Mercury Quicksilver Harness Assy Part No: 84 859743t03 on 2040-parts.com

Inside Bob Pond's car collection

Robert Pond was an industrialist, an aviator, a Navy pilot, an aircraft designer, a genuine car enthusiast, a philanthropist, a Minnesotan at heart and a man who turned a family business from eight employees to a global $100-million concern. Pond was born in 1924 in Edina, Minn., 10 miles southwest of Minneapolis. He signed up for the Navy Air Corps in 1942, and survived three years of training on J-3 Piper Cubs and PBY Catalinas to graduate in July of 1945 -- just three months before Japan surrendered to the US.

Cheap mods: Adventures In Aspect Ratios

Seven years ago, I bought a rough-looking-but-good-running 1992 Honda Civic DX hatchback, for use as a gas-sipping alternative to my daily-driver P71 Crown Victoria. These days, it's the car I drive when it snows in Denver, and it's a reliable all-around beater. The EG Civic (as the 1992-95 Civic hatchback was designated by the factory) has become a much-sought-after classic in recent years, sort of the '55 Chevy of the early 21st century, and there's such a vast array of factory and aftermarket performance hardware available that I haven't been able to resist the idea of doing some power and suspension upgrades.

Ford Fiesta – Good. Fiesta advertising – not so good.

The billboard on a US Fiesta Display (click for bigger image) We have to hand it to Ford. They have handled the introduction of the Fiesta to the US market in a very clever, 21st century way. Their Fiesta Movement campaign paid big dividends and delivered a record level of awareness for a relatively unknown little car in the land of the V8 gas guzzler.