"Gin rummy for two during a rest en route," reads the Nash Motors caption on this promotional photo for 1950's "twin convertible beds." A more candid caption might be "What's Dad going to say when he finds we've cut the doors off?" Photo from the Kit Foster Collection.

DEUTSCH TREAT: The German Ford V8 Spezial of 1938-39 is an interesting variation on the US-built Model 78, powered by the same 3.6 liter engine. But what's that apparatus mounted on the front bumper? Kit Foster Collection

TWINS, MEET THE TWINS! Hudson's mid-1952 introduction of "Twin-H-Power" was heralded by "Peas in a pod twins Deidre and Andrea Hall," according to an undated company press release. Deidre and Andrea were destined to have longer careers than Twin H-Power, which offered "jetlike acceleration and improved performance in all driving ranges." Kit Foster Collection

NO, I'LL DRIVE! The press release from Karrier Motors, Ltd. of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, tells us that "Dual steering is now available as a factory-fitted option on Dodge Commando 2 vehicles for specialized municipal applications." As a result of the Chrysler takeover of Rootes Motors the Dodge name seems to have replaced Karrier on the Commando line circa 1976. Kit Foster Collection

TAKE A LETTER, MR. JONES: "Six adults can ride in comfort. . . in the new Aero Willys," says the press release touting its 61-inch wide seats. "No other passenger car has greater rear seating width." Can anyone confirm or deny? K. T. Keller take note: there's plenty of room for his hat, too. Kit Foster Collection

A MOST VERSATILE VEHICLE -- with a pretty face. Fiat's 600 Multipla, introduced in 1956, was an early hint at what would become the minivan. This November 1960 promo photo of the 600D version suggests a Pontiac Aztek-like niche for a car targeted to outdoorspeople -- though this family seems fonder of passive recreation. Kit Foster Collection

YOU DRIVE, Sheila, I'm too wired. This photo is captioned on the reverse, "Chrysler robot, Nov. 1960." Does anyone with a Chrysler engineering background remember coming across this gentleman? The nameplate on the "brain" reads "Instrumentation Research" and carries the Forward Look Logo. Kit Foster Collection

WHEN IN FRANCE: tour the countryside in a Renault, perhaps a Fregate like this one. This Fregate, built in the model's penultimate year of 1959, featured four-wheel independent suspension and Transfluide semi-automatic transmission. It also carried a unique distinction. Do you know what it was? Kit Foster Collection

ESCALADE'S ELDER? Cadillac wagons are nothing new. Various coachbuilders and conversion houses have been turning them out for years. This is an odd duck, with what appears to be 1960 fins on '59 light pods. What may have passed for a luxury interior back then would be called motorhome kitsch today. Anyone know who built it? Kit Foster Collection

ELECTRIK SLIDE: The nose of this Volkswagen pickup says "Elektro-Transporter," and the Varta logo on the door belongs to the battery company supplying most auto manufacturers in Europe. An electric vehicle history page at www.econogics.com says that VW "produced about 70 electric vans for fleet research purposes." This must be one of them. Does anyone know more? Kit Foster Collection

WE'LL BE THERE: W. C. Durant (standing, right, in bowler) and Louis Chevrolet (sans hat) admire the first Chevrolet car in 1912. The trouble was, the two men didn't agree just where "there" was and soon parted ways as Durant made the Chevrolet into a smaller and cheaper (and much more popular) car. At the wheel is Durant's son Cliff, his wife, Adelaide, beside him. Can anyone recognize any other faces? Kit Foster Collection

REFRIGERATED AIR: DeSoto was among the earliest auto manufacturers to offer true, refrigerated air-conditioning when it introduced this system in 1942. Air-conditioning returned to DeSoto in 1954.

TURN-AROUND: In 1967 and 1968, Imperial by Chrysler Corporation debuted the Mobile Director option. The Mobile Director package consisted of a swing around seat, and fold-away table that doubled as an armrest, and a high intensity reading lamp that plugged into a cigarette lighter.

THE JET AGE: The 1961 Chrysler TurboFlite show car showcased Chrysler's CR2A engine plus a host a futuristic features, such as air-braking via the rear wing. Photo courtesy of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum.

THE FUTURE WAS THEN: At the Chicago Auto Show in 1959, DeSoto Division of Chrysler Corporation suggested that the future of motoring was the Cella I show car, an electric fuel-cell vehicle. DeSoto chief engineer A. E. Kimberly called the Cella I, "[A] radical departure from previously explored engineering concepts, such as the gas turbine engine, the free piston, and solar energy . . ." Photo from the collection of Dave Duricy.

HEAVY METAL: Early station wagons used custom and semi-custom bodies fabricated from wood. Although beautiful to see, the wood required frequent and expensive care. After the war, metal wagon bodies became the norm. Shown here is the first all-steel wagon offered by DeSoto, the 1950 Custom station wagon. Photo from the collection of Dave Duricy.

FOUNDING FATHER: Walter P. Chrysler, the founder of Chrysler Corporation, stands with a 1924 Chrysler that seems to belong to the fire department. Photo from the collection of Dave Duricy.