Brought to you by E N D L E S S R O A D, Historic Savage Mill, 8600 Foundry Street, Savage, MD 20763 Store: 301-497-0369, FAX: 301-497-3690, snipped-for-privacy@aol.com """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IN THIS ISSUE
- Car-Guy Trivia Questions
- Formula One
- Bits and Pieces
- On Order
- Recent Receipts
- Car-Guy Trivia Answers
- 10% Off Visit For Your Trivia Questions ======================= **====================== Car-Guy Trivia (answers are later in this email)
1) What was the first Japanese car company to set up a plant here in the U.S., in 1982?
2) What innovative inventor's Dymaxiun car could carry 11 passengers, exceed 120 MPH and get a whopping 30 miles per gallon, in 1934?3) When air bags go off, they are usually inflated with: A-Oxygen B-Helium C-Carbon Dioxide D-Nitrogen
4) What movie had Professor Fate, played by Jack Lemmon, racing a Hannibal Twin 8?5) What year was this? Every baby boomer Car Guy should be able to figure out this year.
Vice President Nixon spoke at the National Auto Show. Russia's Sputnik went up, but our Viking satellite exploded before it ever took off. On the big screen was 'The Bridge over River Kwai' and 'Gunfight at OK Corral'. On the small screen, there was 'Perry Mason' and 'Maverick'. Dick Clark created 'American Bandstand', and you could 'Leave it to Beaver'. Everyone sang 'Bye Bye Love', 'Wake Up Little Suzie', and 'Lucille'. There were The Asian Flu, Slinkys, Hula Hoops, and Sony transistor pocket radios.
Studebaker and Thunderbird stuck superchargers on their V8s. Ramblers and Metropolitans dropped the Nash name, and Hudson disappeared altogether. It was Pontiac's 50th year, Oldsmobile's 60th. Mercury's Turnpike Cruiser was Indy's Pace Car.
Chrysler introduced its "Forward Look", with soaring fins on every model. But the Caddy Eldorado had some of the wildest.
Ford and Mercury had new sculptured bodies, but Chevy face lifted its body styles, now in their third year. But this ended up a good thing for Chevy Lovers. OK, how about this? Their black coupe was the hot thing to have.
Chevy and Pontiac had fuel injection on their hot setups. Corvettes with fuel injection could do zero to 60 in 7 seconds. Plus, you could get heavy-duty suspension for racing. But the Corvette SS lasted only four hours at Sebring.
Juan Manuel Fangio won Monaco and his fifth World Championship. A record to stand for years till some guy named Schumacher came along.
Ford's director warned that petroleum production may 'Peak' in the next twenty years.
J.C. Whitney sold fender skirts, club plates, continental kits, and spinner hubcaps. Come to think of it, they still do.
--- Retreads --- These last three questions are from over a year ago. If you remember them from before, consider this a memory test.
6) What car did Sean Connery drive in "Goldfinger"? What car did he drive in "Dr. No"?7) For you British Iron guys: Here in the colonies, a green race car was, at one time, considered bad luck. But in the UK, BRG, the famous British Racing Green, was the national racing color. Where did it start?
8) Although probably not remembered by many today, the original Corvettes were one of the earliest users of fiberglass, and the quality in terms of panel fits and leaks was not very good. As a result, sales were poor, and the car was about to be killed after just a few years of production. What saved it?======================= **====================== Formula One
Continuing last month's scenario, what if Michael, Rubins, and Ferrari were not running this season, who would be the Top Guns for the year? We adjusted the points as if the boys in red were not there. Not just dropping the top two from the existing points, we scored all the drivers in the positions they would be if the Ferrari positions were disqualified or not there at all. Those in third would go up 4 points from 6 to 10, fourth would go up from 5 points to 8, etc. Plus ninth and tenth would suddenly get 2 and 1 points, respectively. This is what the F1 world would be without the Red Blitz.
With/Without Ferrari
136....00...Michael .98..00...Rubins .71...104...Button .46..70...Trulli .45..68...Alonso .42..61...Montoya .28..38...Kimi .24..44...Coulthard .23..39...Sato .19..40...Fisichella .12..21...Ralf .10..23...Massa ...7..20...Webber ...6..13...Panis ...6..11...Pizzonia ...3...7...da Matta ...3...7...Heidfeld ...2...4...Glock ...1...5...Baumgartner ...0...8...Klien ...0...1...Mark Gene ...0...1...ZontaJenson Button would be this year's champion. Second place would be a tight race between Jarno Trulli, Fernando Alonso, and Montoya, with Coulthard as long shot.
The Musical Chairs of Formula One 2005 began almost at the start of the 2004 season with Montoya announcing he is going to McLaren, but it is picking up speed now. Webber is going to Toyota, and Jag is disappearing. Panis is retiring. Word is that Villeneuve is coming back to do the last three races for Renault. That lets Trulli go to Toyota. Depending on what the F1 POWERS THAT BE decide, Button is either going to Bar or Williams. And Coulthard will probably go to whichever team Button does not take. How much of this is true? Your guess is as good as mine.
2004 Formula One Season:Sept 26 China Oct 10 Japan, Suzuka Oct 24 Brazil
======================= ** ======================= Bits and Pieces
Most of you know of the legendary video Rendezvous. Some of you have seen it. Shot from the nose of French Director Claude Lelouch's Ferrari coupe, screaming from one side of Paris to the other. No staged scenes, no blocked off traffic, no police cooperation, pure and simple flat out through city streets. We had the video, but it was a whopping 49.95 for a nine-minute film. Now it is on DVD for 36.95. We've ordered them, and they're on their way, somewhere between Europe and our shop. We should have them within a week.
***I read a magazine the other day. It said there was cautious optimism for, and visible signs of reduction in prices in fuel oil. They then went on with convoluted reasons why prices would be dropping: production developments were making strides, curtailed demand in foreign countries, etc. I hope this didn't get too many peoples' hopes up; this was from Autocar, February 4th,
1949, 55 years ago.***
Another magazine, Cars Magazine of August 1953, had an article on the Car of the Future. This is what they predicted 51 years ago:
-Modified teardrop body with a roof of glass or clear plastic, with interiors light and airy
-Fuel Injection and up to 9 to 1 compression
-Seats would be made of the new miracle fibers and colors blended with outside paint
-Instrument panels would be simple and contoured to please the eye, with instruments completely recessed
-Powered by gas turbine, solar power, jet power, or atomic engines. The gas turbine was most likely, and solar power was rated as a dark horse
-All Engines in the rear, made of aluminum, plastic, or magnesium
-Electronic aids from locking doors to warming windows, plus radar safety devices
-Tires softer and wider; Goodyear had one watermelon shaped
-Headlights fluorescent or sodium, and non-glare
-Body of plastic, magnesium, steel or aluminum - or a combination of any two of them
Many things are here now in one form or another. Some things are still in the works. But that atomic engine is going to take a while. (Thanks to Dan, Historian of the Z Cars Club, for sharing the magazines with us.)
======================= **====================== Here are highlights of a few things we have on order now:
All models are 1:18 unless otherwise stated.
Auto Art Jaguar XKE V12 Coupe
80306 Corvette C5-R #50 80307 Corvette C5-R #53 Beanstalk 10029 Ford F150 FX-4 Pickup Ford SVT Lightning ConceptBrumm
1:43 Porsche 356 James DeanCarousel Coyote 1977 winner Foyt Coyote 1966 G. Snider #82 Lotus Gurney #17 1965
CMC Mercedes SLR McLaren
1962 Ferrari 250GT SWB - Red Mercedes 300SL silverErtl
33685 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator - yellow with black interior 33765 Authentics 1950 Oldsmobile we had a case and sold out in a week 33793 Saleen Mustang Exoto Exoto is behind on all of their new numbers; some of these numbers have been on order for over a year. Don't hold your breath.McLaren MP4/6 Berger #2 McLaren MP4/6 Senna #1 GMP
1:24 Buick GNX black 1966 Fairlane 427 White Mustang Malco "Ohio George"Highway 61
60065 1967 Dodge R/T 60066 1957 Chevy 60071 1968 Barracuda Hot Wheels 2004 Ferrari F1 Schumacher 1:43 1970 Mustang Boss red 1:43 1968 Camaro light blue Kyosho 1977 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 red #64 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 yellowLane / Exact Detail
1967 Camaro RS/SS 396 603 Chevelle red and black 504 1965 Malibu SS Hardtop MIC 1964 Pontiac GTO Beswick Tameless Tiger It should arrive this week. 1969 Dodge Daytona #22Minichamps
1:43 Bentley EXPSP Le Mans '03 #8 Bar Honda F1 006 Jenson Button #9 McLaren MP4/2 Nikki Lauda Precision Miniatures Prm-04 1933 Willys Ohio George Prm-05 1933 Willys KS Pittman Pmsc-01B Black Landau Style Hearse Revell Porsche 962C 1986 Le Mans winner 1969 Targa top Porsche 914/4, in yellow and in blue, we sold out twice. The first 1:18 Porsche 914Ricko
1934 Lincoln Model K black 1933 Cadillac V16 2003 Cadillac 16 blackSuper Car Collectibles Most of these are put on hold before we receive them. Please let us know as soon as possible if you want one.
29411 Sox & Martin 1970 Duster Pro Stock red-white-blue 50239 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A black 50240 1971 Challenger R/T Curious Yellow ======================= **====================== We received these lately:Auto Art
71121 Corvette 25th Anniversary Collector EditionCMC Auto Union Type C Mercedes 450 SL Blue Mercedes W196 Stromline Fangio #18
ERTL
33704 1:18 M4 '73 CADILLAC 33709 18 M4 '67 PONTIAC GT 33716 18 M4 '63 THUNDERBIRD GMP 1:18 1969 Nova Hot Rod black 1:24 1987 Buick GNX blackErtl
33718 Range Rover - SilverGMP
1:24 1969 Mercury Cyclone Yarbough 1:24 1969 Mercury Cyclone Gurney All Sport Mustang #1 Highway 61 1970 Mustang Boss 302 Dodge Racing Maverick Dodge Racing Ram Chargers Kyosho Ferrari 365 GBT/4 red Ferrari 365 GBT/4 blackLane - Exact Detail
701 1967 Shelby GT 350 Fastback 602 Chevelle black with white stripe and black interiorMinichamps
1:43 2003 Corvette C5-R Le Mans #50 1:43 1914 Model T Ford black McLaren MP4/18 2003 Coulthard Ricko 2004 Cadillac CTS-V series black 1963 Lincoln ContinentalRoad Signature (Yat Ming)
1955 Chrysler Imperial 18126 Chrysler Airflow black 1961 Lincoln Presidential convertible Super Car Collectibles 29353 Sox & Martin 1970 Superbird S/Stock red-white-blue 29412 1969 Yenko Street/Strip 427 Nova, Green w/white Yenko stripes This has slicks and drag wheels and a second set of street wheels. ======================= **====================== Car-Guy Trivia Answers1) Honda was the first Japanese car company to have a plant here in the U.S.
2) Buckminster Fuller was the creator of the incredible Dymaxiun car. 3) When air bags go off they are usually inflated with: D-Nitrogen.4) The movie with Professor Fate was The Great Race. It's a good family comedy farce of a turn-of-the-century New York to Paris race, with Tony Curtis as the hero and Natalie Wood as the heroine. And this month, we have the DVD for $15.95; that's 20% off its regular $19.95 price.
5) The year was 1957, and Chevy's Black Widow was the killer car. Chrysler, Ford and GM were all in the High Performance race. Muscle Cars were in their infancy. It was a great time to be a Car Guy.--- Retreads ---
6) Sean Connery, as James Bond, drove an Aston Martin DB5 in "Goldfinger" and a Sunbeam Alpine in "Dr. No."7) The origin of British Racing Green was the Napier automobile (1914 or
1915). Before then, it was considered bad luck to race a green car. And they did call it Napier Green for a while until Napier's green cars started winning races. Soon after that, BRG was the color of choice for all good Brit racing teams. (Thanks to our friend Michael B., VSCCA, SVRA, SCCA.)8) The thing that saved Corvette from extinction was the introduction of the two-seat Thunderbird in 1955, which outsold the Corvette that year by better than 16 to 1. GM's corporate ego could not tolerate a failure in the face of Ford success, so, thanks to Ford, the Corvette soldiered on. (From 'Corvette From The Inside' by Dave McLellan, Corvette Chief Engineer. Thanks to our friend, Jeff M.)
======================= **======================
Two years ago, we ran a list of 41 automotive-related acronyms. They were groups like European (FIAT), muscle car and hot rod (DOHC), and diecast collector terms (MIB). I know we missed lots of acronyms and phrases, like Two-fours, and we want to run it again. Send us an email with ones you can think of, and if it's new to the list, you will get 10% off on your next visit.
Thanks,
Dave