A GDYNETS® PUBLICATION © 2017, G. DAVID YAROS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Car Collector Chronicles ®
Volume X, Issue 1
Exploring:
Ca
Car Collecting Today
High RPMs
Classic Rides Reports From the Field Oldsmobile (1897-2004) Cadillac (1902- ) Allanté (1987-1993)
Corvair (1960-1969)
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IN THIS ISSUE: High RPMs
1
Crystal Ball Gazing
2
Back Home in Indiana
3
Auto Trivia
4
As promised last month, but never presented due to lack of space, we take a look into the future of automobile transportation. This look comes to us courtesy of the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) which has seen fit to include me on its mailing list. I go back to my Indiana roots to present information on Milton O. Reeves. While I doubt many of you recognize the name, I can assure you that all of you make use of one of his creations daily. This month I shall be observing first hand the British motoring scene. In midJanuary the Mrs. and I shall be spending some time in London, along with a day trip to gay ol’ Paree. January Automotive Milestones 01-1897 Winton builds 1st car with steering wheel
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CCC® Forum EMail:
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OldsD88@gmail.com ◄
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02-1923 Chevrolet debuts 1st air-cooled engine 05-1924 1st Chrysler debuts 06-1917 Gold-plated Studebaker displayed at NYC Auto Show 06-1954 Kaiser Darrin goes on sale 07-1918 1st Chevy truck built 09-1926 1st Pontiac built 10-1979 The last Beetle rag top rolls off VW lines 13-1942 Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies 14-1954 Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merge to form American Motors Corporation 16-1853 Inventor of the pneumatic tire, André Michelin, born 16-1977 Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon debut 17-1953 Corvette 1st intro'd 17-1903 Cadillac premieres at Madison Square Garden 17-1956 Ford Motor Co. goes public 22-1950 Preston Tucker found not guilty of mail fraud
28-1896 East Peckham, Kent Eng. Issues 1st speeding ticket for doing 8 mph in a 2 mph zone 29-1886 Benz patents 1st gasoline-driven automobile 30-1958 Rambler American debuts
- Taking a winter nap!
GDYNets® on the Web Find GDYNets on the web:
Pics to Ponder
January 2017
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CCC -THE FORUM ◄-A web site to discuss the newsletter, the hobby and our cars. Car Collector Chronicles® ◄ Saved 62 ◄-Our 1962 Olds convertible, Ransom Eli Olds and things Oldsmobile related web site. The Gray Lady ◄-1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville web site.
SAVED 62: A website devoted
to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.
THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville, lots of Caddy information and an extensive repair library.
DAVE’S DEN: ◄-A site devoted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive information on the “Steel City” of Gary, IN. There are also offerings on steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14 assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, IN Police Lt. George Yaros.
Car Collector Chronicles
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Crystal Ball Gazing
“Cars, like other appliances now, will become throw away items. We won’t repair them. We’ll just pitch ‘em and get another as a replacement.”
While recently perusing a tool catalog I could not help but notice how far battery technology has advanced. Today battery powered tools have far more power (voltage) than just a few years ago and the price per volt for this technology is becoming more and more reasonable. That is the way it is supposed to work, right? Battery power is also the wave of the future when it comes to our cars. It has taken a while, and there is still a way to go, but I do foresee my grandchildren not ever having to go to a gas station for a fill-up. I also doubt they will even have to tether the car to an electrical outlet when not in use. Rather, the garage floor shall contain an electromagnetic charging pad. Pull the car in, park it and it will start charging itself. The Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) says that soon cars shall be powered by 48v systems. So we go from 6v to 12v to 48v? I would call that a quantum leap. What will that 48v system be doing, aside from powering woofers and tweeters? Here is an SAE list of but a few things we shall be seeing: Electrically-accelerated turbochargers— Electro-mechanically actuated valves Electrified-axle “modules” that enable quick and easy all-wheel-drive Electrically-actuated dampers for adjusting the suspension Engine start-stop systems On-demand operation of most ancillaries, including HVAC Of course, all this electrification will serve to further reduce the number of “shade tree mechanics.” Cars, like other appliances now, will become throw away items. We won’t repair them. We’ll just pitch ’em and get another as a replacement. The other drawback I see is, what do we do with all these no longer functioning batteries at the end of their useful life? While I am a firm believer in recycling, I cannot deny my chagrin at learning when I took a bunch of dry cell (flashlight) batteries to Batteries +Bulbs™ for recycling that it charged a fee for this. Another innovation on the horizon, per the SAE, has to do with motor oils. We have already progressed from dino to synthetic in order to be better stewards of our environment. But ever changing driving habits call for more refinements in this area. The length and time of average trips by car keeps decreasing. It is now at 22 minutes and 7.5 miles per trip. This makes for extreme driving conditions. Us car buffs know that running an engine for a short time, never letting it warm up, does more harm than good. A motor oil that will facilitate rapid warm-up (time needed to get metal parts, coolant and oil to operating temps) can reduce fuel consumption by double digits. That would be significant, to say the least. Autonomous vehicles are coming. What the heck is an autonomous vehicle? That is a fancy way of saying “driverless car.” Ford® says they shall be here by 2021. They have already been spotted on the roads. ◄ The question I have is, will they be accepted by the public? Will the proverbial road trip or vacation be as inviting with no one behind the wheel? Certainly not to our ilk, who thoroughly enjoy driving their cars! In the ever changing workplace, the wave of the future is cobots (collaborating robots). They shall put an end to labor intensive, back breaking, dirt under the fingernails jobs. “Cobot” is nothing more than a term used to make less threatening the prospect of a robotic run manufacturing plant. Instead of assembly line workers, plants shall have on-site a full-time mathematician. His job shall be to read and interpet bits & bytes and program software and self-learning autonomous intelligent vehicles (AIVs) to timely transport needed components to the assembly line. The bottom line is that no matter how intelligent the factory floor becomes, there will still/always be a need for humans on the line; sadly just not as many. Those that do remain shall have to be both highly educated and skilled.
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Back Home Again in Indiana Having been born and raised in Indiana; “Gary, Indiana, not Louisiana, Paris France or Rome” to be precise; I found this automobile manufacturer history to be of interest, and hope you do to. Milton Othello Reeves was born on a farm in Rush County, Indiana in the waning years of the Civil War, 1864. He spent his adult life in Columbus, IN. Other notables with ties to Columbus, IN are soon to be V.P. Mike Pence, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart and KFC’s Colonel Sanders before he was a colonel. In 1896 Milt took to the roads with his creation, the fourth or fifth automobile made in America (historians cannot agree on this). He called it the Motocycle. What made his motocycle unique was that it incorporated a variable speed transmission utilizing a belt and pulley system. Henry Ford’s quadricycle, created at or near the same point in time had a singlespeed transmission. In addition to the VST, the car was powered by a 2 cylinder, 2 cycle, 6 h.p. engine. A refined version of the motocycle was driven by Reeves to Indianapolis in 1897. History records the car as being the first automobile ever seen in Indy. Remarkably, it was capable of maintaining a speed of 30 m.p.h. While the drive to, and display in, Indianapolis was for the purpose of marketing his creation, the public was not yet ready to buy these new fangled contraptions. He sold all of five before he gave up the ghost on this endeavor in 1898. Ever the tinkerer, Milton continued to toy with cars. In 1911 he decided he could improve on the Overland. He did so by adding two more axles, 1 front & 1 rear, to the car. He dubbed it the Reeves OctoAuto. The idea behind eight wheels was to vastly improve the ride and, believe or not, reduce tire wear! Tires would wear less as each now carried half the weight of conventional 4-wheeled cars? It was advertised as “The Easiest Riding Car in the World. Built on the principle of the Pullman Parlor Car.” The Reeves OctoAuto was a right hand drive vehicle, over 20’ long, with a 180” (15’) wheelbase and a 40-horse engine. Both front axles turned when steering. Only 1 rear axle furnished traction for the car. The Reeves OctoAuto was first presented to the motoring public at the inaugural Indianapolis 500. It found no buyers at $3,200 ($85,492.13 in 2016). One distinction the Octo may claim is that in 2007 Time® Magazine named It one of the ugliest cars ever built.
“The idea behind eight wheels was to vastly improve the ride and, believe it or not, reduce tire wear!”
Car Collector Chronicles
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Back Home in Indiana—Cont’d. Not one to be discouraged, the following year Reeves presented the world with his SextoAuto. This car sat on 3 axles and 6 wheels. This car, like its predecessor, went no where in terms of sales. Less one thinks Milton O. Reeves was a total kook, you need to know that he is remembered in automobile circles for inventing the muffler. ◄ It was part of the design on his original 1896 creation, the Motocycle. Additionally, Indiana thinks enough of Milt to hold an annual Reeves Festival. Coincidentally, the First Annual Reeves Festival was held in the same year that Time® publicly disparaged his OctoAuto design. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery applies to the OctoAuto. In 2010 another 8-wheeler surfaced on ebay™. It featured two Mazda rotary engines, two Jaguar differentials, eight four-lug wheels and a bunch of flashing interior lights. The selling price was $4,900. That sum computes to a paltry two hundred 1911 bucks; considerably lower than Reeves $3,200 asking price for the OctoAuto!
Auto Trivia This bit of info was found in my email back in November. It is from the folks at Rock Auto®. ◄ I must admit it caught me by surprise, which I guess is exactly what it was intended to do: Which 2017 model was assembled with the most (by value) equipment (parts) from the US and Canada? A. Chevrolet Camaro B. Toyota Camry C. Lincoln Continental Duh? The correct answer is the foreign car company, Toyota!
Car Collector Chronicles
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Pics to Ponder
Ok, I’ve had my say for the month. Now it’s your turn! I invite/encourage submission of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to CCC® at OldsD88@gmail.com.
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-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM! COMING NEXT ISSUE: TBD