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line. It could not compete with the Corvette which boasted more horsepower and sold for slightly less. Dutch Darrin himself bought 100 of the left-over cars and refitted them with powerful Cadillac V-8 engines. They sold quickly, but the Kaiser era had passed.

'52 Nash-Healey
An elegant little sports car famous for its hybridized styling drew on the creative genius of three countries. The U.S. created the six-cylinder engine, England engineered the chassis, and Italy added the body before returning it to the U.S. With only 150 made, it priced itself out of the market. Sold exclusively in the U.S., the high-performing hybrid had a moment of glory when it came in first in its class and third overall in the 1952 LeMans sports car race in France.

'53 Studebaker Starliner
The Starliner was low-slung, long and wide, and light on the chrome to give it a sophisticated, European look. Some considered it "the first American sports car." It was proclaimed "a work of art" by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which selected the Starliner as the lone American representative for the 1953 exhibition, "Ten Automobiles."

Interestingly, the 1956-57 Continental Mark II, widely considered a luxury sports car, and in 1960 selected by The Museum of Modern Art as the best looking car of the 1950s decade, is not among the new issues, nor has it ever been featured on a stamp anywhere. I own a '56 Mark II. If any reader is aware of a stamp that has it please let me know.

"Car collectors planning to get some automotive stamps as a kindred interest to their car hobby, should be advised stamp counterfeiting exists," notes Hans Niedermair, editor at Canadian Stamp News.

"Counterfeit stamps are a funny thing. They aren't so much copies, like a banknote fake, but entirely new, bogus, stamps purporting to come from former Soviet nations and African countries. However, this isn't an issue for car collectors who may be more interested in the vehicle images than the philatelic integrity of the stamp. Furthermore, they can be great conversation pieces. So if you like a car stamp, even a bogus one, as long as it's not expensive and you know what you are getting, then go for it."

And the bottom line here is that you can put together a great collection of classic and desirable cars, at least on stamps.

Learn more about this author, Timothy Benford.
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