The Ford Edsel
I’m not sure if “Every day something else leaks.” should be the right description for that certainly very unique car. The Edsel was a brand of the Ford Motor Company but from 1957 to November 1959 only 118,287 cars were built, 2/3 of them at Louisville Assembly Plant and 7,440 in Ontario, Canada.
Of course the Edsel was different than others and it was designed to be this way. 18 different body styles were available among them a full line of station wagons. You could get the cars in 90 colour combinations, such as Alaskan Gold, Sunset Coral or Sahara Beige. The oval grill was a lot talked about as it in a way looked like a horse collar, a toilet seat or even a woman’s genitals.
Some drivers had problems with the push button transmission system which was located on the steering wheel were normally the horn was. Many drivers shifted gear instead of honking the horn. And it was prone to shift unexpectedly from “park” into “drive”, so it was wise not to walk in front of an Edsel.
But even though the car looked different and was different, it only was a car with four wheels and four doors. And this seemed to have been part of the problem. Even though it was a great car to drive it only was a kind of ordinary car that just looked a little different. It might have sold better if it had been able to fly or anything like that. Even with a grill looking like a toilet seat. I still think it is a great car in a way and the many different colours really are marvellous.
Anyway the Edsel was a marketing failure and the Ford Motor Company spent $ 350 million to design, launch and prototype the car. Fewer than 6,000 Edsels seem to have survived but now are a highly collectible item amongst lovers of vintage cars. 
Ford Köln and Ford Eifel
In 1931 the people in charge of the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan found it necessary to produce a smaller car for the European market. The Ford Model Y was designed. It was first presented in 1932 on the Ford Motor Exhibition in London’s Royal Albert Hall. In August of that very year the production in started in England and in 1933 in Germany. Here the car was named Ford Köln, as Köln is the German name of the city of Cologne, where the cars were manufactured. The Ford Köln had a 4-cylinder engine, 21 hp (16 kW), with a top speed of 85 km/h (53 mph). The cars built in Germany were more luxurious than those produced in England. A saloon and a convertible were available. But the Ford Köln wasn’t a great success due to the competition with the Opel, DKW and Adler. In 1935 it was replaced by the bigger Ford Eifel. The Ford Eifel was produced in Germany from 1935 to 1940. It was available as 2-door saloon and 2- and 4-seat convertible, 2-sear roadster and light truck, with a 4-cylinder engine, 34 hp (25 kW), with a top speed of 105 km/h (65 mph). This car was a real success with more than 61,000 units sold. The Ford Eifel was derived from the Ford Model C platform and related to the Ford Anglia and Ford Perfect.
A 1941 Buick Series 50 Super Convertible Coupe
The Buick Motor Car Company was founded in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick and soon became very successful. Production rose from over 725 cars in 1907 to more than 8,800 the following year.
The Buick Series 50 Super Convertible Coupe had an overhead-valve straight-eight “Fireball” engine and 3-speed transmission. Due to high compression pistons and Compound Carburetion the horsepower were increased from 107 to 125. The Compound Carburetion consisted of two dual-barrel carbs of which most of the times only one was in operation. The second one provided extra power at high speeds or under hard acceleration. As each of the dual-barrel carbs were smaller than the old single ones it was said that petrol mileage was better in average driving. Many drivers even blocked the second carb in order to save petrol during wartime. As the boot could be opened to both sides by pulling out the Louvre-Lock, access to the engine was much easier. It could even be removed entirely. The cars had horizontal grille bars and headlights in the wings. Two versions of the convertible were available, the 4-door convertible saloon and the 2-door convertible coupe. The latter was one of Buick’s best-sellers of that very year.
Ford Model T
The first time I read about the Ford Model T was in my English book in school. It really impressed me, to read that the Tin Lizzy was able to pull a tractor out of a ditch. In September 1908 the first Ford Model T was sold in Detroit. By that time it was still handmade. The car had a front mounted engine and rear wheel drive. It became the first mass produced car on assembly lines ever, with interchangeable parts. With 15 million units it was the most sold car until in 1972 the Volkswagen Beetle took over. It was a middle class car and even though most of the cars were black, different colours were produced from 1908 to 1914 and from 1926 to 1927 when production ended. The Tin Lizzy not only was the first car built on assembly lines, but the first car produced world wide. From 1911 on the Ford Model T was assembled in Canada and Manchester, England and later in Germany, Argentina, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan. Due to the efficiencies of assembly lines the prices of the Tin Lizzy fell and even more people were able to afford one.
Specifications:
- Class – Full-size Ford, economy car
- Body styles – 2-door touring, 2-door roadster, 2-door roadster pickup, 2-door ton truck, 2-door closed cab ton truck, 2-door coupé, 2-door wagon, 4-door wagon, Center door wagon, 2-door convertible, 4-door sedan
- Engine – 177 in3 (2.9 L) 20 hp I4
- Transmissions – 2-speed planetary gear, 3-speed planetary gear
- Wheelbase – 99.0 in (2515 mm)
- Kerb weight – 1,200 pounds (540 kg)
- Fuel capacity – 10 US gallons (38 L)
The Petersen Automotive Museum
The Exhibition What Were They Thinking? The Misfits Of Motordom in the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, California is extended through July 5, 2010. In this exhibition examples are shown, in which car designers and engineers tried to improve the cars of their times. Some of the inventions made are more than strange, others are pretty useful and worth thinking about. All of them certainly are good examples of out-of-the-box thinking.
You can see the 1957 Liberty Mutual Survival Car which was the attempt to improve safety for the driver, the passengers and even the pedestrians. Or the 1934 Chrysler Airflow, a scientifically aerodynamic car that didn’t match the styling trends of its time. Another misfit was the 1959 Chevrolet Corvair. It was designed to compete with European compact cars like the Beetle and had an air cooled flat rear engine and rear drive. The American drivers though didn’t get on too well with the car and caused several accidents, therefore the car was thought of as being unsafe.
These are of course only a few examples of what you can see at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
On Saturday, December 5, 2009 the 4th Annual CARnival Family Fun Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All children are FREE on that very day.
Willys-Overland Whippet
When John Willys had been taken his chief engineer with him on a trip to Europe, they sent several European cars back home to Toledo Ohio. After having decided that the cars were too little and therefore unsuitable for the American roads, they wanted to design a “better automobile”.
The 1927 Whippet was a four cylinder model with 30 hp and a length of just over 12 feet. It was the smallest car in America. Not long after that, Willys offered a six cylinder with 40 hp that was only a little longer for $ 695. The Wippets grew. Within a couple of years they had 50 hp and the wheelbase itself was longer than the entire 1927 unit.
1929 Willys-Overland Whippet:
- Engine – L-head straight-six, cast iron block and cylinder head, 50 hp
- Chassis – body on composite steel frame
- Body style – four door, five-passenger sedan
- Wheel base – 112.5 in
- Length – 159 in
- Width – 68 in
- Front track – 56 in
- Rear track – 56 in
- Shipping weight – 2,691 pounds
- Top speed – 50 mph
- Production in 1929 – 242,000
1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III
The 1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III. Elegance and luxury and a real beauty and certainly one of the most distinctive cars on the road.
The vinyl top, with optional power sliding sun roof, was now standard, as well as the Michelin steel belted radial ply tires. The new upholstery was less old fashioned and the instrument panel and trim panels were upgraded to genuine walnut veneer. The new Three Spoke Rim Blow Steering Wheel made it possible to operate the horn just by squeezing the inner rim. The ignition key was in the steering column and also had a locking device. With this not only the steering wheel was locked but also the transmission selector lever. The windshield wipers were now hidden from view underneath the back edge of the hood. Red reflectors were added to the rear bumper as well as yellow reflectors to the sides of the front parking lamp assemblies. High quality was used to build this car.
Here are some of the specifications:
- Production in 1970 – 21,432
- Wheelbase – 117.2 in
- Length – 216.1 in
- Weight – 4,675 lb
- Engine – V-8, 460 cid, 365 hp
- Transmission – C6 Select Shift Automatic, 3-Speed
The 1965 Chrysler 300L
The 1965 Chrysler 300L has been the last of the letter series for more than 30 years. The series started in 1955 (the letter I was skipped) and during this time less than 17,000 were produced. From 1955 through 1957 the Chrysler was the fastest American car, because Chrysler had become the first American manufacturer to develop 300 hp in a production car.
The body styles available were either hardtop or convertible, except 1955,1956, and 1963 when no convertible was available.
The original 300’s are by some people considered to be the first muscle cars, winning a total of 37 NASCAR and AAA stock car events in 1955. But they were not only fast but also large and luxurious. Qualities muscle cars did not typically match.
Of the Chrysler 300L 2,845 cars were produced, 2,405 were 2-door hardtops, and 440 2-door convertibles.
The specifications were as follows: V-8, 413 cid, 4 bbl carb, 360 bhp at 4,800 rpm, 470 ft/lbs at 3,200 rpm, either standard 3-speed auto or optional 4-speed manual.
