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diff --git a/drafts/2022-01-10-gatsby's-ride.md b/drafts/2022-01-10-gatsby's-ride.md deleted file mode 100644 index 6bc3d77..0000000 --- a/drafts/2022-01-10-gatsby's-ride.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,112 +0,0 @@ -<h1>Gatsby's Ride</h1> - -It's almost the end of 2022. That means Jay Gatsby lived and died 100 years ago -within F. Scott Fitzgerald's _The Great Gatsby_. I first read the roaring -twenties classic in high school, right before the 2013 film with Leonardo -DiCaprio came out. It was one of the only reading assignments that my friend -group really enjoyed. It was fun having the film trailers to help visualize what -we were reading. As a historic vehicle enthusiast, one of the attractions of the -story was the time period and, more specifically, its cars. - -The characters drive a variety of classics from the late teens and early -twenties. Gatsby's car plays an important role in the plot (which I won't spoil -but come on, it's been around longer than you or I have). But I find this car's -description and its recreation in film over the years to be wildly different and -fascinating. So let's take a closer look at Gatsby's ride. - -## Rolls-Royce _40/50_: the novel - -This is what Fitzgerald has to say about Gatsby's car through Nick: - -> I'd seen it. Everybody had seen it. It was a rich cream color, bright with -> nickel, swollen here and there in its monstrous length with triumphant -> hatboxes and supper-boxes and tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of -> windshields that mirrored a dozen suns. Sitting down behind many layers of -> glass in a sort of green leather conservatory we started to town. - -What an awesome description. And it's exactly what you'd expect from cars of the -rich and famous from the early to mid twenties: nickel plating, multiple -windshields or even cowls, probably open-air, and lots of accessory boxes. This -is the first time the car is mentioned and the only time it's described as -"cream-colored." The rest of the small snippets throughout describe it as a -topless car with yellow paint and green leather upholstery. - -> ‘Shall we all go in my car?’ suggested Gatsby. He felt the hot, green leather -> of the seat. ‘I ought to have left it in the shade...’ - -> 'It was a yellow car,' he said, 'big yellow car. New... No, but the car passed -> me down the road, going faster'n forty. Going fifty, sixty.' - -There's not much more to go on except the color is repeated a few more times. -And it's fast, considering your typical Model T Ford topped out at about 40-45 -MPH. We also get a brief description of two of Gatsby's cars, one of which has a -specific make and model. - -> On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from -> the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his sta- -> tion wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. - -It's not surprising that a millionaire bootlegger like Gatsby has more than one -car. The first is a Rolls-Royce, the typecast rich man's car. The other, a -station wagon, is literally used as a depot shuttle for party guests. We can -safely assume that the station wagon is not Gatsby's personal car being used to -shuttle guests around, even though it's also colored yellow. If these are the -only two cars Gatsby owns, then the Rolls must be the cream-colored "circus -wagon", although more likely than not Gatsby has more than just a couple of cars -in his garage. - -Assuming it is a new model, top-of-the-line Rolls-Royce, Gatsby was most likely -driving around in a yellow Rolls-Royce _40/50_, produced from late 1906 to 1926. -Starting in 1908 it was the only model produced by Rolls during this time until -the introduction of the smaller, cheaper _22_ in 1922. The engine and chassis -remained mostly unchanged but the body style varied somewhat as years went by, -becoming sleeker and more streamlined. - - - -Coincidentally, by 1922 the _40/50_ sales were languishing compared to newer, -faster automobiles being produced by Rolls' competitors. The description of the -car certainly fits however, with the nickel-plated grill and accessories, -dual-cowl touring bodies, and leather upholstery. - -## Rolls-Royce Phantom: _The Great Gatsby (1974)_ - -Fast-forward to the early 1970s and film producers are sourcing props and -vehicles for another _The Great Gatsby_, this time starring Robert Redford. - - - -## Model J Dusenberg: _The Great Gatsby (1946, 2013)_ - -A silent film was produced for Fitzgerald's book in 1926 but no known copies of -it exist. The earliest watchable adaptation was released in 1946. Now Gatsby -(Alan Ladd) was driving around in a supercharged Model J Dusenberg. - - - -The choice of a Dusenberg Model J was and continues to be an interesting one. -For one, the Model J wasn't produced until 1928. All chassis were produced -between 1928 and 1929 and then bodied and sold throughout the early 1930s during -the Depression. If you're concerned about historical accuracy, there's zero -chance of Gatsby driving a Model J in 1922. Heck, the novel itself was published -in 1926, two years prior to production. Couple that with the specific mention of -Rolls-Royce by name in the text, and it's a hard sell. - -If you're less concerned like me, however, this is a much more appropriate car -for Gatsby to drive. - - - -<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZgAf9AuNc6Q" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> - -Keep in mind this is a man who wears suits of silver and gold. His mansion is -not traditional; it's castle-like and filled with rowdy parties. He's West Egg, -he's "New Money", and he drives the millionaire-playboy's Dusenberg Model J. The -car for the rich man who wants to present as wealthy and popular, not -traditional and subdued. Gatsby is not chauffeured - ---- - -- [1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Silver_Ghost#History) -- [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby#Film) -- [3](https://jerrygarrett.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/secrets-of-the-great-gatsbys-fabulous-cars/) diff --git a/drafts/latitude and longevity.php b/drafts/latitude and longevity.php index e69de29..2790c5f 100644 --- a/drafts/latitude and longevity.php +++ b/drafts/latitude and longevity.php @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +Want long-lasting, upgradable hardware on the cheap? Buy used! |