Sunday, January 31, 2010

“Kitchen Sink Cadillac, other dream cars (San Francisco Chronicle)” plus 2 more

“Kitchen Sink Cadillac, other dream cars (San Francisco Chronicle)” plus 2 more

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Kitchen Sink Cadillac, other dream cars (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted: 31 Jan 2010 12:25 AM PST

But it's safe to say there was nothing else like the Maharani Special.

Built by General Motors for its 1956 Motorama show, a traveling exhibition of extravagant dream cars and the latest in automotive technology, this Cadillac was loaded with conveniences intended to serve an on-the-go potentate with a hearty appetite.

Outside, the Maharani - the name refers to the wife of a maharajah - looks much like any other '56 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood, the sedan that served as its starting point. But step inside and you are confronted with an interior that might leave the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay at a loss for (four-letter) words. The space once devoted to the front passenger seat is replaced by an array of culinary appliances, including a toaster, refrigerator, hot plate, cutlery holder and, yes, a kitchen sink.

The Maharani, more commonly known among collectors as the Kitchen Sink Cadillac, is one of a handful of Detroit dream machines offered on Jan. 22, the first day of RM Auctions' Automobiles of Arizona sale. Much as the Detroit auto show serves as an early barometer for the new car market in the coming year, the collector world turns its attention to the Arizona auctions, which run through Jan. 25, for clues to trends in automotive investments.

Five big auction houses - Barrett-Jackson, Gooding & Co., RM, Russo & Steele and Silver Auctions - are holding sales in the Phoenix area this year. Bidding can be intense, but a Wall Street bonus check is not a prerequisite to placing a bid. Plenty of the cars crossing the auction block are within the reach of mere mortals - and, the estimates published in auction house catalogs suggest, there will be more than usual in that category this year.

For instance, there is lot No. 255 at Silver Auctions, a blue-and-white 1969 Chevrolet pickup truck that is more a blue-collar workhorse than a blue-chip investment. For buyers who live where parking is at a premium, Lot No. 74 at Barrett-Jackson, a recently restored 1956 BMW Isetta bubble car that brought nearly $50,000, might have proved a better bet. As cute as a golden retriever puppy - and not a whole lot larger - the tiny Isetta is roughly 10 inches shorter than a Smart Fortwo.

In some years, Detroit's concept cars have stolen the headlines during auction week, a few selling for millions of dollars. RM's presale estimate of $150,000 to $200,000 would make the Maharani Special, a Cadillac designed for royalty, a bargain in that crowd.

The attraction of the Maharani is as much its appeal as an artifact of Americana as its being a '50s classic. I had a chance to examine the car, which shows only 1,700 miles on the odometer and wears its original 54-year-old Firestone tires, in the New York City suburbs before it was shipped west.

The Maharani was warmed up and idling when I arrived. The owner, Joshua Modlinger, a businessman in White Plains, N.Y., and an avid collector of Cadillacs, opened the passenger-side back door. "Let me chauffeur you," he said, swinging the heavy door shut and sliding behind the huge steering wheel.

The car was in true time-warp condition, with cardboard tags, dating to when the car was built, still attached to various wiring harnesses.

While the cosmetics were impeccable, the operational condition was less certain. Most of the interior gadgets had not been used in decades. The secret code for the built-in safe still works - and no, Modlinger did not reveal it - but items like the sink and hot plate will require restoration.

"Personally, I'd love to get the toaster working again," Ian Kelleher, president and chief operating officer of RM Auctions, said in a telephone interview.

A former owner of the Maharani who is an expert on Motorama cars of the 1950s, Joe Bortz of Chicago, frequently refers to these dream machines as artworks. "Imagine going to the GM Motorama and seeing someone eat breakfast in this car," Bortz said. "It's a different dynamic of automotive history that goes underappreciated."

In part, the obscurity of Motorama cars is a result of their rarity - GM built four Cadillac concepts in 1956 and the Maharani is the sole survivor - as well as a lack of information about them. "The history surrounding these Motorama cars is sketchy at best," said Christo Datini, lead archivist for the GM Heritage Center in Michigan.

Records from the era are scarce and, according to Datini, many of these concept cars quietly passed into the hands of GM staff members despite corporate rules dictating that all show cars be destroyed to allay tax and liability concerns. Exactly how the Maharani was saved, and who specifically kept it from the crusher, remains unknown.

Perched on the enormous rear bench, one thing is without doubt: This car makes you feel like a king. The Maharani imparted a regal air while wafting along on my brief test ride.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Kitchen Sink Cadillac, other dream cars (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 01:10 PM PST

But it's safe to say there was nothing else like the Maharani Special.

Built by General Motors for its 1956 Motorama show, a traveling exhibition of extravagant dream cars and the latest in automotive technology, this Cadillac was loaded with conveniences intended to serve an on-the-go potentate with a hearty appetite.

Outside, the Maharani - the name refers to the wife of a maharajah - looks much like any other '56 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood, the sedan that served as its starting point. But step inside and you are confronted with an interior that might leave the celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay at a loss for (four-letter) words. The space once devoted to the front passenger seat is replaced by an array of culinary appliances, including a toaster, refrigerator, hot plate, cutlery holder and, yes, a kitchen sink.

The Maharani, more commonly known among collectors as the Kitchen Sink Cadillac, is one of a handful of Detroit dream machines offered on Jan. 22, the first day of RM Auctions' Automobiles of Arizona sale. Much as the Detroit auto show serves as an early barometer for the new car market in the coming year, the collector world turns its attention to the Arizona auctions, which run through Jan. 25, for clues to trends in automotive investments.

Five big auction houses - Barrett-Jackson, Gooding & Co., RM, Russo & Steele and Silver Auctions - are holding sales in the Phoenix area this year. Bidding can be intense, but a Wall Street bonus check is not a prerequisite to placing a bid. Plenty of the cars crossing the auction block are within the reach of mere mortals - and, the estimates published in auction house catalogs suggest, there will be more than usual in that category this year.

For instance, there is lot No. 255 at Silver Auctions, a blue-and-white 1969 Chevrolet pickup truck that is more a blue-collar workhorse than a blue-chip investment. For buyers who live where parking is at a premium, Lot No. 74 at Barrett-Jackson, a recently restored 1956 BMW Isetta bubble car that brought nearly $50,000, might have proved a better bet. As cute as a golden retriever puppy - and not a whole lot larger - the tiny Isetta is roughly 10 inches shorter than a Smart Fortwo.

In some years, Detroit's concept cars have stolen the headlines during auction week, a few selling for millions of dollars. RM's presale estimate of $150,000 to $200,000 would make the Maharani Special, a Cadillac designed for royalty, a bargain in that crowd.

The attraction of the Maharani is as much its appeal as an artifact of Americana as its being a '50s classic. I had a chance to examine the car, which shows only 1,700 miles on the odometer and wears its original 54-year-old Firestone tires, in the New York City suburbs before it was shipped west.

The Maharani was warmed up and idling when I arrived. The owner, Joshua Modlinger, a businessman in White Plains, N.Y., and an avid collector of Cadillacs, opened the passenger-side back door. "Let me chauffeur you," he said, swinging the heavy door shut and sliding behind the huge steering wheel.

The car was in true time-warp condition, with cardboard tags, dating to when the car was built, still attached to various wiring harnesses.

While the cosmetics were impeccable, the operational condition was less certain. Most of the interior gadgets had not been used in decades. The secret code for the built-in safe still works - and no, Modlinger did not reveal it - but items like the sink and hot plate will require restoration.

"Personally, I'd love to get the toaster working again," Ian Kelleher, president and chief operating officer of RM Auctions, said in a telephone interview.

A former owner of the Maharani who is an expert on Motorama cars of the 1950s, Joe Bortz of Chicago, frequently refers to these dream machines as artworks. "Imagine going to the GM Motorama and seeing someone eat breakfast in this car," Bortz said. "It's a different dynamic of automotive history that goes underappreciated."

In part, the obscurity of Motorama cars is a result of their rarity - GM built four Cadillac concepts in 1956 and the Maharani is the sole survivor - as well as a lack of information about them. "The history surrounding these Motorama cars is sketchy at best," said Christo Datini, lead archivist for the GM Heritage Center in Michigan.

Records from the era are scarce and, according to Datini, many of these concept cars quietly passed into the hands of GM staff members despite corporate rules dictating that all show cars be destroyed to allay tax and liability concerns. Exactly how the Maharani was saved, and who specifically kept it from the crusher, remains unknown.

Perched on the enormous rear bench, one thing is without doubt: This car makes you feel like a king. The Maharani imparted a regal air while wafting along on my brief test ride.

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Four S'pore think-tanks among Asia's top 30 (AsiaOne)

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 04:58 PM PST

By Kor Kian Beng

THE S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) has been ranked third-best among more than 1,000 Asian think-tanks in a study conducted last year by the University of Pennsylvania.

Three other Singapore think-tanks also snagged top 30 positions in a ranking of 40 leading Asian think-tanks.

They are the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (seventh), Singapore Institute of International Affairs (15th), and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (29th).

RSIS dean Barry Desker said the ranking was a recognition by the global policy and academic community of the institutes' contribution to policy and academic research:

'The ranking is a milestone in RSIS' growth as a professional graduate school of international affairs and a leading think tank in the region.'

Named after Singapore's late first generation leader S. Rajaratnam, RSIS focuses on issues related to security and stability in the Asia-Pacific, and the implications for Singapore and the region.

The Global 'Go-To Think Tanks' ranking was the fourth since 2006 by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tank and Civil Societies Programme. It aims to identify top think-tanks through surveys with over 300 scholars, policy-makers and think-tank experts.

The criteria includes academic reputation, success in generating innovative policy ideas, and access to elites in the areas of policymaking, media and academia.

The study gave worldwide and regional rankings. Asian think-tanks were ranked for the first time in 2008. That was when the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies - a centre within the RSIS - was ranked 10th.

Topping the latest ranking for Asia was the Japan Institute of International Affairs. Globally, the top think-tank among the 6,300 covered was The Brookings Institution in the United States.

Associate Professor Scott Fritzen, vice-dean (academic affairs) at the LKY School, said its ranking was remarkable given that it was launched only in 2004.

'It is a sign of the school's success and growth in developing deep expertise in several policy areas, such as anti-corruption and water governance,' he said.

SIIA chairman Simon Tay said he was happy with the 15th placing for what is one of Singapore's smallest think-tanks.

He underlined SIIA's strengths by suggesting a twist on its acronym: Small, Independent, (takes) Initiative and Action.

And although Iseas' latest ranking was a drop from its seventh place in 2008, its director K. Kesavapany said:

'Iseas has been as productive as last year. We leave it to an external organisation to rank us based on its chosen criteria.'

He added that the high ranking for the four local think-tanks 'reflects the intellectual capital being accumulated here'.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

Bookmark and Share
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)