| Whenever I travel I am always on the lookout for car museums.
Inevitably, every car has a story and those that reside in museums usually have interesting automobile `lives'. In a recent visit to Laos we visited the former royal capital of Luang Prabang, in central northern Laos, an hour or so flight north east of the capital, Vientiane. Both cities share one thing in common: they're situated on the mighty Mekong River. Now, Laos is hardly a likely place to find an interesting car collection, let alone any car collection.
It's a poor country, ravaged by wars until the end of the Vietnam conflict. Luang Prabang is situated on the confluence of two rivers, the Nam Khan and the Mekong, and has a strong French colonial influence in its architecture. Which is the main reason we found ourselves at the former Royal Palace, now a museum that traces the Lao royal history and heritage. Inside, we even found a gift to the former King, Sisavang Vatthana in the form of an Australian opal set, given to the King by former Australian Prime Minister, Harold Holt.
The two leaders had one thing in common. They both left office in dramatic circumstances. Holt drowned on the Portsea back beach of Melbourne's Mornington Peninsula in December 1967, a few years after he presented the opal gift to the King. And the King and his family were exiled to remote northern Laos in 1975 when the Pathet Lao took over country after the Americans were booted out of Vietnam. The politics of this region is another story, but a couple of good reads on it are `Stalking the Elephant Kings' and `Air America', should you be interested.
After touring the palace were went around back where we were told there was a garage housing the cars owned and used by King Sisavang until the time of his unfortunate departure. There's a security person keeping a watchful eye on the collection and signs stating `no photographs allowed' but unfortunately my camera was playing up at the time and accidentally took a couple of shots. Maybe, my Nikon, like myself was simply shocked by what it saw.
An Edsel in pretty good condition. Edsels were made by Ford and to this day are probably best known as one of the original `lemons.' This car was was a gift from the US Government to the Royals and was used by King Sisavang Vatthana and King Sisavang for formal occasions such a head of government visits. Only the King and Queen rode in the car.
The collection also contains a well-used Citroen, the King's `daily driver', two Lincoln Continentals (also gifts from the US), a well worn Jeep and a Johnson outboard boat that shows signs of spending its life cruising the muddy Mekong. The Edsel is the main star of the modest collection. When it was introduced into the American market on September 4, 1957 the Edsel had undergone a major marketing campaign. Yet, the car was kept under wraps. No spy photos were released.
With the teaser campaign Edsel dealerships were inundated with people desperate to see this new car, named after the only son of Henry Ford. They came, they saw, and they left without buying. For the Edsel's appearance did not just polarise buyers ... it was plain butt-ugly.
It's strange thin vertical grille has been likened to a horse collar. And, that's one of the kindest commentaries on the front end. Others have described the front as looking like an Oldsmobile `sucking a lemon.' One scribe at the time put it thus: a Pontiac pushing a toilet seat.
Oh dear. Distinctive it was. Then there's the strange rear end and weird side flash. To put in perspective Ford needed a model between Ford and Mercury, with Lincoln holding up the top end of Ford town. So the Edsel was a step up from Ford. Over at GM they had Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick and Cadillac. And in 1957 that clearly put the Edsel up against what has become one of the most revered American collector cars of all time: the 1957 Chevrolet.
Today, we would call the Edsel a `no brainer.' Just 112,000 were sold in three years and the lemon these days has become somewhat of a collector car. Remember the old car collector ethos: scarcity increases value. Ford hoped to sell 200,000 Edsels a year.
On the road the Edsel attracted a lot of attention, mainly due to appearance. But the car was also dogged with build quality issues ---- some were delivered to dealers missing vital parts. Yep, that does wonders for a car salesman's belief in the product. So, with Edsel on the wain, the US Government decided to help sales along and delivered the much maligned Edsel to the King of Laos in 1958.
The Lincolns were also presents from the US, to leave no doubt in the King's mind where Uncle Sam stood, as communism in the form of the Pathet Lao formed alliances with the North Vietnamese against the French and Americans.
It is to the current communist government's credit that the palace is now a museum and the King's chariots are also on show ... although we still can't work out why no photographs were allowed. After all, it's not exactly The Louvre or Mona Lisa ... where photographs are permitted. Inside this Royal Cars Exhibition, there are several vehicles that are displayed:
A Citroen Circa 1950s which was once King Sisavong personal car for informal trips. It was later replaced by the Lincoln Continental.
Edsel mid 1950s, another Ford made car from the US government, the Edsel was used by King Sisavong and King Sisavang Vatthana for formal occasions, such as official visits, only the king and queen rode in this car.
Lincoln Continental mid 1950s was used by both King Sisavong and King Sisavang Vatthana. This car was used exclusively to transport distinguished royal guests in Luang Prabang. The car was a gift from the US government.
Lincoln Continental mid 1960s, this was the royal family’s personal car. King Sisavang Vatthana, his wife and children rode in it to informal events like temple visits, social gathering or casual trips and town. It is manufactured by Ford Motor Co., the car was a gift from the US government.
Jeep was a gift from the Japanese government to Prince Vongsavang and Princes Minilay, 1972 manufactured by Toyota Motors.
Sea Horse 35, manufactured by Johnson Motors Canada 1956, and used by the King to cruise the Mekong.
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