It’s coming back!

Published 1:32 pm Thursday, March 10, 2022

It is no secret I have always loved and have a fascination with cars. I loved the sounds of the old muscle cars with their rumbling engines and squealing tires. However, I have always had an affinity for European sports and luxury designs. My favorite manufacturer is Jaguar. My favorite body design is the Aston Martin db5. The curves and the lines were sleek and dare I say, sexy. Most of the early ones had the soft smooth sophisticated design of a beautiful woman, as opposed to and again my opinion, the unimaginative designs of the later American car companies. Now with that said, I own a Jaguar x-type. Now I know that this is not the Jaguar that I originally fell in love with and in fact it has a lot of Ford influence and that is because Ford quite literally saved the company from folding under the weight of poor quality control in the late 1990s. Not only did Ford boost the quality, they kept the designs that made Jaguar such a recognizable beast among the auto jungle. Jaguar itself has had a long history in the world of automobiles. It was not always called Jaguar; that came later. In the beginning it was called The Swallow Sidecar Company and was founded in 1922 by two motorcycle enthusiasts, William Lyons and William Walmsley. In 1934, Walmsley decided to sell his share and in order to buy the Swallow business (but not the company which was liquidated) Lyons formed S.S. Cars Limited. Jaguar made its grand appearance in 1935 as a name for the SS 2½-litre sports saloon. A matching open two-seater sports model with a 3½-litre engine was named SS Jaguar 100.

On 23 of March 1945 the S.S. Cars shareholders in a general meeting agreed to change the company’s name to Jaguar Cars Limited (of course some speculate that the name change was due to the uprising of the SS section of the Nazi party). Said Chairman William Lyons, “Unlike S.S., the name Jaguar is distinctive and cannot be connected or confused with any similar foreign name.”— S.S. Cars Limited. The Times, Wednesday, 4 April 1945; pg. 10; Issue 50108

A new beginning, on 1 January 2008, Tata Motors bought Jaguar. And now the car company in keeping with Jaguar tradition is releasing a famous classic design that I am so excited about. Described as “The most beautiful car ever made” by Enzo Ferrari, the Jaguar E‑type epitomized the glamour and excitement of the swinging ’60s. Nearly 60 years on, the Jaguar E‑type is reborn and will see Series 1 E‑types restored to their original specification for future generations of enthusiasts and collectors to buy directly from Jaguar Classic. This is exciting news for any fan of the car. I know I cannot wait to see the first one!

Summer is coming!

By

Lorie Anne McReynolds

I have always had a love of cars. And with summer speedily approaching we will begin to see more and more cars and car shows coming on and this got me to thinking. Thinking about how this love began. I believe it all started with my daddy. You see he was what was called a “shade tree mechanic.” When most anything needed replacing or fixing on any of his vehicles, he would do it himself. Back then, cars were easier to work on. You had a lot more room under the hood to work, unlike most cars of today. I would usually wander out to the driveway just to see what he was working on at any given moment. He would always greet me enthusiastically, probably fascinated that his young daughter took such an interest. I remember he had an old 1940s pickup truck that had a bench seat and running boards. One of my fondest memories was that he would let me ride on the running boards while he drove down the road to take me to my cousin’s house to play. I thought that was the best thing ever. My mom, however, was not so enthused.

When I first started driving, my parents let me drive their car. It was a 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport with a 325 motor. It was like a tank. What better car to protect me as I was learning to drive? I didn’t realize how unique and special that car was at the time and especially how special that particular motor was or is. I think that is where I get my love of old cars. Of course, as the years passed by, as they often do like light flashes of memories, I wanted more of the convenience of modern vehicles instead of the style of classic ones. I went on to own an Oldsmobile, a Monte Carlo, and a GMC Envoy. Now I drive a Subaru. I hope to always own a Subaru. They are great vehicles and go really well in bad weather. Everyone has that particular car that best suits them and for me it is the Subaru.

At one time we even owned a T-bucket. I must admit we had the best time in that car going to car shows and on trips with it. We even won some trophies at the car shows. It did not have a top and was low to the ground. It had no doors, so I had to climb up on one of the big back tires and swing my legs in to be able to get into it. It would destroy my hair with tangles, and more often than not I would smell of gasoline. But it was one of the most fun cars I ever owned. In a lot of ways I miss the cars of yesterday. They are fun even today to drive, but in reality nothing truly compares with what the automobile has become. However, I will always hold the memories of my daddy under the hood of those beautiful classics for as long as I live.

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