Cosgrove-Pickering Motors (The Demise of C&C-M)

[durk]

Cosgrove and Coronado Motorworks, AKA C&C Motorworks or C&C-M, traces its origins back to America during World War ll. Gregory Cosgrove, exempt from the draft due to injuries sustained in a racing accident which rendered him unable to race and unfit to fight a war, met a Spanish immigrant in town by the name of Victor Coronado. Coronado owned a bar in town that Cosgrove had begun to frequent. Coronado loved his regulars, and any face that appeared again and again was sure to eventually be approached by him. The two became friends quite easily. Eventually, Coronado worked up the nerve to ask Cosgrove why he wasn’t drafted, and Cosgrove shared his story. Coronado had never raced himself, but he was a big car enthusiast and had an interest in motorsport for quite a while. Their friendship grew substantially from this moment on, a common interest in cars pulling the two into enthusiastic, long-winded conversations day after day after day. After the war had ended, Coronado approached Cosgrove with an idea he had been entertaining for years, he wanted to sell his successful business and use the funds to begin producing race-inspired cars built for road use for all of the car enthusiasts out there who wanted a taste of speed without showing up to a race. Coronado pleaded Cosgrove to bring his expertise with racecraft and performance vehicles aboard. Cosgrove was reluctant to agree to let the Spaniard throw away his decent living to chase a rather silly dream, but as a few months passed after the proposal he was impressed by Coronado’s enthusiasm and confidence. The two men moved to England, partially because they figure the European market would be more welcoming of their brand, but mostly because Coronado wished to return to Europe and Cosgrove was interested in starting a new life to pair with his new business. C&C Motorworks was born.

With Coronado’s business sold, and Cosgrove far away from home, the two worked the hardest they ever had in their lives to lay the foundation for their business. They had both gone all in on a sports car company, a huge risk, but although they may have never admitted it to each other at the time they wouldn’t have had it any other way. They were both fully convinced that they weren’t going to fail. They may not end up the most successful manufacturer, but they were going to be a manufacturer they could take pride in. During this time they put together their first model, the 278 Sunrise. With the Sunrise’s design wrapped up in 1947 it was slated to enter limited production in 1948. Both Coronado and Cosgrove had contributed to the design. The two gave birth to a rather ambitious vehicle. They plopped a 2.7 V8 into a nimble chassis, and the results would prove to be quite interesting.

In it’s early stages the 278 had a bit more mass appeal, featuring a more comfortable interior and a more attractive price tag. As the design process went on, the pair steered the car towards a more performance oriented direction with a slightly bigger engine, a few more dollars thrown into balancing the chassis, and a lighter, but less luxurious interior. They knew they had quite a quick car on their hands, but only time would tell how well the 278 would fit into its niche. Cosgrove was elated to have had a hand in creating a vehicle he had now fallen in love with, and Coronado’s dream was soon to be realized once his “driver’s cars” would start rolling out of their humble factory in 1948.

[durk]

(I just realized I forgot to include sportiness, comfort, etc. for this car. It’s more or less identical to the convertible featured below aside from the sportiness being around 15 on the hardtop instead of 10. The comfort and safety are also higher than the convertible model by a few points)

In 1948 the 278 Sunrise hit the market, available only in black with no exceptions, and sales exceeded expectations. The car performed excellently, not too far off from the Jaguar XK120 in terms of straight line speed. The Sunrise featured a favorable weight distribution, which when combined with the suspension system Gregory Cosgrove himself worked on, resulted in quite a nimble car for the era. C&C Motorworks has yet to release any track times, but with modified Sunrises already making a favorable appearance in motorsport it’s a safe bet that it could hold its own with the best in the late 40s. The car was fairly easy to push with handling characteristics than tended towards understeer, just the way Cosgrove used to like his race cars.

Due to C&C-M’s limited production capabilities at the time, the Sunrise was sold at a 30% mark up, resulting in some arguably quite questionable value depending on what one is looking for. With its aggressive brakes and track-oriented suspension set up from the factory, it was best for a Sunrise owner to concentrate on and thoroughly enjoy the grip and speed of the Sunrise because it honestly did not have much else to offer for its price tag. The interior, while not a bottom of the barrel catastrophe, had its flaws. Coronado had plans for a more luxurious interior, but Cosgrove quickly convinced him to shave a few pounds here and there. The result is very exciting for a car enthusiast to look at, talk about, and take out for a quick drive on some country roads or maybe even a day at a local track, but during extended trips the Sunrise’s interior comes across as firmly sub-par for the price. While C&C-M had already garnered quite a bit of attention with its first release, it was still a new company, and a Sunrise didn’t carry a reputation with it like other performance or luxury brands of the era did. You bought a 278 Sunrise because you loved to go fast. It may not have been the FASTEST, but it was definitely fast.

In the wake of the Sunrise’s success, Cosgrove and Coronado began to discuss what they could do to expand its appeal. There was already plans for a convertible, but they realized they needed something a little more to bring in the income necessary to innovate. They may have fell short of building the fastest road car this time, but if they could stay afloat and expand their brand they might be able to hit the mark next time. At least, this is what Cosgrove had in mind. Coronado had been daily driving a 278 Sunrise himself, and sharing the car with anyone who showed interest. While he was pleased with the performance, he began to wonder if maybe he could convince Cosgrove to produce a more luxurious Sunrise. It would be even more limited in numbers than the current Sunrise, but Coronado felt that a luxurious and even more prestigious image is just what they needed to expand their brand without lowering their performance standards and producing much cheaper, but much slower cars.

1948 drew to a close, and soon C&C-M would reveal a new Sunrise and a plan for the future with it.

[squidhead]

Nice car, this might sound stupid, but I REALLY dig that vent on the quartepanel. I like that one touch quite a bit. Can’t wait to see more of your work

P.S: what’s with the textures of the workshop, they’re weirdly coloured.

[durk]

[quote=“squidhead”]Nice car, this might sound stupid, but I REALLY dig that vent on the quartepanel. I like that one touch quite a bit. Can’t wait to see more of your work

P.S: what’s with the textures of the workshop, they’re weirdly coloured.[/quote]

Thanks. Lol, that vent. I was looking at car designs from the era and they are all VERY simple. I was just looking for a little touch I could work in that wasn’t too complex but made the design a little more unique, and I settled on that.

As for the workshop, I’m not 100% sure, but I’m willing to bet it’s because of my cheap computer’s integrated graphics. On steam they used to have a warning advising against integrated graphics in the minimum requirements for this game, but it’s gone now. Not sure if that means there shouldn’t be an issue anymore or if they just removed it for other reasons. No matter how low or high I set the quality or which combination of options I select in the options panel in the launch menu the workshop background is always distorted (except it’s A LOT worse on the lower settings XD). The engine workshop is fine, though. I’m working on getting a better computer together sometime, but it wont be any time soon. Maybe I can do some work with some editing software and get rid of the backgrounds in my car shots.

[squidhead]

@durk

Maybe I can do some work with some editing software and get rid of the backgrounds in my car shots.

Try going into console with the ` key and typing “HideBuildings()”, to get them back - “ShowBuildings()”

[durk]

@squidhead

Try going into console with the ` key and typing “HideBuildings()”, to get them back - “ShowBuildings()”

That’s significantly easier XD. Thanks. That’s probably how I’m going to post car shots from now on. Might color the white background to match the grey of the forums so it looks a little better.

[durk]

(These pics look a little better )

In 1949, C&C-M swapped tops on the 278 Sunrise, tweaked the suspension a bit, and the Sunrise Convertible began rolling out of the C&C factory. The convertible was sold at a higher mark up by 2% and made in fewer numbers than the hardtop. Cosgrove wasn’t pleased with the convertible, but he and Coronado both agreed it was not worth it to put any significant effort into balancing the convertible in order to conserve resources for more important projects. The vert was pushed out to attract a wider audience, and that it did, despite being inferior to the hard top in performance. The 278 Sunrise’s chassis wasn’t designed with a convertible in mind, and the delicate balance of the car was upset by changing the top. All that was done to accommodate the differences between the vert and the hard top was a suspension set up suited to the heavier and very slightly more front-heavy chassis. The 278 Special V8 remained unchanged for the convertible model. The convertible was very successful despite the rather absurd price tag and unfavorable performance when compared to its hard top sister. While it may not have been up to par with the hard top, it was still not a bad car by any means, and its success in the market reflected that. With a hardtop and a convertible out on the road, more people began to take note of the small manufacturer. Interest was rising in the brand, and production levels began to fail to meet demand despite the heavy markups.

C&C-M vehicles often appealed more to demographics that struggled to afford them more so than they did to the folks who had the cash. Cosgrove’s tendency to favor performance over luxury was rearing its ugly head. C&C-M cars were developing a reputation for their sub-par interiors, but they were also developing a reputation for their agility. Coronado continued to worry every now and then about his cars’ amenities lagging behind his much larger competitors, fearing that maybe the performance-focused route was a bit too niche and that eventually bigger brands with their wider appeal would crush his company, but Cosgrove wasn’t phased. His cars were selling, and the more they sold and the longer his company survived the more he could afford to spend developing the cars. Who knows, maybe one of these days he figured he might combine excellent performance with excellent comfort, but his small factory was already struggling to meet demand even though he had been holding back on his engine designs. Patience was key. For now, C&C were to be known primarily as a company focused on building cars that drove quickly and cleanly with a few compromises here and there.

In the latter months of 1949 a friend of Victor Coronado began to spread word of a very interesting tour of the C&C-M factory he was given by Victor. Before he left, Gregory Cosgrove offered to give him a ride in something they had been cooking up for 1950. Cosgrove lead him to a hardtop Sunrise tucked away in a garage nearby. The vehicle featured an additional quarter panel vent and a chrome band running along the bottom of its sides, along with a hood vent. When Cosgrove fired up the engine and gave it a few revs there was definitely a difference in the exhaust note compared to the ordinary Sunrises. Victor’s friend climbed inside, and Cosgrove took him for a drive around the area giving him an inside scoop on the vehicle. According to his account, the vehicle was even quicker than the 278 Sunrises that were rolling out of the factory at the time

Of course, this may all be one big lie, but if the man is telling the truth C&C-M may have taken a very limited production 2nd crack at dethroning the Jaguar XK120. According to the source, at least 2 are expected to hit the roads in 1950. Folks are eager to see what comes out of the humble C&C-M factory this time, although some are quick to remark that they aren’t quite sure the company has the resources and experience necessary to crank out a car faster than the Jag.

(Note: According to some sources, the first 278 Sunrise was already faster than the XK120. In fact, it appears the speed record I was using to compare my car to the Jag was set with a few minor modifications. Just for the sake of keeping the story intact, I’m just going to assume/pretend that the press neglected to mention the modifications and everyone was convinced the Jag could hit 132 in stock form )

[Oskiinus]

I like this car pretty much and the company concept. But I have question.
What the frikkin fuck happened to your garage?

[durk]

[quote=“Oskiinus”]I like this car pretty much and the company concept. But I have question.
What the frikkin fuck happened to your garage?[/quote]

A prototype engine or two went boom and we didn’t clean up in time for the photoshoot

I’m actually going to be updating the earlier pictures to make them a little less ugly

[durk]

1949 passed and Cosgrove and Coronado Motorworks continued to churn out 278 Sunrises. Hardtops, convertibles…but where was the rumored “Super Sunrise” as some had called it? January, February, March…April… Months passed, and still no word of it. It would seem that a big lie had been told.

Demand for the 278 Sunrise still exceeded supply, although Victor Coronado issued a public statement saying that a larger production facility was in the works. When asked about the Super Sunrise, Coronado replied “Well, there are plans to overhaul the Sunrise chassis, but that’s a few years down the pipeline at the earliest.” Later in the month an interviewer threw a similar question at Cosgrove who replied

“We have a new Sunrise chassis in its infancy at the moment. Me and the boys have put together a very rough idea of what the 50s Sunrise is going to be, although we are going to sit back, observe, and think before we really get that project rolling. The CA chassis, as we call it back at the factory, is starting to age a bit in my opinion, but I figure we can get a few more years out of it at the very least before it needs a makeover. There have been some interesting developments in engine tech, too. I’ve been tinkering with some new things. We’ve been putting a lot of time and money into R&D lately. A whole lot. So much time and money that actually, there may be a delay in us getting a new facility set up, but it will be worth it in the long run. Once we bring the Sunrise up to date I can guarantee you we will expand our facilities, but until then we need to develop a car that’s going to keep C&C afloat. Last thing we need is to be doing is banking on an ancient car to pull through for us and give us the money we need to stay afloat and innovate. A bigger facility isn’t going to do us any good if it’s cranking out cars nobody wants.”

From that point on most fans of C&C-M who still believed in the Super Sunrise rumor assumed the car Cosgrove allegedly showed Victor’s friend was a next gen 278 Sunrise prototype. Summer was coming to an end and followers of the brand continued to speculate, and then big news struck. Victor Coronado, Gregory Cosgrove, and a team of C&C-M employees were spotted at the Nurburgring. Apparently they had brought 3 cars to the track, both the familiar hardtop and convertible variant of the 278 Sunrise, and a never before seen, chromed to the gills Sunrise hardtop. A local car magazine managed to catch up with the C&C-M team as they were loading back up to head home. When asked about the new hardtop, Cosgrove replied

“Yes, it’s THAT car. The rumors are true. At this rate she’ll be out on the roads in '51; although, who’s to say we won’t delay its release again? I handed it over to Victor and he polished the looks a bit, but the engine is the same as it was a year ago. We’ve been working with the brakes, the suspension, we tried out some new tires, we slapped a new gearbox on it. We’ve been using it as our guinea pig for a while now. Got some good R&D out of the thing. We may put together a race car based on this thing. We had a pretty crazy set up on this baby at one point, but I wasn’t quite happy with it as a road car. It was VERY fast, though. Definitely excited about racing a similar build; although, I don’t know if we have room in our budget for that quite yet. We’re pretty happy with this build that we brought to the track. I’m fairly confident this is what we will ship out onto the road next year. I can’t say for sure we won’t delay it again, but I feel we don’t have much left to squeeze out of this car at the moment without getting too crazy for our budget and our customers. I don’t want to put something out there that is going to cause people to get themselves killed.”

The German magazine and C&C-M made an agreement that limited information would be released to the public in exchange for the magazine getting an additional, more detailed, early look at the car later in the year.
An excerpt from an article released by a British car mag covering these developments states
“…so far only one photo of the new Sunrise has been released to the public, a side shot. It may be a rather gorgeous side shot, but we will just have to wait until more photos come out of the wood work, or maybe even release day, to confirm rumors such as the absence of the hood scoop described in the original Super Sunrise rumor, front turning signals (rear turn signals can be observed in the publicly released photo, so I’m thinking this is quite likely) coupled with small chrome accents, and apparently a big “COSGROVE” label on the trunk of the car…”

Later in the same article, the British mag printed track times rumored to have been set by the C&C-M cars that day. The convertible clocked in at 10:40.91 around the 'ring, the hardtop bested the verts time with a 10:19.98, and the new Sunrise was reported to have posted a 10:01.51. The hardtop 278 Sunrise was certainly a quick car, but many found the 10:01.51 posted by the Super Sunrise to be quite difficult to believe. People doubted such a small company was capable of claiming the fastest production car throne. Folks eargely waited until its release to find out whether C&C-M really had managed to create such a speed demon.
(I know these times are about on par with a modern Ford Transit , but from the research I’ve done these are pretty fast for the time. In '51 Formula 1 would visit the ring and the fastest lap was a 9:55.8. Formula 1, from what I’ve seen, wasn’t as far away from normal race cars and street cars as they are today. The series had just been born and F1 cars of the time ran swing axles in the rear and downforce wasn’t a big thing during that time, so the proximity to an F1 car’s performance isn’t as crazy as it would be today, but I’d say it’s still pretty respectable).

[durk]

Towards the end of 1950, the aforementioned German magazine released an article detailing their in-depth look into what C&C-M called the 278 Sunrise Cosgrove Edition.

“Gregory Cosgrove gave us a rundown on the Cosgrove Edition during our ride with him in the car through the countryside around his factory. ‘This model is what every 278 Sunrise would have been had I known what I know now when this company came into existence. There is really no reason to purchase a standard Sunrise over this one, it’s just plain better. We weren’t sure that we had the resources to create a vehicle like this at the time. We lacked the experience to be certain that we could pull this off. Only the best men our factory has to offer put these together, including myself. The performance improvements aren’t all that expensive, in fact it costs more in raw materials to put a Sunrise convertible together, but we put more hours into these babies.’ While we were with Cosgrove he claimed the car could achieve a top speed higher than that of the Jaguar XK120 shortly before going into further detail on what makes the Cosgrove Edition special. ‘The engine in this Sunrise has a twin barrel, twin carb system installed. We’ve also put some decent time into the valvetrain to squeeze more revs out of the thing. This vehicle also sports the highest quality suspension C&C will have ever offered. The brakes are improved as well. We’ve really put together something wonderful this time.’ Cosgrove was almost entirely responsible for the creation of the Cosgrove Edition, hence the name. Gregory mentioned that while reluctant to do so, he let co-owner of C&C-M , Victor Coronado, design the aesthetics of the car. ‘It’s not a bad looking car, certainly. A little too much chrome for my tastes, though.’ Cosgrove remarked…”

The article generated a great deal of interest in the 278 Sunrise Cosgrove Edition. Fans of C&C-M got their wallets ready for 1951, but when it arrived…no one was able to purchase one. Its release had been delayed. Again. The money C&C-M had been investing into developing the Cosgrove Edition and the next gen Sunrise left them in a position where releasing the Cosgrove was too risky of a move to take. Victor Coronado told British car mags, “We’re running quite low on funds at the moment. We just need to make some more sales on our standard models before we can release the Cosgrove Edition to the public. I know these past couple of years have been disappointing, but great things are coming from us. Just be patient.”

In 1951, C&C-M sales dipped. It appeared that the Cosgrove Edition delay had damaged the company’s reputation and folks were a little more reluctant to spend their money on a 278 Sunrise. Also, the standard 278 Sunrises were becoming less and less competitive as their design remain unchanged during a transitionary period between the 40s and 50s. It would seem people were already expecting a new Sunrise for the new decade. Despite this, C&C pulled through 1951 and made enough of a profit to give the Cosgrove Edition release the green light in 1952

The Cosgrove edition was a very fast car for the time; however, the release was a bit too late to have the impact it could have had. The market had changed since the design was finalized, which had remained the same since it was tested at the Nurburgring, and the cars of '52 compared more favorably to the Cosgrove Edition than the cars of 1950 did. Some critics believed C&C-M were charging too much for a design that had ultimately fallen behind the rapidly evolving times of the era. The Cosgrove Edition was expected to outperform the competition by a margin that had shrunk since the design’s finalization. Many expected the delay would be coupled with further refinements to the vehicle’s performance. It was faster than the already quite impressive 278 Sunrise, but was it enough of an improvement to justify the price hike? An official top speed test landed the Cosgrove Edition a spot in the record books for the highest top speed in a production car, giving the vehicle a significant publicity boost. Although no record could keep the usual C&C-M complaints at bay. The Cosgrove edition had the same interior as a standard 278 Sunrise with the exception of a chrome Cosgrove badge on the dashboard. The vehicle was only available in black and C&C still refused to put a radio of any sort in their cars. Some critics saw the design as unacceptably dated for the market it was trying to appeal to and the expectations they had set for a limited production, top of the line 278 Sunrise. Some also noted the rather odd slight rear-heaviness from the car considering how much Cosgrove used to go on about how great the hardtop Sunrise’s 50/50 weight distribution was. Later in the year Cosgrove commented, “We purposely left a little bit more weight towards the rear to give the back tires a little extra grip. This car is a tad more straight-line focused than our previous offerings, and we believe that little balance shift aids acceleration. Of course we didn’t go too crazy with it, we didn’t want the car to be too unbalanced, but every little bit helps.”

Another problem with the Cosgrove Edition was its low production volume. While the vehicle was quite desirable the C&C-M factory cranked out nowhere near enough road going examples to meet demand. C&C-M’s puny factory was holding back their success once again. The Cosgrove Edition’s release may have magnified C&C-M’s issues, but it was still a great car, and those who could look past the company’s growing pains saw that. Towards the end of 1952, Cosgrove remarked that despite the problems they had with the Cosgrove Edition’s release they were doing fairly well and the company was on track to expand its production facilities and release the next generation of the 278 Sunrise. “C&C is entering a new era. We are going to make ourselves look pathetic with what we are going to be offering in the coming years. I hate to admit this, but the new Sunrise chassis is going to do much of what the Cosgrove Edition did better at a lower price and in higher volumes. The fact is these past couple of years have been a rough time for us. We spent far too much far too soon. That was not the right time to tackle the two projects we put on the table at the same time. I was being very arrogant and stupid, but trust me. Things are going to get much better. Car enthusiasts everywhere are going to love the new Sunrise. Race teams will dominate every track, rally, and hillclimb with this car. We are really putting together something special here.”

“We are really putting together something special here.” Everyone had heard that one before from Cosgrove. No doubt his company made special cars, but would their latest offering be as marketable as the first 278 Sunrise had been on release?

[durk]

During 1952 C&C-M announced some big changes coming to the next generation Sunrise. It was announced that the 278 Special, the V8 used to power the 278 Sunrise during its first generation, would be retired and replaced by the 278 Coronado. On the subject of the new powerplant, and the new 278 Sunrise in general, Gregory Cosgrove stated,

“I don’t think anyone outside of the factory really knows how the 278 Special came to be. It was based off of a prototype I put together by basically combining two small straight 4s I had acquired from a local small motor plant that was going out of business. It was an alright design for the time I suppose. We weren’t quite sure on all of the details of the Sunrise at that time, and it worked well enough for that generation. These days we have a clearer vision of what our car should be. One of our biggest goals with this generation is to shave weight off the car. The new Sunrise is going to be a sub 2000, maybe even sub 1900 pound car. The aluminum heads, push rod valvetrain, a lighter exhaust, and an undersquare configuration that we are incorporating into the new powerplant shaved quite a few pounds off of the vehicle. As a little side note, we also went with a crossplane crank configuration for our new powerplant. The new Sunrise will also have a slight rearward weight bias, but an exact 50/50 isn’t as important as just getting in the ballpark of that range for our goals. The body is also shaped a bit differently, again, to shave off some pounds. This new Sunrise, despite being a bit down on power compared to its predecessor, is faster around the track by quite a significant margin. It’s not as fast as the Cosgrove Edition, but we have a less expensive and easier to put together package with the new 278 Sunrise. With our new facilities we should be able to crank out quite a few of these, especially compared to how many Cosgrove Editions we have put out on the road. I’m much more pleased with this car than I am with the Cosgrove Edition. The early builds I’ve test driven so far have been way more fun than our previous offerings. We’ve been having some rough times recently, but once this car is out the door I’m confident things will take a huge turn for the better.”

When asked why C&C-M are still sticking with such a small V8 to power their vehicles, Cosgrove responded,
“Initially we found a smaller V8 quite easy to get into the higher rev ranges. These days with a pushrod valvetrain we aren’t getting the same revs we used to, but I feel the weight and balance benefits of sticking with a small engine are worth the drawbacks. We may be able to get more power with a larger displacement, but our cars are already quite fast and I feel the extra power doesn’t fit in with what we want the 278 Sunrise to be at the moment.”

In a separate interview Victor Coronado announced that the next generation of 278 Sunrises are expected to enter production in 1953. Followers of the brand hoped that the new Sunrise would live up to the hype.

[durk]

(I swear, I’ll standardize the format for my model reveal pictures eventually . I’m actually quite liking this one.)

The brand new CB (Chassis B) 278 Sunrise and the 278 Coronado powerplant hit the market in '53 while production of the 278 Sunrise Cosgrove Edition, along with any other first generation Sunrise trims, ceased. 278 Special powerplants would be continue to be offered, but only on order. With its excellent performance, unprecedented production numbers (for C&C-M), and more reasonable pricing than previous C&C offerings, the new Sunrise was a smash hit. Just as Gregory Cosgrove promised it compared favorably to the Cosgrove Edition while being available at a lower price point and in larger numbers; although, some critics were disappointed to discover a drop in top speed compared to even the base first generation 278 Sunrise. However, many were willing to overlook the top speed deficit and enjoy the CB’s acceleration and grip. Convertible CBs were expected to enter production halfway through the year, and there was even talk of colors other than black being offered next year.

Behind the scenes, the company was taking a massive gamble by lowering their mark ups in order to offer the CB at lower prices. The CB wasn’t actually cheaper in terms of raw material cost to produce than a Cosgrove Edition Sunrise; however, it took fewer man hours to produce than even a standard 278 CA. The hope was that a quicker to put together car plus C&C-Ms expanded production capabilities could result in enough CBs being sold to keep the company in good shape. C&C-M were struggling to get by after spending a large portion of their budget on developing the CB, expanding their facility, and also beginning to work on a second model to add to their line up. This model was announced to the public during February of 1953. It was slated to be a larger, possibly more luxurious offering that would eventually have the option to be equipped with a 3+ liter V8 powerplant. The gambles the company had made appeared to have paid off when sales exceeded expectations during the CB’s first few months of production and various car media outlets began to build hype for the upcoming new model in the works; however, disaster struck when a fire destroyed the majority of C&C-M’s recently upgraded facility. Production experienced a huge slump.The company couldn’t produce enough vehicles to bring in the required income to meet their expenses. As 1953 closed out Gregory Cosgrove announced they would have to suspend production of the CB 278 Sunrise for 1954 while the company sorted out financial issues.

In the latter months of 1954 C&C-M began to advertise services as a made to order parts and engine manufacturer and a small tuning shop, but there was no mention of 278 Sunrise production resuming nor was there any word on the planned new model. News of whether C&C-M vehicle production would resume was nowhere to be found. Followers of the brand still had hope, though. The company managed to stay afloat by shifting priorities, and diehard fans were confident that the brand would make a comeback someday.

[durk]

In 1955, in the wake of C&C-Ms near demise, Victor Coronado became fed up with the trying times his brand had fallen into and left C&C-M and the United Kingdom behind to return to his homeland and start a string of bars much like the one he had owned in his younger years. One of the founders abandoning the brand caused a significant hit to company morale, and the remnants of C&C were about ready to call it quits when a small engine production company by the name of Pickering Motors contacted Gregory Cosgrove and expressed interest in collaboration. James Pickering saw what the company was capable of with the 278 Sunrise, and he was hoping with the resources available to him that he could keep C&C-M out of the grave. While not a household name, Pickering Motors was far better off than C&C-M had been even at its peak, and Gregory Cosgrove saw an excellent opportunity to turn his brand around with Pickering’s offer. Cosgrove quickly relocated his operation in the UK to Nevada in the United States alongside Pickering Motors headquarters and Cosgrove-Pickering Motors was born.

In 1956, Cosgrove-Pickering Motors showcased the Mojave GT Concept through all media avenues they had access to. Featuring a monocoque construction, independent suspension on all four wheels, and aluminum body panels, the Mojave GT generated quite a buzz amongst the car enthusiast community. Folks had high hopes for the radical, race-ready chassis and 4.2 liter performance Pickering Small Block combo, memories of the excellent CB 278 Sunrise fresh in their minds. Some criticized the concept, claiming Cosgrove had learned nothing from the hardships endured during the C&C-M era and that his wild ambition would claim the life of yet another brand. Only time would tell if Gregory Cosgrove was again biting off more than he could chew. The Mojave GT was expected to hit the roads in '57.

[durk]

Just as 1957 arrived, Cosgrove-Pickering Motors announced they would have to delay the release of the Mojave GT. Victor Coronado had sued the company, claiming the Mojave GT incorporated designs he had worked on alone during his time with C&C-M. Pickering Motors continued to crank out crate engines, but not a single original vehicle would roll out of any of the Pickering Plants for the next few years as the legal dispute dragged on. Eventually, the two parties struck a deal. In 1960 Cosgrove-Pickering Motors agreed to halt their plans for the Mojave GT, but Victor Coronado would not receive any compensation as not a single unit had been sold or even produced aside from the concept vehicle. The fate of the Mojave GT concept was never revealed and neither Victor Coronado nor Gregory Cosgrove would comment on what happened to the vehicle.

It was back to the drawing board for Gregory Cosgrove, and he now realized he needed to build a new brand to keep his old friend off of his back. He had to leave the comfort zone he had established during the C&C-M era and get a little more creative and a little more crazy.