FUN PHOTO SHORTS AND A MCQUEEN BOOK!

Here is a photo of the 1903 Yellow Winton Flyer that Steve McQueen had custom built for our movie feature this week, The Reivers. Like the 1958 GMC pickup truck in the background, the car was sold during the second auction of Steve's Estate held in Los Angeles in 2006 at The Petersen Car Museum. The following McQueen cars are part of my 1/18 die cast automobile collection. It's an expensive hobby, guys and a good thing I concluded it. Here are some of the 45 I have:

The 1968 Highland Green Ford Mustang GT Fastback that Steve drove in the world's most famous car chase from the film, "Bullitt".

The 1968 Dodge Charger R/T driven by stunt driver Bill Hickman (with actor Paul Genge as the mafia hit man in the passenger seat). The rare 1/18 die cast model that I owned was donated to Cincinnati Children's Hospital's Ruth Lyons Children's Fund as part of my 16 car donation. I was a patient at Children's twice at ages 6 & 7 in the Intensive Care unit. Ruth Lyons, a pioneering television and radio broadcaster started the Fund in 1939. Here's how it worked. When a child was discharged, they were given a die cast model to take home with them. In 2005, I returned the favor with my 3 shopping bag donation. Do I recall my die cast vehicle upon discharge all that long ago? You bet I do! It was a shiny red Jeep pickup truck!

A very rare die cast collectible, I acquired this rarity last Winter from a Hungarian man in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He had one copy left in his storage facility, but 3 feet of ice and snow delayed his access to the facility for 7 weeks. It was likely the last one in the country, and I mean I scoured all 50 states for this gem. Steve collected so many speeding tickets with the real-life Jaguar XK-SS that he had his drivers license revoked twice! He was fond of speeding down Mulholland Drive into Encino at dusk. So, of course while in Los Angeles for a month in early 2007, I drove my rental car--an econo-box along the same route twice. FUN!

I can't fudge here. I own a rare Black 1983 Porsche 911 Cabriolet die cast. This, however, is immediately recognizable as the 1970 Porsche 911 that Steve had at home in California, while Porsche provided a similar car for the opening driving sequences through the countryside in the film, "LeMans".

Close but no cigar: I have a 1952 Hudson Hornet convertible. But Steve selected the lesser known Hudson Wasp that he and wife Barbara called their "Sunday church car" because, well, Steve drove it to church. I have to chuckle here, because Steve's son Chad mentions during the biography film of his father, "The Essence of Cool", that Steve in his last few years would get up at 6 AM and read the Bible. On Sunday's, he'd collect Chad and they'd drive off to church. During services, Steve would point out girls in the congregation he thought Chad should get to know, and then after services were over, the two would stop at Circle K to share a 6-pack of beer on the way home! One last point about photography...actually two. On my Blogroll, you'll find some excellent photographers. Carmi Levy at Written, Inc., is not only a fine photographer, but a very good writer who thoughtfully captures the essence of life with his lens. Fleur de Lisa is another gifted photographer who uses black & white photography to great effect to transport us to another place in time. But I'd like to close here with some exciting news.

-

Matt Stone is Executive Editor of Motor Trend magazine, and the author of McQueen’s Machines: The Cars and Bikes of a Hollywood Icon featured during our 2006 "Annual Steve McQueen Festival" right here on this Blog site. Published on November 1, 2007, with a Foreword by Chad McQueen, this 176 page hardbound book with over 200 photos is available for $26.95 USD at 1-800-826-6600 or by accessing www.motorbooks.com. A portion of the proceeds benefits The Boys Republic, where Steve attended as a young teen. He visited the school throughout his life and spent his days talking with the boys about the lessons he learned along his own difficult life. Stay tuned...

_

Updates on Gunner Gillespie to follow. He's out of the hospital!

-
My Complete Website is:www.michaelmanning..tv