from Ferrari Enzos to Bugatti Veyrons, Rolls Royces, old Cadillacs, low riders and even a few electric cars."

Whoever makes it to the finish should get a gold copy of Louis Jordan's "Don't Roll Those Bloodshot Eyes at Me." That was the very first rock 'n roll recording, years ahead of Elvis. Believe this rally promo and you'll believe anything. My computer got hung up when attempting to open the Website and a little further research revealed that previous rallies had resulted in arrests for speeding and in 2007 a fatal accident involving a hapless non-competitor. Nevertheless I'm creating a blog because this rich person's outrage might actually happen. You may comment (below) on whether or not it should.

[Photo: Knight Rider Shelby GT]
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Related Entries:

Sing a Song of Ferrari - 07 February 2007

London to Sydney the Hard Way - 12 April 2007

Gumball 3000 - Rallye für Reiche - 02 Mai 2007

We (Nigel, That Is) Drive the Bugatti Veyron - 14 October 2007

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A stylish drive down memory lane
On a Sunday drive around Niagara-on-the-Lake, Petrina Gentile and her father reminisce in the comfort of a Lexus luxury hybrid