Would you like to win a bet with that know it all car guy?

Any color you want as long as it is black. All model T's were black.

A short history of Route 66

Route 66 was christened in 1926 as the "Main Street of America" beginning in Chicago and terminating in Los Angeles.  The road was mostly constructed under the New Deal work relief program following the big economy crash of 1932, providing employment for thousands  of unemployed Americans.  After completion it also provided extensive economic boost to the communities along the way.  Tourist courts, diners, motels and gas stations seemed to appear overnight to capture the dollars of those passing by.  

In the 1930's Route 66 saw thousands of families going to and fleeing from the "Dust Bowl" prairies of the mid-west.  In the 1940's it was filled with troop convoys bound for war.  In the late 1940's and 1950's it was the most popular highway in America for tourists out to see the country. 

Route 66 extends across 8 states, following the natural topography rather than removing obstacles.  The roadside scenery is like a movie with the scenes changing by the minute. 

Route 66 represented the transition from rural roads that seldom linked into a continuous byway to the Interstate system created under the Eisenhower presidency, when a system of divided interstate highways was began. Unfortunately Route 66 was largely displaced, removed and replaced by Interstate 40.  While the Interstate provided faster and safer travel it spelled the death of a majority of the roadside businesses along Route 66.

Among the immigrants from the cold upper mid-west who sought warmer climates in the Southwest was Robert Troop, a Pennsylvanian, former Marine Captain and pianist for the Tommy Dorsey band.  Recorded by Nat King Cole and released in 1946, Robert Troop's "Get your kicks on Route 66" became an instant hit and remains so to this day. 

74 Miles - A bit over an hours drive.

73.3 miles - The edge of Space

These days, using the interstate we can travel to Detroit, Muskegon, Mount Pleasant, Saginaw or Kalamazoo in about an hour. These cities are about 70 or so miles from Lansing. 

If you were an astronaut you would reach the edge of space in about 8.5 minutes in the Space Shuttle going from zero to 17,000 miles per hour.

Seat Belts and other firsts.

1959   Nils Bohlin modified an aircraft lap belt and came up with the first three point seat belt which first appeared in a Volvo.

1901   Oldsmobile unveils the first speedometer. 

1920   Detroit hangs the first three color stoplight.

1949   Nash autos featured factory seat belts.

1952   The concept of air bags was conceived.

1963    Some Volvos were sold with the three point front seat belts.

1966    Crash test dummies replaced cadavers, chimps and hogs.

1968    Federal law required all new cars be equipped with seat belts.

             ( with the annoying feature that the car would not start unless the belts were buckled.)

1974     The seat belt no start feature was repealed by Congress.

1981      Only 11 percent of drivers were using seat belts.

1984     New York became the first state to mandate seat belt use.

1995     All states but New Hampshire have broad seat belt laws.

1998     All new autos must have dual front seat air bags.

Ever wonder how the Gilmore Car museum's Diner got the name, "George and Sally's Blue Moon Diner?"

Gilmore Car museum's Blue Moon Diner arrived there after a 790 mile trip from Meridian, Connecticut.  The diner was built in 1941 by the Paterson Vehicle Company of Patterson, New Jersey. It served as "Joe's Diner", later becoming Gina's Diner and was the Blue Moon diner when it closed it's doors in 1997.

 Gilmore has honored  local residents George and Sally Turner, whose generous gift started the Diner project, by naming the diner "George & Sally's Blue Moon Diner".

126 MPH on NO fuel whatsoever!!!!

Ultimate "Green" car land speed record set in March 2009 on a dry lakebed in California, 126.2 MPH on wind power alone,  beating the old record by more than 10 mph.  The vehicle, appropriately called "Greenbird" is a three wheeled , 1,323 pound, carbon fiber creation of an English engineer, Richard Jenkins with financing and technical assistance from Ecotricity, England's largest private green electricity provider.  Greenbird uses a solid vertical sail - shaped like an airplane wing - to capture the wind.  The design enables the craft to travel at up top five times the speed of the actual wind. 

For some great photos and detailed engineering data click on their website. http://www.greenbird.co.uk/about-the-greenbird

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No fuel here either. Just the wind.  But not as fast, only 15 mph and a little weird.

Read all about it on their website, click here.

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So you think you have owned your car for a long time?

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So you think driving is a leading cause of deaths?   

Twenty Three ways to die!!

and your odds for each.

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A collection of Tid-Bits gleaned from various sources.

Beatle Mania 

Love the Beatles?

Did you know that Adolph Hitler was actually responsible?

Well, not the musical group but the Kafer , (German word for Beetle) which became known as the "Peoples Car" aka the Volkswagen.

In 1935 Hitler enlisted the talents of Ferdinand Porsche to design and begin production of a small, inexpensive car.  Ferdinand designed and built a prototype and  at the Berlin Auto Show on February 15, 1936, Hitler proclaimed that millions will soon drive Volkswagens.  Sixteen million vehicles later the last German built Beetle rolled off the assembly line in 1978. 

For more information about the history of the Beetle try Wickipedia's web page..

Hate those Parking Meters!!!!

Well it's not the parking meter but the parking ticket.  Anyway, who should we blame? 

A Lawyer of course.

On May 28, 1938 Oklahoma Lawyer and newspaper publisher, Carl Magee patented the parking meter.  They were first deployed in 1935 in Oklahoma City to deter people from parking all day in front of shops and businesses.  His nickel eating meters overcame that problem for sure.  They idea spread quickly and by 1941 there were 140,000 in use and today probably millions.  They have even evolved into digital electronic devices that you can feed with a call from your cell phone. 

If you want to install one in front of your house or in your den you can buy one at  the Dayton Cultural Center's Gift Shop at the Biltmore Towers, 216 N. Main St.

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License Plates, some interesting facts.

License plates have been around since New York mandated automobile licensing in 1901. They did not issue a license plate so owners cobbled together their own, often attaching metal numbers designed for house fronts to leather backings.

Early state issued plates tended to have enameled porcelain surfaces and by World War I plates that weighed as much as a pound were being stamped from heavy steel.

When steel conservation took hold during WW II multi-year plates designed to accept small metal date tabs appeared, and some states even turned to plates made of heavy cardboard or wood pulp derivatives.

Illinois based a substance on homegrown soybeans – goats found them particularly tasty – and Louisiana derived one from sugar cane.  After the war aluminum was briefly in vogue but steel ultimately prevailed.  In Michigan metal tabs were issued into the 60’s.

In 1917 Arizona branded its plate with a steer’s head to promote beef sales.  Idaho surrounded its numbers with, what else, an outline of a potato.  Idaho’s current slogan, “Famous Potatoes” has been   in use for over 50 years. 

In 1941 New Mexico began inviting tourists to the “Land of Enchantment” with a Native American Sun Sign and is still in use today after nine decades.  Wyoming’s Western bronco rider has remained in the saddle even longer, he mounted up in 1936.

People have always nailed their expired plates up in barns and garages and even used them to patch holes in things, like their cars.   Collectors have blossomed in the baby boomer age; some have thousands displayed in their man caves (ultra-garages). 

Prices range from a few dollars for fairly recent plates to plates from the fifties or earlier are about $25.  The cost curve gets much steeper at the high end and a few especially rate plates have reached the $10,000 range.  

**Excerpted from American Heritage Magazine, April/May 2007

From CBS News.  Delaware plates…

Delaware, it seems, has a cult fascination with low-digit license plates - a fascination that translates into lots of dollars… but very little sense.

Delawareans, especially natives, are familiar with the pull of the black and white porcelain plates, pestering the Division of Motor Vehicles to see if any are available, or resorting to auctions or Web sites where a three-digit tag can sell for $80,000.

It all started over a century ago, when Delaware first started issuing plates - in numerical order. The wealthy people who got their cars first go the lowest numbers - and a status symbol was born.

Today, plate number “1” is reserved for the governor, “2” is for the lieutenant governor and “3” for the secretary of state. All the rest can be bought and sold on the open market. Plates with three and four digits often sell for thousands of dollars. A two digit plate can sell for tens of thousands.

The Fuscos are a family of commercial real estate brokers who have been collecting plates for 20 years.

“It all started back when my grandfather purchased number ‘9,’” says Frank Fusco. “That's when the hype began.”

Fusco says his grandfather paid nearly $200,000 for that tag back in 1994. They now own 17 plates valued at over $3 million.

At a special auction for the number “6,” the Fuscos are contenders, along with investment groups and Tim Ayres, a wealthy publisher. Ayres already owns number “11” and is betting on the bankability of number “6.”

“I think it would be a good investment, I really do," says Ayres.

In the end, plate number “11” goes to the Fuscos for a staggering $675,000.

View a gallery of Delaware Plates. Click Here

The oldest dealerships?  Michigan is #2.

** Based on families and dealerships that have registered with the NADA for having been in business for 100 years or more.

1847 -W.Hare and sons, Noblesville, Indiana

1852 - Shaefer & Bierlein, Inc., Frankenmuth, Mi.

**Car and Driver Magazine, Feb 2009.

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Getting your car fixed in 1928

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Who Invented -

Cruise Control

From Hemmings Feb 2008.

Credit for the development of cruise control as we know it now goes to a remarkable individual named Ralph Teetor, born in Hagerstown, Indiana in 1890.  He was blinded at age five when a knife slipped while trying to pry open a drawer.  Undeterred, Teetor built his first car when he was but 12 years old and went on to head his family owned business, which became known as Perfect Circle, the piston-ring manufacturer. 

Teetor was an inventor since childhood, and in 1945, received the first patent for an automotive speed control device.  Legend has it that he got the idea while riding with his lawyer who annoyingly speeded up and slowed down in time with his conversations. 

Teetor was well ahead of his time.  In most of the county, the device variously known as Speedostat or Pressomatic, among other names, did not become useful until interstate highways came into wide existence in the late 1950's. 

When it first appeared as an option on the 1958 Chrysler Windsor, New Yorker and Imperial models, cruise control, as it eventually was commonly called was considered the ultimate luxury, right up there with air conditioning.

Cadillac began offering it across the board in 1960, followed by other GM lines although it was not a GM product.  If you looked at the casting it read Perfect Circle. So Teetor probably received a royalty on every one. 

Teetor died in 1982 at the age of 91 and is a member of the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn. 

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Electric Cars

No it was not the Japanese!!

Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first crude electric carriage. A small-scale electric car was designed by Professor Stratingh of Groningen, Holland, and built by his assistant Christopher Becker in 1835. Practical and more successful electric road vehicles were invented by both American Thomas Davenport and Scotsmen Robert Davidson around 1842. Both inventors were the first to use non-rechargeable electric cells. Frenchmen Gaston Plante invented a better storage battery in 1865 and his fellow countrymen Camille Faure improved the storage battery in 1881. This improved-capacity storage battery paved the way for electric vehicles to flourish.

France and Great Britain were the first nations to support the widespread development of electric vehicles in the late 1800s. In 1899, a Belgian built electric racing car called "La Jamais Contente" set a world record for land speed - 68 mph - designed by Camille Jénatzy.

It was not until 1895 that Americans began to devote attention to electric vehicles after an electric tricycle was built by A. L. Ryker and William Morrison built a six-passenger wagon both in 1891. Many innovations followed and interest in motor vehicles increased greatly in the late 1890s and early 1900s. In 1897, the first commercial application was established as a fleet of New York City taxis built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia.

The early electric vehicles, such as the 1902 Wood's Phaeton (top image), were little more than electrified horseless carriages and surreys. The Phaeton had a range of 18 miles, a top speed of 14 mph and cost $2,000. Later in 1916, Woods invented a hybrid car that had both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.

By the turn of the century, America was prosperous and cars, now available in steam, electric, or gasoline versions, were becoming more popular. The years 1899 and 1900 were the high point of electric cars in America, as they outsold all other types of cars. Electric vehicles had many advantages over their competitors in the early 1900s. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars. Changing gears on gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving, while electric vehicles did not require gear changes. While steam-powered cars also had no gear shifting, they suffered from long start-up times of up to 45 minutes on cold mornings. The steam cars had less range before needing water than an electric's range on a single charge. The only good roads of the period were in town, causing most travel to be local commuting, a perfect situation for electric vehicles, since their range was limited. The electric vehicle was the preferred choice of many because it did not require the manual effort to start, as with the hand crank on gasoline vehicles, and there was no wrestling with a gear shifter.

While basic electric cars cost under $1,000, most early electric vehicles were ornate, massive carriages designed for the upper class. They had fancy interiors, with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000 by 1910. Electric vehicles enjoyed success into the 1920s with production peaking in 1912.

The decline of the electric vehicle was brought about by several major developments:

Electric vehicles had all but disappeared by 1935. The years following until the 1960s were dead years for electric vehicle development and for use as personal transportation.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a need for alternative fueled vehicles to reduce the problems of exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines and to reduce the dependency on imported foreign crude oil. Many attempts to produce practical electric vehicles occurred during the years from 1960 to the present. 

In the early 1960s, the Boyertown Auto Body Works jointly formed the Battronic Truck Company with Smith Delivery Vehicles, Ltd., of England and the Exide Division of the Electric Battery Company. The first Battronic electric truck was delivered to the Potomac Edison Company in 1964. This truck was capable of speeds of 25 mph, a range of 62 miles and a payload of 2,500 pounds.

Battronic worked with General Electric from 1973 to 1983 to produce 175 utility vans for use in the utility industry and to demonstrate the capabilities of battery-powered vehicles. Battronic also developed and produced about 20 passenger buses in the mid 1970s. 

 Two companies were leaders in electric car production during this time. Sebring-Vanguard produced over 2,000 "CitiCars." These cars had a top speed of 44 mph, a normal cruise speed of 38 mph and a range of 50 to 60 miles.

The other company was Elcar Corporation, which produced the "Elcar". The Elcar had a top speed of 45 mph, a range of 60 miles and cost between $4,000 and $4,500. 

In 1975, the United States Postal Service (see top image) purchased 350 electric delivery jeeps from the American Motor Company to be used in a test program. These jeeps had a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 40 miles at a speed of 40 mph. Heating and defrosting were accomplished with a gas heater and the recharge time was 10 hours.

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OK  What about the Internal Combustion Powered vehicles.