July 17, 2008

PEDAL LETS YOU STEER CAR BY FOOT (Jul, 1931)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 11:23 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1931
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This doesn’t seem like such a good idea.

PEDAL LETS YOU STEER CAR BY FOOT

A device recently placed on the market by a Los Angeles, Calif., manufacturing firm enables auto drivers to steer by foot pressure for short distances. Pressing a foot pedal causes an arm to spring up and engage a spoke of the steering wheel. Then the car can be guided by a side-to-side movement of the pedal.
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July 15, 2008

New Auto Salesroom Built in Tiers Displays 300 Cars (Sep, 1930)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 11:44 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1930
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New Auto Salesroom Built in Tiers Displays 300 Cars
THE latest innovation in the automobile-selling business comes from Paris, where a distinctly unique salesroom has been built that enables the salesman to display from one point all the automobiles that he has for sale. The entire salesroom is built in five tiers, as shown in the photo at the right, in the. form of balconies, on which about 300 cars can be exhibited. The tiers are built of reinforced concrete with metal skeletons, and the entire showroom is decorated in cream with black pillars supporting the balconies. The whole structure gives an impression of lightness and immense height.

July 14, 2008

MOTORISTS WARNED TO LOOK OUT FOR PLANES (Mar, 1931)

Filed under: Automotive, Aviation — @ 10:13 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Mar, 1931
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MOTORISTS WARNED TO LOOK OUT FOR PLANES
Planes swooping in for a landing at the Grand Central Airport in Glendale, California, must cross a motor road at such low altitude as to menace cars. In order to prevent collisions between planes and cars, authorities at the field have erected a highway sign at this point, warning motorists of the danger. The sign resembles those used to warn motorists of their approach to railway grade crossings. This is believed to be the only point in the United States where aerial and highway traffic conflict.

July 10, 2008

Meet the new FORD “Country Squire” Station Wagon (Sep, 1950)

Filed under: Advertisements, Automotive — @ 10:30 pm
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1950
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Meet the new FORD “Country Squire” Station Wagon

The “Double Duty” Dandy of them all!

Carries 8 big people in comfort… handles half a ton of freight with ease, thanks to “Stowaway” center seat and “Flat-Deck,” one level cargo space.

Just Look…

1. It’s got more flat carrying area than any other station wagon in its class. Simply remove rear seat—no tools required.
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July 8, 2008

New Cars for Old! (Aug, 1936)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 11:06 pm
Source: Science And Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Aug, 1936
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New Cars for Old!

YEARS ago, a joke was very popular, concerning a very popular car. In brief, it ran that the would-be owner of a Model Zee had torn down an old shed and, reading that the manufacturer of his car was a large purchaser of scrap iron, shipped him a large crate of corrugated roofing, to apply on the price of a new shivver. A few days passed, and he received a letter from the service department of the factory: “Dear Sir. We are unable to tell what kind of accident your car met with, but we will repair it, as good as new, for $49.98.”
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July 7, 2008

MODIFIED STOCK CAR RACING – America’s New Sport of Thrills (Dec, 1933)

Filed under: Automotive, Origins — @ 1:01 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1933
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MODIFIED STOCK CAR RACING – America’s New Sport of Thrills

Modified stock car racing is taking the country by storm, and offering young speed demons a chance to win handsome prizes. Here an old head at the game tells you how you can strip down your car and qualify for these spectacular events.

by ROBERT M. ROOF

MODIFIED stock car races are now being featured on almost every dirt track race in the country. These spectacular events are winning a fast-growing popularity, attracting thousands and thousands of people on the look-out for some new thrill.

As this sport increases in popularity, the chances for steel-nerved drivers to win huge purses also become more numerous. State and county fairs most always stage a stock car race—and it is here that budding young speed demons get a chance to break into the racing game.
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Pumping Gas (Jun, 1942)

Filed under: Automotive, Origins — @ 12:58 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jun, 1942
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SHUTTING ITSELF OFF when a car gasoline tank is full, an automatic filling-station hose nozzle prevents tanks from overflowing and spilling gasoline over fenders to spot the finish and waste fuel and money. Inserted in the filler neck of a gas tank, the nozzle is opened by a hand valve as with ordinary nozzles. When the gas tank is full, gasoline starts to rise in the filler neck. As soon as it reaches the level of the tip of the filler spout, an automatic valve shuts off the flow. The device speeds up filling-station service.
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June 28, 2008

Auto Racer Carries Pet Lion (Sep, 1930)

Filed under: Animals, Automotive — @ 10:48 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1930
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Auto Racer Carries Pet Lion

IN ORDER to carry his pet baby lion around with him while motoring about town, a prominent San Francisco sportsman built a special side car device on his runabout, as shown in the photo below. The lion has been trained to “stay put.”

June 27, 2008

Auto Crashed into Wall in Tire Test (Sep, 1930)

Filed under: Automotive, Just Weird — @ 1:07 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Sep, 1930
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It’s good to know that if I crash into a wall, my tires will survive even if I don’t.

Auto Crashed into Wall in Tire Test

DICK GRACE, famous movie stunt man, added another thrilling exploit to his long list recently by driving an automobile at a speed of nearly 40 miles per hour into a brick wall to test the endurance of a new type of tire.

When the 3,500 pound car was stopped abruptly by the 10 ton brick wall, however, Grace did not sail gracefully over the wall into the soft mixture of cork and sand placed there to absorb the shock of the fall as he expected, but was first thrown against the dashboard, his body bending double, and then hurled out onto the ground at the side. Grace had his usual luck and suffered only a slight injury to his knee.
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June 25, 2008

Tail Light Like Neon Tube Prevents Smash-up in Rear (Dec, 1932)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 12:41 am
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Dec, 1932
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Tail Light Like Neon Tube Prevents Smash-up in Rear

HAVING the appearance of a glowing neon tube extending across the stern of an automobile like an illuminated bumper, a radically different safety tail light has recently been introduced which promises to reduce rear-end collisions to a negligible figure.

Tubular in appearance, the light has a diameter of 3 in. and ranges in length from 54 in. to 90 in., depending upon the width of the vehicle on which it is to be used. Illumination is furnished by two standard tail light bulbs, incorporated in the tube and emitting a bar of light 1-1/2 in. wide.

The device can be installed in any pleasure car, truck or bus in less than 30 minutes.

June 20, 2008

Save $100 on your NEXT VACATION (Jul, 1954)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 1:32 am
Source: Popular Mechanics ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jul, 1954
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Save $100 on your NEXT VACATION

By Ron and Marion Anderson

STOP FOR THE NIGHT when and where you wish, and at the same time stretch your vacation budget, by building a bed right into your car. We did it, and now find that vacation costs average $100 less because the cost of sleeping accommodations is cut down. We never have to wire ahead for reservations and there is no more stopping in the middle of the afternoon in order to secure accommodations for the night. Figures issued by some of the state tourist bureaus show that more and more people are making their homes for the night wherever they park their cars.
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June 16, 2008

Huge Race Car to Try for 300 Miles an Hour Speed (Jan, 1931)

Filed under: Automotive — @ 8:45 pm
Source: Modern Mechanix ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Jan, 1931
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Huge Race Car to Try for 300 Miles an Hour Speed

ACTIVE preparations are now being made by the well-known racing drivers, Peter De Paolo and Harlan Fengler, to restore to America the world’s speed record for automobiles now claimed by England and established by the late Major Segrave in 1929 at Daytona Beach, Florida. The present record stands at 231.36 miles an hour. Two Americans, Frank Lockhart and Lee Bible, have lost their lives on the sands of Daytona Beach while attempting to lower this record.
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