The Rake Magazine

Now that the saturnine Dixie Chicks have been given their rightful due I think we should pause to remember that 40 years ago a single singer could do the job of three. I am talking about the infinitely more talented Joan Baez.

Joan Baez remains more talented as an artist and perhaps more confused as a rabble rouser. While this post will not have much to do with cars (I could be losing it, yes) it is my attempt at setting the facts straight about the cars Joan Baez drove and a few more stubborn truths about her life.

For example, in a recent re-release of her original Folkways recording (great CD) the reviewer on CD/NOW bemoans how Ms. Baez was "cruely parodied" in a comic strip during the height of her fame.

Parodied she was, but it wasn't that cruel considering the real life Joan Baez was leading. The cartoon character, called "Joanie Phoanie" was a folk singer ostensibly committed to causes of the poor while driving around in a Rolls Royce. This reviewer then claimed that "nothing could be further from the truth."

Unfortunately, the reviewer is right here on only one count: Joan Baez drove a Jaguar not a Rolls. And if you care (which you probably don't) here are few more facts about the real Joan Baez.

a) Joan Baez did a great deal of singing and protesting during the 60s while comfortably ensonced in beautiful Carmel Highlands pad.
b) She ran an Institute for the Study of Non-Violence that is frequently used to prop up her modern day Victor Hugo like halo. However, this "Institue" was actually a series of "classes" taught by a bookstore clerk who dropped out of Stanford (no harm there--its kinda cool) that she ran from her luxurious pad (yep her house) for which she charged a cool $120.00 a class.

I wonder about that last bit. I mean, have you ever owned a Jaguar XKE? Evading 60% of one's taxes is just about enough to run it.

As the weather turns wicked, my automotive thoughts turn to something other than the utilitarian SUV. Or even, for that matter, the overweighted blinged out luxurious SUVs of today. My thoughts turn instead to luxury--pure luxury as it was once defined.

Of course what makes a luxury car truly luxurious is harder to answer in an era when your average Honda rides as quietly as a Rolls Royce of the David Olgilvy era.

Ah, yes, but have you actually ridden in a Rolls? Or, perhaps, a Mercedes prior to 1993--which, of course, was the last Big Benz engineered to spec, not cost. Both of these cars offered what Henry Royce called "Wafability." This is a peculiar British affectation for the effortless, silent quality with which a classic Rolls (or Benz for that matter) accelerates.

While a Rolls Royces in good kit is overpriced and hard to service for the every day driver a twenty year old Benz with a good service history will provide you with the pleasures of an endlessly flat torque curve without trimming down your bank account.

I cannot say the same for Lexus.

Not everyone can collect cars like Jay Leno. In fact, car collecting usually turns out to be a dark comedy for most virgins.

Not if you read this blog, however.

A few months back I encouraged all of you to purchase a Mercedes Benz 280 SL. last made in 1971. I recently spotted prices going up precipitously in Hemmings (35% increases over last year). If you act quickly, however, you can have the last laugh.

To quote myself: (note the price increases from previous versions)

A good example can be found for the mid-30s (max.) Does this car
car have soul? Oh, yes-particularly from 40 mph to 100 mph. Is it a pure breed? You betcha, it is a beautiful roadster. Is it the purest example of the breed? No. That would have to be the 300 Sl, which can be had for a mere $200,000 more. But the average transportation appliance driver can hardly tell the difference, and most women go wild for both sets of wheels.

So in all, the SL delivers a certain cache for a lot less cash. Best of all, while many were made, the good ones are getting scarcer, the prices are going up-like the stock of most things designed in the cool modernistic style of the late 60s.

The 280 SL is a groovy set of wheels.