Simanaitis Says
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CARS AND AIRPLANES…. AND MEMORIES PART 2
CLASSIC & SPORTS CAR STARTED ALL THIS with its “22 Cars That Share Their Names With Aeroplanes.” We continue here in Part 2 with Comets, Vegas, Aerostars, and Concordes.
1962 Mercury Comet/de Havilland Comet. “The Mercury Comet was actually released in 1960, but only as a Comet, and not under any manufacturer umbrella. It had originally been intended to be the Edsel Comet, but that brand was closed down in 1959; it wasn’t until 1962 that it became the Mercury Comet.”
“The car was not as pioneering as the 1949 de Havilland Comet aeroplane, which was the world’s first jet-powered airliner, but suffered worrying early airframe failures.”
1971 Chevrolet Vega/Lockheed 5B Vega. “America was the land of ‘bigger is better’, but in the early 1970s the tide was turning and buyers were embracing smaller cars, largely driven by skyrocketing fuel prices. The Vega was Chevrolet’s effort, although it hadn’t started as a Chevy; it was a design study by executive vice-president of operating staff Ed Cole and his team, and it was given to Chevrolet to market.”
1971 Chevrolet Vega, a special Cosworth Twin Cam model. Image from RM Sotheby’s via C&SC.
“It shared its name with the Lockheed 5B Vega, a 1928 airliner that was famously flown by Amelia Earhart.”
1986 Ford Aerostar/Piper Aerostar. “Car makers were getting into the idea of moving larger numbers of people around in the 1980s. Renault had begun this with its Espace [not cited by C&SC: so did Chrysler’s minivan in 1984], and Ford was keen to join this new wave of multi-purpose vehicles with its seven-seat Aerostar…. Unusually for the genre, the Aerostar was rear-wheel drive and powered by either a 2.3-litre, four-cylinder unit, or a 2.8-litre V6.”
“The Ford MPV was similar in concept to the Piper Aerostar aeroplane with which it shared a name. This twin-engined, propeller-driven machine was designed as a utility craft that could move people around cheaply, and first flew in 1967.”
1993 Chrysler Concorde/Concorde. “Say the word ‘Concorde’ to pretty much anyone, and their mind will immediately conjure up an image of a sleek, elegant aeroplane that was the epitome of luxury and mind-bending speed, that took its first test flight in 1969—commercial flights commenced in 1976.”
“Well, if you’re going to name your new saloon car after the famed supersonic airliner then it had at least better be aerodynamic. Thankfully, the Chrysler Concorde of 1992 was. It was launched as an upmarket model to compete with European brands such as Audi and BMW, and therefore came with leather upholstery, electrically adjustable front seats, electric windows and central locking. And, in the spirit of the 1990s, you could also specify the sound system with a graphic equaliser. Later model-year updates gave buyers the ability to order a Panasonic car phone, cruise control with steering-wheel-mounted switches and a remote-key entry system.”
All neato. Though, in retrospect, not nearly as memorable as my encounters with the real Concorde: “Concorde Vs QE2,” May 3, 2013; “My Return Trip at 1370 Mph,” February 25, 2017; and “SST Concorde Redux,” July 10, 2020.
Thanks, C&SC, for these automotive/aero namealikes prompting great memories. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026
I really like that three tone Comet ! .
Long ago I briefly had a base two door 1961 Comet with the 144CID i6 engine, it was awful .
Too darn slow any time, anywhere .
Another lump I bought for $150 was a less than 10 year old Chevy Vega, as small cars went back then it was okay, didn’t smoke as most did but wasn’t a fun to drive car so I dumped it forthwith .
“Car makers were getting into the idea of moving larger numbers of people around in the 1980s.” ?? I remember riding in a nearly new Ford Econoline “Club Van” in the early 1960’s talk about cheap people moving ! this was in Boston, Mass. and we’d freeze in there in January . the interior and door cards were cardboard, not even Masonite and zero insulation anywhere . I have learned since then to add insulation and vapor barrier sheets to both maintain better temperatures and quiet the vehicle down sharply .
In 1984 (IIRC) Pops was living in Hawaii with two young children and bought a well equipped Dodge Caravan (I *think* that’s what it was called) through Hertz rentals, it was a fantastic vehicle, came with a factory roof rack and was trouble free for nearly thirty years . he had it shipped to the mainland when he moved to New Jersey then drove it across the U.S.A. some years later when he moved to Washington State .
I love your Captain’s cap =8-).
-Nate