Lamborghini Laptop sets new low in taste... Please make it stop.

I often wonder if 15 year old boys are running the licensing divisions at Ferrari and Lamborghini these days.  I have long averted my eyes in disgust at the various supercar-branded laptops, mice, and hard drives that have proliferated over the past 5 or so years. But this new Lamborghini laptop puts me over the edge. This cash-grabbing monkey business masquerading as "branding" really needs to stop. Now. Please.  This new product line crosses the line between fanboy obsession and downright kitsch. I'd put it in the same category as a couch made from the tailfins of a '59 cadillac. Just vulgar.

Cigar Box City, USA!

I was at a model car swap meet recently and saw this wonderful time capsule! I love the idea of a toy that is sold on the assumption that the purchaser will have 12 or 13 old cigar boxes laying around the house! Imagine what the parenting messageboards would say today!  Having said this, I totally stored some of my matchbox cars in old cigar boxes as a kid...

Faded Glory - Red Hook Cadillac

In 1958, this Caddy was pretty much the most luxurious thing on wheels, at least on this side of the pond.  Now, it's just another cast-away toy, rotting in a vacant lot in Red Hook...

Object of Desire: Halda SpeedPilot

   You have already heard me wax poetic about Heuer Monte Carlo dashboard timers a while back, but here is a very interesting device from the same time period, used as an onboard time-speed-distance computer for rally and trial events.  The Halda SpeedPilot is a fascinating Swedish-made timing enhancement device that I would love to fit in my Lancia Fulvia HF some day...when I eventually get a Fulvia HF, that is...

The upper photo I took of a Halda inside a vintage Alfa GTA, but they were also commonly found in Minis, Escorts, and other 1960s rally cars.

Priced in-period as a $95.00 add-on, the SpeedPilot is considerably more valuable today.  There is a nice example available on ebay right now if anyone's interested! Only 800 bucks!

Elf Scan 13: Jean-Pierre Jabouille

Jean-Pierre Jabouille started his racing career in the Renault 8 Gordini single-make series.  After a promising start, he scraped enough cash together to purchase a Brabham Formula 3 car, and was the only independent entry to qualify for that year's Monaco F3 race. After varied success he joined the Alpine team, racing for then in F3, F2 as well as sports cars.  When this photo was taken, his glory days in F1 and Le Mans racing were still ahead of him.  He is still with us today, and was more recently head of Peugeot Sport before starting his own racing team.