01 Aug The President’s Birthday
One of the most colourful cars in the FMM collection is celebrating its 70th birthday this year – the 1955 Studebaker President. And like many presidents, it does have quite a history...
01 Aug A Strato Star
Posted at 19:15h
in Museum
What’s in a name? Pontiac manufactured a model called Star Chief from 1954 to 1966. During that time it passed through six generations, beginning as the top trim package of Pontiac’s Chieftain model becoming the base for the later Bonneville. It was assembled in numerous...
25 Jun Tucker v Porsche Part 3
Posted at 17:32h
in Museum
Why do some people fail and others succeed in the auto industry? The annals of the motor industry contain numerous examples of entrepreneurs, car names and car companies that featured briefly, massively, or sometimes even ignominiously. Preston Tucker and Ferdinand Porsche were two historical contemporaries...
30 May Tucker v Porsche Part 2
Posted at 12:05h
in Museum
Why do some people fail and others succeed in the auto industry? The annals of the motor industry contain numerous examples of entrepreneurs, car names and car companies that featured briefly, massively, or sometimes even ignominiously. Preston Tucker and Ferdinand Porsche were two historical contemporaries...
07 May Tucker v Porsche Part 1
Posted at 16:50h
in Museum
Why do some people fail and others succeed in the auto industry? The annals of the motor industry contain numerous examples of entrepreneurs, car names and car companies that featured briefly, massively, or sometimes even ignominiously. Preston Tucker and Ferdinand Porsche were two historical contemporaries...
07 May It’s not a bakkie, it’s a…
Posted at 16:45h
in Museum
... Ute! Australia, like South Africa, has produced a number of unique vehicles over the years. Pick-ups have played an important role in both country’s automotive development, and while they became popularly known here as bakkies, Down Under they were dubbed utes. Friend and correspondent...
07 May Recovery Vehicle
Posted at 16:44h
in Newsletter
In the aftermath of WWII, Mercedes-Benz revived its motor manufacturing with the revival of the pre-war W136 model that, despite the troubled times, was actually a significant model in the company’s history. The W136 was first launched in February 1936 and represented M-B’s four-cylinder range....
07 May Tyrrell-Ford 007-1
The Tyrrell 007 was designed by the team’s Chief Designer, Derek Gardner. It was used in the 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977 Formula One seasons. Ken Tyrrell needed two new drivers for 1974 because Jackie Stewart retired from driving at the end of 1973 and François Cevert was killed at the 1973 season finale in the United States. The team had originally...
07 May FMM Tyrrell at Simola
The annual Simola Hillclimb took place in the Garden Route town of Knysna on May 1-4 and FMM was again present to do demo runs with one of the museum’s superb collection of performance cars. This year the FMM team comprising Curator Sian Theron, Workshop...
29 Jan The Only Way Is Essex
Posted at 12:07h
in Museum
The Essex was an affordable brand of automobile introduced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, the name stemming from a department store magnate Joseph Lowthian Hudson, who, together with eight other Detroit businessmen, put up the necessary funds for the company’s formation in February 1909. In 1918,...