You can learn a lot if you ask someone about the best car in his life. For example, I define as seriously crazed motorheads and lucky to still be alive the following: Jerry Petitt, 2005 Porsche Carrera GT (one of 800 built and capable of 225 mph), 1972 Datsun 240Z (original owner), and a 2024 Porsche 718 Boxster; Roy Kinsey, 1966 Griffith Series 400; Bruce Pigozzi, 1987 Porsche 911; Jack Halpern, 1962 Porsche 356B Roadster; Cory Aden-Wansbury, 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite; Richard Chu, 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint; Don Garni, 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider; and Peter Thomas, 1959 Saab 93. Chuck Slade (1966 MGB convertible) and Jim Rooks (same car, 1977) are also crazed (but wear tweed caps), as are Jonathan Dana (1986 Mercedes 300) and John Lobitz (same car, 1987) but with fancier caps. Then we have the Detroit big iron men: Warren Cook (1967 Chevy SS), Bill Reynolds (’57 Chevy—drop the mic), John Rhead (1951 Chevy), Dave McMahill (1952 Plymouth), and Bruce Pacht (1956 Oldsmobile). These guys are loosely coupled to the Detroit Sports of the 1960s: Hank Ingersoll (1965 Mustang), Sam Ostrow (1966 Mustang), and Nancy Smoyer (1968 Mustang). The Ozzie and Harriet guys by comparison include Joe Alviani (1963 Ford Fairlane) and Peter Strassberger (1965 Pontiac Tempest LeMans), while our flower children include Tom Bassett (1960 VW Beetle convertible), Hank Cramer (1973 VW Super Beetle convertible), and John Talbott (1966 VW Microbus) and their electric cousins Ed Arnold (2015 Nissan Leaf) and Dick Clapp (2023 Subaru Solterra). Pete Nistad swears a car is just a car but a motorcycle is a motorcycle! The Norton Atlas he rode at Dartmouth remains top of his list, as is Warren Cook’s ’65 Harley-Davidson XLCH. Then we come to the guys such as Tim Pollak, who for $35 bought a used car he later dropped off at the junkyard gate, and John Isaacs, whose car lacked reverse gear when he abandoned it on the street as he departed for Vietnam. Each one of these guys can tell you a story, some with photos, which you can read at 1967.dartmouth.org.
—Larry Langford, P.O. Box 71, Buckland, MA 01339; 1967damnotes@gmail.com