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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Asymmetrical Grilles
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Two weeks back, our How & Why Wonder Book of Hooning examined dashboard asymmetry. The next day, in Antti’s profile of the DMC-BX, faithful Hooniverse commenter Sjalabais posted this photo of the ill-fated Bertone-Volvo Tundra of 1979, a car that was never put in production because a few level-headed Swedes couldn’t quite understand the Italian…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: 4 Spoke, 5 Lug Wheels
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Wheels come in a huge variety. Between OEMs and the aftermarket, just about any design you can come up with has been tried. Traditionally, however, most wheels have a symmetrical spoke arrangement, in any number between three and half a zillion. And they fit nearly any vehicle, from four lugs (economy cars) to six and…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Asymmetrical Instrument Binnacles
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Car designers (usually) work hard to arrange the driver’s cockpit an orderly, coherent, attractive manner. The understandable result is that the overwhelming majority of instrument panels are laid out symmetrically. Sure, the actual gauges will differ from one side to the other, but in general, one side of the instrument panel will be mirrored by…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Fiberglass Concept Cars
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In the 1978 flick The Buddy Holley Story, young Buddy’s new-found success leads him to a Cadillac dealer, where a swanky two-seat roadster fills the roll of Anonymous Rich-Man’s Trophy Car. Wait, what? There would have been no such car in a Cadillac dealership in 1959. Ah, Hollywood, always eager to muck about with our…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Unusual Memorial Highways
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Today’s Encyclopedia Hoonatica topic rests not with cars, but the surfaces on which they drive. The practice of naming stretches of road for significant individuals is a growing practice. In fact, in my home state of Missouri, it’s becoming an almost common occurrence, with multiple programs warranting their own Dept. of Transportation Web Page. Most…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Oughts Cars That Have Appreciated In Value
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We’d all like to make money on the cars we buy. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “things that get used, get used up.” Automotive depreciation is a fact of life for most vehicles we spend money on. But there are those special vehicles that become worth more used than they were new. Of course, if…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Hatchbacks with Dramatically Curved Rear Quarter Glass
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Quite out of the blue, Mrs. Tanshanomi suggested that my weekly adventure in pedantry should task all of you with naming hatchbacks that had, “those wraparound rear windows — you know, like the AMC Pacer.” Why that? I asked. [Actually, it was more like, “Huh?…Why?…What?”] “Because,” she explained, “you never see those sort of curved…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Cars Named For Tracks – That Aren't Also Cities.
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Two Mondays ago, when I asked you all to name Cars Named For Cities, some of the comments understandably strayed from cars that were intentionally named after cities to the many cars actually named after racing circuits, but which got in on the technicality of just happening to share the the name of the city…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Slashed Names
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No, not car names that were ruthlessly discontinued, or hacked by a machete-wielding maniac. Today’s automotive quandary involves the slash character. As with the examples shown above, your task is to list all the cars that use one, somewhere in the name. Here are the caveats (there are always caveats): Vehicles need not be mass…
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Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Cars Named After Cities
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Vehicles named for exotic places are pretty common: racetracks, mountains, deserts, pretty much every place name has been mined for car and truck names. But one of the most popular geographic classifications is city names, and that is your Hoonatica assignment this week. Today’s entry should be uncommonly clear-cut, so even though there are always…
