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Author
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Topic: Astronauts' sports cars and family automobiles
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star61
Member Posts: 308
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 01-31-2005 05:24 PM
   
Does anyone own or know of the whereabouts of any of the cars owned by the members of the first three astronaut groups? The Corvettes are well known, and I believe Scott Carpenter had a Shelby Cobra (based on a picture in an early sixties National Geographic). Maybe even John Glenn's Peugeot is still around? The Apollo 12 crews Corvettes would be a real find, particularly if CMDR, LMP and CMP is still on them. |
cklofas
Member Posts: 221
From: Euless,TX USA
Registered: Mar 2003
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posted 01-31-2005 11:01 PM
Al Bean's Corvette is owned by a private individual in Houston. I saw it on display in 2002. He has completely restored it to the point it looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. He told me he has been actively seeking the other two but after 20+ years he feels that they were probably sold as scrap. |
star61
Member Posts: 308
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 02-01-2005 05:29 AM
It certainly is sad if they were scrapped, but I guess we can;t save every piece of space history, however peripheral. |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 06-27-2011 10:25 PM
Does anyone know what family sized cars did the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts (or their wives) drive? I know that there was a deal or sorts with Chevy, but was that an exclusive thing like with the Mercury 7 LIFE interviews? Editor's note: Threads merged. |
Cozmosis22
Member Posts: 1114
From: Texas * Earth
Registered: Apr 2011
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posted 06-28-2011 03:48 PM
Many of the Apollo guys were also driving specially leased Vettes from the Rathman dealership in Melbourne. The Apollo 12 crew had matching 1969 Stingray coupes with custom paint designed by Alan Bean. The June 1971 issue of LIFE magazine shows Jim Irwin, David Scott and Al Worden with their red, white, and blue Vettes parked behind a moon buggy. As an aside, of the Mercury 7, the only guy who opted out of a hot little Corvette was John Glenn, he chose a Chevy station wagon. |
Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 06-28-2011 03:56 PM
Mike Collins and Ed Givens both had Volkswagen Beetles according to Google newspaper archives. |
Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 06-28-2011 04:42 PM
Toledo Blade, Feb. 28, 1960 - Wally Schirra drives an Austin Healy to and from work at Langley. Deke Slayton settles for a station wagon. Gus Grissom is the would-be sports car type. He drives a slightly out-of-date, black, four-door English Austin sedan requiring almost constant tinkering, which he does himself... Colonel Glenn has a spanking new German Prinz... Al Shepard, who lives at Virginia beach, is the proud owner of the white Corvette... Carpenter rides in a vintage Lincoln which he bought for less than $100 and tuned up himself. Cooper jockeys the motor scooter... Milwaukee Sentinel, Feb. 1, 1961: Al Shepard commutes to work at Langley in a Corvette... Press-Courier, Feb. 28, 1962: As Cmdr. Schirra nosed his white Corvette onto US I wondered if the drivers sharing his... Eugene Register-Guard, Aug. 26, 1964: [Walt Cunningham] just sold a Corvette, still owns a Porsche. But he's never raced them. |
kr4mula
Member Posts: 642
From: Cinci, OH
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 06-29-2011 10:48 AM
I think the intent was to find out what *family* cars the astronauts (or their wives) drove, aside from the sporty ones most of them gunned around in. Obviously the kids weren't going to the dentist in a Corvette and the wives had to drive something while their husbands were at work or away. |
Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 06-29-2011 11:21 AM
This is the only one I've been able to find, and it doesn't mention the brand of car.Pat Collins, wife of Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins; "She's got a silver station wagon; Mike's got a little tan Volkswagen." - The Times-News, July 17, 1969. Just found another: Boca Raton News, Nov 18, 1973: It may be Monday before the wife of Skylab 3 commander Gerald P. Carr finds out where he left the keys to their sports car. Joan Carr asked chief astronaut Donald K. "Deke" Slayton to schedule a private chat with her husband... Jerry didn't tell me where he put the keys to the MG, Joan disclosed... The station wagon was the minivan or the SUV of the 1960s. |
star61
Member Posts: 308
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 06-30-2011 11:02 AM
In one of my old National Geographics, there is a photo of the Glenn and Carpenter families outside a house (I think Carpenter's). In the open garage behind is an AC Cobra! Very hot motor. And I know it surely is not a family car...  |
golddog
Member Posts: 210
From: australia
Registered: Feb 2008
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posted 06-30-2011 02:28 PM
The Cobra was Scott Carpenter's car; you can read about it in "For Spacious Skies." |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 06-30-2011 04:16 PM
quote:
Originally posted by kr4mula:
I think the intent was to find out what *family* cars the astronauts (or their wives) drove, aside from the sporty ones most of them gunned around in.
Typically with the Vette leases, it meant the wife would also get to drive a GM wagon depending on if they had kids or not. As for which specific makes, take your pick and you are probably right for at least one of the families. |
dtemple
Member Posts: 754
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 07-01-2011 06:01 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Fezman92:
I know that there was a deal or sorts with Chevy, but was that an exclusive thing like with the Mercury 7 LIFE interviews?
This article gets into that a bit, though the story is mainly about Alan Bean's 1969 Corvette. |
uk spacefan
Member Posts: 168
From: London
Registered: Jan 2007
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posted 07-14-2011 12:26 AM
Jack Swigert once owned a Karmann Ghia - the people at Boggs Space Books can confirm this as years ago they had a speeding ticket for sale on their website with the details on it. Swigert literally lived life in the fast lane.  |
Fezman92
Member Posts: 1031
From: New Jersey, USA
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 07-14-2011 12:40 AM
Darn, so I can't say that my dad's '63 Lincoln was the same car that the early astronauts drove, although by grandfather got it because he did work at Philco-Ford (aka Ford Aerospace) back in the 50s-60s, so there is that... |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2134
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 07-14-2011 01:53 AM
Charlie Bassett's pride and joy was an old A Model Ford that he had restored and loved driving around.The type escapes me at the moment, but wasn't John Glenn known for driving an old family saloon for years after he became an astronaut? |
star61
Member Posts: 308
From: Bristol UK
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 07-15-2011 08:17 AM
I think Glenn had an old (new at the time) Peugeot somewhat similar to a certain detective with a penchant for old rain coats! |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 2093
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 07-15-2011 09:13 AM
The article referenced by dtemple about Bean's Corvette mentions that Glenn owned a Prinz, which was made by NSU and was similar to Peugeots of that era.I think the astronauts were like many servicemen who spent time in Europe — fascinated with foreign cars in all shapes and sizes. |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2486
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 07-16-2011 09:02 AM
According to an article in the motoring section of The Telegraph, Shepard's was the original 'Astrovette' and one of his original cars is on permanent display parked next to the Saturn V at the Kennedy Space Center.It also mentions the following: - Michael Barratt drives a Toyota Prius
- Mark Kelly drives a Ford Fusion
- Roger Crouch drives a Honda CR-V and also a Toyota RAV4
- Susan Kilrain drives a Ford Escalade
- Thomas Jones drives a Chrysler Sebring Convertible
- Robert Springer drives a Lexus SUV
- Jon McBride drives a 2003 Corvette
- Al Worden drives a Porsche 911 cabriolet
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Rusty B
Member Posts: 239
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted 07-16-2011 09:58 AM
The May 19, 1967 issue of Life magazine (viewable online at Google books) has a picture of Wally Schirra's red Maserati sports car and gold Toronado. Scroll to bottom of linked page for picture.This page from the same Life magazine shows Walt Cunningham working on his sports car. |
Paul78zephyr
Member Posts: 768
From: Hudson, MA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 07-18-2011 02:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by moorouge:
Susan Kilrain drives a Ford Escalade
No such vehicle: either Ford Escape or Cadillac Escalade.I loved the fact that Scott Carpenter drove a Shelby Cobra! |
MadSci
Member Posts: 243
From: Maryland, USA
Registered: Oct 2008
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posted 02-25-2012 12:43 PM
We know about the matching Corvettes while training to fly to the moon, but what do they drive now? For moonwalker Buzz Aldrin the secret is out. If you've ever wondered, "What car would an astronaut who's landed on the moon drive?" we have your answer. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step on the moon, drives a 2011 Volvo C70 convertible around Los Angeles with the vanity plate "Mars Guy.""It's a Volvo, blue-ish silver and just a neat-looking car. It's a convertible hardtop. I pull up at a stoplight and I can change the top from up and down during the stoplight. That's a little dicey, though," he laughs. "I mostly have the top down." |
Philip
Member Posts: 6160
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 10-15-2016 05:51 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Rusty B:
The May 19, 1967 issue of Life magazine has a picture of Wally Schirra's red Maserati sports car and gold Toronado.
Astronaut Walter Schirra driving a Maserati Ghibli, 10:55 in this video. Schirra owned at least three Maserati sports cars: 1963 GT-3500, 1966 Ghibli and 1971 Bora. |
dtemple
Member Posts: 754
From: Longview, Texas, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 10-16-2016 08:59 PM
Here is my article I wrote for the August 2001 issue of Car Collector magazine on the 1969 Corvette driven by Alan Bean.The owner of that car, Danny Reed, also has a 1962 Corvette originally owned by an engineer who worked for NASA at KSC. |
rlobinske
Member Posts: 177
From: Crawfordville, FL
Registered: Oct 2014
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posted 03-10-2018 10:08 AM
For some variety, I'm working on a 1969 Corvette model that I plan to complete as Al Bean's Apollo 12 Corvette and I was wondering which state these leased cars were registered in, Jim Rathmann's state of Florida or the astronauts home state of Texas? |
Gordon Eliot Reade
Member Posts: 170
From: Palo Alto, Calif.
Registered: Jun 2015
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posted 07-26-2022 04:03 PM
As a student at Walter Hays Elementary School in Palo Alto, California many of my classmates were disdainful of those who they considered to be on a lower socioeconomic level to themselves and their families. I was embarrassed when my father bought a "preowned" 1963 VW Bug to use as a second car just around town and for very short trips. In those days Bugs were everywhere but the young scholars who I attended school with considered them to be a poor person's car. They were okey for starving college students and hippies but that was about it. What would they think when they saw my dad driving one? But while reading LIFE Magazine I came across a photograph of Mike Collins driving his car and guess what? It was a Bug exactly like my dad's! From that moment forward I referred to our Bug as the Mike Collins car. My friends were impressed! Thank you Mr. Collins. Editor's note: Threads merged. |
micropooz
Member Posts: 1648
From: Washington, DC, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 07-26-2022 05:44 PM
Oh man! How did I miss this thread back in September 2019, when Bean's 'Vette was on display on the National Mall? Pics below: 
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Grounded!
Member Posts: 508
From: Bennington, Vermont, USA
Registered: Feb 2011
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posted 07-28-2022 07:10 PM
I had a conversation with Al Worden once about Jim Rathmann and the corvettes the astronauts drove back then. He was a good friend of Rathmann, especially in later years. I asked him if he had a corvette back then and he replied "no, a volkswagon." |
sts205cdr
Member Posts: 720
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Jun 2001
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posted 07-28-2022 07:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by star61:
I think Glenn had an old (new at the time) Peugeot somewhat similar to a certain detective with a penchant for old rain coats!
Glenn drove a Prinz way back when, made by BMW. Not that Falk wouldn't have picked it for Columbo's car. They showed him a modern sedan, but he saw this beat up 503 Peugeot. They used two or three during the series. The way to tell the difference is the positioning of the side mirrors. |
Gordon Eliot Reade
Member Posts: 170
From: Palo Alto, Calif.
Registered: Jun 2015
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posted 07-30-2022 10:51 AM
In the documentary "First To The Moon: The Journey of Apollo 8" at 34:29 we see Bill Anders driving a gorgeously restored 1959 VW Van with the windshield open. It's never explicitly stated but it is strongly implied that the vintage van is Anders' personal car. All I can say is, What a sweet ride! |
bernoullis
Member Posts: 16
From: UK
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 08-16-2022 01:34 AM
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