The car is an ever-present piece of the modern world. Its territory is limitless, and it occupies the minds of millions. Among other things, one of the inevitable results of this empire is an equally expansive world of car enthusiasts, whose angles of interest are as varied as the types of people the automotive bug infects. One such person is Mike Wolfe.
Wolfe is a picker, someone who hunts for antiques, trinkets, and collectibles, who made his passion professional when he became one of the hosts for History Channel TV show “American Pickers.” The show, which began in 2010, follows its hosts as they comb the United States for all sorts of strange and iconic Americana oddities.
Wolfe and his team find and collect things from all veins of the unique and forgotten, and one of those things is cars. Antique, vintage, and classic cars make up a sizable chunk of their finds, and Wolfe’s interest for cars is spread beyond the show’s boundaries as well. Wolfe owns the Columbia Motor Alley, a sort of museum-gift shop hybrid that showcases cars and sells memorabilia related to automotive history. Wolfe also collects cars, and some are on display in the space. As someone who spends much of their time locating interesting cars, you can bet his collection is something interesting. Here are five of the coolest cars Mike Wolfe has personally owned.
For a man who likes unique cars, the 1958 Chevrolet Impala is right up Wolfe’s alley. The model debuted in 1958 to celebrate Chevrolet’s 50th birthday, and it would go on to be one of the company’s longest running nameplates with the Impala lineage concluding almost 80 years later in 2020. Although its final iteration was far from remarkable, its first version was anything but.
The 1958 Impala could be described with many words, but no one would call it shy. This was a not-so-modest birthday gift that Chevrolet gave to itself, and it didn’t make any compromises. It was a gigantic land yacht, with a long hood and an even longer roof. The front end took a lot of styling cues from its lighter relative, the Corvette, with both the grille and headlights looking nearly identical to the Corvette’s. But where the Corvette went for sportiness, the Impala went for opulence. It was curvy and wide, made to glide down America’s roads with finesse and the company of friends, family or lovers in its spacious interior. Under its pretty skin, the first generation Impala also boasted some impressive engineering feats. Its X-frame chassis for instance boasted a 30% rigidity increase, and could be fit inside the driveshaft tunnel, allowing for the car to sit lower. It was emblematic of the American dream; excellence and excess at every corner, complete with shiny chrome trim and space-age fins. No wonder Wolfe owned one.
The Hudson Motor Car Company is so well known for its Nascar-dominating Hudson Hornet and the Twin-H Engine, that the 1947 Hudson Truck flies a bit under the radar. With only 2,917 examples of the Series 178 model being built, the first truck produced by Hudson certainly fits the bill for Wolfe’s personal collection. But the story of the Hudson truck gets even more interesting when you take a look at its conception.
Prior to 1947, Hudson was killing the game with its cars, but it was also producing a handful of other vehicles, including trucks under a different name, Terraplane. When it came time to develop a truck fully under the Hudson name, it tasked Betty Thatcher, a young automotive designer, with making it special. This made Thatcher, as far as records show, the first woman to be hired as a fully fledged automotive designer in an American car company, and did she ever deliver.
The Hudson pickup combined utility with style. Thatcher was inspired by the shapes of Hudson’s road cars, specifically the Commodore, and implemented that design language into the front half of the truck. It was handsome and competent, and with a story like that behind it, it’s easy to see how it satisfies Wolfe’s preference for a car with character.
On the topic of blending style and utility, perhaps no car does it better than the El Camino. The El Camino name carries the weight of legend with it, and it’s easily one of Chevrolet’s most recognizable models visually and culturally. Thanks to the El Camino’s functional and beautiful weirdness, and its large presence in the American Zeitgeist, it has earned a place in Mike Wolfe’s collection.
The El Camino was introduced in 1959 as something between a pickup and a car. Over the next almost 40 years, the vehicle went through five generations, until it was discontinued in 1987. Wolfe’s 1969 example is a member of the third generation, known for its fastback design and more athletic personality. At the point of the 1969 model’s release, the El Camino had already been around for a decade and the third generation would have to make some changes to keep the car relevant. To do this, Chevrolet tweaked a number of things related to styling and performance. Under the hood, they increased the base V8’s displacement by 24 cubic inches, adding up to a total of 307. Outside, the El Camino’s third generation looked relatively similar to its predecessor, but the B pillar swooped back at a less severe angle, creating a lower and sportier overall look. The 1969 model year was also the last one to feature the slight overhang above the grille and headlights, with the 1970 model wearing a flatter face.
Wolfe’s taste is clearly partial to older cars rather than newer counterparts, so it makes perfect sense that he’d have a 1932 Ford Roadster. Wolfe’s example is a true rat rod, a hot rodding term meaning a very clearly DIY creation, with literal and figurative rusty edges. The 1932 Ford Roadster and its Coupe sibling are the visual synonyms of hot rodding culture making the roaster an undeniable collectors item.
So what makes this car the chosen representative of hot rodding? One big reason is its engine. The 1932 Fords introduced the Ford flathead V8, which would go on to power cars bearing the Blue Oval until 1953. The flathead V8 produced a very modest 65 hp, though for the day, that figure was much more impressive. Its construction was simple and durable, making it a very dependable engine for everyday drivers, and very easy to modify for hot rodders.
Wolfe’s example may not be concours-ready, but its charm lies in its edge. The engine is exposed, and the original gear lever has been switched for one with a skull. The interior is beautifully rugged with a brown leather bench seat and a three-spoke steering wheel. The dash features an array of analogue gauges whose housing is brown and green with rust, reminiscent of a penny that’s seen too much rain and concrete. It’s a car oozing with history and personality, perfect for someone like Wolfe.
The 1953 Nash-Healy Le Mans Coupe is something of a mutt. This is one of coolest cars uncovered on “American Pickers” — so cool, Wolfe decided to keep it for himself. The reasons for the car’s coolness are extensive. First, it’s rare: Only 520 of these cars were made, and within those 520, only 62 were made with hard tops. Then there’s its recognition as the first American sports car made after the Second World War, but the real intrigue of this automobile lies in its origin story, and the people behind it.
The Nash-Healy Le Mans Coupe was the result of the joint effort of automotive minds from the United States, England, and Italy, with each group responsible for different parts of the car’s construction. American CEO of Nash-Kelvinator George Mason wanted to build a sports car, in collaboration with Englishman Donald Healy. The original plan was for Mason to send engines to Healy, who would then build a lightweight body to house them. As their project continued, they decided to trust the Italian design rockstars at Pininfarina to sculpt the body, and the result was the Nash-Healy Le Mans Coupe. A beautiful thing, the Le Mans Coupe truly looks like the sum of its parts being equal parts American, English and Italian. Wolfe’s example has some extra character to it as well, with a rusted red paint job, and a plaid fabric interior, it’s easy to see why he chose it.