[ithacaartist]

Yes, a '59 Borgward Isabella. I bought it for a hundred bucks from the man who was to become my father-in-law for 10 years. They had owned a Goliath before that. Sold by the local Cadillac dealer. I could coax the 60 screamin' horses of the 1500cc motor to chirp the tires, going into second gear. The 4-speed tranny's shift lever was indeed mounted on the steering column (like the Benz's)--sort of in the middle between "Three on the tree" and "Four on the floor", and it didn't rhyme.

I had occasion to go to Phoenix a few years back, and on a side trip to Payson, I encountered a place called "All Bikes", a few acres within a chain link fence with rows and rows and rows of bicycles and motorcycles...stacks, even. Parked in front of one of the buildings, fairly permanently, a Borgward Isabella 2-seater coupe... Before I got yelled at by the owner for doing so, I opened the driver's door and took a sniff--nothing brings back memories like smell--and it was just like mine, to the nose! The proprietor, who came off to me as kind of a big jerk, claimed to have started out in California, working with George Barris, who designed and built the Dragula and the Musnter coach, in the 60's.

OK, you got me going now. After a '60 Mercedes 220SB that I traded the Borgward for, even up (My service station-owning friend said it was the only deal he knew of where BOTH parties got screwed!), a '62 Rambler 4-door (front seats reclined to create a double bed!), and a '65 T-bird 2-door hard top (a gas guzzling behemoth in this vintage) I bought the '64/5 Volvo P-1800. I generally loved them all, but this was my fave. Once again, a pic from the net, and I'd installed fog/driving lights, but trim and color same as mine.

/reminiscence

D.P.