Posts Tagged cars
The snow is melting and the weather is warming (after a particularly frigid February), but the surest sign of spring in the Motor City is the arrival of the Detroit Autorama, the annual gathering of the best in hot rods and custom cars. From March 6-8, more than a thousand vehicles filled Cobo Center. It was exciting, inspiring, and maybe even a little overwhelming.
Greeting visitors at the exhibit hall’s main door were the “Great 8” – the eight finalists for the show’s big Ridler Award. The Ridler honors the best first-time Autorama entry, and the judges’ task is never easy. This year, their choices included everything from a 1937 Ford woody wagon to a 1965 Dodge Dart. Their winner was “The Imposter,” a fantastic 1965 Chevrolet Impala designed by the legendary Chip Foose and owned by Don Voth of Abbotsford, British Columbia. Why the name? This Impala was an imposter – the ’65 body sat atop a 2008 Corvette chassis. Continue Reading
21st century, 2010s, Michigan, Detroit, cars, car shows, by Matt Anderson, Autorama
Late last year, I was invited to present to students at Wayne State University in Detroit. Their seminar, “Women Who Motor,” examined the many connections between American women and the automobile industry, whether as the producers who design and build cars, or as the consumers who buy and drive them. The class also studied depictions of women and their autos in popular culture, from literature, to film, to music. That’s where I came in – with a look at the relationship between women and automobiles in popular song.
It’s no great revelation that the automobile is fertile inspiration for pop music. The car is a rolling metaphor for social status, wealth, style and any of a hundred other things. Sing about someone in a Cadillac, and you paint a picture of an affluent sophisticate; sing about someone in a Chevrolet, and you describe someone more down-to-earth or – if that Chevy is old and tired – someone down on her luck. In other words, the car is a spectacular lyrical shortcut. (And I’ve said nothing about the car as a metaphor for romantic activities… but I will.) In sharing some examples with the students, I broke female-focused car songs into three general groups: 1.) those about using the car to attract a mate, 2.) those about the car as a setting for romance, and 3.) those about women behind the wheel. Continue Reading
popular culture, by Matt Anderson, women's history, music, cars
V-8 cylinder engine, overhead valves, 265 cubic inches displacement, 205 horsepower.
It’s the most enduring 8-cylinder American automobile engine. Chevrolet introduced its “small block” V-8 in 1955 – and kept on building it until 2003. Nearly every General Motors division used some variant, and total production is over 100 million, including later development generations. Not bad for an engine designed in 15 weeks. The compact unit is all but swallowed up by the Chevy’s engine bay. Note the relatively small-sized radiator, too. Efficient cooling was one of the small block’s many advantages.
Matt Anderson is Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford.
20th century, 1950s, Henry Ford Museum, Engines Exposed, engines, Driving America, convertibles, Chevrolet, cars, by Matt Anderson
Inline 4-cylinder engine, overhead valves, 105 cubic inches displacement, 75 horsepower.
Small cars pack a lot into tight spaces. The Omni makes the most of its engine bay by mounting the unit transversely, with the crankshaft parallel to the front bumper. It’s a layout not widely used in American cars since the early 1900s, but particularly well-suited to compact front-wheel drive vehicles. Power is sent to the Omni’s front wheels via the transaxle, a combination gearbox-differential, on the driver’s side.
Matt Anderson is Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford.
20th century, 1970s, Henry Ford Museum, Engines Exposed, engines, Driving America, cars, by Matt Anderson
On this week’s episode of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation you’ll learn about presidential limousines. Want to learn even more? Take a look below.
Read
John F. Kennedy’s Enduring Legacy
Looking Back: JFK Remembered at Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The Car Guy’s Ultimate Beach Party
Hail to the Chief: Henry Ford’s Activities with POTUS
Watch
JFK Remembered at Henry Ford Museum
Look
JFK Remembered: X-100 Under Construction
JFK Remembered: X100 During Kennedy Administration
JFK Remembered: X-100 After Kennedy Administration
Lish Dorset is Social Media Manager at The Henry Ford.
Additional Readings:
- Turning Point
- #InnovationNation: Social Transformation
- Presidential Vehicles
- Looking Back: JFK Remembered at Henry Ford Museum
JFK, Henry Ford Museum, cars, by Lish Dorset, limousines, presidential vehicles, presidents, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation
Engines Exposed: 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Convertible
Inline 8-cylinder engine, single overhead camshaft, 779 cubic inches displacement, 300 horsepower.
From its length, one might expect more than 8 cylinders under the Bugatti’s hood. But each of those cylinders displaces more than the whole of a Volkswagen Beetle’s power plant. Four air cleaners stand over the engine, fitted to the four carburetors installed by Charles Chayne after World War II. Two spark plugs protrude from each cylinder. The steering box sits just behind the right fender, in keeping with the car’s right-hand drive layout.
Matt Anderson is Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford.
20th century, 1930s, luxury cars, Henry Ford Museum, events, Engines Exposed, Driving America, convertibles, cars, by Matt Anderson
On this week’s episode of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation you’ll learn about Henry Ford's Model T. Want to learn even more? Take a look below.
Watch
Ford Model T Assembly Line (1919)
Model T Ride at The Henry Ford
Look
Continue ReadingHenry Ford, by Lish Dorset, cars, Model Ts, The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation
Inline 4-cylinder engine, L-head valves, 177 cubic inches displacement, 20 horsepower.
Mechanical simplicity was one of the secrets behind the Model T’s success. The engine has no fuel pump, relying on gravity to feed the carburetor. There is no water pump either, as a thermosyphon effect was used to circulate cooling water. The cylinder head removes in one piece for easier servicing. Electric start was first available in 1919. The electrical system’s generator is just visible at the front of the engine.
Matt Anderson is Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford.
Ford Motor Company, 20th century, 1910s, Model Ts, Henry Ford Museum, Engines Exposed, engines, Driving America, cars, by Matt Anderson
How does a curator of communication and information technology who doesn’t drive experience her first North American International Auto Show? First, I took advantage of the convenient shuttle bus running into downtown Detroit from Dearborn. And when I arrived for press day at Cobo Hall, catching up with my colleagues after weaving through the maze of exhibits and crowds, they said I arrived looking a little… shell-shocked. My apparently palpable sense of wonder wasn’t directed towards the cars or the crowds, however—I was in awe with the technological cocoons in which they were displayed, and the surreal screen-world that I had stepped into.
Enormous and pristinely crisp LCD screens provided backdrops for automobiles. Touchscreen kiosks were everywhere. Each company seemed to be offering its own branded wireless hotspot. The usual standby of the printed brochure with specs had been replaced by download hubs for smartphone apps and kiosks to email yourself information from. The crowds of press were using cameras to share content through traditional broadcast and social media sites alike. Also, drones were buzzing around overhead at the Ford exhibit, tracking and delivering small models of the Raptor pickup truck to attendees who texted a special code. As the day went on, I kept thinking: what would a guest from 1907 (the year the Detroit Auto Show was founded) think of this spectacle? Continue Reading
21st century, 2010s, technology, NAIAS, Michigan, Detroit, cars, car shows, by Kristen Gallerneaux
Just Added to Our Digital Collections: E-M-F, Flanders, Studebaker Photographs
We’ve just digitized 238 items comprising the complete “E-M-F, Flanders, and Studebaker photographs, ca. 1910-1914” collection at The Henry Ford. As the description on ArchiveGrid notes, “E-M-F, launched in 1908 with an intent to build a mass produced automobile in a medium price range, was named for its three founders: Barney Everitt, successful Detroit automobile body-builder; William Metzger, premier Cadillac Motor Co. salesman; and Walter Flanders, resigned from the Ford Motor Co. as Henry Ford's first production manager.” Before long, the company partnered with Studebaker (producing at one point a Model T competitor named the Flanders 20), and by 1913, all E-M-F and Flanders vehicles became Studebakers. This image shows one of the cars navigating some tricky terrain as a pathfinder for an AAA Glidden Tour, a grueling event designed to showcase the value of the automobile and point out the need for good roads. See all the digitized E-M-F, Flanders, and Studebaker images by visiting our collections website.
Ellice Engdahl is Digital Collections & Content Manager at The Henry Ford.
20th century, 1910s, Michigan, Detroit, photographs, digital collections, cars, by Ellice Engdahl, archives
