A14| Wednesday, September 11, 2019 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Bruce Meyer, founding
chairman of the Petersen
Automotive Museum, with his
Shelby Cobra. At left, the glove
box is signed by the car’s
creator, Carroll Shelby.When he finished the first
car—CSX2000, a prototype—
he repainted it numerous
colors and gave it to maga-
zines for photography, mak-
ing it appear that he was ac-
tually building these cars.tight connections, so travel-
ers need to decide for them-
selves what works for them.
Tight connections create
more itineraries to sell and
trips with
shorter dura-
tions some-
times get
listed higher
in search re-
sults. The
more connec-
tions you can
makeata
hub, the
higher the
revenue. So
being unreal-
istic has a
big benefit
for airlines.
If the airline
says 35 to
40 minutes
is legal, don’t believe it un-
less you’re one of those trav-
elers who likes to run.
I’m basically with you,
Stephanie: one-hour mini-
mum for domestic, though on
airlines with a less depend-
able on-time rate, I’d push
that to 90 minutes and, if
you really are concerned,plan on two hours. (And
three hours minimum for in-
ternational, even with Global
Entry.) I often try to book
connections at mealtime and
plan 90 min-
utes or more
on domestic
trips. It’s an
extra cushion,
and if I don’t
get to eat, no
big deal. As
you may have
read, I do love
exploring air-
ports, so extra
time is wel-
come. Not all
share that af-
fliction! But
the penalty
for missing a
connection is
severe, and so
I always opt for more un-
rushed time.
I do think the airport
you’re connecting in, the air-
line you’re connecting on and
whether you are transferring
from a regional airline part-
ner to the main airline dic-
tate how much cushion to
build in. If you have to get onChicago’s O’Hare AirportO’HARE INTL AIRPORTLIFE & ARTS
Bruce Meyer, 77, the
founding chairman of the
Petersen Automotive Mu-
seum in Los Angeles, on his
Shelby Cobra CSX2001, as
told to A.J. Baime.
Nearly 15 years ago, I
went to a car show called
Rétromobile, which happens
in Paris every winter. I hap-
pened to be there the day
before the show opened,
wandering around, when I
saw this striking vehicle. A
Swiss dealer had it on dis-
play. I asked about the his-
tory of the car and he said,
“This is CSX2001.”
I said, “There’s no way. It
can’t be.”
The dealer showed me all
the documentation that
proved it. The serial num-
ber CSX2001 signified that
it was the first production
Shelby Cobra ever built.
This was the automotive
find of a lifetime, and I
bought the car instantly, for
a high-six figure price.
The story of the Cobra
goes back to the early
1960s. Carroll Shelby was a
race-car driver who retired
due to heart problems. He
had this idea to use an
American engine (in this
case, a Ford) to build a new
kind of what he called
“sport car.” He used a chas-
sis from a British company
called AC, and he gathered a
team of hot rodders to build
the first Cobra. At the time,
he didn’t even have his own
production facility. Shelby’s
dream was to build his own
car that could beat the Cor-
vettes and Ferraris on the
race track.
MY RIDE| A.J. BAIME
A 1960s Shelby Cobra, Built to Beat Ferraris
Collector Bruce Meyer tells the story of his best find ever, a legendary sports car created by racing icon Carroll Shelby
a train or ride a shuttle bus,
add extra time to your per-
sonal minimum. If you have
to go from a remote regional
terminal to mainline, plan ex-
tra time. With some connec-
tions in Philadelphia, for ex-
ample, you’ll cross a county
line on a journey of more
than a mile.
Right now, American’s op-
eration is having significant
problems. Until they prove
they can run a reliable air-
line, I’d plan on two hours for
safety. Not the same on Delta,
which has a better on-time
rate and a much lower can-
cellation rate. This is one big
reason we rank airlines on re-
liability each year—so travel-
ers can make informed deci-
sions about their own trips.
It’s worth noting that
United has launched a pro-
gram to better protect last-
flight connections. United is
tracking passengers better
and declared it is more will-
ing to delay departures to
get late-arriving connecting
customers. Airlines change
philosophy all the time on
whether to delay flights for
connecting passengers or
push off the gate three min-
utes early to preserve on-
time stats. We’ll see how
United’s effort will play out.Subscribe to Scott
McCartney’s Middle Seat
newsletter at WSJ.com/
newsletters.After the prototype, he built
the first “customer” car
(CSX2001). The car was then
shipped to France, to race.
By 1965, the Shelby Cobra
was a sensation—winning
races and respect all overthe world, and luring a
lineup of celebrity custom-
ers. I bought my first in
1965, and I got to know
Shelby personally. [He died
in 2012, at the age of 89.]
The first production Cobra,meanwhile, spent most of its
life in France, until I found it
by accident at the Rétromo-
bile car show. I have owned
it ever since, and I restored
it with racing #1, because it
is the first production Cobra,and also because it raced
with #1 in the ’60s.
Today,Ihavemore
Porsches than any other kind
of car, including two that
won the 24 Hours of Le
Mans. But I love the Cobra. It
is rowdy. It is spirited. It
checks every box in terms of
turning on all the senses. I
have spent my life pursuing
automotive passions, and
finding this car is the auto-
motive highlight of my life.Write to A.J. Baime at
[email protected].AIR MAIL| SCOTT McCARTNEY
DAVID WALTER BANKS FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (4)Q
I’m curious what
your advice is for
how long you re-
ally need to make
a connection on
the major airlines. I’ve
missed or almost missed ev-
ery connection I’ve had year-
to-date, and I’ve flown all
the major players (American,
United, Delta). Each airline
assured me when booking
(or rebooking, or refusing to
move my second flight when
I was worried about how de-
lays might make me miss my
connection) that the connec-
tion was doable and proba-
ble. The tightest connection
I’ll do is around an hour, so I
book two or three hours
when possible, but I also
want to get to my destina-
tion! I live in Des Moines, so
I always need to make a con-
nection in Minneapolis, Chi-
cago, Denver or Dallas. Buy-
ing nonstop isn’t an option
when your closest airport is
a smaller in nature.— Stepha-
nie Esker, Des Moines, IowaA:Let’s start with the real-
ity that airlines have a big
revenue incentive to scheduleHow Much Time Do You
Need for a Layover?
LEASELEASE
!
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