Cars in Yards: Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Did you see that! I slowed the van down to look back. A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia abandoned on an island of weeds. This lawn ornament sat a dozen feet from a busy highway in Montevallo, Alabama. I wanted to turn around and get a photo. Cars in yards tend to disappear when you least expect it. My wife said we could take a picture when we drove back home. We, make that my wife, took the photo on our way home. My love for all things automotive continues.

Many times I 've wished I had my camera or had time to stop and check out a cool automobile. Cars or trucks sitting in the weeds attract my attention immediately for two reasons. Number one, they are likely older vehicles and, two, their owner may be ready to part with them for a bargain price. The second reason makes my wife cringe any time I slow down to look at an old car. On this occasion she knows I'm at my limit of automobiles and I'm no threat to go knock on the door at this house. She is very supportive of my automotive hobby, but knows I can go overboard. I admit that we currently own too many cars. Between the two of us we have three kids and seven cars. Our oldest child is 7 -- eight years removed from a drivers permit. Ridiculous, I know. But think of it as recycling.

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1936 Cord a roadside rarity

What do you do when you drive-by a rough-looking but rare car? You take a photo of it like Michael K. Joachim did. Joachim of Pelham, Alabama spotted this 1936 Cord 810 Westchester at an automotive repair shop in Roswell, Georgia recently. Joachim knew this was a rare car at first glance. "I've never seen one of these outside of a museum," he noted. Joachim found out that the car does run and drive and belongs to a customer at the repair shop.

Cords competed for the American luxury car dollar with Duesenberg and Auburn. Cord built four door sedans along with two and four door convertible phaeton models. All Cords featured front-wheel-drive and V8 engines. Their hide-away headlights are operated by small chrome hand cranks on each side of the dash. Door hinges are mounted inside the doorjambs instead of externally. These features made for a sleek, advanced vehicle in 1936. According to Hemmings Motor News about 3,000 Cords were built in 1936 and 1937 and it is estimated that about 1,800 survive. A 1936 Cord 810 Westchester Sedan sold new for $1,995, and today is worth between $25,000-$60,000 according to Hemmings.

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1936 Cord facts

• Unit body construction with a front subframe
• First American car with horn ring on steering wheel 
• Hidden headlamps
• All-steel roof on sedans (no fabric insert)
• No running boards (deemed old fashioned)
• Gordon Buehrig designed the Cord 810 and 812 models. He also designed  the Deusenberg Model J and the 1935 Auburn 851 boattail Speedster

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Cars in Yards: 1957 Cadillac with Elvis’ touch

How often do you see a 1957 Cadillac hardtop coupe bought by Elvis Presley parked on the roadside? This long-suffering Cadillac’s current owner, Herman, bought the car from an old friend of Elvis Presley’s mother. The story goes like this. “Elvis bought the car for a friend of his mama,” Herman told me. “Elvis’ mama’s friend lived in Center Point, Alabama,” when Herman bought the car, “25 or so years ago.” When I circled the Cadillac I felt the year ’75 recessed in the car’s rusty 'Heart of Dixie'  license plate. Herman had plans to restore the car when he bought it. Those plans took a backseat for a quite few years. He still hopes to get the Cadillac out of the weather before it’s too late. The car remains a landmark of sorts for area residents but how many of them know that Elvis Presley, the king of rock ’n roll, once held onto its keys? 

For three decades this Harley Earl-designed Caddy has been standing watch at the end of a long dirt driveway not far from Herman’s business. People stop and ask if the car is for sale often. It’s not hard to wonder why. The car was once a majestic piece of General Motor's chrome-laden legacy. Elvis’ Cadillac connection may inspire someone to make Herman an offer he can’t refuse. Right now the legend and legacy of a 1957 Cadillac coupe lives on a well-traveled road in the most populated county in the state of Alabama.

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