My BaT Writing Sample
The estimable Bring a Trailer website continues to grow in scope, popularity and stature, and today posted a request for writing samples. Seems to that writing about old cars and motorcycles would be a little more fun, maybe, than writing system requirements. Here's my sample:
1976 Thunderbirds Are Go!
1976 was not a banner year for the American car industry. Quality was at its nadir, 5 mph impact bumper requirements added ugly girders to either end of every car, the insurance industry had essentially killed off the factory hot rod, and whatever performance the once-mighty V8s retained was strangled by the crude new catalytic converters (obligatory for the first time in 1975) and exhaust gas recirculation systems.
Ford may have been the in the worst shape of the big three in the bicentennial year, struggling to find its footing in a market that wanted smaller, better built cars that didn’t explode. The car featured below is not the product those buyers were looking for. Instead, it is a shining paragon of many of the values held by older consumers who remained American car loyalists.
A one-owner Thunderbird (discounting the dealer currently selling the car) in a striking color combination, this car appears to wear its 38,000 miles well. It’s tough to gauge the quality of white paint from photographs taken on sunny days, but the repaint it received at some point in its life doesn’t appear to have done it much harm. The acres of chrome appear to be in good shape apart from clouding of some window trim and scratches on the mirrors, and the vinyl is surprisingly flat and unfaded. The exposed quad headlamps, chrome wheelcovers, cornering lamps and etched landau windows all add further bling while not quite overwhelming the simple, if huge, body.
Inside those loooong doors is an interior that is even more luridly kermit than hinted at by the exterior vinyl. Some labels have perished and a vent is misaligned, but the dash appears to have no cracks and the wide, flat leather seats look as new.
“Personal cars” like the malaise-era Thunderbird were expected to offer comfort and especially presence in spades. We’d say that this one fulfills that brief, today more than ever because so few are left in presentable condition and because it stands in utter defiance of modern design trends. And with a four barrel carburetor topping a 460 V8, the new owner won’t be embarrassed by its cruising performance, so long as he or she sticks to Florida interstates and avoids the Tail of the Dragon.
With two days remaining on its ebay auction, at the time of writing the T-Bird has garnered one bid for $4,500, which failed to meet the reserve. Please note that there are no photographs provided of the underside or engine.
1976 Thunderbirds Are Go!
1976 was not a banner year for the American car industry. Quality was at its nadir, 5 mph impact bumper requirements added ugly girders to either end of every car, the insurance industry had essentially killed off the factory hot rod, and whatever performance the once-mighty V8s retained was strangled by the crude new catalytic converters (obligatory for the first time in 1975) and exhaust gas recirculation systems.
Ford may have been the in the worst shape of the big three in the bicentennial year, struggling to find its footing in a market that wanted smaller, better built cars that didn’t explode. The car featured below is not the product those buyers were looking for. Instead, it is a shining paragon of many of the values held by older consumers who remained American car loyalists.
A one-owner Thunderbird (discounting the dealer currently selling the car) in a striking color combination, this car appears to wear its 38,000 miles well. It’s tough to gauge the quality of white paint from photographs taken on sunny days, but the repaint it received at some point in its life doesn’t appear to have done it much harm. The acres of chrome appear to be in good shape apart from clouding of some window trim and scratches on the mirrors, and the vinyl is surprisingly flat and unfaded. The exposed quad headlamps, chrome wheelcovers, cornering lamps and etched landau windows all add further bling while not quite overwhelming the simple, if huge, body.
Inside those loooong doors is an interior that is even more luridly kermit than hinted at by the exterior vinyl. Some labels have perished and a vent is misaligned, but the dash appears to have no cracks and the wide, flat leather seats look as new.
“Personal cars” like the malaise-era Thunderbird were expected to offer comfort and especially presence in spades. We’d say that this one fulfills that brief, today more than ever because so few are left in presentable condition and because it stands in utter defiance of modern design trends. And with a four barrel carburetor topping a 460 V8, the new owner won’t be embarrassed by its cruising performance, so long as he or she sticks to Florida interstates and avoids the Tail of the Dragon.
With two days remaining on its ebay auction, at the time of writing the T-Bird has garnered one bid for $4,500, which failed to meet the reserve. Please note that there are no photographs provided of the underside or engine.
posted by Kris Hicks-Green at 1:40 PM
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