Popular Mechanic's Take On The Volkswagen, circa 1956

In keeping with VW's birthday today, another couple of articles about the early days of VW.  

Popular Mechanic's tests were very thorough.

These two articles are from the Oct. 1956 issue of Popular Mechanics.  See what the media were saying about this funny little car that nobody expected to sell very well. 

Happy Birthday, VW!

While reading another car blog, it was brought to my attention that Volkswagen is 74 years old today.  As a satisfied VW owner myself, I just wanted to wish VW a happy birthday. 

Happy Birthday!!

It's beginnings were dubious, of course.  Adolf Hitler wanted a car for the people, and Ferdinand Porsche designed the Beetle.  Volkswagen means "people's car" in German.  Of course, Mr. Hitler's plans for world domination got in the way, the Beetle was converted to military use as the Kübelwagen. 

There are two short articles after the jump.  The first article is from Popular Science, May 1944, during WWII.  The following article is from  Oct. 1950 when the first Beetles showed up in the USA.  

Henry Ford: Control Freak or Genius?

Henry Ford was many things, but above all he was the ultimate control freak.  He controlled his cars, he controlled his workers including their off-hours private time.  He also wanted to control the content of his automobiles to the point where he built factories to produce everything that his cars needed.  Stuff that normally would be bought from an outside source.  Things like cardboard, paper, tires, steel, etc., he would make himself.

This is an article from Life Magazine, May 30, 1938 which shows some of his new factories, but also mentions his vision for the future of manufacturing in the US.

Obama's Hang-Up

President Obama's limo had a little problem on his recent trip to Ireland.  It managed to bottom out (high centered itself) while pulling out of the US embassy. 

FYI, these are the previous generation limos also used by "W", not the bigger, truck based "Beast".  Maybe he should have used that one! 

Let's Take a Break With Marcia Ball

What do these clips have to do with cars?  Absolutely nothing.  I've just loved the hell out of this woman and her music ever since I saw her do a "Don't Mess With Texas" PSA back in the 80's or 90's.  This gal can really cook, and I don't mean dinner either.  Her piano solos are killer (especially in the second clip)!

The first clip is from the early 90's (I think) and is the PSA I mentioned above.  The second clip (after the jump) is from 1990, and the third one is from about a year ago (2010).  She's still got it!  Enjoy!!

SIA Flashback – Los Angeles: Postwar Paradise of Cheap Classics at Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

SIA Flashback – Los Angeles: Postwar Paradise of Cheap Classics at Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

Cords and Duesenbergs weren't always collectable. Check out this repost from Special Interest Autos.  It matches perfectly with the post about my visit to the ACD Museum I posted yesterday. 

FYI, right-click on each page and open in a new tab, then hover over the resulting picture. If you see a "+", left click and it will blow up enough to read it.

FLASH!! CATC Commenter Rick Aurora chased in Missouri!!

CATC Rick Aurora and his friend, Mark, were spotted being chased all the way to Rolla, MO. in their silver Dodge Magnum wagon.  They put up a good fight, but we all know how these things end.  We may not hear from Rick for awhile. 

A Visit To The Museum

On May 15, I took my Father on a surprise trip to the Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana.  Ok, it was May 15, 2004, but I just found the photos I took of the trip and thought I'd share them here.

The museum itself is the former factory and headquarters of E.L. Cord's empire and the art-deco showroom is the same one in which brand new Cords, Auburns and Duesenbergs were originally shown and sold.  Try to visit if you get the chance.

I'll be adding more captions as soon as I identify each car, but for now, sit back and enjoy...there are tons of pictures.

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE

Lunchtime In Dallas

Instead of eating lunch today, my friend and co-worker, Rajesh, and I visited Texas Classic Cars of Dallas.  Rajesh whipped out his camera-phone and went nuts.  He was also kind enough to share his pictures with CATC.  Enjoy!  (As usual, click the pictures to enlarge).

Original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang GEN11 for sale

Original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang GEN11 for sale

From Gizmag.

1926 Rolls-Royce Experimental Vehicle 10EX for sale

1926 Rolls-Royce Experimental Vehicle 10EX for sale

From Gizmag.

Watch Fort Worth, TX. Blow Up!!!!

The city of Fort Worth, Texas blew up Tuesday night (5/10/2011) during a thunderstorm.  Well, the entire city didn't blow up, but several dozen exploding transformers put on one hell of a light show for about a half-hour.  Put on some good music and enjoy!

Ad: 1937 Hudsons

From the Feb. 01, 1937 issue of Life.

The Sociopath's Guide to Owning and Maintaining Classic Cars

A very, very funny article from Cracked. 

"Now that you've acquired your perfect vehicle and you've got all your tools, it's time to drink a lot. That's about 80 percent of the reason people even own cars. It's like fishing: Nobody actually goes to fish. You just get drunk on a lake, because ducks are hilarious when you're wasted. So it's time to open up the hood, smear some grease on your body and get sloshed in your driveway. If anybody asks what you're doing, simply look annoyed, yell something that sounds like a car-part and then blame it on a minority. Here's a few to get you started:"

Read more: The Sociopath's Guide to Owning and Maintaining Classic Cars | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/blog/a-sociopaths-guide-to-owning-and-maintaining-classic-cars/#ixzz1LKWUgQ98 

Warning:  Some language NSFW. 

Blackout rules during WWII

From the Sept. 1942 issue of Popular Science.

Click to enlarge

Motorcycles in WWII

From the Sept, 1942 issue of Popular Science.

Page 1

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Dirty Cars

by CATC contributer: Rick Aurora

Does your car need to be washed?