The Endangered Sampan

Take a tour of a sampan, a sleeping Packard and a few parts and projects in this week's Old Cars' newsletter.

View in browser The Endangered Sampan   Today, only about a dozen sampans are known to survive, and many have been disbursed to other places. Three are known to be in Southern California.   There was a time when one of the treats that tourists looked forward to when visiting Hawaii was a ride in a sampan. Not any more. For starters, these jaunty, colorful people-movers were never very plentiful, and they apparently never strayed from the environs of Hilo, located on the Big Island of Hawaii.   While popular with tourists, sampans were gradually replaced by more modern and comfortable modes of public transportation, such as vans and buses. Today, only about a dozen sampans are known to survive, and many have been disbursed to other places. Three are known to be in Southern California. See More Make your car our "Car of the Week"  If you've got an old car you really love, we want to hear about it! Click here to submit your ride! The Sleeping Packard   A 1940 Packard 110 awakens from a 62-year slumber.   In this "Tales From the Garage," we stumble upon a "Sleeping Beauty" resting peacefully for 62 years and waiting for that automotive kiss to open her eyes.   Let's turn back a few pages to the fall of 1940. Packard, having struggled through the Great Depression with weak luxury car sales, introduced a lower-priced model wearing the famous nameplate. The Model 110 was a less-opulent six-cylinder Packard for 1940 and 1941. That first year saw more than 62,000 new smiling Packard Model 110 owners driving out of the dealership. See More Parts & Projects: L&M Auto of Colorado More than 50 years ago, in Colorado's San Luis Valley, LeRoy and Rosalie Martinez founded L & M Auto. there are over 3000 vehicles in the yard with over 300+ classics. More than 50 years ago, in Colorado's San Luis Valley, LeRoy and Rosalie Martinez founded L & M Auto. In the beginning, it was just a body shop; LeRoy did the bodywork, and Rosalie did the bookkeeping. From that original body shop, the couple has expanded to several businesses that include a salvage yard, towing service and used car lot. All the businesses except the used car lot are located on Road 8 South in Alamosa, Colo. Today, their son, Jeff, runs the businesses. Juan Rodriguez is the salvage yard manager and has been with L & M Auto since 2004, so he knows the yard well. See More I Love Old Cars T-Shirt Show your Old Cars pride with the "I Love Old Cars" old-school t-shirt. A classic Old Cars' design from the '70s makes a comeback. Look as sharp as the cars at the next car show. Get yours today! GET YOURS NOW! Lightweight and the perfect size for hitting the car show circuit - Old Cars Drawstring Bag Carrying all of your essentials at a car show can be a chore. The Old Cars drawstring bag makes it a whole lot easier to keep it all safe and organized. It's lightweight and stylish to boot. Get yours today! GET YOURS NOW! Now You Can Look 'Em Up Online!  How much is your vintage ride worth? You can now join the Old Cars Price Guide Membership and find out online. Pricing right at your fingertips. JOIN NOW! Subscribe Now to the Highest Frequency Publication for Die-Hard Car Lovers! Your subscription to Old Cars includes: All the recent news from around the old car hobby Coverage of all the important collector car auctions and shows Classifieds including expert advice SUBSCRIBE NOW! Active Interest Media 2143 Grand Ave Des Moines, Iowa, 50312 United States You received this email because you are subscribed to Old Cars Weekly eNewsletter. Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive.     Active Interest Media, 2143 Grand Ave, Des Moines, Iowa 50312, United States Unsubscribe Manage preferences