Whether you are racing an old car, just driving it, maybe still restoring it or even dreaming about it, we wish all your hopes to come true in 2006. (photo courtesy Wilson Numan) 

No quiz today as we are too busy preparing for the end of year celebrations: baking oliebollen (typicaldutchstuff.com) and stocking up on fireworks. Enjoy this evening! (Estonian postcard, collection Hans Horwitz) 

It looks like the end of year old parts promotion is a success. Over 150 ads came in within one day. And not the worst material also! Alfa 6C rear axle, nice acetylene headlights, this 1921 Cadillac V8 type 59 engine and so on. check for yourself (click) And it is not yet too late for you to list your own stuff! Still more than a day to go, as we take the 31st of December 2005, 24.00 hours in Los Angeles as the final cut off... But you maybe better (do it now...)  

We promised you more of Aunt Mia and that’s what you’re gonna get! Is it possible to fall in love with a girl on a seventy year old photograph? Yes! And why? Because here we find her standing next to Rudolf Caracciola’s Mercedes W25 at the circuit of Francorchamps in 1935 (click picture for enlargement). Rudolf Caracciola (ddavid.com) is a childhood hero (not only that, he still is!) and of course it was Caracciola who won this Grand Prix of Belgium. The car in front is number 4, the W25 driven by Manfred von Brauchitsch who had to retire with engine problems. But where is Rudolf on this photo? Probably receiving the winners’ cup from the hands of the King of Belgium. (text RB, photo’s courtesy Wilson Numan, Aunt Mia’s grand-nephew)
UPDATE: We received comments from Steve Lines and David Pryke both saying that the car is in fact a Mercedes W125, not a W25, which puts the date of the picture two years forward. 

We are nearing the end of 2005 and we can see that people want to start 2006 with a clean garage floor. Never before it has been so busy in the parts section; nearly 1.000 adverts online and nearly 1,000 unique visitors for this department alone! Okay, it has a lot to do with the free listing of parts up to $ 250 or € 250, but still. Now in order to give you the chance to really have a clean start we fully open the gate during the remaining days of the year. So you have three days to free-list any part you want to sell with the one photo advert, no matter what the price is. So even if you have a Hispano V-16, an orginal Bugatti GP chassis or a pile of mixed Matheson and Lozier parts... you can list all that at no charge at all.... As long as you do it before January 1st 2006. Happy Listing ! The engine above (from a thirties Master De Luxe) will appear on these pages later today. Happy Listing & Happy Shopping! (photo Gerard Lansink)  

Mike West found this 1935 Talbot Roadster: " Hi, was out hunting cars last week in Canada and got into a basement that housed several cars that have been idle since the early 1960s. This is an interesting car, a 1935 Talbot. It's six cylinder, it has a starter /generator out the front, knock off wire wheels, alloy body, and is fairly complete. Had a small cockpit fire at one time. I am clueless as to the model/horsepower/model." Michael West, Livonia, NY . Info@PreWarCar.com
UPDATEII by Nicholas Ward:"The car may be 1935 registered but it is a 1934 model, from either the AV (105) or AW (75/90) series. The body is definitely not VDP it is most likely James Young. The easiest way to see if it is 105 or 75/90 is the shape of the rocker box if it is gothic arch shape it is a 75 if it is fairly rectangular it is 105." UPDATE by Gerard Lansink who presumes this is a type 105 , possibly with Vanden Plas Drophead Coupe coachwork. 

By Hampton Wayt (photo from his collection):
This photograph is of the automaton steam man invented by Zadoc P. Dederick in the state of New Jersey, USA - an invention which debuted in January of 1868. This crazy invention, like our beloved automobiles, was an attempt to replace the horse (as can be seen by the fact that he is attached to a carriage; click photo).
There is a new "science fiction" book by Joseph Rainone entitled "Art and History of American Popular Fiction" (Almond Press) that covers a great deal of research about the Dederick steam man. According to this book, he was 7 feet, 9 inches tall (236 cm tall), weighed 500 pounds (227 kg) and was rated at 3 horse-power. Every step advanced the robot two feet, and every ....  Read more

The day after Christmas is better known in some parts of the world as Boxing Day and what better way to bring your wishes than with this Willys. (1917 advert from Country Life, collection Hans Horwitz) 

Christmas is a time of traditions, Christmas is the time for family gatherings. Christmas brings people together. Old people, young people, together singing carols round the Christmas tree. Pray that only the car stays outside. Merry Christmas to you all! (1933 Dunlop advert, collection Hans Horwitz) 

Don't trust quizmakers and don't trust moviemakers. They try to make you believe what they have in mind on your dispense. # 170 was the last quiz this year so we gave you a very special toy to chew on. The only Hisso part on this car is probably the badge on the radiator. The whole paste-up was designed and built probably in 1964/65. When our information is correct this car has starred in "The Great Race". When putting up this quiz we were hoping you wouldn't take the hints we feeded you and that some Rolls fans would say : "Hey, but that is a 20/25 chassis !" (that's what it is...). Under the bonnet (click photo) you'll find another treasure... a 4,2 L. Daimler.. ;-). So don't feel ashamed you didn't get this one, not all of us can be moviecar buffs. Next year will packed with new chances.
UPDATE by Paul Linster (we are always glad when people do not take our words for granted...!) "I think the movie was not 'The Great Race' (about 1908!!) but 'Sahara' The movie with Brooke Shields racing trough the desert (clic: Kinokunst.de) ... I think I heard that all the cars (about 7) were built upon Rolls Royce chassis and only the bodies were slightly different and of course radiators and national colours. After the making of the movie most of the cars were digged into the desert sand. So the cars were constructed about 1980 the movie was released in 1983..."