Class Act/ A Reverie in Rolls-Royce

I don't know about you, but I have gone through various stages of automobile admiration in my life. One of the first cars I remember coveting was the towncar. This may have been because I am a child of the eighties.  In my house, we too, like most in America during the yup era, fell victim to dreams of excess and grandeur...mostly because we were inundated with images from shows such as Dynasty, its spinoff The Colbys, Dallas, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. 

I keenly remember the opening credits of Dynasty in which the protagonist Blake Carrington is chauffeured up a gorgeous driveway to a fabulous estate in a pristine black towncar. What is remarkable?  I still love those cars today, thirty or so years later. 

In my opinion, in the world of classic towncars there are only two worthy of mention.  Those are Rolls-Royce and Bentley. This post explores the Rolls. 

Rolls-Royce

I love Rolls Royce. Ever since the inception of this iconic automobile in 1904, the Rolls-Royce has been a car of beauty, luxury, and fantastic detail.  Note the leather seats, exquisite lines; the beautiful headlights. This car set itself apart from day one. 

1905 Model

The Rolls Silver Ghost was officially launched in 1907 by Henry Royce and Charles Rolls.  Royce was a prominent engineer, and Rolls owned one of the first car dealerships.  What made this car an engineering masterpiece was its smooth 14,371 mile first run. No car had done this before.  After its run, it was aptly dubbed "the best car in the world."

This specific model, the 1907 40/50 Chassis #60551, is one of the most expensive cars in the world, insured for over 50 million.  Looking at this absolutely fantastic car, I certainly understand why.

Carsatlarge.com

My personal preference in regard to Rolls-Royce were the models created in the 1960s. I love the vintage appeal of its appearance. 

Of the 1960s designs, I have to say I find the 1964-1965 Silver Cloud Series sublime.

A favorite site of mine, Classic Cars, is a hub for incredible vintage cars.  This beauty unfortunately just sold. 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

Gorge. $64,500....$749/month. 1964 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III 

An iconic Rolls of this era belonged to The Beetles' John Lennon.  Lennon created a moving piece of art by painting his 1965 Phantom V in a psychedelic design. 

The Rolls-Royce Limousine is also a beautiful option when planning a vintage or classically refined wedding. This gorgeous 1956 Silver Cloud, available for rent at Losangeleslimousineservices.net, exemplifies the idea of class. 

Gorgeous interior. 

Finally, the beautiful Rolls-Royce 1930 Packard.  This car, the Custom Eight, was previously owned by Robert Gottlieb, who coined the phrase "classic car" for the first time in Motor Trend Magazine during the 1950s. 

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Golf Carts that GO!!

BMW Golfsport golf cart bag. Available on Amazon. $259.99

If you're an avid golfer, a pro, or just an ardent fan, how the game is played is the most important aspect for the love of the game. However, in these stylish carts, getting there is half the fun. 

This 48 volt electric Mercedes replica golf cart aims to please with its tan seats, all aluminum body lightweight enough for travel, and its reasonable price starting at $11,800. Available from LAcustomcarts.com

Escalade by LAcustomcarts. 

This cart, the Garis Edition Soliel de Minuit is supplied by Dukati, and renowned for being the most expensive golf cart ever made. The base price for this model is $17,499. As shown, this cart costs $52,000. 

The following are not available for purchase, but still impressive.

This one-seater cart, built by Volvo for a golf tournament, is compact yet stylish. 

Also built specifically for a tournament, this BMW cart is sublime. 

This cart, built by Korky Korkes, is sure to make any Jaguar enthusiast proud. 

Porsche golfcar custom built by Sun City Center. 

The following two are examples of the Lamborghini ATV. Who wouldn't want a his and hers in their personal collection?

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Volvo. Still a Viable Luxury Brand?

2015 Volvo S90 Concept Car

Photo Credit:  Nouphone J. Bansasine

The first time I laid eyes on a Volvo, it was a 1984 model, the 240GL. I imagined a stodgy professor dressed in tweed driving to university, his handsome, worn-in leather briefcase in the seat next to him.  I was in love. Later on, I read about the car and learned they were renowned for lasting generations; for lasting hundreds of thousands of miles. After looking at the models, I vowed then and there that when I had my brood, they would be carted around in a Volvo wagon.  Nothing but the best.  Of course, it was the eighties, and the yuppie (remember that one, lol) era.  

Fast forward to the year 2005. I was married, and looking into buying a new car. The wagon model had changed over the years, but I still wanted that car.  Fortunately for us, we now had three (preggers with number four, number five not even an inkling yet!, lol) beautiful babies, but unfortunately, once I gave birth, we couldn't all fit in the wagon.  It had enough seats, but I had three boys, after all; and I needed room for sports gear and such.  Enter the XC90 T6. 

I cannot tell you how excited I was as we drove off with our gorgeous brand-new pearl green, cream leather seats (what was I thinking!!!?) car.  We even had a ticket to Vail, CO provided to us as an incentive when we bought the car.  Life was peachy.  Or so we thought. 

A couple of years later, we began experiencing transmission problems.  Every time we took the car in for diagnostic, it was costing us a whopping $150 just for them to look. We handed over the money readily, because we didn't want to totally throw up our hands and wave the white flag, not just yet. Then, en route to my children's school, the car shut off completely. Imagine my chagrin, sitting there in this $40,000-plus beautiful car, and nevertheless, broken down. Thank goodness I wasn't near anyone and was able to pull over safely. 

My friends, I tell you, it was with much trepidation that we purchased our second XC90 a few years later. We now knew as well as any other owner of the fated 2005 model, that there were a plethora of problems, so much so that Volvo did a recall. We had parted ways with ours prior to that. 

I am happy to say I am now still an owner of my 2008 XC90 V8, and although there are a few problems, such as the electrical system being buggy, for the most part, it's a good car that drives like an absolute dream. Nothing at all like the severe problems of its predecessor. It still doesn't meet the expectations of those standards I had so long ago, but I don't fault Volvo.  I fault the growing trend in industry, building things faster, cheaper, and with not so much attention to quality. We all know that appliances, TVs, et cetera; do not last like they used to. 

To answer the question, am I still a Volvo enthusiast?  Yep.

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

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