Each $20 ticket has a chance to win a 1973 Mustang (or $15,000 cash), $2,000 cash, or $1,000 cash. Proceeds benefit the Antique Automobile Club of America, The AACA Library & Research Center, and The AACA Museum.  The drawing will take place on October 12, 2013 at the AACA Fall Meet.

• Less than 25,000 Miles
• Exterior: Red
• Interior: White
• Newly Rebuilt Engine
• Newly Rebuilt Air Conditioning system converted to r134a

Winner need not be present to win and is responsible for all taxes. Mustang Donated by George and Margaret Vitale.  Click here for a raffle ticket order form. 

From August 26-31, 2012 the Richmond Region AACA hosted the Reliability Tour.   We had a great time putting it on, traveling a total of 314 miles throughout the week.  We were pleased to have 47 participants bring their 1915 and older antique automobiles.  They came from 14 states and Australia.   Tourists were kept busy during the week visiting historic sites, plantations, botanical gardens and museums.  In addition to the adults joining us on the tour, we also have several youngsters along for the ride (eleven children and grand children of club members, ages five to twenty years old).  

Our youngest driver was Miss Alex Morgan (19 years old, a VCU student majoring in biology, and granddaughter of Reggie and Cindy Nash).  She drove Reggie's 1909 Rambler on a 58 mile trek to Cold Harbor National Battlefield, to Hanover Tavern and back to the hotel.  She even managed to find time to change one of the tires on fellow member George Duke's 1914 Haynes!  Great job Alex!

Drew Perkins, 20 years old, helped to park cars at Cold Harbor, the Ruffin Farm and at Hanover Tavern.  He is the grandson of club members Jim and Patty Perkins of Mechanicsville, Virginia.  Jim was our host for Monday the 27th, and planned the entire day.  Thank you to both Jim and Drew! 

The other children participating were not old enough to drive.  You may recognize some of them from the tour postcards, ads, and banners.  Pictured below are the Duke grandchildren and the Fuhrman twins.  From back to front, left to right: Cole Fuhrman(10), Daniel Corcoran(10), Anna Corcoran(8), Nicholas Hosey(8), Lauren Hosey(13), and on the fenders, Clayton Fuhrman (10) and Noah Hosey(11).

This is a story of a 1965 GTO that sat covered up in a barn for 32 years.  I had ordered it brand new from Ardes Pontiac in Phoenixville Pa.  It was a burgundy 2 door hard top, the interior had black bucket seats with a console, rally gauges, sport steering wheel, 389 - 360 HP tri power engine with 4 speed transmission and posi rear.

I enjoyed this car until 1967, when Uncle Sam sent me to Vietnam where I spent a year in the infantry doing helicopter assaults.  Miraculously, I lived through that and came home in one piece but with a bad change in attitude.  Went back to my old job but missed many days of work and started drinking and racing cars.  I pulled the motor out of my GTO, balanced and blueprinted it and in 1970 began racing at Maple Grove raceway in Reading, Pa.  The car ran in the thirteen's in street form.   After a slight fender bender in 1975 the car was repainted blue.  I drove the car another 2 years then in 1977 with 125,000 miles on the odometer I parked it in my barn.  There it sat for 32 years.  

I always dreamed of restoring the car to what it was in 1965 but never really had the time or the money.  Then after my retirement from trucking (owner operator) in 2009 the car was pulled out of the barn still running but only on one carburetor and taken to Wheels in Motion in Pottstown PA for a total body off nut and bolt restoration.  The engine went to Jim Taylor in Phillipsburg, NJ where internally it was set up to ram air III specs.  Two weeks after restoration was complete we took the car to AACA judging in Hershey PA.  The car got its first junior plus was also nominated for a national award.  This year (2012) we reentered the car for judging and got its senior award.

I've had this car now for 47 years and would never sell it for any amount of money.  Cars like this GTO are our American history, American art, and part of our culture.  Like I've heard people say they just don't make them like they used too.

Despite bearing the BMW name, the Isetta was first manufactured in 1953 by the Italian company of Iso SpA, founded by Renzo Rivolta.  Before entering the auto market, Rivolta focused on making motorcycles and scooters.  While sales in Italy were strong at first, demand eventually waned.  Because of this, Rivolta eventually offered other companies the opportunity to produce Isettas under license.

While French VELAM and Brazilian Romi built and sold Isettas, the most prolific manufacturer was that of BMW.  When released for the German market in 1955 BMW was in the midst of financial troubles because, in part, motorcycle sales were falling.   With sales of small cars like the Volkwagen Beetle on the rise, BMW jumped at the chance to market Rivolta's car. 

Far from the economic salvation they sought, the car had proven successful enough to offset a significant portion of losses.   Eventually, the car was exported, with 1958 models being the first to make it to the U.S.  Although demand for small vehicles in America proved considerably smaller than Europe, Germany's "rolling egg" still managed to build a cult following.

Even though the major automotive publications praised the Isetta's fuel economy, its rear mounted, single cylinder engine was criticized for lacking power.  According to the November 1954 issue of Motor Trend, "acceleration [was] hardly noteworthy" with a top speed of 53 mph.  Demands for greater performance prompted BMW to release the two cylinder 600 series in 1958.  Along with a stronger engine came an additional side door and extended body, providing enough room for four passengers.  Unfortunately, the 600 was short lived, discontinued in 1959 after less than ideal sales.

In 1962, seven years and more than 90,000 manufactured units later, BMW finally pulled the plug on the Isetta.  In its place was the more conventional looking but less memorable 700 series, first introduced in 1959.  Though no longer among us, the Isetta has solidified its place in automotive history and continues to occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of those with a fascination in small cars.  

Discover More:For those interested in learning more about the history of the Isetta and other microcars, be sure to pay the AACA Library a visit or give us a call.  In addition to catalogs and brochures found in our extensive collection of sales literature, the Dunwoodie Archives can be used to locate period magazine articles on just about any car you're interested in.  From the British-built Bond three wheeler to the German Goggomobil, we might just have what you're looking for!

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Looking for the perfect gift for your favorite automotive enthusiast?  Be sure to visit our eBay store.

We have:

Reproduction factory photographs

• Cars and trucks from the teens through 1970s!
• More than 50 different marques!
• Woodie wagons, cars with celebrities, Coca-Cola/Pepsi trucks and more!
• Books

Check back often, as we will be expanding our inventory of photographs and books in the future.  For a full list of available photographs be sure to view our master list. Click here for a master list of photos.

More info available on our website. Visit AACA Library or

contact our head librarian, Chris Ritter, critter@aaca.org or 717-534-2082.

 For a full listing of exhibits and events at the AACA Museum visit www.AACAMuseum.org. 

Source: Automotive Milestones, Trivia of a Most Unique Machine, Edited by Clark Cassell and Charles Merritt, Braddock Publications.