The Eccentricity of New England Car Culture

Boston, being (let’s face it) a small city, is subject to the same limitations that all small cities have. What makes this town feel larger than it is, however, are the academic institutions that draw in people from all over the world (and send them back out as Red Sox fans, natch) and Yankee eccentricity. That’s not to say it’s a trait confined to the Cabot’s and the Lodge’s as in New England—if I may paraphrase Billy Joel—everyone is an Irishman and a Yankee by default. (How else to explain Rev. Peter Gomes, professor at Harvard Divinity School and self-described “Afro-Saxon?”)

Therefore, as incongruous as it may seem for Historic New England (formerly the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities) to hold a car show on the grounds of the Codman Estate—a country seat dating back to 1735—it nevertheless makes sense in the larger context of the New England gestalt. As you can see from the included slide show, there was no shortage of interesting subject matter scattered about the lawns, but two cars in particular stood out: an early 1970s Alfa Romeo 1600 Junior in Zagato coachwork, and a Series 1 Jaguar E-Type with pre-Federalized bumpers and the right engine, the 4.2 litre straight-six.

The pictures generally speak for themselves, but some background on both the Alfa and Jag is in order. In its original form, the Alfa looked like the photo above, but with some extensive nipping and tucking by Zagato and a few coats of paint in a super 70s hue, it took on its current form. From there, it was shipped to Saudi Arabia, eventually finding its way in front of my digital camera. It’s exceedingly rare and spare parts are practically non-existent; naturally, it belongs to someone with a passion for the needlessly obscure.

For all the difficulties associated with old Italian cars, they can’t match the legendary lack of reliability inherent in any British car filled with Lucas electrical components. The E-Type is such a car, and while it’s head-to-head with a Stingray in Jan & Dean’s Dead Man’s Curve ended with a spectacular wreck, the only other way it could’ve ended was with a puff of blue smoke from the Jag’s gauge cluster. All the more reason to be amazed by this E-Type: 27 years with the current owner, 3,000 miles added yearly to the current count of 140,000, driven year-round, given regular high-speed workouts, goes to the beach, still runs on Lucas electronics (save for the E-Z Pass), all of which was originally purchased in 1962 by George P. Fogg III, British Consul to Boston.

Those are stories that make car culture in New England the eccentric exercise that it is and it’s why I love it. Enjoy the photos.

Read more from Phillip McCarthy at The Highly Official Weblog of Phillip A.V. McCarthy

Photo Credit: Phillip McCarthy