The radically new 1959 Buicks were designed under the leadership of William Mitchell, who succeeded Harley Earl as GM’s Vice President of Design. Honors for the new car included Motor Trend’s “Best Looking Car for 1959.” Luminaries in the automotive press, including Tom McCahill and Floyd Clymer, praised the new car’s performance and handling.
One day, while visiting his father, Nelly, in York, PA, Tom found out that a Street Rod show was going on. Driving around, he stopped when he saw the ’41 wearing a “For Sale” sign. This might be the one for Todd. Tom and Nelly went to speak with the owner, Joe Sarcone. After a test drive he told me I should get it. It was cool!
In October, 1969, the Datsun 240Z was introduced to the American automotive scene with rave reviews. At that time, anything from Japan was described as cheap, plastic, and frankly, junk. Fortunately, the post war Japanese automobile manufacturers had invited Dr. W Edwards Deming to teach them his approach to Total Quality Management.