The Carnut's History of the World...of Cars

4/25/2005

History according to a Carnut!!!

Special thanks to the History Channel
and other web sites dedicated to the history of different forgotten parts of the history of the automobile
My own comments in Italics...not the views of the History Channel

April 1

1970 Gremlins

AMC, the company that first introduced the compact car in the 1950s, introduced the Gremlin, America's first sub-compact car. AMC was the only major independent car company to survive into the 1970s. AMC's success relied heavily on the vision of the company's first President George Romney, who strongly believed that to compete with the Big Three his company must offer smaller, more fuel-efficient alternatives to their cars. The AMC Rambler, a compact car, accounted for nearly all of AMC's profits through the 1950s, the era during which the company enjoyed its most substantial success. AMC's fortune faded rapidly after Romney left the company in 1962, and by the end of the ' 60s, the company's output had dropped to a dismal 250,000 sales per year. The release of the Gremlin in 1970 marked the company's return to Romney's vision. Designed to compete with the imported Volkswagens and Japanese sub-compacts, the Gremlin was essentially the AMC Hornet with its back end cut off. AMC President Roy Chapin attempted to re-create the vigorous personal campaign that Romney had used successfully to market the Rambler in the 50s. He appeared before the American public in advertisements to extol the virtues of the "first sub-compact" car. Unfortunately for AMC, the Gremlin was out on the market for only a short time before the Big Three released their own sub-compact models.

AMC will always be remembered as the last of the American Manufacturers to produce "Flathead engines" for passenger cars. Combine that with the fact that they made most of their money off the Rambler in the 50's and one can only wonder how they lasted as long as they did!!!

1993 Death Of A Champion

Alan Kulwicki, 1992 Winston Cup Champion, died in a plane crash near Bristol, Tennessee. Alan, son of USAC mechanic and engine builder Jerry Kulwicki, grew up in Milwaukee. His father didn't approve of his son racing cars, but Alan raced all the same. He became the youngest racer to start a late-model stock- car race in Wisconsin when, at the age of 18, he started a race at the Hales Corners Speedway. He took home $27. Little by little, Alan worked his way up the ranks of American stock-car racing. Continuing to pursue his dream to race on the NASCAR circuit, Alan owned, maintained, and raced his own cars throughout his career. He became the Winston Cup Circuit's "Rookie of the Year" in 1986, a remarkable feat considering he raced without heavy corporate sponsorship. The next year his success brought him a sponsorship from Zerox. Alan went on to win the Winston Cup Circuit in 1992, becoming the greatest stock-car racer in the world. His untimely death prevented him from defending his title. In an era of stock-car racing dominated by family dynasties, Alan Kulwicki was a self-made champion.

This is one of the two ways rockstars die...Plane crashes and choking on their own vomit in a drug/alcohol stupor. I would prefer the plane crash thank you very much.

April 2

1956 The Sloan Era

Alfred P. Sloan stepped down after 19 years as chairman of General Motors (GM), with Albert Bradley elected as his successor. Sloan is recognized as the creator of the GM Corporation as it exists today. Brought on by William Durant by way of the purchase of the Hyatt Roller Bearing Corporation, Sloan worked his way into the position of vice president of GM. At that time, the company was a poorly planned and loosely configured extension of William Durant's vision. Sloan, with Durant's approval if not his undivided attention, set about centralizing GM. His first major step was to build a new corporate headquarters on the outskirts of Detroit. Sloan focused on consolidation and profit margin. He would effectively rule GM with an invisible hand for over three decades.

As for the bold type above... some things never change

1926 Union Jack

Grand Prix racer Jack Brabham was born in Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia. Brabham is credited with having rung in the "green decade" of Formula One racing. Between 1962 and 1973 British Formula One teams won 12 World Championships in cars painted British "racing green." Brabham won back-to-back championships in 1959 and 1960 driving the Cooper Team car equipped with a 2500 CC Coventry Climax engine and a revolutionary rear-engine design. Winning the World Championship for the third time in 1966, Brabham raced alongside British greats like Scotsmen Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart, Englishman Graham Hill, and Kiwi Denny Hulme. Jack's son Geoff Brabham is also an F1 racer.

Keep in mind that for every Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark there are 11,000 poor schmucks trying their hand at formula Ford and running you off the road at 5 mph faster than whatever speed you are cruising at to get milk at the 7-11

1987 More Alive At 65?

The United States Government allowed individual states to increase the speed limit on rural roads from 55mph to 65mph. The move opened the forum for legislation that would, over the next decade, dramatically increase the speed limits observed on our country's roads. Since 1973, when Richard Nixon set a federal maximum speed limit of 55mph, no cars were allowed to exceed this speed. After 1987, many states raised maximum speed limits to 75mph. Nevada and Montana observe a policy of "reasonable speed" wherein drivers are urged to use speed prudently, but are not held to a numerical speed limit. The debate over the safety of increased speed limits rages on. Many hold that increased speed limits translate directly into increased numbers of highway fatalities. Other advocacy groups claim that higher speed limits actually diminish the rate of accidents by thinning out traffic. Both groups use well-presented statistics to bolster their causes. New cars are certainly capable of handling higher speeds on today's roads, but are their drivers?

I have always held to the believe that the faster you go the shorter time you spend on the road and the less time you run an engine is more time it is not burning precious fossil fuel...do you follow my logic??? So it follows that the less time you spend on the road the safer you are!!!

April 3

1996 Art Car

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City placed a Jaguar E-Type in its permanent exhibit. The E-Type was just the third car to be honored by the curators of the museum's permanent exhibit. Released in 1961, the E-Type was the first model released by Jaguar Motors after a disastrous fire destroyed the company's production facilities in 1957. The car's sleek lines made it an immediate success. Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons first made an impact in the automobile industry when he bolted a care body he designed onto the frame of an Austin Seven Car. His car, the Austin Swallow, was so successful that Lyons determined to manufacture his own automobiles. The E-Type is the epitome of Jaguar's exquisite feel for body design. The car is literally a work of art.

I am betting that this is probably the first work of art to have a drip pan!!!

Mythology. A bird in Egyptian mythology that lived in the desert for 500 years and then consumed itself by fire, later to rise renewed from its ashes. Thank heavens for the phoenix...or some other mythical creature to save the company. I am thinking that many times during the 70's 80's and 90's Management got together to figure out how they could burn the place down and start over fresh...it worked before!!!

1885 Daimler's First Engine

Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his 1-cylinder water-cooled engine design. Daimler's invention was the breakthrough that other engine builders had been waiting for. Previously no one had been able to efficiently solve the problem posed by the tremendous heat produced by internal combustion engines. In Daimler's engine, cool water circulated around the engine block, preventing the engine from overheating. Today's engines still employ Daimler's basic idea. Before the water-cooled engine, cars were practical impossibilities, as the parts on which the engine was mounted could not sustain the heat generated by the engine itself. Daimler built himself his first whole automobile in the fall of 1896, and in doing so, took the first step in his self-named company's storied car-building history.

Yeah there is no way you could cool an engine with air...even VW and Porsche finally made the switch to water...after producing few air cooled attempts!!!

April 4

1944 Coach & Four

Actor and car racer Craig T. Nelson was born in Spokane, Washington. Nelson is most famous for his title role in the long-running television show Coach, in which he portrayed Coach Hayden Fox of the struggling Minnesota State football team. Nelson, whose TV show was cancelled in 1997 after nine years, has been racing in Sports Cars premier division since 1994. "There's world-class drivers here that have been doing this their whole career," Nelson said of the circuit. "And if you're willing to listen and take some criticism, you can really learn a lot from them." Without a major sponsorship, "Coach" has been essentially footing the bill for his Nelson's Screaming Eagles Race Team. He refuses to accept the sponsorships of tobacco or alcohol companies. Having enjoyed limited success thus far on the circuit, Nelson consoles himself with the fact that he loves both the racing of the cars and the perspective the sport provides him.

Lucky Bastard!!!

1996 A New Jag

Jaguar introduced its new SK8 convertible at the New York International Auto Show. The SK was the sports car version of the XK car released a few months before. The two models were Jaguar's first entirely new designs since the company became a Ford subsidiary in 1989. Powered by the Advanced Jaguar V-8 coupled with a five-speed automatic gearbox, the SK lives up to Jaguar's historic line of powerful sports cars. However, Jaguar purists argue that the lines of the car body itself are not Jaguar lines. Ford executives claim that they have not meddled with the integrity of the Jaguar marque, and so any lines that don't look like they came from Jaguar designs still came from Jaguar designers. Judge for yourself: would Sir William Lyons turn in his grave to see the new look of Jaguar?

They took this long to come out with something new so it looked like they actually took their time and made something special and new...not just a rebodied Aston Martin....I am definitely not complaining. I think the Jag rocks!!

April 5

1988 Fast Car

Tracy Chapman released the single "Fast Car" from her self-titled first album Tracy Chapman. The album went multi-platinum largely on the strength of the enormous popularity of "Fast Car." In "Fast Car" Chapman follows in the tradition of American balladeers, singing the praises of the freedom afforded by the open road. "You've got a fast car. Is it fast enough so we can fly away? We got to make a decision. Leave tonight or live and die this way. I remember when we were driving, driving in your car, speeds so fast I felt like I was drunk... I had a feeling that I belonged. I had a feeling I could be someone."

Just reading the lyrics brings back the time I stubbed my finger trying to switch the radio station fast enough to get away from this dreadful song from a dreadful performer.

1923 Tires Balloon

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio, began balloon-tire production. The company had previously experimented with large-section, thin-walled tires with small bead diameters for special purposes, but none had been put on the commercial market. Firestone had become the country's largest producer of tires when it received the contract to supply Henry Ford's Model T's with tires. The company remained on top of the tire industry, challenged for supremacy only by Goodyear. Balloon tires provided better handling and a smoother ride for car drivers. In balloon tires an inner tube is fitted inside the tire and inflated. With Firestone's innovation came the era of the flat tire. Sure, people had problems with their cars before 1923; but none had yet enjoyed the pleasure of standing by the roadside watching their hissing tire deflate along with their hopes of arriving on time.

See, even the History channel gets in a good one every now and then.

April 6

1934 Whitewalls

The Ford Motor Company announced white sidewall tires as an option on its new vehicles at a cost of $11.25 per set. Whitewalls soon became associated with style and money. By the 1950s, whitewalls were standard on many cars, and it would be hard to imagine a '55 Corvette without a corresponding set of whitewall treads. The popularity of whitewalls continued well into the 1960s. Car companies offered different width white bands in a race to make their whitewalls whiter. In the James Bond film Dr. No, 007 drives a Sunbeam with wire wheels and special-ordered five-inch white-walled tires. Henry Ford was never known as a fashion revolutionary, but he was onto something with the whitewalls.

April 7

1922 Sig Speeds

Racer Sig Haugdahl drove the Wisconsin Special over 180mph on a one-way run at the Daytona Beach racing oval. Haugdahl's speed was a remarkable 24mph faster than the previous world-land speed record. A Norwegian immigrant who settled in Minnesota, Sig Haugdahl began his racing career in 1918. He became the IMCA champion but was considered an outsider by the more influential USAC governing body. Eager to prove he could outrace anybody, Haugdahl built his own car with the specific aim of unseating then USAC champion Tommy Milton. The fruit of Haugdahl's endeavor was the Wisconsin Special, so named because of its massive 836 cubic-inch Wisconsin Airplane engine. Antique car restorer Paul Freehill explained the mechanics of the Wisconsin Special's engine, "It's World War I technology that's leftover. There wasn't a clutch or anything; the engine was hooked directly to the rear axle." But however primitive the propulsion system may have been, Haugdahl had to be an innovator to make the car stay on the ground. He tapered the exposed parts of his car to cut drag. Where structural tapering was impossible, he wrapped parts in tape to cut drag. Haugdahl was also the first man to balance the wheels and tires on his race car. It was essential that Haugdahl pay attention to the smallest details, as the size of his engine left little room for error. The Wisconsin Special was only 20 inches wide. Even the 5'3" Haugdahl had to squeeze to fit in. Imagine the thrill of racing at 180mph on a sand course with the Wisconsin Special roaring a few feet from your back. Haugdahl was the first man to travel three miles in a minute, but his record was never observed by the USAC governing body as none of its members were present to witness the event. Those who were present witnessed a veritable miracle. Haugdahl's unofficial record would go untouched for over a decade.

A perfect example of how far we have come 33 years later Mercedes was selling it's Gullwings and they would go 150mph and have a clutch. 45 after that BMW has a car capable of 200mph with dvd players and picnic tables in the back seat to keep the kiddies occupied on the high speed runs!!! Now days 200 mph seems to be the daily drivers!!!

1969 Jim Clark Tragedy

Jim Clark, one of the greatest grand prix racers of all time, died in a tragic accident during a Formula 2 race in Hockenheim, Germany. Clark, widely regarded as the most naturally gifted F1 racer of all time, competed his entire career on behalf of Colin Chapman's Team Lotus. He won two World Championships, in 1963 and in 1965. Clark's 1965 season is undoubtedly the sport's greatest individual achievement. Clark led every lap of every race he finished, and he won the Indy 500. Known for his soft-spoken manor, Clark was known for his ability to win on all types of courses, including those that he personally detested. He won four straight Belgian GPs at his least favorite course, the arduous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Clark died in a meaningless race at Hockenheim, when his car mysteriously left the track and collided with a tree. His death shocked the racing world. Chris Amon, then with Ferrari described his own feelings about the accident, "If it could happen to him what chance did the rest of us have? I think we all felt that. It seemed like we'd lost our leader."

Of course I was alive but more into Hot Wheels than F1 and I don't remember his death. Donohue was the first of the tragedies I remember....but when will the list stop? Greg Moore died on a speedway...in my mind the worst type of racing and I have watched only a dozen races since he died. The amount of technology going into these cars trickles down and hopefully all classes of racing benefit from this added safety.

Hearing from a Psche nurse I know that has a ward full of young adult with burned out minds due to Crystal Meth or whatever the drug of choice is today, having a child reach 30 seems to be a much bigger task than I ever imagined

April 8

1910 The Boards

The Los Angeles Motordome, the first speedway with a board track, opened near Playa Del Rey, California, under the direction of Fred Moskovics and Jack Prince. The track was made of wood and ran a circumference of 5,281 feet. Board tracks used the same engineering technology as the smaller wood velodromes used in France for bicycle racing. The tracks were paved with 2x4's and were steeply banked at angles as high as 45 degrees. On such a track, a car-racing daredevil could reach speeds up to 100mph with his hands off the steering wheel. The L.A. Motordome, affectionately known as "The Boards," was a huge success. By 1915, nearly a half-dozen board tracks had popped up around the country. By 1931, there were 24 board tracks in operation including tracks in Beverly Hills, Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and Atlantic City. Incidentally, the Beverly Hills track stood approximately where the prime-time shopping blocks of Rodeo Drive are located now. No tracks have ever approximated the speeds allowed on the heavily banked boards. Board tracks began to fade from existence during the Depression. The lifetime for 2x4's exposed to racing tires is approximately five years after which deadly splinters and potholes begin to dot the track's smooth surface. During the Depression, the expensive upkeep of the board tracks made them impractical. The last decade of board racing was a sight to behold. Cars tore down straightaways at 120mph while carpenter's patched the tracks from beneath. It wasn't unheard of for mischievous children to peek their heads up through holes in the board tracks to watch their favorite racers with a squirrel's eye view. Entertainment just isn't what it used to be.

1916 Corona Boulevard Disaster

Racer Bob Burman crashed through a barrier into the crowd at the last Boulevard Race in Corona, California. Burman, his riding mechanic Eric Scroeder, and a track policeman were killed, and five spectators were badly injured. The boulevard race started in 1913 as part of the AAA national championship schedule. The race was run on Grand Boulevard, a street that formed a perfect three-mile circle. Bob Burman was coming off an attempt at the world land-speed record at Brighton Beach, New York, where he had run 129mph. Burman led most of the race at Corona before his blue Peugot broke a wheel, sending the car over the curb and into a pole. The tragedy ended racing in inland Southern California for almost 40 years.

April 9

1986 The State Of Renault

The French government ruled against the privatization of leading French carmaker Renault. The privatization of Renault, France's second largest carmaker to PSA Peugot-Citroen, has remained a highly debated issue since the 1986 decision. In 1994, the government sold shares of Renault to the public for the first time at 165 francs per share. The sale dramatically increased the company's revenue, but the French government remained the majority shareholder. Between 1996 and 1997, the market for cars in Europe grew precipitously, with the most marked increases in France. Renault, often scorned for its "public sector" policies, failed to capitalize on the growing markets. Instead foreign competitors like Volkswagen and Fiat took advantage. In 1996, Renault lost over $800 million. Renault and Peugot were the two weakest of Europe's Big Seven carmakers. Economists blame the French carmakers lack of success on its protectionist policies, and more specifically on the unwillingness of PSA Peugot and Renault to merge, a maneuver that would radically lower production costs for both auto-making giants. The question remains whether or not the government will fully privatize Renault. With economic boundaries in Europe falling rapidly, the days of France's nationally run car company may be numbered.

1905 Airtime

The first aerial car ferry was put in operation over the ship canal from Lake Avenue, Duluth, Minnesota, to Minnesota Point, Minnesota. The car was suspended in the air from a super structure that loomed 135 feet clear of Lake Superior. The truss in the center of the structure was 51 feet high, placing the highest point of the superstructure 186 feet off of the surface of Lake Superior. The aerial ferry spanned 393 feet in length while its car platform measured 34 feet by 50 feet. The ferry could accommodate six cars and two glassed-in passenger cabins with a carrying capacity of 125,000 pounds. The platform itself hung 12 feet above the water line. A round trip on the aerial car ferry from Duluth to Minnesota Point lasted 10 minutes.

April 10

1944 Henry The Second

Henry Ford II was named executive vice president of the Ford Motor Company. His promotion confirmed his bid to become the heir to his grandfather's throne at Ford. Henry II despised his grandfather for tormenting his father, Edsel Ford. Nevertheless Henry II went on to display many of the leadership skills of his grandfather en route to becoming the head of the Ford Empire. After an unsatisfactory academic career at Yale University—where Henry spent four years without receiving a diploma—he returned to work at the River Rouge plant. There he familiarized himself with the operation of the company, and he witnessed the bitter struggle for the succession of Henry Ford's title as president of the company. After his father Edsel Ford's death-- the result of "stomach cancer, undulant fever, and a broken heart"-- Ford Lieutenants Harry Bennett and Charles Sorensen fought a silent battle for the Ford throne. Henry Ford Sr. had reassumed the title of president, although it was clear he was too old to stay in that position for long. The irritable Henry I wasn't dead yet though, and he intervened on behalf of his violent pet Harry Bennet, who had gained power at Ford for his suppression of organized labor. After being passed up for the vice presidency of the company, Sorensen left the company after over 40 years of service. Many attributed Ford's poor treatment of Sorensen to personal jealousy. Henry the Elder was reportedly even jealous of his grandson's presence at the Rouge Plant. At the outbreak of World War II, Henry II left Ford for military service, which he carried out in Salt Lake City, Utah, until his father died on May 26, 1943. At that time he returned to Ford to take the reigns of the company at the urging of the U.S Government. His grandfather was finally too old to run the company; and if he didn't name a successor, the company would fall out of the family's control for the first time in its existence. Realizing that Henry's presence would make his own accession to the company's presidency impossible, strongman Harry Bennett attempted to bring Henry II under his influence. His efforts were of no avail, though, as Henry Ford II refused to be influenced by his tyrannical grandfather's toady. His accession to the executive vice-presidency made him the inevitable successor to the presidency of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford II went on to lead his family's company back to greatness from its dubious position behind both GM and Chrysler after the war.

Family Business is never easy! Sometimes the son does not want to take over from Dad and sometimes he is unable to take over.
We just have to be thankful that Young Henry saw Harry Bennett for the Toady he was!

Nepotism...Something not allowed at Honda. Enough Said

1972 Sallustro Executed

Italian Fiat executive Oberdan Sallustro was executed by Argentine Communist guerrillas 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires. During the '60s and '70s, Argentina was a violent ideological battleground. Communist organizers resisted the oppression of the Fascist dictator Juan Peron. The era was famous for its "desaparecidos," the inexplicable disappearances of Peron's political opponents at the hands of his security forces. Unfortunately, it was not only Peron who was guilty of atrocities. Sallustro was very likely targeted as a member of Fiat because of Peron's strong love for Italy. A symbol of the established power, Sallustro fell victim to a battle over which he had no control. His murder was regarded as a tragedy. Communist revolutionaries tried to claim that his execution was "approved" by the people of Argentina, but the argument was hollow.

OK, who has not thought that some of the Auto exects deserved this? Maybe these Communist guerrillas drove Fiat 124s. I think that would have been a suitable defence in any Court of Law!

April 11

1888 Power Marriage

Henry Ford married Clara Bryant Ford in Greenfield, Michigan, on her 22nd birthday. Clara described her intended to her parents as "quiet, pleasant, keen-minded, and sensible." When Clara Bryant married Henry Ford, he was living on a 40-acre plot of land that belonged to his father. Instead of farming the land Ford had it cleared and sold the lumber. Once the lumber was gone, he took a job as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company. The move was the beginning of Ford's precipitous rise through the ranks of the engineering world, a career that saw he and his wife move 11 times between 1892 and 1915, always to finer circumstances. Not many wives in that day would have approved of such a migrant lifestyle, but Clara Bryant Ford did. She is credited with backing her husband in all of his endeavors. The union of Clara and Henry would reach its most celebrated stages after Henry had become a success. Clara Bryant stood by her man, it's true, but there were times when she objected to his practices, and on those occasions she intervened. She is often credited with forcing her reluctant husband to finally give in to labor negotiations. In 1941, most of the workers at Ford's colossal River Rouge Plant walked out on their jobs. Even after a successful strike, Henry Ford refused to negotiate with the UAW. He believed that Ford workers were essentially loyal and that the union had bullied them into striking. The government informed Ford that they would take over were he to close the plants. Ford was immovable. He insisted the government, by backing the unions, would hurt the American auto industry and not Henry Ford. Finally, though, Henry capitulated. Apparently, Clara informed him that should he close the plants, he would have to seek a new wife.

1913 Bugatti's Royal Ride

Ettore Bugatti first proposed designing the super car that would eventually emerge as the Bugatti Type 41 Royale. Eventually called the "car of kings," Bugattis were huge hand-crafted luxury cars that were affordable only for Europe's elite.

April 12

1888 Kimber Born

Cecil Kimber, the founder of MG, was born in Dulwich, Engalnd. MG stands for Morris Garages, which was the name for the Oxford distributor of Morris cars, a company owned by William Morris. When Kimber became general manager of Morris Garages in 1922, he immediately began work modifying Morris Cowleys, lowering the chassis and fitting sportier bodywork. In 1924, Morris Garages advertised the "MG Special four-seater Sports," the first car to bear the famous octagonal badge of MG. Old Number One, as the car was called, was actually the 48th body built for Morris by the manufacturing firm Carbodies, but it is still considered the grandfather of all true MG sports cars. Morris Garages outgrew its home in Oxford, and moved to Abingdon in 1929 under the name MG Car Company. The early 1930s were the glory years of MG sports cars during which time the company's road cars were promoted by its successful racing endeavors. For fiscal reasons, The Midget, the MGA, the TC, and the MGB were all good cars. Indeed, it wasn't until after Kimber's death that the MG caught on as a small sports car in the U.S. MG did, however, suffer after it was purchased by British Leyland, and the 1970s saw the company fall to pieces. Production at Abingdon stopped in 1980. In 1992, an MG revival was begun with the release of the MG RV8, a throwback to Kimber's earlier vision for MG sports cars.
more>>

The Glory years are over again as the Rover group has once again ground to a halt in April of 2005

1977 GM Stops Wankel

General Motors (GM) announced it had dropped plans to produce a Wankel rotary engine. The rotary engine is an old engineering principle originally pioneered by Elwood Haynes in 1893. Felix Wankel is credited with inventing the modern design in 1955. The Wankel rotary engine dispenses with separate pistons, cylinders, valves, and crankshafts, and its construction allows it to apply power directly to the transmission. The miracle of the rotary design is that a rotary engine can produce the same power as a conventional engine of twice its size comprised of four times as many parts. There is a tradeoff, however. The Wankel rotary engine burns up to twice as much gasoline as a conventional engine, making it, among other things, a heavy polluter. GM, after having considered the production of a rotary engine for a decade, finally decided against the innovation on the grounds that its poor fuel economy would be prohibitive to sales.
more>>

Burning lots of fuel does not seem to be a big problem these days with all the huge SUV's coming out on the market.

April 14

1927 "I Roll"

The first regular production Volvo, nicknamed "Jakob," left the assembly line in Goteborg, Sweden. Volvo was the result of a collaboration between Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson. Gabrielsson was an economist and a businessman who began his career at SKF Manufacturing in Goteborg. As head of SKF's subsidiary in France, he discovered that, due to the comparative labor costs, it was possible to sell Swedish ball bearings in France more cheaply than American ones. The realization planted the seed that it was also possible to supply cars to continental Europe at a lower cost than American car companies could. Enter Gustaf Larson, engineer and designer. He had been a trainee at White & Poppe in Coventry, England, where he had helped design engines for Morris. The two men met in 1923, and by the next year they already had plans to build cars. Larson gathered a team of engineers, and began work on a car design in his spare time. By July of 1926, the chassis drawings were complete. Meanwhile Gabrielsson had aroused the interest of SKF in his project, and he obtained guarantees and credit form the parent company to build 1,000 vehicles, 500 open and 500 covered.

SKF provided the name, AB Volvo. Volvo is Latin for "I Roll." It wasn't until the 1930s that Volvo made a mark on the international automotive world. Volvo purchased its engine supplier, Pentaverken, and began production on a variety of car models, including the PV651 that enjoyed great success in the taxicab market. After weathering the lean years of the early '30s, Volvo released its first "streamlined car" the PV36, or Carioca, a car heavily influenced by American designs, in 1936. Also in line with American marketing strategies was Volvo's decision to release new car models in the autumn, a tradition it began in 1938. Volvo's fortunes would mirror those of the American car companies after the war. Because of Sweden's neutrality during the war its production facilities were left undamaged, allowing Volvo to meet the demand for cars in Sweden and Europe after the war.

Two things:

How does a Ball Bearing factory design a car that is completely square?
Are the new vehicle like the Hummer infringing on Volvos square design? Can they be stopped? Please!!!

April 15

1912 Titanic

Washington Augustus Roebling II, car racer and designer, perished in the RMS Titanic when the ship sank in the North Atlantic Ocean. Roebling was the son of John A. Roebling, president of Roebling and Sons Company of Trenton, New Jersey. Washington's namesake, Colonel Washington A. Roebling, had been one of the builders of the Brooklyn Bridge. Young Washington began work as an engineer at the Walter Automobile Plant, which was later taken over by the Mercer Automobile Company. While working for Mercer, Washington designed and built the Roebling-Planche race car that he raced to a second-place finish in the 1910 edition of the Vanderbilt Cup Race. In early 1912, Washington embarked on a tour of Europe with his friend Stephen Blackwell. Roebling's chauffeur Frank Stanley brought with him the Roebling's Fiat in which the group began their continental adventure. A week before the completion of their tour, Stanley fell ill, and returned to America with the family Fiat. Roebling and Blackwell booked passage on the RMS Titanic in the first-class cabin. On the night of April 14, according to Titanic survivor Edith Graham, Roebling alerted her and her daughter to the danger. He helped them to a lifeboat making no attempt to save his own life and reportedly remarked to them cheerfully, "You will be back with us on the ship again soon." Both Roebling and Blackwell perished.

I saw this car in the Movie and the back seat needs cleaning.

1965 Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened. Connecting Kiptopeke and Chesapeake Beach, Virginia, the bridge-tunnel hybrid spans the entire mouth of the great Chesapeake Bay. It is the longest such structure in the world at 17.65 miles in length. The bridge-tunnel is essentially an artificial causeway raised on platforms. At the north end of the bay, a high extension bridge crosses a shipping lane. At the south end of the structure, two mile-long tunnels cross commercial shipping lanes.

I am thinking that this was not the Bridge that Ted Kennedy crashed off of with Mary-Joe Kopekne(unsure of spelling) back in the old days...

1924 Atlas

Rand McNally released its first comprehensive road atlas. Today Rand McNally is the world's largest maker of atlases in print and electronic media. The company celebrates its 75th anniversary this year 75 years of North American navigation. One can imagine how spare the road map of our country must have looked in 1924.

I wonder if it still was a pain in the butt to fold a map back in 1924?

April 16

1946 The Tragic Tale Of Les Freres Chevrolet

Arthur Chevrolet, brother of Chevrolet namesake Louis Chevrolet, committed suicide at age 60 in Slidell, Louisiana. Louis and Arthur made their names as car racers in the first decade of the century. Known for their fearless driving styles, both brothers raced against American racing legend Barney Oldfield. The brothers came into contact with General Motors (GM) founder William Durant when Durant was impressed by their racing talents he invited the brothers to audition for the job of chauffeur. He reportedly took the brothers to a track and raced them. Louis won the race, but Durant gave Arthur the chauffeur job. He offered Louis a position on GM's elite Buick Racing Team. Chevrolet raced and designed for Buick during the years of Durant's GM presidency. When Durant stepped down, new GM President Charles Nash took the money away from the Buick Racing Team. Durant asked Louis and Arthur to start a new venture. Born racers, Louis and Arthur designed a performance car that became the first Chevrolet. Durant wanted something to compete with GM's lower-priced models. Disappointed with Durant's demands for an economy car, Louis and Arthur eventually left Chevrolet to pursue their own racing and design endeavors. The brothers worked closely together for their entire careers. In spite of designing many successful engines, the brothers Chevrolet had little gift for finance, and they often were pushed out of their endeavors before they could reap the rewards due to them. By 1933, both men were broke, and their racing careers were over. Louis returned to Detroit to work as mechanic in GM's Chevrolet division. In the late '30s, he suffered a series of strokes which incapacitated him and finally killed him. With his brother dead and no fortune to speak of, Arthur was a broken man.

Nothing like a cheery Auto tale to read to the kiddies eh?

1908 Oakland

The first Oakland car was sold to a private owner. Oakland Car Company was the creation of Edward Murphy, the founder of the Pontiac Buggy Company. Murphy was one of the most respected designers in the carriage industry. He decided to enter the car industry, and he invited Alanson Brush, the designer of the Brush Runabout to join him. Brush had been a chief engineer at Cadillac. His contract with Cadillac included a no-competition clause that had just ended when he met Murphy. Anxious to get back into the design race, Brush built a car for Murphy that was ready in 1908. Oakland ran independently for less than a year before it was purchased by William C. Durant and absorbed into Durant's holding company, General Motors (GM). Durant's purchase of Oakland is often regarded as mysterious, considering the company had enjoyed little success and had produced less than a 1,000 cars at the time Durant purchased it. Often accused of "intuitive" business practices, Durant claimed that his purchase of Oakland, while exhausting his cash flow, provided GM with a more impressive portfolio on which to base their stock interest. Nevertheless, his decision to purchase Oakland, later called Pontiac, forced Durant out of control of GM.

The great dream to get successful enough to be bought up by the huge competition in whatever field you are in!!! Durant was sort of like an unsuccessful Bill Gates of his era.

April 17

1911 Self-Starter, Save Carter

Charles F. Kettering applied for a U.S. patent for the self-starting mechanism he had designed for the Cadillac Car Company. The vision for the self-starter is said to have been the result of the peculiar death of Cadillac founder Henry Leland's close friend, Byron Carter. In 1910, Carter, the manufacturer of the Cartercar, suffered a broken jaw and arm when he stopped to help a woman with the crank-starter on her car. The crank, linked directly to the car's driveshaft, was capable of bucking out of the hands of its "cranker," and Carter suffered for it. His injuries complicated and combined with a case of pneumonia to kill him. Distraught by the event, Leland determined to solve the problem of the crank-starter. He hired Kettering, then famous for creating an electric engine small enough for the electric cash register. Kettering believed he could create an engine capable of starting the motor of car that was light enough and small enough not to hinder the car's ability to run. The engineering problem took him no time at all. He offered Leland a prototype in December of 1910. The self-starter gave women access to cars for the first time. Without the arduous task of cranking the engine to deter them, women could drive cars on their own. Since there were almost as many rich women as rich men, the self-starter drastically broadened the market for the automobile.

Such a simple invention and suddenly women all over can drive cars. Draw your own conclusions. Kettering...Hero or Zero

1964 Mustang's Grand Introduction

Ford introduced the Ford Mustang on the first day of the New York World's Fair in Flushing, Queens. The Mustang had been the brainchild of Lee Iacocca and his production team. The car was essentially a Ford Falcon with a new frame and body. The Mustang was so successfully marketed, thanks in part to its introduction at the World's Fair, that it became one of Ford's best-selling models of all time. Ford profits soared after the release of the Mustang. Another of Iacocca's Mustang-related innovations was a new strategy of marketing upgrade packages for the car. On this day in 1965, a year into the Mustang's lifetime, Ford introduced the GT Equipment Group as an option on the Mustang, creating the first Mustang GT. Iacocca commented on the success of the package, "People want economy so badly they don't care how much they pay for it." The base price for the Mustang was a skinny $2,368, but buyers purchased an average of $1,000 worth of options.

Nothing like flogging a dead horse. The Mustang has saved Ford more than once. Let's hope it can do it again.

April 18

1906 Sun Sets On Sunset

A fire caused by the San Francisco earthquake destroyed the production facilities of the fledgling Sunset Automobile Company in San Francisco, California. Production of the Sunset never resumed, and the firm was legally dissolved in 1909. Throughout the history of American automobile production no company ever succeeded on the West Coast, a fact that supports the theory that car production was originally an extension of Manifest Destiny and the thirst for Westward expansion.

Do the boys at the Toyota Design studios in California know this? And rememer that total failure Shelby with his little AC Cobras and Shelby GT-350 and Gt-500. Who has ever even heard of them?

1882 Daimler And Maybach

Gottlieb Daimler and his protégé Wilhelm Maybach reached an agreement to work towards the creation of a high-speed internal combustion engine for the purpose of propelling vehicles. Working in Daimler's greenhouse, the two men finished their first gas-powered engine in 1883. Four years later the two men achieved a major breakthrough when they constructed the first water-cooled, gas-powered internal combustion engine

As we all know, Daimler's name is still on the paperwork of some of the best looking cars put out today and their subsidary, Maybach is churning out some of the worst looking cars.

April 21

April 19

1985 Senna Center Stage

The late Ayrton Senna won his first of 41 Formula One Championship victories driving a Lotus-Renault at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril. Senna's uncompromising driving style made him a hero to many and a villain to almost as many. Throughout his eight-year career, he established himself as the sport's greatest qualifying racer, winning 65-pole positions. Qualifying is a measure of how far a driver can push himself without competition, and this quality was one of Senna's trademarks, "Sometimes I try to beat other people's achievements but on many occasions I find it's better to beat my own achievements. That can give me more satisfaction. I don't feel happy if I am comfortable." It was his drive for perfection that made Senna such a great racer. But Senna's drive often threatened the lives of his fellow drivers. And his unapologetic off-track demeanor was often seen by his detractors as inflammatory. Just before his death in 1993, Senna appeared to be softening to the public. Still competitive, he assumed a calmer, less antagonistic persona on the Grand Prix circuit. Always a pleasure for the press, Senna often delivered more thoughtful responses to questions than did his fellow drivers. It is, arguably, the danger of F1 racing that makes its leading personalities such captivating figures. Like boxers they exist closer to death than do ordinary citizens, and they, thereby, achieve a stature that is larger than life. It is only fair to mention, however, that Senna's death was just the second such fatality in F1 since the late 1970s.
more>>

"Senna's death was just the second such fatality"
It was the second fatality that weekend!!!! Don't forget Roland Ratzenberger died at qualifying rounds for the 1994 San Marino GP. He Broke his neck after a 340km/h accident.
1982 Belgian GP, Zolder, Gilles Villeneuve (CDN), Ejected from car after his car cartwheeled, died of massive trauma.
1982 Canadian GP, Montreal, Riccardo Paletti (ITA), Died after a startline accident
more>>

Senna seems to be a blueprint for Schumacher.

1955 American Volkswagen

Volkswagen of America, Inc. was established in Engelwood, New Jersey, as a sales division for the German car company. 1955 was a banner year for Volkswagen as the company produced its 1,000,000th car and exceeded, for the first time, the production benchmark of 1,000 cars per day on average. 1955 also saw the introduction of the Karmann Ghia Coupe, a joint venture between Volkswagen and Karmann. The sporty Karmann Ghia enjoyed great success in the United States. It wasn't until almost a decade after the formation of Volkswagen of America, that Volkswagen provided serious competition for Detroit's Big Three. The establishment of an American sales group paved the way for the success of the VW bug in America. By the mid-1960s, the VW Bug had almost single-handedly ended the years of "virtual monopoly" that Detroit manufacturers had previously enjoyed.

Now VW is surpassing the big three by making collussus marketing fumbles and producing cars that are not needed and not wanted.

In 1955 if anyone was told that you could pay $100,000 for a VW (Phaeton) they would have believed that a basket of Strawberries was $1,500 and milk $900 a gallon.

A short list of some of the Official land Speed Records and how quickly the speed climbed over the years. More Info...go to Dr. Thomas Curtright Professor, Department of Physics, University of Miami the Wikipedia lots of info on lots of stuff Bonneville Salt Flats Records Thrust SSC Roadsters.com
DATE	DRIVER	COUNTRY	TYPE OF CAR	LOCATION	SPEED (mph)
October 15, 1997	Andy Green	Great Britain	Thrust SSC	Black Rock Desert	766.609
October 4, 1983	Richard Noble	Great Britain	Thrust 2	Black Rock Desert	633.470
October 23, 1970	Gary Gabelich	USA	Blue Flame	Bonneville Salt Flats	622.407
November 15, 1965	Craig Breedlove	USA	Spirit of America Sonic 1	Bonneville Salt Flats	600.601
November 13, 1965	Bob Summers	USA	Goldenrod	Bonneville Salt Flats	409.277
November 7, 1965	Art Arfons	USA	Green Monster	Bonneville Salt Flats	576.553
November 2, 1965	Craig Breedlove	USA	Spirit of America Sonic 1	Bonneville Salt Flats	555.485
February 19, 1928	Malcolm Campbell	Great Britain	Bluebird	Pendine Sands	206.956
March 29, 1927	Henry Segrave	Great Britain	Sunbeam	Daytona Beach	203.793
January 23, 1906	Fred Marriot	USA	Stanley Steam	Daytona Beach	121.573
December 30, 1905	Victor Héméry	France	Darracq	Arles-Salon	109.589
January 25, 1905	Arthur Macdonald	Great Britain	Napier	Daytona Beach	104.651
January 12, 1904	Henry Ford	USA	Ford	Lake St Clair	91.371
January 17, 1899	Gaston Chasseloup-Laubat	France	Jeantaud Electric	Achères	43.690
January 17, 1899	Camille Jenatzy	Britain	Jenatzy Electric	Achères	41.425
December 18, 1898	Gaston Chasseloup-Laubat	France	Jeantaud Electric	Achères	39.245