Drivin' into the Sunset... James Dean

Could he have been the original "King of Cool?"

Maybe, if he had only spent more time on earth in a life well lived driving racing cars. Or, would he have needed to make a movie about a famous race? We'll never know.

It seems some leave us way too soon...and leave us wondering.

R.I.P. James Byron Dean, September 30, 1955...5:30 p.m.

 

"Drive safely...The life you save might be mine."--James Dean


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Coronado Speed Festival ... Replay 2012

Waking up before the rooster crows, it was gonna be a windshield sunrise kinda' morning. Into the car I went to head for the "15th Coronado Speed Festival," vintage racing at its San Diego best. After arriving, priority struck, so I hooked up with a "cup of joe" and with camera in the other hand, to stop the action, I made my way out onto the course. I thought to myself, "It's gonna be a good day."

More on the Speed Festival after the first photo, now enjoy what I came away with...

Coronado Speed Festival, the action never stopped. Image © "Along For The Ride"

The Life n' Times of an Ol' Porsche Speedster ...

"New for 1955, you will find this Porsche comfortable, easy-riding and a sporty car"..."You really can't beat this deal Mister"..."Wow Bea, the lines of this new Speedster are beautiful and the interior leather sure smells good. What do you think, can we afford it? And it is the least expensive of all the Porsches"....

"Sure Wally"...

"Fill'er up Tommy, it's under the front trunk lid, I'll pop her open for you, oh and can you check the tires please, the engine is in the back for the oil"..."No, it's not a VW"...

"Bea honey, I hate to move out of San Diego to a colder climate, but the job has transferred me, we are going to have to sell the Speedster"..."Yes I know, it's really a good car, but we're moving to where it rains a lot and this is a top-down car and it's just got to go"....

Photographed, Steve Brown's original Speedster. Image © "Along For The Ride"

Dash Plaques, Tech Stickers, and Whirling Tachs

Perhaps within the anatomy of our imagination, we might think once more of the screams coming from those small 948 cc Sprite engines as they round a corner at a long gone Northern California road race circuit. It could have been, "Anywhere, U.S.A."

"H" Production Sprites in a un-published photo hit the track. Image © Steve Chandler

Sweet to be a Winner... Rodger Penske

The race was a 200 mile affair at Laguna Seca in October 1964, called the Monterey Grand Prix. Roger Penske pulled off a first place driving a Jim Hall and Hap Sharp built Chaparral 2A.

The start of the 1964 Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Image © Steven Chandler

The Ford Exposition Building ... a Balboa Park Treasure

I was born on the south side of the tracks...in fact, in a paper bag, in the middle of Highway 395. Well, not really, but Highway 395 does run past what this post is about. The Ford Building in San Diego's Balboa Park, now known as the home of the Air and Space Museum.

The Ford Building was originally built for the Ford Motor Company, one of a few buildings built around the country to showcase their cars, this one was built for San Diego's California Pacific  International Exposition held during 1935 and 1936. Throughout the Exposition, Ford was assembling automobiles along the outer rings and used the courtyard area as a showroom to display the latest models. The newly assembled vehicles were rolled out the large doors on the west side. There was also a test track called "Roads To The Pacific" set up down the hill behind the building which overlooks Highway 395 where visitors could take one of the latest models for a test drive.

Streamlined Moderne architectural style of the 1930s. Of the five exposition buildings built specifically for the Ford Motor Company, the San Diego site is the last remaining and perhaps the only important exposition building of that style in the nation.