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he could rattle off volumes of information about issues, series, denominations and, as serious collectors are wont to do, interesting and amusing anecdotes, vignettes and philatelic lore.

Cars remained a minor distraction until his adult years. "I've always likes stamps because each one is different, and relatively inexpensive to collect, unlike cars. Though having a great car was always in the back of my mind, I guess."

However, once he admitted being smitten by cars his stamp collecting interest suddenly had an partner for his collecting attention. "I still collect stamps," he confessed, "but now mostly those depicting automobiles. You could say my interest in cars spawned a secondary stamp collecting hobby."

Those car collectors who have little or casual interest in stamps other than their use on mail, there are, nonetheless, and have been, numerous postage stamps depicting automobiles.

For hobby enthusiasts of both persuasions stamp collecting can be a smorgasbord of visual delights featuring some of the greatest automobiles of the last, and current, century.

For instance: Millions of classic cars from the 1950s rolled out of the Motor City in August, 2005 and with gasoline prices what they are, these horseless carriages are guaranteed to cross the U.S. for just 37 cents.

Available in five makes and models, the "America on the Move: 50s Sporty Cars" commemorative stamps that hit the road included:
1953 Corvette;
1955 Thunderbird;
1954 Kaiser Darrin;
1952 Nash-Healey,
1953 Studebaker Starliner.

These were also available as stamped postal cards, and the week theywere issued they were reportedly being driven off the lots at Post Offices and Philatelic Centers nationwide in record numbers.

Noland Adams owner of the '53 Corvette that was the model for the stamp (http://www.solidaxle.org), and the author of several Corvette restoration books, was the Postal Service's technical advisor for the Corvette stamp.

"I know Corvette and other classic car enthusiasts will be thrilled to see America's first sports cars immortalized on stamps," Adams '53 Vette, number 284 of 300 that rolled off the assembly line, was on display at the stamp launching event. Carl Herman of Carlsbad, CA was the stamp designer.

Arthur Fitzpatrick, who was 20 years old when he designed the Packard four-door convertible and hard-top sedans, was the artist for the new issues. A long-time advertising designer and illustrator for General Motors, Fitzpatrick custom built cars for personalities such as Clark Gable,

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