Cars of the stars

(July 7, 2014) We ran across a small collection of pictures of Hollywood stars and their cars, mostly from the 1930s and 1940s. We found it interesting to see what the super rich from the depression era drove.

The only pictures that are slightly out of place are Stutz Blackhawks owned by Dean Martin (pictured above) and Elvis Presley. The Stutz was a speciality car built from 1971-1987. A surprisingly large number of celebrities became owners including Elvis Presley, who purchased five. Presley purchased the first Stutz to arrive in the U.S. from auto dealer Jules Meyers.

With a steel body hand built in Torino, Italy, and greater than 19 feet long, the production Blackhawk used Pontiac Grand Prix running gear, Pontiac's 7.5-liter (455 cubic inch) V-8 engine, and a GM automatic transmission. The Blackhawk has scads of power, with 425 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque.

But its excessive weight kept acceleration rather anemic measured from 0-to-60 in around 8 seconds. Gas mileage was also on the low side at about 8 mpg.

Martin purportedly owned three Stutz vehicles, wrecking one earning him a drunk driving charge.

Other pictures feature Errol Flynn, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Johnny Weissmuller, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, and Joan Crawford.