Re: Tom McCahill

[joecurto@aol.com]

Since you guys brought up Ken Purdy, another well respected writer of automobiles of the time was Tom McCahill. I have his book (name escapes me) and considering that it was written in about 1950 it is a hoot. Remember all those bits of MISINFORMATION you ever heard about Imported and American cars well Tom is the source, I never read a more biased writer then Tom, he was sort of a mans man (ala Hemmingway) always dressed in the shooting jacket, smoked a pipe , carrying a shotgun and traveled with a Labrador retriever I guess just in case a wayward Mallard should fly by. Not to say that he did not do some good reporting, and I am sure that some of you guys will take me to task over this but reading is believing. The Purdy book is cool because given the time period the cars that get his highest regards are things like Mercers, and Hispano-Suizas and other cars we only dream about Joe

[Mark McCombs]

You cannot mention Tom McCahill without thinking of his objective prose. His comparisons were legendary ("faster than a teenager after Marilyn Monroe" or "Handles like a shopping cart full of frozen TV dinners")

----- Original Message ----- [b]From:[/b] joecurto@aol.com [b]To:[/b] redcigar@ozemail.com.au ; mrbadger@cox.net [b]Cc:[/b] mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com [b]Sent:[/b] Monday, March 25, 2002 9:00 AM [b]Subject:[/b] Re: [mg-tabc] Tom McCahill Since you guys brought up Ken Purdy, another well respected writer of automobiles of the time was Tom McCahill. I have his book (name escapes me) and considering that it was written in about 1950 it is a hoot. Remember all those bits of MISINFORMATION you ever heard about Imported and American cars well Tom is the source, I never read a more biased writer then Tom SNIP

[joecurto@aol.com]

You are correct, he was also the biggest name dropper alive. Best picture I ever saw was with him and big band leader Paul Whitman, Whitman was the biggest guy ever and he owned an XK120 Coupe a car which has less interior room than a MG midget Joe

[tamata i valu]

#ygrps-yiv-508901800 { FONT-SIZE:14pt;MARGIN-LEFT:5em;COLOR:#ff9900;FONT-FAMILY:"Comic Sans MS";} [b]G'day, eh:[/b] [b][/b] [b]The line that best stuck with me was from his July 1950 , Mechanix Illustrated , test comparison of the 1949 TC and the new 1950 TD. Of the TD he wrote; " by changing to heavier fluid in the shock absorbers for racing, these new cars will prove as stiff as a Skid Row bum after a bottle of Irish whisky "[/b] [b][/b] [b]In this same article he mentions a chap , who was a test driver for MG , and had come to the US of A . He took delight in driving up and down the California Coast Highway challenging ,every model of car encountered, to a race. The name given was Mr. Harry Rummins. [/b] [b][/b] [b]Do we have any history on this gentleman , as McCahill intimated, ".. did more to put this car over with Americans (US of A) than any other ten men in the Nuffield organization..."[/b] [b][/b] [b]Respectfully submitted: Jack Emdall[/b]

[Ray]

Uncle Tom was one of the most entertaining writers on autos ever!! Best, Ray

----- Original Message ----- From: joecurto@aol.com> To: redcigar@ozemail.com.au>; mrbadger@cox.net> Cc: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 8:00 AM Subject: Re: [mg-tabc] Tom McCahill > Since you guys brought up Ken Purdy, another well respected writer of > automobiles of the time was Tom McCahill. I have his book (name escapes me) > and considering that it was written in about 1950 it is a hoot. Remember all > those bits of MISINFORMATION you ever heard about Imported and American cars > well Tom is the source, I never read a more biased writer then Tom, he was > sort of a mans man (ala Hemmingway) always dressed in the shooting jacket, > smoked a pipe , carrying a shotgun and traveled with a Labrador retriever I > guess just in case a wayward Mallard should fly by. Not to say that he did > not do some good reporting, and I am sure that some of you guys will take me > to task over this but reading is believing. > > The Purdy book is cool because given the time period the cars that get > his highest regards are things like Mercers, and Hispano-Suizas and other > cars we only dream about > > Joe >