By ACM CEO David Madeira

Some days are just like that. You awake with a set of expectations and are eager to start the day. Then, plans go awry, expectations are not met, and you struggle with disappointment. If you’re willing to be flexible and adapt, you may find that, sometimes, important lessons or new opportunities may arise from the unexpected. Day 2 of The Drive Home II was one of those days for us. Continue reading “The Drive Home II Day 2 Update from David Madeira” →

By William Hall. Photos by the author.

Seeing the 1961 Chrysler 300G again was like being reunited with your high school girlfriend after she spent the summer in Europe. Something in her had changed, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it. Was she still the same girl? Did she still love you?

Well, after a contentious re-acquaintance period, the Chrysler and I seem to have settled back into a comfortable routine. We believe the front brake problem was actually a rear brake problem, in that we had little or no braking from the rear which was overloading and overheating the front brakes of the heavy Mopar. A quick rear shoe adjustment in the hotel parking today lot gave us a half-inch more pedal and carlengths of confidence. Continue reading “The Drive Home II, Day 4: Exorcising Demons” →

I’m pleased to report that while Day 4 of the Drive Home II adventure included a few notable occurrences in Washington D.C., it contained no mechanical malfunctions or unplanned delays that were my fault – or anyone else’s! Being well spent by our taxing Day 3, the team used part of the morning catching up on administrative work; the exception was our ace mechanic Dale, who tackled the Chrysler 300’s issues by bleeding its brakes in the cold and windy hotel parking lot. Just another reason Dale is a top contender for the Drive Home II MVP Award.

The rest of our day was spent treating folks around the Washington Mall to a good look at the Drive Home II cars and giving Derek ample opportunity for video footage. Along the way there were lots of waves, cheers and requests for me to rev up the throaty engine of the Nomad; and at one point, we heard someone say – “Look, the LeMay Museum, that’s out in Seattle!” (Well, close”¦)

Continue reading “A Diary From The Road: A Fairly Ordinary Day on an Extraordinary Trip” →

By William Hall. Photos by the author.

If you insist on driving your classic car in Manhattan, there is no better time than 4 a.m. The streets are quiet. Most of the night’s revelers have returned home, and the folks that keep the city’s big machine humming along dutifully go about their business. It’s one of the world’s most densely populated areas, but at four in the morning it is the vacuum of activity that is striking. Navigating the island’s wide, neon-lit avenues is one of the most unique driving experiences in the world.

An early-morning media appointment with a local television news affiliate afforded the The Drive Home team that opportunity. We drove our three red classic cars over to Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza on Flatbush Avenue where we unloaded the Crane-Simplex for photos and interviews. The early start on little sleep made for what would become a very long day.

Continue reading “The Drive Home II, Day 3: Nighthawks” →

Dec. 29 was a study of patience, perseverance and team leadership for the Drive Home II road crew. We started early, rolling out of mid-town Manhattan at 5:45 a.m. and crossing over to Brooklyn for a TV segment with the local Fox station at Grand Army Plaza. Dale led the process of unloading the 1917 Crane-Simplex from the trailer near the massive Plaza arch, and David handled the short TV interviews over the next couple of hours at designated time slots.

Continue reading “A Diary From The Road: Patience, Perseverance and Leadership” →

By William Hall. Photos by the author.

Everything happens for a reason.

Although we may not understand it at the time, even unfortunate situations can prove to be a blessing. The corollary rule is that fate likes to cruelly group these events into sets of three.

Ninety miles into our first leg of The Drive Home II, the LeMay-America’s Car Museum midwinter trek in three classic cars from Boston to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we experienced our first setback. The trailer of our chase vehicle hauling the ex-J.D. Rockefeller 1917 Crane-Simplex Model 5 suffered a fairly innocuous tire failure along the fieldstone fencerows of southern Massachusetts. Continue reading “The Drive Home II, Day 2: The Rule of Threes” →

By William Hall. Photos by the author, except where noted.

Somewhere around my last birthday, I reached a sort of existential equinox. I realized that the days would start to get shorter from here on out. Less light to do things by, and likely some long stretches of cold and darkness ahead.

That perspective liberated lots of decision making in my life. Once deferential, I now never turn down the offer to drive someone else’s car, regardless of its value or my trepidation. “Hell yes” is my new default answer. Care to take my Maserati 150S around the block? You bet. Want to co-drive in La Carrera Panamericana? Tell me when you need me there. And yes, I think I will have that second piece of chocolate cake. Are there any cigars to go with this bourbon? Continue reading “The Drive Home II, Day 1: The New Default” →

“Teamwork” is the word of the day. When the unexpected happens despite great planning, good teams come together to make the best of things and create new opportunities.

That’s what the LeMay-ACM Gang did today when, after heading south out of Boston, we had a breakfast of Famous Gray’s Ice Cream (black raspberry and coffee chip the biggest sellers) just before a tire blew on the trailer and Dale Wickell had his first chance to come to our rescue. Tire replaced, it was on to Newport, R.I. to get the 1917 Crane-Simplex a little air along the beautiful Newport Ocean Drive. Continue reading “A Diary from the Road: “Teamwork” is the word of the day” →

“Giddy” is the word of the day. It’s the feeling you get when you slide behind the giant wheel of a 50s classic made the year you were born and lock your fingers around the shifter’s silver machined Hurst T-handle. Giddy.

More about that T-handle later, but what a great start to the adventure last night. Met up with The Heritage Run Gang — David Madeira, Ashley Bice, Valerie O’Shea, Bill Hall, Dale Wickell and Derek Klein– in the lobby of the Boston Long Warf Marriott and donned our new America’s Car Museum stadium jackets, courtesy of State Farm (Thanks Tamara and Ed!).

Then it was into the parking garage for the drive to the No Name Restaurant down by the water. As a newbie to the team, I was immediately tested with driving the 57 Chevy Nomad that sports a 327, 4-speed and what felt like a fairly high gear ratio that challenged my long forgotten clutching skills. Besides not being able to find reverse (“Push down and to the left,” chirps Valerie!) I managed, and I have to say the drive was a rush like I haven’t felt since the 70’s.

Click here to read more on  the blog “A Diary From The Road by Rock Jenkins.”

By ACM CEO David Madeira

It was a beautiful sunny day in Boston as our team gathered to prepare for the launch of The Drive Home II at the Marriott on Long Wharf in the historic center of the city. Given the holidays the historic Quincy Market was filled with visitors enjoying the shops and great food vendors. At the same time, the typically crazy auto traffic was light so the stage was set to bring the cars out.

Derek Klein, our photographer, Bill Hall author of our daily blogs and writing for Hemmings, and I strolled through the cobblestone streets to one of my favorite restaurants Ye Olde Union Oyster House – the oldest continuously operating restaurant in America since 1826. We were fortunate to grab seats at the small horseshoe shaped oyster bar where we ordered a beer, a dozen Harwich oysters, bowls of ‘chowdah’, etc. I also slurped down my favorite – steamers dipped in drawn butter.

Continue reading “The Drive Home II: Day 1 – Boston, MA” →