"Speed-control technology, better known by the deceptive marketing term "cruise control" (which wrongly implies that the driver is in control of a "cruise", when in fact he is along for the ride as his 5,000-pound missile of death hurtles toward certain destruction), has been responsible for countless deaths and injuries since its invention in 1952 by one William DuJeouir for the now-defunct Studebaker company. "
I've been lazy and not done any research here, so ~who~ did invent cruise? I've got a '65 ford galaxie that was my grandfather's car and the owners manual has a section devoted to the optional cruise control. I've never seen one. I would expect Cadillac or Lincoln, etc would have had such a new gizmo first? The unit for the that galaxie doesn't look like it was electronic, more mechanical. Guess not too reliable.... I suppose you could say my dad's old '47 chevy farm truck had a "cruise" since it had a pull knob on the dash for the throttle and it overrode the foot pedal!
The original "Perfect Circle Speed Control" (not sure who christened it Cruise Control, but it wasn't the inventor himself) was invented by elderly Mr. Teeter (or Teetor; doggone it; 'can't think of his first name, either) of Perfect Circle in Hagerstown IN. Mr. Teeter was blind and did not drive (seriously), but was nonetheless an accomplished inventor and a principle in Perfect Circle. He was fairly wealthy as a result.
Small world: My wife is from Centerville IN, only a stone's throw down IND SR1 and around the corner from Hagerstown, home of Mr. Teeter's Perfect Circle. You are correct, Jeff; it was sold to Dana Corporation, which is now in bankruptcy and has long-since closed its manufacturing facilities in Hagerstown.
Smaller world yet: My mother-in-law, Mary Kuster, was a lifetime Registered Nurse and did private-duty nursing in her retirement years. (Sadly, she passed away in 1978; I'm one of few guys who actually liked his mother-in-law!)
Ralph Teetor, a prolific (and blind) inventor, invented cruise control. Teetor, blind since the age of five, built his first car, a one-cylinder, by the age of 12. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. His first job post-graduation was to develop technology for steam turbine rotors used in torpedo boat destroyers during W.W.I.
Ralph Teetor became an mechanical engineer for the Light Inspection Car Company, a company founded by his family that later was renamed the Perfect Circle Corporation. The company provided piston rings to car companies such as Packard, General Motors, Chrysler and Studebaker. He soon became the Vice President of Engineering for Perfect Circle and later the President.
In 1945, Ralph Teetor received his first patent on a speed cruise control device. Early names for his invention included ?Controlmatic?, "Touchomatic?, ?Pressomatic? and ?Speedostat? and finally the familiar name of ?Cruise Control?. Teetor thought of inventing cruise control after a jerky car ride. He was being driven by his lawyer, an avid talker, who would slow down and speed up while conversing. Cruise control was first offered in the 1958 Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker and Windsor car models. By 1960, cruise control was offered on all Cadillacs. "
Thanks, I caught that it was a spoof ,but I was curious about the Cruise Control thing because that's the first I had ever heard of it and Studebaker together like that. I did sort of figure that if it were true I would have heard it here first.
I was speaking with Chuck Potter (Robert Taylor look-alike and long time Studebaker nut) about thirty years ago and he told me about a old Stude truck that once came his way. It was complete with a cruise control of a primative design.
I seem to recall a mention of a piece of wood with a notch on one end and a stepped design on the other to fit between the back side of the dashpanel and the gas pedal, with the notch selected for the speed desired.
There had been several other changes made to this truck, none of which got the approval of CP and escape my memory, thankfully.
Quite a few cars had throttle controls as well as chokes, and these could be used as crude cruise controls. I think 47-48 Kaisers has them. I had a 1973 Mazda RX-3 Rotary that had an electronic throttle pull switch too, that changed the carb idle setting to about 1500 RPM or so. I used it a a "parkway" cruise control on a daily commute in Ottawa over about 20 miles of parkways with a ferociously radared 35 mph speed limit. Of course, the switch wasn't there for that, but to correct a problem with overheating Rotary engines with a/c idling too slowly. Of course, they put the switch into all Rotary cars, manual as well as automatic, with or without a/c. (it was only the a/c-automatics that had the problem) Nowadays, cars do it automaticly, and I have been surprised several times with the dd Corolla wanting to lurch ahead as the ECU gives a blip.
Once had to rig a "piece of wood" cruise control for a Corvair that lost its accelerator cable with 40 miles to go in the middle of nowhere on a cold winter night.
Jim Bartley
snipped-for-privacy@earthl> I was speaking with Chuck Potter (Robert Taylor look-alike and long
Once more we see proof positive that no made-up shit by young whippersnappers is anywhere near as funny or amazing as the real truth as revealed HereIn.
As much fun as they are, hand throttles are not the same as cruise control. Cruise, no matter how little you think of it ("guilty," I hate and I use) is a fairly sophisticated kinda-sorta digital technology. Hand throttle is a Bowden, a bolt and a brick. IIRC it was the Lotus Europa that used to shed those flexibles like a molting snake, and there were various ways to re-route what was left of it and hold it between your knees, in your lap, or over your shoulder whilst proceeding homeward in shame...I lost the twist-grip notch on a 125 trail bike oncet and rode home with the nubbin in my teeth, like Zorro. Wish I still had teeth like that.
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