by S.C. Kleinhans

Created on: February 03, 2008   Last Updated: November 12, 2008

Many people seem magnetically attracted to brand new vehicles. Sadly, they are missing out on a great collective history of famous and notorious automobiles. There are so many worthy candidates for this topic. It was very difficult to choose vehicles worthy enough to warrant this great honor.

At first, I thought of four different vehicles. One of them is a very famous vehicle and the other three would gracefully fall under the category of notorious automobiles. I will begin with the lesser known vehicle. It belonged to a very famous Mexican. Some people may not even know who he was. He was born Doroteo Arango. He changed his name to Francisco Villa. He was an incredible man. Some knew him to be a very effective general who was an integral part of the Mexican Revolution while others knew him to be a very cruel, evil person who killed people merely for sport. He was a very famous person in Mexico and also in the United States a long time ago. He married many, many women. He led his revolutionary troops while riding on the back of a horse. Although this infamous general had many friends and admirers, he also had many enemies. In 1923, he was riding in his Dodge touring car...along with five other people. They were all assassinated. That black vehicle was riddled with bullet holes. You would think that that death car had been destroyed long ago but it serves as the focal point for a museum containing memorabilia regarding not only General Pancho Villa's life in particular but also the Mexican Revolution. General Villa's death car was the first car that came to my mind.

The next vehicle that I thought of was the one utilized by Bonnie and Clyde. I remember taking Driver's Education in the 1970s at a public high school in Texas. My Driver's Ed. teacher happened to be a relative of Clyde Barrow. I thought that was really cool. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were known for robbing banks but they also robbed small stores and gas stations as well. They suffered a violent death just eleven years after General Pancho Villa was assassinated in Parral, Chihuahua. They too were shot while riding in a vehicle. Although they were in a Ford and Pancho Villa was in a Dodge. Their bullet-riddled vehicle is also on display just as in the case of General Villa's death car. As of February, 2006...their battered car can be seen at the Primm Valley Resort in Primm, Nevada.

On a lighter note, the third automobile...worthy of mention (in my opinion)...would be the "Tucker 48". Preston Tucker

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