Car Porn!

Aaron Houston/New York Times

Mmm...

MODERN medicine embraces many forms of therapy, from acupuncture and herbal treatments to visiting-dog services and swimming with dolphins. But when a head-on crash in 1978 nearly ended his life, Ralph Marano found his own alternative for persevering through a lengthy recovery: a 1937 Packard.

Weeks before his accident, in which a speeding drunken driver smashed into his Dodge Challenger, Mr. Marano had placed a deposit on a Packard 120 coupe, a gleaming black beauty with a silver stripe down its side. “It had all the gingerbread — eight cylinders, extended rear trunk and rack, dual sidemounts and a ‘flying goddess’ hood ornament,” he said.

(...)

That Packard 120 would be the start of a collection that now includes 33 Packards, including treasures like design studies that the company had built for the auto show circuit and rare models with custom bodies by the coachbuilder Darrin.

I'm more of a Cord/Duesenberg guy, but I still like Packards, and 30s cars in general.