AHR058
[…] mon m ark et o n th e c o m petitiv en ess o f W est G erm an fir m s. This pap er exam in es t h e e ffe ct o f p ostw ar e co – nom ic i n te gra tio n i n […]
[…] mon m ark et o n th e c o m petitiv en ess o f W est G erm an fir m s. This pap er exam in es t h e e ffe ct o f p ostw ar e co – nom ic i n te gra tio n i n […]
[…] Norman, OK 97cprice@gmail.com Matt & Nancy Oleksiak (4783) Oakton, VA molekappraisal@outlook.com SAH Journal No. 303 • March / April 2020 4 DUESENBERG DAYSDUESENBERG DAYS T heir name became synonymous with over-the-top elegance and performance, but these two brothers, raised on a midwestern farm, took on the racing world with little more than their own ambition and “can-do” ingenuity. In the period of their grea test success they were perpetually just scraping by, always nearly out of time and money. In the slang of the day, a “Duesenberg hose clamp” was a scrap of baling wire, and a “Duesenberg day” meant working 18 hours straight. Fred and Augie Duesenberg immigrated to Iowa from Germany in 1885 at ages 8 and 5. At age 17, Fred began working for a farm implement dealer, where he showed great aptitude and began his mechanical education. His younger brother soon followed him, and as things progressed they built and raced bicycles and started to dream about the new age of automobiles, developing their fi rst gasoline engine around 1900. Fred worked for the Rambler Motor Car Company in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for a few years and they both worked for the Mason Motor Car Company, where they fi rst the company’s racing cars, before striking out on their own. Eddie Rickenbacker was one of their early drivers. He reported in his autobiography that when he began working with them in 1913 the Duesenbergs had only “seven silver dollars and one cat.” He continued: “At Sioux City we were so broke that I could not garage the cars but kept them under the grandstand. The crew slept on cots in a little adjoining room and ate on credit at a nearby greasy spoon. I talked a local farmer into giving me room and board for $2.50 a week, also on credit. After we won the $10,000 fi rst prize, I told him, we’d have plenty of money.” 1 […]
[…] particularly unfair (unintentionally, no doubt) to Messrs Wawrzyniak and Watson and their team. I do hope that they will not be discouraged in their efforts as a result. It was hardly their fault that the Newsletter was not a suitable vehicle for the Roster – the looseleaf sheets are an excellent idea and I […]
[…] they were built. W.O. Bentley was not involved in the design of these cars, though he was employed by Rolls-Royce after the 1931 acquisition and he did test drive these cars and had a positive opinion of them on the whole. The first car is a 1938 4¼ Litre (chassis B106MR) with three-seater drophead […]
[…] Myers embarked fromLosAngeles on October 19,1929, andarrived in Shenyang onNovember 17.Hebe- gan work thatday. Before leaving the United States,hehad ordered five American truckstobe shipped to Shenyang for testing purposes: a Relay Model SII B, aRelay Model 40A; aDiamond TModel 290,aDia- mond TModel 302andaMoreland Ace. His first task wastosupervise the uncrating andassembly ofthose trucks. TheRelays […]
[…] thatoneofthese wasneeded because the radiator fillerneckwas W’ too high forour special radiator cowl. Wesolved thisproblem byplacing ablock ofwood on the top ofthe filler neckandstriking itasharp blow, which resulted inavery neat depression inthe brass radiator tank, Sir William LyonsandWilliam M.Heynes (ChiefEngineer 1935-1969) withlatemodel Austin Swallow (built1927-1932). and new Jaguar 2.4,which wasintroduced inSeptember, 1955. 11 Automotive […]
[…] Car manufacturers havinggovernment or- ders gotahigh priority rating,but,unlike World WarII,the vast majority ofcar manu- facturers hadnogovernment eontracts. Shortages ofother partswereexperienced as well, leaving animbalance ofinventory, and the result that,during thefour-month period covered bythe agreement, manufac- turers wereunable toturn outmore thana small percentage oftheir usual production. Following thereorganization ofthe Board, thcAutomotive Transportation Com- mittee hadbecome […]
[…] d for his fine work by President Freeman. SAH Press: Kit Foster reported that the donated copies of Classics on the Street were sold quickly as a result of having placed a flyer with renewal notices. Kits conclusion was that a bit of promotion would se ll books. The AH Press will again be […]
[…] imports frequently lacked the plush trim and electrical assists that deï¬Â ned luxury. Lacking a soft ride or abundant V8 power this new wave substituted precise handling from an independent rear suspension, tight steering and a host of attributes that made driving an engaging experience.  All manufacturers had difï¬Â culty com- ing to terms with smog regulations, but the smaller imports had an easier ride to meet the CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) re- strictions, while the expensive imports turned to better fuel injection and valve breathing.  Deï¬Â ning luxury and prestige, and in turn brand image, increasingly recognized substance rather than a basic chassis gussied up with bells and whistles. It took a long time for the American industry to identify this change. But the big differentiator between the common car and the expensive prestige brand was strong body construction that placed safety as the primary consideration.  The network of safety crash tests with increasingly difficult scoring has quickly forced all but a few third-world offerings to incorporate as much safety engineering as possible. Add in all the other regulations and restrictions and we are now at the point that there is little difference in engineering sophis- tication, irrespective of price and prestige.  The premium image that prestige cars enjoy rapidly evaporated because of a fear that once out of warranty, the complexity and costly parts create a nightmare for the afï¬Â uent owner. This afï¬Â uent German car owner soon discovers that the high maintenance and re- pair costs render their vehicle one of the worst depreciating cars on the market. Meanwhile the Toyota owner, whose equally complex car is able to hold its value better, sleeps soundly. Who is the smart consumer here? Once again the wealthy consumer is seen as gullible by the premium manufacturers.  Into this mix arrived an American manufacturer with no heritage, namely Tesla. While Mercedes-Benz and BMW may take comfort that their S-Class and 7-Series se- […]
[…] were foundries and machine shops. The fust Hanomag steam locomotive was made in 1846 and gas engine production was taken up in 1877. In 1880, Hanomag was testing an internal combustion engine in a small locomotive. Hanomag’s wealth, however , was based on the steam locomotive with the Meyer-type engine since 1861, the Mallet-type […]
[…] pie, âHOME-MADE ROOT BEERâ and â COLD HOME-MADE ROOT BEER.â After scoring some breakfast scrapple at the Smoketown Diner, the Lincoln Highwayâs old PA-462 alignment took me through the heart of Lancaster (an area creek gave its name, by the way, to the sturdy Conestoga Wagons that settled the Western wilderness) and across the Susquehanna River on a magniï¬ Â cent 1930 concrete arch bridge con- necting Columbia, Pennsylvania, on the east shore (site of an interesting clock museum) to Wrightsville on the west shore. The tourâs ofï¬ Â cial midday stop was the Haines Shoe House on York, Pennsylvaniaâs eastern out- skirtsâits builder, Mahlon N. Haines, was the owner of a chain of footwear stores who modeled the structure on his best-selling work bootâafter which we headed to Gettysburg for a 150th anniversary battleï¬ Â eld tour.  Though no injuries resulted, thankfully, Sundayâs leg through south-central Pennsyl- vania also witnessed the truly unfortunate destruction of the oldest car participating in the Eastern Tour. Not long after leaving the Haines Shoe House, John McTaggert of Wallingford, Vermontâtowing a 1916 Oldsmobile V-8 roadster heâd spent four and a half years transforming into a faithful replica of the car used by Amanda Preuss to set a new cross-country Lincoln Highway record of 11 days, ï¬Â ve hoursânarrowly averted head-on tragedy with a nick-of-time swerve that took him out of the path of a 24-year-old Chevy driver who had fallen asleep at the wheel after working an all-night Gregg D. Merksamerâs 1978 Ford LTD 4-door pillared hardtop makes a […]
[…] —Bob Ewing E.P. Ingersoll Award This year the Society of Automotive Historians recognizes a two-hour documentary fi lm that chronicles the 1908 New York to Paris Race, an epic contest in which for the fi rst time an American automobile and drivers triumphed over its European competitors. The small Canadian studio spent seven years in research around the world, collecting original photographs, press reports, and the stories of participants. The remains of two surviving vehicles were measured and replicas built and even modifi ed during fi lming to refl ect changes to the cars known to have been made during the race. Actors were trained to drive the cars and, in several cases, to extract them from ditches as the drivers who were being portrayed had done. The result is a fi lm of which approximately half is devoted to historic still photographs and half to live color recreations, the entire production convincing in its authenticity. The E.P. Ingersoll Award for Presentation of Automotive History in other than Print Media is awarded to Michael Hamm, writer, director and producer, and to Kerry Long, producer, of Frame 30 Productions, Edmonton, Canada, for the fi lm “The Greatest Auto Race on Earth.” Unfortunately the recipients are not able to be with us this evening but we take this opportunity to extend to them our congratulations. —Arthur Jones Richard P. Scharchburg Student Paper Award Before announcing the winner of the 2009 Student Paper competition, I […]
[…] our regular tête à têtes. His life did not revolve solely around cars and license plates. He read fi ve newspapers daily, keeping track of the la test happenings in local and world affairs, politics and religion. He had a keen interest in music, and an encyclopedic memory of royalty and failed political candidates. […]
[…] rear spring question about c antilever or quarter-elliptic types. Possible some further details ap pear in the photos that the debaters will find of value. The engine- test-bed photo shows King working in the Duesenberg plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey on the Duesenberg-Bugatti engine pro ject. This 16 cylinder ·French engine . was to […]
[…] patent specification. Thomson’s tyreswereactually madeandtried onhorse- drawn carriages in1847 andwere found tobe noiseless and comfortable andtogreatly reducethetractive effortrequired. The Mechanics’ Magazinefor27th March, 1847,contains an article describing some testsmade onaBrougham fittedwith such tyres, inwhich itisstated thatthetyres weresaidtohave travelled morethan1,200 milesandshowed nosigns of deterioration. Thereisno mention ofpunctures inthese early days, butinthe patent specification theinventor isclearly con- […]
[…] after the National Fall Meet of the Antique Automobile Club of American in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which takes place in October. This page contains the dates and minutes for recent meetings. Go to the Minutes Meetings and Minutes By Year 2023 Board Meetings and Minutes The Fall Meeting of the SAH Board is will take […]
[…] Paul Lashbrook, we offere d juice a nd soda to wash down pretze l s, candies and other snacks while talking about eac h oth er’s la test research, discoveries and s und ry information . About noon on Thursda y it b ega n to sprinkle a nd within a few hour s […]
[…] of our publishing arrangements it was my conclusion that we co uld improve the timeliness of SAH Journal and Aulomolive Hislory Review and also r educe the cost of printing by using a prin t erclose rto my loca tion, and th e new administration conc urr e d . So with this announcement […]
[…] was trying to get around doing it b ut I thi nk you will agree that th e improve d qua lity meri ts th e extra cost. Th ere have been a few othe r bu ga boos -ru n nin g heads mi ssing on one sprea d in jo u rna […]
[…] email to receive a “Title Priced Want List” from Warth Motor Book Buyer. Contact: Tom Warth +1.612.801.5335 email: btew1@me.com Wanted: Contributors for The SAH Journal. The editor greatly appreciates those that have stepped forward, but we need more, now is the time to engage! Please contact your editor directly. Thank you! Wanted: A new edition of the Dalton Watson book, Rolls-Royce in America by John W. de Campi is being prepared. The book will be faithful to the original, but with extensive changes to the tables and much additional material, including lists of cars with fi rst delivery to America and an update on Rolls-Royce US models and history since the original publication in 1975. The aim is to cover the subject as exhaustively and inclusively as possible. If you have material (photographic/printed), information (sources/contacts) relevant to the history of Rolls-Royce in America, please contact your editor. Thank you! T he la test issue of Automotive History Review was mailed early in February. Current members who have not received a copy may email the editor (kit@kitfoster. com) or write to AHR at 1102 Long Cove Road, Gales Ferry, CT 06335-1812 USA and a replacement will be sent. The editor is embarrassed that the Table of Contents listed an incorrect author for Daniel Strohl’s very interesting article about Henry Ford’s Green Island village industry in Upstate New York. Apologies to Dan for marring his AHR debut. Automotive History Review No.54 Wanted: by author Peter Larsen: I am writing a book on the French carrossier Jacques Saoutchik. Two specifi c items have come up: 1) In 1927 Jacques Saoutchik went […]
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