Drive Thru News #69 - From Le Mans to Lemons-ade

Automotive History Live spotlights the true story of San Diego inventor Louis Mattar, who in 1952 drove a heavily customized 1947 Cadillac nonstop—wheels never stopping—from San Diego to New York City and back in six days, using on-the-move refueling and repairs, and amenities like a shower, kitchen, bar, communications gear, and a combined toilet/washing machine. Guest Heidi Lewis, author of the new picture book Louis Mattar’s Fabulous Car, explains how she discovered the car at the San Diego Automotive Museum, researched primary documents with Mattar’s family, and details Mattar’s self-taught ingenuity, including changing tires and brake pads while moving and coordinating police escorts before the interstate era. The episode also covers a second 1954 nonstop run from Anchorage to Mexico City, the car’s ongoing display in San Diego, and where to buy the $18.99 book.

The Motoring Historian, Jon Summers, travels through rural Oklahoma west of Oklahoma City while reflecting on the centenary of Route 66, designated in 1926 from Chicago and St. Louis to Santa Monica/Los Angeles. Driving on I-40 with old Route 66 running nearby, he describes surviving original stretches, the road’s many museums and roadside ephemera, and why so many buildings and towns along it declined after freeways bypassed them and as vehicles became more reliable, reducing the need for frequent service stops. He connects Route 66 mythology to pop culture like Pixar’s Cars, murals of 1960s–70s muscle cars, and a TV-era romance of cross-country travel tied to Hollywood dreams. He also notes evolving freeway infrastructure, a Tulsa routing mistake, and mixed feelings about Route 66 icons like Cadillac Ranch and its imitators.

This Automotive History Live! panel explores how American roads evolved from mostly dirt paths in the early 1900s into the Lincoln Highway, Route 66, and the Interstate Highway System. Moderator Bob Casey sets context on poor early road conditions and rising demand from motorists. Jeff Blair of the Indiana Lincoln Highway Association highlights Carl Fisher’s role, the highway’s 1913 coast-to-coast route, Indiana’s two alignments, notable landmarks and preserved sections (including the Ideal Section in Dyer), and today’s focus on signage, education, and tourism. John Weiss of the Illinois Route 66 Preservation Committee explains Route 66’s creation from connected paved segments, its 1926 designation, 1985 decommissioning, cultural fame, and preservation of places and stories, including the Whoopee Auto Coaster in Lyons, Illinois. Finally, Matt Anderson details Eisenhower’s Interstate System origins, numbering, completion in 1992, and current funding challenges tied to fuel taxes, tolls, and mileage-based options.

Automotive History Live welcomes Barn Find Hunter and author Tom Cotter, who recounts driving a restored 1926 Ford Model T from Times Square to San Francisco largely along the Lincoln Highway, inspired by concerns that modern cars remove the act of driving. With co-driver Dave Coleman and photographer Michael Allen Ross, Cotter describes day-one challenges like no gas gauge, cold weather, and staying in period roadside lodgings, plus human-interest stops including the Flight 93 Memorial, quirky diners, historic Lincoln Highway sites, and encounters with local enthusiasts. The trip highlights evolving road routes, a brief, tense stretch on Wyoming’s I-80 among fast trucks, a visit to Bonneville’s wet salt flats where they helped tow out a stuck car, and Nevada’s “loneliest road.” They reached the western terminus, baptized the tires in the Pacific, and shipped the car home with sponsor help.

In this Ferrari Friday episode of The Ferrari Marketplace podcast/vlog, William Ross interviews Chris Miele about the past year’s surging Ferrari collector market following major auctions from Kissimmee’s Mecum Bachman Collection through Monterey, citing record-setting results and continued momentum into Pebble Beach 2026. They discuss how unique color/spec, provenance, single ownership, documentation, and rarity (including manual gearboxes, numbered cars, and tailor-made/atelier builds) are now often valued even more than ultra-low mileage, driving major gains in models like the 360 Challenge Stradale, manual 360 Modena, 575/550 variants, and modern specials such as TDFs and 812 Competizione. Miele attributes demand to new wealth, lifestyle events, and increased market transparency, advises buyers to insist on thorough pre-purchase inspections amid online-sale risks, and shares his favorite Ferrari picks by decade, highlighting limited-production cars and the 550 Maranello as a daily driver.