Seasons Greetings to all our readers!

As the song says; It's the most wonderful time of the year! Enjoy it to the fullest!

Well, here we are at the end of 2003. I hope all of you had a great time with your automobiles, logged some miles, and got "that much closer" to finally finishing off your car's restoration! In my case, I did some work on one of my cars that was long overdue. I sold off two of my cars, and I have one other up for sale. Still another needs some tinkering with. I had to trim down the "Fleet" this year. Renting all those garages was a drain on the budget that I could no longer afford. Pity, I hated to see them go. Well, maybe there will be a new one from Santa in 2004!

Unfortunately just yesterday, my 71 R/T sprung a leak in the heater control valve. Just as I thought I got through the season without any breakdowns, this one came up and bit me in the rear on the last day of November while I was pulling into the driveway to put the car away for the winter! Ironic isn't it? But that's one of the surprises we all have to deal with as owners of collector vehicles. I hope I can find that part...it took me over two years to find it last time!

All in all I guess I am grateful of the R/T's reliability. I restored it from '95-'97 and this is the first problem it has had.

This year provided the usual activities we all enjoy albeit in a somewhat wetter that normal environment. Many people sat out a lot of weekends and left their cars at home while they did other things since Mother Nature kept raining on us almost every Sunday. I wonder if Ralph Nader had anything to do with it?

It seemed like a conspiracy to keep us from driving our cars! Hopefully next year's weekends will be sunny and bright for us car folks.

For 2004 people have been talking about finding some new venues for cruising during the weeknights.

Don from East Coast Restorations suggested the old Tri-County Flea Market parking lot on Hempstead Turnpike. They have a large lot in the rear and room in the front too. He says that it is empty when they are closed and would be a good spot. Let's hear some feedback on that. Also, if anyone else out there has any suggestions please send them to us. We will post a list of the nominated places before the spring season starts, and then based on feedback from readers try to organize a cruise night at one or more of the locations. Let's hear from NJ, CT, and NYC folks also! Every place needs more cruise nights!

PS Let's remember not to make the same mistakes that happened this year! (See October's Newsletter)

If anyone acts in a manner that jeopardizes things for all of us, let's peacefully approach them and remind them of

what is at stake. i.e.: the loss of the use of that particular facility as well as a bad reputation in the area which will

further limit places we would be welcomed! If a lot of people approach them together, perhaps it will sink in.

Keep it peaceful though. If they refuse to comply, call the authorities and let them handle it. They're good at it!

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We would like to welcome aboard our new advertisers!

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GUEST WRITER COLUMN

In this newsletter we are delighted to offer you the insight of guest columnist Lou Refano. Lou writes a story about a character we have all seen on television, but do not necessarily know the history of. Lou will set the record straight on that and enlighten us as to this character's past and his contributions to the automotive world.

THE MAN IN THE HAT

by Lou Refano

Have you noticed those new Buick ads that feature a ghost of a man wearing an

old-fashioned suit and hat? He is obviously someone from the 30's and 40's, but

who is he exactly? Well this ghost haunting the Buick styling studio is named Harley Earl--one of the most influential car designers of all time. It's nice to see GM draw upon its great history by bringing back this corporate icon in its advertising. America has had a rich automotive history and Harley Earl is definitely at the center of it all.

He was one of the first to embrace car design as an art form, not merely as an expression of transportation. He emphasized art, rather than just function, in the design of industrial products. This was a great benefit to car fans like us who appreciate style as well as what's underneath. Mr. Earl developed the modern process of car design in the studio… two-dimensional sketches, followed by 3-D clay and plaster models. He did this for GM's Art & Color Section in the 1930's.

Before this, style was not given a lot of importance. You can tell this by looking at any pre-1930 automobile…they by and large followed the same boxy format. But when you put a 1930 automobile next to a 1940, that's when you see the dramatic difference that the emphasis on style made...from boxiness to streamlining...from flat surfaces to sweeping curves. Harley Earl was at the forefront of this progress. He believed in cars that were "longer, lower, and wider." And in the 1950's, he continued pushing the envelope with lower and wider cars, and tailfins...cars that were inspired by

airplanes or rocket ships.

One of the finest examples of the Harley Earl approach was the

1951 Le Sabre concept car, which is shown here in two pictures

taken at the Motor Trend Auto Show in Baltimore last March.

This car was radically low and wide for its time, and had huge

tailfins years before they came into vogue. This car was

definitely the work of a visionary, and in 1951 it cost a

staggering $1,000,000 to build it. It wound up being used by

Mr. Earl for many years as his personal car. He was a man of six-foot four but he loved sliding into a low, sexy sports car. Did you know he was responsible for the look of the first Corvette in '53? His vision was seen in many concepts that were displayed in GM Motorama shows that toured the country in the 1950s.

Yes, Harley Earl had a romantic vision of cars. And he helped build GM into the world's biggest car company. It's sad how GM has declined in the last two decades in terms of style and leadership...calling on Mr. Earl once more for inspiration may just be the ticket to a return to greatness. Any car fan that appreciates great style, whether you prefer a '71 Charger or a '49 Roadmaster, has to "take his hat off"

to Mr. Earl.

"Out of the merger of art, science, and industry have come new techniques that have within themselves the ability to create an entirely new pattern and setting for the life of the world."

- Harley J. Earl (1893-1969)

Sources: classiccar.com, carofthecentury.com

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Here is where you can access previous editions of the Long Island Classic Cars Online Newsletter.

October 2003 http://www.liclassiccars.com/Newsletter/Oct03.html

November 2003 http://www.liclassiccars.com/Newsletter/Nov03.html

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I hope you enjoyed reading this issue of the Long Island Classic Cars.com newsletter. We welcome all writers who would like to share their stories or opinions. Please have your story submitted by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the following month's Newsletter. Pictures are welcome with your article but not required.

In closing, I would personally like to thank each and every one of you that has helped Long Island Classic Cars.com take off so quickly. That includes the advertisers, car owners, designers, car clubs, viewers, readers, and everyone else. Since our launch at the end of this past August, we have received such tremendous positive feedback. It is most encouraging and bodes well for a terrific future. We look forward to even more features for the new year!

Thank all of you once again,

We wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and healthy New Year!!

See you in January!

Pete

Long Island Classic Cars.com