"The word California is sprinkled with stardust. It's a crucible of dreams for some, hell on earth for others. Whatever you feel about it personally, it's a place where the tectonic plates grind each upon each, creating untold energy that "
Four on the Floor in California
Images via Le Container, Chevrolet…
We’re geting pretty excited about our trip to California.
Yes, for the next couple of weeks we’ll be street spotting and blogging on a road trip between San Francisco to San Diego; taking every opportunity to have a look at contemporary California car and bike culture along the way.
Whilst roving around the webs in search of inspiration, we found this rather lovely image of one of the definitive icons of Automotive Americana: the Four on the Floor stick shift.
It might have arisen as just the simplest way to access a gearbox with a front engined, rear wheel drive set up : but stirring that box straight into the axle entails a certain feeling of mechanicity, a clunky, positive surity that’s lacking in most modern cars.
And funnily enough this simple way of changing cogs has, as is the way of all things American and mid-century, been transmuted into something of an icon. Lovely example from a Corvette here too.
We can forgive Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys anything. But we can’t forgive Mike Love’s ‘interpretive gestures’.
Stay tuned for Cali-centric updates!
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