| History according to a Carnut!!!
Special thanks to the History Channel |
||
| Other months of Carnut's History Jan/Feb | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
||
| November 29 |
November 28 |
|
1948 : First all-Australian automobile is unveiled On this day, Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley and 1,200 hundred other people attended the unveiling of the first car to be manufactured entirely in Australia--an ivory-colored motor car officially designated the 48-215, but fondly known as the Holden FX. In 1945, the Australian government had invited Australia's auto-part manufacturers to create an all-Australian car. General Motors-Holden's Automotive, a car body manufacturer, obliged, producing the 48-215, a six-cylinder, four-door sedan. 100,000 Holden FXs were sold in the first five years of production. 100,000 units seems impressive when you consider that the new GTO is based on the Holden and sold about 8 units in 3 years... |
1895 : First gas-powered race is run America's first race featuring gasoline-powered automobiles was held on this day in Chicago, Illinois, with six vehicles competing: two electric cars, three German Benz automobiles, and one American-made Duryea automobile. Charles and Frank Duryea of Peoria, Illinois, had completed America's first working gasoline-powered automobile in 1893, and to the Great Chicago Race, as it would come to be known, the brothers brought a vastly improved two-cylinder model. The race was organized by Chicago Times-Herald Publisher Herman H. Kohlstaat, who was offering $5,000 in prizes, including a first-place prize of $2,000, received telegrams from automobile enthusiasts across America and Europe. Delayed until Nov 28 the course was shortened to a 52-mile round-trip out of Chicago and back because of the snowy weather conditions. After 10 1/2 hours, despite an accidental two-mile detour, Frank crossed the finish line with no other car in sight, having achieved an average speed of 7.5mph during the race. The only other vehicle to finish, a Benz driven by German Oscar Mueller, completed the race an hour and a half later. I am pretty sure that to a number of legislators and cops, that a car race with an average speed of 7.5 mph is viewed as the good old days!!! |
|
| November 26 |
||
1927 : Ford Model A announced On this day, the Ford Motor Company announced the introduction of the Model A, the first new Ford to enter the market since the Model T was first introduced in 1908. The hugely successful Model T revolutionized the automobile industry, and over 15,000,000 million copies of the "Tin Lizzie" were sold in its 19 years of production. By 1927, the popularity of the outdated Model T was rapidly waning. Improved, but basically unchanged for its two-decade reign, it was losing ground to the more stylish and powerful motor cars offered by Ford's competitors. In May of 1927, Ford plants across the country closed, as the company began an intensive development of the more refined and modern Model A. The vastly improved Model A had elegant Lincoln-like styling on a smaller scale, and used a capable 200.5-cubic-inch four-cylinder engine that produced 40hp. With prices starting at $460, nearly 5,000,000 Model As, in several body styles and a variety of colors, rolled onto America's highways until production ended in early 1932. 19 years virtually unchanged?!? With all the massive improvements in car design it seems unthinkable. Like changing your DVD burner in for a reel to reel tape!!! |
||
| November 24 |
November 23 |
|
1900 Test Drive Of The First Production Pierce Nov 24 1878 the first gas-powered Pierce automobile was taken on a test drive through the streets of Buffalo, New York. Costing $5000 in 1905 the George N. Pierce Company's cars were some of the biggest and most expensive produced in America. In 1908, The name changed to the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company and U.S. president William Howard Taft ordered two of the prestigious automobiles, a Brougham and a Landaulette, for use by the White House. more from the History Channel |
1966 Elvis, The Racecar Driver Spinout, Elvis Presley's 22nd film, premiered in Los Angeles, California, on this day. In the musical film, Elvis plays Mike McCoy, a rock-&-roll singing race-car driver who leads a carefree life on America's highways, traveling the country with his racing crew/back-up band. Along the way, McCoy becomes romantically entangled with three young women who attempt, to no avail, to get the racer to settle down. more from the History Channel |
|
| November 23 |
||
1897 Olds Issued Patent For "Motor Carriage" On this day, Ransom Eli Olds of Lansing, Michigan, is issued a U.S. patent for his "motor carriage," a gasoline-powered vehicle that he constructed the year before. In 1887, when he was only 18, Olds built his first automobile, a steam-propelled three-wheeled vehicle. This first vehicle built buy the young Ransom was called the 4-3-2 and was aimed at the younger sportier steam Crowd. 4-3-2 stood for 4 gallons of water...3 wheels...2 horsepower. more from the History Channel |
||
| November 22 |
November 22 |
|
1985 Chrysler CEO Leads Immigration Ceremony On this day, Lee Iacocca, the chief executive officer of the Chrysler Corporation, presided over the largest swearing-in ceremony for new U.S. citizens in American history. Iacocca served as president of the Ford Motor Company during the 1970s, and was largely responsible for the extremely profitable Mustang marque. After a falling out with Henry Ford II in 1978, Iacocca moved to the struggling Chrysler Corporation, and steered the company back to profitability as president and later as CEO. Three years before presiding over the record-breaking swearing-in ceremony, Iacocca helped form the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to raise funds for the restoration and preservation of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Iacocca later became chairman emeritus of this organization. Way to go Lee on a great job at the Statue and all you have done for the auto industry!!! So indirectly Henry Ford II was the reason all our soccer moms have MiniVans to drive!!! |
|
|
| November 21 |
November 21 |
|
1970 Ford Mustang Boss 351 Debuts On this day, the rarest of Ford Mustangs--the Boss 351--debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. By 1970, the Ford Mustang had grown considerably in size, and the Boss 351 could better be described as a "muscle car" than a "pony car." The car featured a new "Cleveland" block, and was factory rated at 300bhp. The Boss 351 was also unquestionably the rarest Mustang ever released--it was manufactured for just a single production year, 1971, and only 1,806 units were made--compared with the 500,000 Mustangs manufactured and sold by Ford in 1965 alone. This was also the last year of Mustangs as great looking cars...for a long time. |
|
|
| November 5 |
November 6 |
|
1895 : Selden receives first automobile patent On this day, inventor George B. Selden received a patent for his gasoline-powered automobile, first conceived of when he was an infantryman in the American Civil War. After 16 years of delay, United States Patent No. 549,160 was finally issued to Selden for a machine he originally termed a "road-locomotive" and later would call a "road engine." His design resembled a horse-drawn carriage, with high wheels and a buckboard, and was far behind other innovators in the field, nevertheless won a monopoly on the concept of combining an internal combustion engine with a carriage. Although Selden never became an auto manufacturer himself, every other automaker would have to pay Selden and his licensing company a significant percentage of their profits for the right to construct a motor car, even though their automobiles rarely resembled Selden's designs in anything but abstract concept. In 1903, the newly created Ford Motor Company, which refused to pay royalties to Selden's licensing company, was sued for infringement on the patent. Thus began one of the most celebrated litigation cases in the history of the automotive industry, ending in 1909 when a New York court upheld the validity of Selden's patent. Henry Ford and his increasingly powerful company appealed the decision, and in 1911, the New York Court of Appeals again ruled in favor of Selden's patent, but with a twist: the patent was held to be restricted to the particular outdated construction it described. In 1911, every important automaker used a motor significantly different from that described in Selden's patent, and major manufacturers like the Ford Motor Company never paid Selden another dime. Put your imaginations to work and patent something anything and then charge everyone to do it. I am going to patent whining about high gas prices and then whenever someone complains about high gas prices I get a cash payout!!! |
1899 : First Packard is completed James Ward Packard, an electrical-wire manufacturer from Warren, Ohio, first demonstrated his interest in automobiles when he hired Edward P. Cowles and Henry A. Schryver to work on plans for a possible Packard automobile in 1896. Although a functional engine was completed in 1897, it would take another two years, and James Packard's purchase of a Winton horseless carriage, before his company fully flung itself into the burgeoning automobile industry. In 1898, James Packard purchased an automobile constructed by fellow Ohio manufacturer Alexander Winston, and Packard, a first-time car owner, experienced problems with his purchase from the start. Finally, in June of 1899, after nearly a year of repairing and improving the Winston automobile on his own, Packard decided to launch the Packard Motor Company. On this day, only three months after work on his first automobile began, the first Packard was completed and test-driven through the streets of Warren, Ohio. By the 1920s, Packard was a major producer of luxury automobiles, and this prosperity would continue well into the late 1950s. If more people were like Packard all Pinto and AMC owners would be making cars.... |
|
| November 3 |
November 4 |
|
1900 : America's first car show begins On this day, the first significant car show in the United States began in New York City. The week-long event, held in Madison Square Garden, was organized by the Automobile Club of America. Fifty-one exhibitors displayed 31 automobiles along with various accessories. Among the fathers of the automobile present at the "Horseless Carriage Show" was automaker James Ward Packard, who had completed his first car the year before, and brought three of his Packards to exhibit to the public. In addition to Packard, the show introduced a number of other fledgling automobile companies that became significant industry players in the coming decades, although none of the makes present would still be in business by 1980. The event also featured automotive demonstrations, such as braking and starting contests, and a specially built ramp to measure the hill-climbing ability of the various automobiles. Spectators paid 50¢ each to attend the event. 50cents in 1900 was an astounding sum! A Stanley Steamer was $850 in 1910 so 50cents to $850 is like $1500 to a $25000 Montana Minivan. Would you pay $1500 to see a car show? |
1939 : The first air-conditioned car is displayed On this day, the 40th National Automobile Show opened in Chicago, Illinois, with a cutting-edge development in automotive comfort on display: air-conditioning. A Packard prototype featured the expensive device, allowing the vehicle's occupants to travel in the comfort of a controlled environment even on the most hot and humid summer day. After the driver chose a desired temperature, the Packard air-conditioning system would cool or heat the air in the car to the designated level, and then dehumidify, filter, and circulate the cooled air to create a comfortable environment. The main air-conditioning unit was located behind the rear seat of the Packard, where a special air duct accommodated two compartments, one for the refrigerating coils and one for the heating coils. The innovation received widespread acclaim at the auto show, but the expensive accessory would not be within the reach of the average American for several decades. However, when automobile air-conditioning finally became affordable, it rapidly became a luxury that U.S. car owners could not live without. I remember a quote from some rich guy back before refrigeration...He said that things have a way of equalling out, take ice for example...the rich get it in the Summer and the Poor get it in the Winter! |
|
| Jan/Feb | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | ||
