Letters

Dear Pete and brother Greg:

I thoroughly enjoyed your article on slot cars ! It fondly brought to mind my slot car experiences, though literally in a much smaller scale. I vividly recall one Christmas nearly forty years ago when I received an Aurora "Model Motoring" HO-scale slot car set, complete with two open-wheel "Indy Style" cars. That was perhaps the most exciting Christmas gift I had ever received as a young boy. No, it didn't measure up to the size and intricacy of the larger 1/24 and 1/32 scale outfits, but for me, it was heavenly. Over the years, I added to the assortment of cars, and even invested in hop-up kits with wider tires, interchangeable drive gears, and additional track pieces and various controllers. Wow, what a rush for a young motorhead like me! I haven't messed with that stuff in many years, but I know where the set is stored at my parent's house. Your wonderful article has prompted me to dig it out and play during my next visit to see the folks. Fifty-four years old, and I am still juiced by the thought of playing with toy cars!

Bobb Rayner
Co-Founder, Club Fiat-Lancia Unlimited (FLU)

Pete,

What a delightful surprise to read your story on the history of slot car racing. I spent over forty years in the hobby business here in Richmond Va. I can identify with all that you wrote about. I saw first hand the rise and fall of the hobby from the late fifties to the late sixties. We bought from Nat Polk starting in 1958 for that years Christmas season. What a fun time it was. That is probably why I am still involved in Vintage Racing today.

Yes, I too have built another track, patterned after Goodwood. As all of Scalextric early buildings were patterned after Goodwood's, I went on a mission to collect all of them using my friend, E-Bay, to find them. Some needed much restoration but being a life long model builder it was a piece of cake. Scalextric had an easy time of it since Goodwood was only eighteen miles form their plant. I stayed in that town the first time I attended the Goodwood Revival in 99.

I too went looking for the Merrit kits some years ago as I had sold many of them when they were new. I was lucky in that when I began my quest I was still working in the business and many loyal customers helped track them down. I am proud to say that I DO have the whole series with a couple of extras. I even found the Donald Campbell WSR Jet Boat Blue Bird.

Thanks again for the article. It made my Christmas with such pleasant memories. I retired four years ago from the Hobby business. and still miss it very much.

Bob Graham

Hello Pete,

I had to write and say how much I enjoyed the article by you and your younger brother about slot car racing. I had a big grin on my face while I was reading it. I didn't race slot cars, but I did spend all of my waking hours outside of school riding my bike to various small town individually owned hobby shops (all gone now) for the new releases of 1/24 scale model cars, starting about 1958 and finally moving on about 1964, when I went off to college. Yes, that was the Golden Age of model collecting, because the production cars themselves changed each year, and then there were all the older models, such as the 32 Ford, etc. Over the years I have filled in my collection at Hershey and other shows, but the model that was $1.29 new in the box in 1960 is now more like $129 if it is still in good condition. Speaking of that, the promos (they were assembled and had a little friction motor) made by AMT/SMP were made of Kodak Tenite plastic, which develops a pretty wicked warp after a few years. The AMT kits, and the JoHan kits, used a different plastic that did not warp. At that time, I felt that 1/24 was the ideal size, and spurned the 1/32 variants and the European models as too small. Of course, now the detail available with CAD/CAM in 1/18th scale is almost unbelievable, particularly at the price points that come out of China. So, who knows, maybe we are in another Golden Age of collecting, although it seems to me that most new models I see today are of cars made years ago - not what is in the showrooms today!

Brandy Elitch

Pete,

My very best compliments for the Strombecker-Vack brothers article ! Send my compliments also to your brother, thanks

Mario Marchesini

Pete,

Just finished the Gift that kept on Giving. What a wonderful story ! Absolutely AMAZING how you (and your brother Greg) describe happiness (Felicita) of a child and how that (and deriving memories) keep us all going and hopefully families together! It's an Ode to your family, man ! Also an ode to Christmas and it may give a clue on the X-box mania ! I am touched to the bone by the story ! Replace the model track and cars with a camera, and you'll find my brother and me (very early Seventies!), or for earlier generations with a Marklin model train set!

Lorenzo Marchesini

Dear Editor,

I am a little curious about the new addition of French to VeloceToday. If you have ever worked on or lived with a Maserati Bora , you would see how the two mixed like oil and water

Peter A. Lombardo

Although Mr. Lombardo was commenting with humor, we are aware that the combination of French and Italian subjects may be a bit controversial. But there is room enough for both in VeloceToday and we hope our readers will enjoy a more varied content.

Dear Editor,

As the editor and web master of the American Panhard & DB club, I'd like you to consider having some articles on these two wonderful cars not only in Europe but here in the states as well. If I can be of any assistance, do not hesitate to let me know.

John A. Peterson

Dear Editor,

First, I want to thank you for your generosity in making this site available to us Italian vehicle nuts. I'm never disappointed. The quality and content are always of a very high caliber.

I see that your page heading indicates both Italian and French car coverage, but I've not seen anything of the latter in any of the obvious places. Have you had any articles on French cars?

Though not entirely Italian, the cars of Stan "Wacky" Arnolt, bodied in Italy, would make for some interesting reading, especially considering how few there ever were of them and how collectible they've become...any chance?

Mr. Uldis Stulpins

Thank you for reading VeloceToday and your kind comments! We might do an article on Wacky--since you're from Chicago perhaps you have some contacts who knew Arnolt--or someone who owns a good example of the Arnolt Bristol. I know Wacky spent a good deal of time in Italy which would be of interest to our readers. Below are a few urls for articles with French subject matter. Much more to come in 2008, however!

Alpine Renault
Alpine Adventures
Ramponi's Delage
Search for the Bugatti Queen
VeloceToday's Bugatti Queen

Dear Editor, In the late 1960's I was racing a bugeye Sprite in SCCA. One of my competitors was Dudley Cunningham. We were invited to his home outside of Boston and there in an enclosed porch were 3 stunning ex-competition Ferraris. I remember a 375MM Coupe (I believe with RICCI on the sides), a 750 Monza, and a SWB Berlinetta. He took me for a ride up and down the block in the Monza and I was hooked on old Ferraris. Anybody know where Dudley is now??

Mitch Cahn

Our friend and contributor Carl Goodwin has put Mr. Cahn and Mr. Cunningham in touch with each other. Thank you, Carl.

Hello,

I am vice president of the Fiat Club located in Seattle, WA. It was with great delight that I read the pair of articles that featured the marvelous Fiat Dino . May we please have permission to re-print the articles in our newsletter? Our membership would very much enjoy reading them.

Robert Yetter
Vice President Fiat Enthusiasts NW www.fiatnorthwest.org

Ok by us and we are very glad you enjoyed the articles. This is a letter written by a reader in response to help needed on a Fiat 500. We print it here as it may be helpful to other Fiat 500 owners in the U.S.

Dear John (DiMare)

I saw your Letter in Veloce Today. I own a 1972 Fiat 500 that I bought on e-bay from a guy named Piccione in Utah who imports them. I have managed to find almost every part I need for my Cinquecento on line. On ebay there are two major sellers of parts in the US - one ebay store out of Atlanta is called "Everything Fiat" http://stores.ebay.com/Everything-Fiat, and another out of Canada called Fiat 500 Parts, run by Paul Cargi: http://search.stores.ebay.com/Fiat-500-Parts_fiat-500_W0QQsaselZ183738916QQsofpZ0.

Paul's prices are more fair, in my opinion, and it's been great ordering from him. There are also several European vendors on ebay that will sometimes have what the first two mentioned do not. I just ordered a set of new OEM rims from an ebay vendor in Germany, for example, and the Dutch have a huge and active Fiat 500 community so you'll see them on line as well. There are tons of other vendors out there - a simple Google search for "Fiat 500 parts" will prove that you'll be able to keep your car running for years to come with no problem. If you have any more questions or just want to share photos or tech tips, please let me know.

Matteo Martemucci

Dear Editor,

Nice article on the A 110 but, with respect, they are not Renault Alpines.

Societé des Automobiles Alpine was founded by Jean Rédélé in the early 1950s and the first Alpine, the "Coach A106" built on the floorpan of the Renault 4CV, was presented in July 1955. The A108 Cabriolet appeared in 1957 and was the first implementation of the backbone chassis structure that was carried through all subsequent Alpines. The A108 Coupé followed in 1959 and the A108 Berlinette appeared in September 1960. The A110 Berlinette came along in 1962 as did the A110 GT4 2+2 variant and in 1968 Jean Rédélé made an accord with Renault for distribution of Alpines through the Renault dealership. It was during 1967, when Jean Rédélé was in the throes of negotiating with Renault to sell and support Alpines by the Renault dealer network, that the Renault diamond first appeared on the nose of the A110 and ALPINE RENAULT badging appeared on the engine cover. Up until then the nose of Alpines had carried the legend "ALPINE" and the engine covers either no logo, "ALPINE", the flying "A" of Alpine or the model designation such as "ALPINE 1300". However, the chassis plaques give the manufacturer as "Societé des Automobiles Alpine"

Gradually Renault increased their financial support to Alpine's competition activities as the company sought to derive publicity benefit from Alpine's competition successes. The Régie eventually took a majority holding in Alpine in 1973, the year that Alpine-Renault won the inaugural World Rally Championship with the A110 and 11 years after the introduction of that model. Even subsequent to Renault taking a controlling interest the Alpine marque identity was retained within the Renault corporate organization; just like Lancia, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo within FIAT and more recently like Jaguar within Ford.

The first showing of the A310 was at the Geneva motor show in 1971, the year that Alpine won the European Rally Championship for makes with the A110. The A310 concept was actually a co-operative design study undertaken by Alpine and Renault that begin in 1968. But despite that co-operation the A310 did not have a Renault badge on the nose until the V6 variant of September 1976 that also had Alpine Renault molded into the rear spoiler; the Alpine Renault molding was replaced by Renault Alpine from about 1980. The replacement for the A310, the V6 GT, appeared in 1985, with its chassis plate bearing the manufacturer's formal name, Alpine Renault, but badged externally Renault Alpine. However, by 1987 Renault had finally realised that in trying to draw benefit from the Alpine charisma for their general production cars they had generated a significant disincentive to prospective buyers in the top-end high-cost performance market sector from the association with Renaults mass -market cars. So the decision was taken to re-emphasize the Alpine marque to try to regain the lost status and the new GTA received prominent Alpine badging for all markets except the UK where Alpine could not be used as the overt manufacturer designation for legal reasons. By 1990 the Alpine badge was back prominently on the nose of the cars and the name Alpine was again emblazoned on the rear panel. The final Alpine, the A610, was introduced at the Geneva Salon in 1991 and proudly carried external Alpine badging and an Alpine Renault chassis plate through to the end of Alpine production in 1995. Since then various Renaults have been built in the Alpine factory but they are and will remain Renaults not Alpines. The correct marque designation for our cars is either Alpine or Alpine-Renault.

Tim Moores
A110 Registrar
Club Alpine Renault UK

Tim, we couldn’t agree with you more and we thank you for your very interesting explanation of the nomenclature. We hope to be hearing more from Tim in the very near future, of course about the Alpine Renault.

Pete,

I really liked the article on Graham Gauld and would like to get a message to him: I have had a complete set of HISTORIC magazines hard bound with goldleaf lettering, and would like for him to sign this very special volume for me the next time he crosses the pond. If you would do this I would be most grateful. Keep up your good work!

Jack Middleton