| History according to a Carnut!!!
Special thanks to the History Channel |
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| Other months of Carnut's History Jan/Feb | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
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| Sept 01 | Sept 02 | |
| 1950 : First Porsche is completed A new chapter in Porsche history began today, with the company's return to Zuffenhausen, Germany, and the completion of the first Porsche. The first car to bear the Porsche name had actually been built two years earlier by Ferry Porsche and his design team, but this Porsche was the first car to boast a Porsche-made engine. Porsche became an independent automobile manufacturer during this year and soon sealed its success with a stunning victory at Le Mans in 1951. It is hard to believe that only a little over 20 years later Porsche turned out the 917 and created havoc on racetracks all over the world. |
1959 : Ford Falcon is introduced The Ford Motor Company introduced its new marque, the Ford Falcon, in the first nationwide closed-circuit television news conference. Originally envisioned as a compact economy car, the Falcon name grew to include everything from sporty convertibles to the Ranchero truck, though all Falcons essentially remained small, fuel-efficient cars. When the Mustang was introduced in 1964, Ford used the Falcon's unitized chassis, as well as elements of the Falcon drive train, to "re-market" and "re-adapt" the Mustang. Boy, Porsche must have been quaking in their boots when they saw what FORD had come up with in the Falcon. But Heh, they did have the first "Closed Circuit Television news Conference"...sort of like the OJ Trial, but not as interesting. |
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| Sept 03 | Sept 04 | |
| 1875 : Porsche is born Ferdinand Porsche, engineer and patriarch of Porsche cars, was born on this day in Maffersdorf, Austria. He began his career at the Daimler Company, rising to general director, but he eventually left in 1931 to design his own sports and racing cars. Perhaps his most famous project was Hitler's "car for the people," the Volkswagen. Together with his son, Porsche was responsible for the initial Volkswagen plans. He served time in Prison after WWII for working with the Nazis...imagine going to jail at 70 years old. |
1891 : Autobahn designer is born Fritz Todt, the head designer of the German autobahn, was born in Pforzheim, Germany, on this day. Todt's creation was the first true system of national superhighways, and was held up by Germany as a proud symbol of the modernity of their engineering. However, the autobahn system emerged from World War II as a battered version of its earlier self. Over the years, the autobahn regained its status as a model expressway and became famous for its nonexistent speed limit. I have a feeling that wherever there is an un posted speed limit there is an old gal in a Karman Ghia going 90kmh in the fast lane!!! |
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| Sept 05 | Sept 06 | |
| 1930 : Cross-country trip completed, backwards Cross-country trips were no longer considered big news in 1930, but Charles Creighton and James Hargis' unique journey managed to make headlines. The two men from Maplewood, New Jersey, arrived back in New York City on this day, having completed a 42-day round trip to Los Angeles - driving their 1929 Ford Model A the entire 7,180 miles in reverse gear. They failed to state the true reason for the trip...they had just gone forward across the country on a banzai high speed run and now had to take the miles off the Odometer before their Mom & Dad came home from vacation!!! |
1900 : New electric-car speed record is set Andrew L. Riker set a new speed record on this day, driving an electric car. His time of 10 minutes, 20 seconds established a new low for the five-mile track in Newport, Rhode Island, proving that the electric car could compete with its noisier petroleum-fueled cousins. In fact, the electric car remained competitive until 1920, often preferred for its low maintenance cost and quiet engine. However, developments in gasoline engine technology, along with the advent of cheaper, mass-produced non-electrics like the Model T, proved to be the death knell of the electric car. However, rising fuel costs in the late 1960s and 1970s renewed interest in the electric car, and several working models have recently been sold in small numbers. Yeah electric cars sure are the way to go. In the summer when cars travel for vacations a lot we can all stop using our Air Conditioning and Computers and cell phones and all electric devices in our homes so cars cars have all the power they need!!! In areas without Hydro Electric Dams, electric cars will be Coal powered or Nuclear powered....now there is the 21st Century for you!!! |
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| Sept 07 | Sept 08 | |
| 1899 : First auto parade is held Over a dozen motorcars, decorated with hydrangeas, streamers, lights, and Japanese lanterns, lined up to take part in America's first automobile parade. A throng of spectators showed up in Newport, Rhode Island, to witness the event, arriving in cabs, private carriages, bicycles, and even by foot to witness the spectacle. The nature of the motorcar decorations had been shrouded in mystery prior to the parade, for each participant had wished to surprise and outdo the others. This is also the first known incident of some tall guy coming at the last minute and standing right in front of your kid!!! |
1953 : First U.S. transcontinental bus service is offered Continental Trailways offered the first transcontinental express bus service in the U.S. The 3,154-mile ride from New York City to San Francisco lasted 88 hours and 50 minutes, of which only 77 hours was riding time. The cost? $56.70. Today, Greyhound will take you on the same trip for $183. I have always thought that a good punishment for prisoners is to ride across the country in Buses....not going anywhere but just riding back and forth across Alaska....The Loser Cruiser!! |
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| Sept 09 | Sept 10 | |
| 1901 : Going the extra mile The first long-distance car race began in New York City on this day, ending five days and 464 miles later in Buffalo, New York. However, in these early days of automobile racing, the determining factor was not speed or endurance, but reliability. David Bishop's winning Panhard only averaged a speed of 15mph, but it managed to make the entire journey without breaking down--a remarkable feat. I thought NASCAR was boring... |
1897 : First DWI arrest is made Even without Breathalyzers and line tests, George Smith's swerving was enough to alarm British police and make him the first person arrested for drunken driving. Although drunk driving is illegal in most countries, punished by heavy fines and mandatory jail sentences, it continues to be one of the leading causes of automobile accidents throughout the world. Alcohol-related automobile accidents are responsible for approximately one-third of the traffic fatalities in the United States--16,000 deaths each year, and also account for over half a million injuries and $1 billion of property damage annually. Nothing Funny about this... |
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| September 11, 1903 |
September 11, 1918 |
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Milwaukee Mile opens The oldest major speedway in the world, the Milwaukee Mile, opened today as a permanent fixture in the Wisconsin State Fair Park. The circuit had actually been around since the 1870s as a horseracing track, but the proliferation of the automobile brought a new era to the Milwaukee Mile. However, the horses stuck around until 1954, sharing the track with the automobiles until the mile oval was finally paved. At one point, the horses and autos also had to make room for professional football. The Green Bay Packers played in the track's infield for almost 10 years during the 1930s, winning the National Football League Championship there in 1939. |
Packard leads the war on the homefront Often called the "war of the machines," World War I marked the beginning of a new kind of warfare, fought with steel and shrapnel. Automotive manufacturers led the way in this new technology of war, producing engines for planes, building tanks, and manufacturing military vehicles. Packard was at the forefront of these efforts, being among the first American companies to completely cease civilian car production. Packard had already been the largest producer of trucks for the Allies, but the company began devoting all of its facilities to war production on this day, just a few months before the end of the war. Even after Packard resumed production of civilian vehicles, its wartime engines appeared in a number of vehicles, from racing cars and boats to British tanks in the next world war. |
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September 11, 1970 |
September 12, 1912 |
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| Pinto competes with imports The Ford Pinto was introduced on this day at a cost of less than $2,000, designed to compete with an influx of compact imports. But it was not the Pinto's low cost that grabbed headlines. Ford's new best-selling compact contained a fatal design flaw: because of the placement of the gas tank, the tank was likely to rupture and explode when the car was involved in a rear end collision of over 20mph. In addition, it was eventually revealed that Ford knew about the design flaw before the Pinto was released. An internal cost-benefit analysis prepared by Ford calculated that it would take $11 per car to correct the flaw at a total cost of $137 million for the company. When compared to the lowly estimate of $49.5 million in potential lawsuits from the mistake, the report deemed it "inefficient" to go ahead with the correction. The infamous report assigned a value of $200,000 for each death predicted to result from the flaw. Ford's irresponsibility caused a public uproar, and it 1978, a California jury awarded a record-breaking $128 million to a claimant in the Ford Pinto case. |
Plan for transcontinental highway is unveiled They called it the Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway--3,000 and some miles of graveled road that would stretch from New York to San Francisco. Carl G. Fisher and James A. Allison announced their vision to the world on this day, a plan for America's first transcontinental highway. The new highway was to be finished in time for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco at a cost of a mere $10,000,000, collected from private sources. However, Fisher and Allison's plan began to go awry when they failed to win Henry Ford's support for the project, putting their fund-raising efforts in jeopardy. Henry Joy, president of Packard and a supporter of the highway project, came up with the idea of naming the road after Abraham Lincoln--an idea that would garner $1.7 million in federal funds for the project. The highway was eventually completed as a memorial to Abraham Lincoln, paved in concrete rather than gravel, and christened the Lincoln Highway. It was to become an American icon, the predecessor to Route 66. |
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| September 12, 1918 |
September 12, 1988 |
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| Cannonball Baker completes longest tour Cannonball Baker, born Erwin G. Baker, discovered his special talent soon after buying his first motorcycle--he was capable of exceptional stamina and endurance on the road. His lean frame sat naturally atop his Indian V-twin, and his toughened stance and leather riding trousers seemed to announce to the world that he was ready to outride all challengers. Made a celebrity by his 3,379-mile cross-country motorcycle trek, "Cannonball" became a symbol of the American motorcycle rider, synonymous with wild cross-country journeys. His fame led to other tours and promotional trips, and he completed his most extensive tour on this day--a 17,000 mile, 77-day trip to all 48 state capitals--yet another testament to his legendary endurance. |
The Minivan cometh Ford and Nissan announced plans to design and build a new minivan together in the hope of cashing in on an expanding market. The announcement came during the heyday of the minivan craze, when Dodge Caravans dotted the highways and station wagons became a thing of the past. Instantly popular, the spacious minivan replaced the wagon as the family car of choice, putting the old wood-paneled Country Squires to shame. But with the rise of the sport utility vehicle in the '90s, the minivan also began to fade. |
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