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DRIVE-THRU DREAMS: Car Culture Reigns Supreme
Vintage McDonald’s “Welcome” double-sided drive-thru light-up sign.

On December 1, 1913, Henry Ford implemented the first moving assembly line to mass-produce a vehicle. This revolutionizing concept took vehicle production from more than 12 hours down to an hour and 33 minutes. This led to an assembly-line hunger that began to rage across America. By 1921, White Castle adopted this model and applied it to its first restaurant in Wichita, Kansas. The little square hamburgers were prepared quickly in a highly systematized way with efficiencies built into it that spoke to the technological fascinations of the era. The goal was for the customer’s experience to be the same every time they went to White Castle and that they would always order the same food – it was a cherished part of the experience.

1960s Kentucky Fried Chicken light-up sign with a rotating message panel.

As car ownership spread across the United States, drive-in movies and drive-in restaurants became all the rage, taking convenience to another level. Despite the early adaptation of the food assembly line and drive-thrus, fast food didn’t take off until the 1950s after President Eisenhower signed legislation funding the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System – it was something Americans had dreamed of since Detroit began building cars. Fast food was a natural business response to the American on-the-go lifestyle that began to take hold at the time. America started driving more, and society began collectively rearranging cities based on car travel.

Having previously run a pit barbecue drive-in restaurant, the McDonald brothers understood how that setup encouraged customers to linger rather than spend their money and be on their way. While McDonald’s did not invent the drive-thru, they did revolutionize it in the post-World War II era with a stripped-down menu and a streamlined cooking process. Every element was engineered for speed above all.

According to Barrett-Jackson Automobilia Director Rory Brinkman, McDonald’s is notorious for ensuring that all their signs are destroyed when a restaurant is shut down for any reason. “They don’t want anything to tarnish their brand, and they require the sign companies hired to take down the sign to send photos proving the signs having been destroyed,” Brinkman said, adding that because of that, when a McDonald’s sign does come to auction, it is an incredibly special and rare opportunity.

1950s-60s Big Boy diner three-dimensional statue.

“McDonald’s is an iconic brand that is part of the American experience,” he pointed out. “Everyone has eaten at McDonald’s at some point in their life, and it’s part of American car culture – people remember loading into the car with their buddies after a baseball game and going to McDonald’s.”

As Americans traveled across the country by car, fast food chains spread far and wide, leading many founders to accomplish the quintessential American dream with impressive stories and humble beginnings that hold up as the ideal of American success. An example is Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, later known as KFC. Brinkman said that many collectors search for KFC memorabilia featuring Colonel Sanders because of his success story. “He was a very interesting individual that reflected the American dream. He went broke several times in his life. And then reinvented himself as Colonel Sanders, started hustling chicken and grew that into an international brand. His first franchise came in 1952.”

Among the top-selling fast food memorabilia pieces sold during Barrett-Jackson’s Automobilia Auction over the years were an early 1960s Kentucky Fried Chicken light-up sign with a rotating message panel that crossed the block for $27,600, a 1960s Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Sanders wind vane, a vintage McDonald’s light-up sign and a vintage McDonald’s “Welcome” double-sided drive-thru light-up sign. Other notable sales have included a 1950s-60s Big Boy diner three-dimensional statue.

1960s Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Sanders wind vane.

Fast food chains and their iconic symbols have become integral to the American experience, symbolizing the nation’s love affair with cars and on-the-go lifestyles. From the pioneering assembly line of Henry Ford to the advent of drive-in movies and restaurants, convenience became paramount. Fast food chains have flourished, leaving an indelible mark on American culture, car culture and culinary history.

Register to bid today for a chance to own one or more of the nostalgic pieces of automobilia that will be crossing the block with No Reserve at the upcoming Las Vegas Auction, June 22-24 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. (Those registered to bid on collector cars are

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By: Barrett-Jackson
Title: DRIVE-THRU DREAMS: Car Culture Reigns Supreme
Sourced From: www.barrett-jackson.com/Media/Home/Reader/drive-thru-dreams-car-culture-reigns-supreme/
Published Date: Thu, 25 May 2023 15:40:39 +0000

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Special Report: 42 photos from the 2023 Mooneyes show

mooneyes hrcs 2023 745x497 1 jpg

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report
Each year, on the first Sunday of December, scores of custom motorcycles and hot rods pack out the Pacifico Yokohama exhibition center, for the incomparable Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show. Or, if you prefer, the Mooneyes show.

Mooneyes is a cornucopia of visual delights. Like the Japanese custom scene itself, it operates on another level, with no regard for convention. Although choppers usually dominate the floor space, myriad other styles are represented too—from café racers to flat trackers, scramblers, bobbers, and other oddities that defy definition.

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

Our good friends and powerhouse photography duo, Marc Holstein and Christine Gabler, have become regular visitors to the show. They’ve just wrapped up their third Mooneyes experience, and have come away as wide-eyed as they did the first time. “Experiencing the Yokohama Hot Rod Custom Show is always a special moment, and something I look forward to at the end of the year,” Marc tells us.

As usual, Marc and Christine came away with full hearts and even fuller memory cards. And if you’re wondering why many of their photos are devoid of any people, it’s because they bagged a coveted invitation to the Saturday setup session.

Mooneyes HRCS 2023 show report

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By: Wesley Reyneke
Title: Special Report: 42 photos from the 2023 Mooneyes show
Sourced From: www.bikeexif.com/mooneyes-hrcs-2023
Published Date: Sat, 09 Dec 2023 21:02:37 +0000

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Motor

Lime green dream: A zesty custom KTM 690 Duke by 46Works

ktm 690 duke 46works 745x497 1 jpg

Custom KTM 690 Duke by 46Works
There’s something special about Shiro Nakajima’s work, and it’s painted all over the elegant lines of this custom KTM 690 Duke. Nakajima-san’s creations show a clear affinity to vintage race bikes but look like they’d be more at home on twisty B-roads. They are brutally mechanical yet graceful; retro and modern at the same time.

Shiro’s signature style is a byproduct of his considerable experience. He trained as an engineer, before rising to prominence as the boss of the legendary Japanese restomod house, Ritmo Sereno. He operates as 46Works now, working on furniture, motorcycles, and cars from his beautiful wooden home at the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains.

Custom KTM 690 Duke by 46Works

Most of the Shiro’s custom builds are big twins, but he has a soft spot for thumpers. “In the late 1990s, the first motorcycle I acquired was a Yamaha SR400,” he explains. “It was the heyday of race replicas—but here I was, riding around on that SR400, fully banked on the mountain passes.”

“It was popular in Japan at the time for some enthusiasts to race single-cylinder bikes. The majority raced tuned Yamaha SR and SRXes, and the Suzuki Goose also participated in later years. So a big single is not a mere object of nostalgia to me, but a sportbike.”

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By: Wesley Reyneke
Title: Lime green dream: A zesty custom KTM 690 Duke by 46Works
Sourced From: www.bikeexif.com/ktm-690-duke-46works
Published Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 18:52:28 +0000

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Motor

Two custom Vyatka scooters, fresh from the Butcher’s block

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Custom Vyatka Elektron scooter by Butcher Garage
Butcher Garage is known for two things: they build wild custom scooters and they have zero regard for purists. It’s right there in their name.

“The etymology of the name of our workshop is quite simple,” explains Butcher Garage co-founder, Alex Mazan. “We love to cut the donor into pieces, for which the Vespa community dislikes us a little. They believe that everything must be kept original.”

Custom Vyatka VP-150 scooter by Butcher Garage

Butcher Garage has several hard-hitting Vespa customs under its belt. But the custom scooters you’re looking at here are Vyatkas—Vespa clones that were built in Russia during the Soviet era. The unpainted one is a 1959-model Vyatka VP-150 (a copy of the Vespa 150 GS), while the blue one is a 1970s Vyatka Elektron.

These two custom scooters also mark a significant milestone for Butcher Garage, because they’re the last two builds to roll out of their Saint Petersburg workshop. Alex, his co-conspirators Arseniy Chekar and Vlad Zaki, their staff, and their families have all relocated to Belgrade, Serbia. Some of them made the trip by plane, but the rest trekked over 4,000 miles across Russia and through Georgia, Turkey, and Bulgaria to get there.

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By: Wesley Reyneke
Title: Two custom Vyatka scooters, fresh from the Butcher’s block
Sourced From: www.bikeexif.com/custom-vyatka-scooters-butcher-garage
Published Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:43:14 +0000

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https://mansbrand.com/speed-read-the-new-ducati-superquadro-mono-engine-and-more/

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