W/NW - Classic Cars

1963 Ford Thunderbird - RZ67 360mm f6 - JA 2024-07-23.jpg

Back with the 1963 Ford Thunderbird again that I posted a week or two ago. The previous shots were Kodak Gold 200 shot on a Fuji GSW690, while this version is Fuji Provia 100 (expired in the late 1990s) shot on a Mamiya RZ67 with the 360mm f/6 telephoto lens. I've cropped it to 2x3 format because the top and bottom of the frame had heavy heat damage due to the film's age and storage in less than ideal conditions.
 
My eternal weakness, Citroëns. I love them for their great engineering and "out of the box" solutions to automotive problems. This particular DS 21 is the Henri Chapron customization limousine. The same model that Georges de Gaulle rode in. After surviving an attack by automatic weapons (Day of the Jackal) de Gaulle swore allegiance to Citroën and rode in them exclusively. This one was in the Mullin Museum.

DS 21 by West Phalia, on Flickr​
Charles de Gaulle, not Georges. WWII general, leader of Free France, national hero and president of the Republic.
 
Charles de Gaulle, not Georges. WWII general, leader of Free France, national hero and president of the Republic.

You are absolutely correct. I should have known better. I was in France when he was elected to run the country in '63 (?). I think he ran against the Socialist Defferre. And I remember well Churchill's remark on de Gaulle. "We all have our cross to bear and mine is the Cross of Lorraine." De Gaulle was a difficult man. IIRC the French folks I knew were pleased he was elected but no one would admit to having voted for him. He restored a great deal of pride to the nation and kicked us, the US forces, out of France. Entêté comme une bouchon he was always controversial and sometimes beneficial. That's a good track record.
 
Cars like A-Hs, MGAs, Aces etc are no fun in the rain. Put your foot on the brakes and all the water on the boot runs down the back of your neck!
 
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