Extinct Car Day was the last lawn event for the year at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum. This event was held on October 30 and brought together cars from manufacturers that have past. Cars from several companies including Checker, Delahaye, DeLorean, Hudson, LaSalle, and Packard were on display. Decided to use TRI-X 400, the classic black and white film from Kodak, to cover this event. Hope you like the photos.

Kodak TRI-X 400 is the world’s best selling black and white film. This panchromatic high-speed film is known for its unique grain structure, exposure latitude, and chalk-/charcoal-like contrast. The film was first introduced in the early-1940’s and was released in 35mm format in 1954. In 2007 the film was re-engineered with a finer grain structure compared to its original. The film is well known for its use in street photography and photo-journalism. With Extinct Car Day showcasing many cars from yesteryear, I thought their would be no better way to cover this event, then to use Kodak TRI-X 400.

One of the first cars I saw was a beautiful 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix. This model was from the second year of the first generation. General Motors would go onto make seven generations of this model from 1962 to 2008 (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125, f/16).

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250, f/11)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon Fd 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125, f/16)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125, f/16)

Next up was a 1950 Hudson Commodore which was produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company from 1941 to 1952. The 1950 model was part of the third generation series of these cars. In 1954 Hudson and Nash Motors Company merged to form the American Motors Corporation (AMC).

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125,  f/11)

 

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125,  f/11)

Thought the 1948 Delahaye 135 (aka. Coupe des Alpes) looked like a “Batmobile” from yesteryear with its bold, curvaceous, and stylized bodywork. I think this was one of the most striking cars on display. This model of car was produced from 1935 to 1954 by the French car company Delahaye. Sport versions of Delahaye 135’s competed in different race car events including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A view looking back at the Carriage House which houses the Larz Anderson Auto Museum and a 1962 Aston Healey in the foreground. Austin-Healey was a British sports car company that originated in 1952 through a partnership between the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Donald Healey Motor Company. Austin-Healey would go onto make cars for 20 years (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/500,  f/11).

Met some nice people at the lawn event and had a great chat with the owners of this 1965 Cutlass. The Cutlass was made by Oldsmobile between 1961 and 1988, and for a short time in the late 1990s. The 1965 Cutlass was part of the second generation of this model; with is length slightly increased, changed front grille, and larger capacity engine compared to the previous model (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125,  f/11).

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250,  f/11)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250,  f/8)

The Checker Taxi really brought me back in time (in a follow-up blog using color film you will see the bright yellow paint work on this car). The Checker Marathon was produced by Checker Motors Corporation between 1961 and 1982 and became an American icon.

Next to the Checker Marathon Taxi was a Mercury Cougar. I think this was a 1967 first generation model. The Mercury Cougar was the performance model for this automobile company and was produced from 1967 to the late 1990’s (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250,  f/8).

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/1000,  f/8)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 200mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/2000, f/5.6)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 200mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/2000, f/5.6)

Kept walking around the lawn of cars and saw a 1954 Packard convertible with its characteristic pelican hood ornament. Historically, hood ornaments originated from design elements used to decorate the radiator cap of the car. Another interesting element of the Packard was the Red Hexagon on the wheel hub. The Red Hexagon is thought to have originated from when owners sent their car to the factory to be fixed, it was returned with the hexagon hub caps painted red to indicate everything was checked okay.

Decided to grab a hot dog for lunch and on my way back took a wide shot of the lawn area to give you an idea on the number of cars on display (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250,  f/16).

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/500,  f/11)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/125,  f/16)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250,  f/16)

“Back to the Future” with a 1981 DeLoreon DMC-12. The DMC-12 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and was the only model produced by the DeLoreon Motor Company. About 9,000 cars were made between 1981 to 1983. Unique features of the car included gull-wing doors, stainless body panels, and rear mounted engine. The car sold for about USD 25,000 in 1981 (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400).

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/500, f/11)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/250, f/11)

(Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/1000, f/4)

The last car I shot for the day was a 1939 LaSalle. This line of cars was made by General Motors Cadillac between 1927 and 1940. LaSalle’s were marketed as luxury cars, but were less expensive than Cadillac’s, thereby giving General Motors two levels of luxury cars (Canon NEW F-1, Canon FD 17mm f/4, Kodak TRI-X 400, 1/2000, f/5.6).

Had a great time covering Extinct Car Day and talking with the owners of these beautiful cars. Thanks for spending the time to read this blog. The next blog will be about covering this event with Kodak Ektar, so you can get to see the beautiful colors of these cars from the past.