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• Car-Guy Trivia Questions

• CMC Silver McLaren Mercedes 20% Off

• Formula 1

• Bits and Pieces

• Car-Guy Trivia Answers

• 10% Off Purchases For Your Trivia Questions

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Car-Guy Trivia (answers are later in this email)

1) What did Mary Anderson invent in 1902 that is now found on every street legal car?

2) The alternator sits under the hood of all of our cars, quietly doing its job, making all the electricity we need for the many conveniences in the modern car. Some of us over a certain age will remember what came before the alternator - the generator - which was not nearly as powerful or reliable. What car company was the first to put the alternator into widespread production and when? Who was second?

3) How fast did the winner travel in the first U.S. auto race, in 1895? 5, 15, or 25 MPH?

4) There are only three Formula 1 drivers that had the pole position on their first F1 race. Who were they?

5) You may remember we mentioned that the Maserati brothers sold out the Maserati Company and went on to create the OSCA. What was the reason for the brothers leaving the company? And what famous person, who was also the inspiration for a Broadway play, was associated with this event?

--- Retreads --- These last three questions are from over two years ago. If you remember them from before, consider this a memory test.

6) What car did Fred Gwynne drive in "The Munsters"? What car did James Dean drive in "Rebel Without a Cause"? What car did Shirley Temple drive in "Heidi"?

7) What car was the inspiration for the first Corvette body style?

8) In the 30's, Ford used to advertise: "Safety of steel from wheel to wheel."

What did it mean?

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• CMC McLaren Mercedes 20% Off

When we closed the retail shop, we had four CMC silver McLaren Mercedes on order for four of our better customers. This is one of the finest models available right now. We kept these on order because we knew they would be hard to get, and we had made a commitment. We have received them, and one has been picked up. The other three customers backed out. We now have three of them and no retail outlet to sell them. These $200.00 models are available for $160.00 (20% off), first come - first serve.

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• Formula 1 The teams have presented two suggestions to the FIA for changes in the qualifying procedure.

The first scenario would be a one-hour total qualifying time. First would be a 25-minute session, followed with a 10-minute break, then another 25-minute session. Drivers could run as many laps as they want, but they would be recorded in both sessions. The best time in both sessions would be combined to determine their grid position. There would be no fuel restrictions in either session.

This sounds workable and would be great for those who have trouble with the one-chance with one-lap rule now (such as Coulthard).

The other scenario would be a one-hour session. After the first 15 minutes, the five slowest cars would be pulled, and they would have positions 16 through 20. After the next 15 minutes, the five slowest cars remaining would be pulled and become positions 10 through 15. For the final half hour, the remaining 10 cars would compete for the remaining 10 positions. There would be no fuel restrictions.

The 'No Fuel Restrictions' sounds good, but the rest of this sounds like musical chairs at 200 MPH.

Suppose they go to the dirt track method, where the fastest drivers start at the back. Oh, man, would they get some passing that way!

2005 Formula 1 World Championship

July 24 Germany (Hockenheim) taped 1:00 Eastern CBS

July 29 Germany (Hockenheim) taped Midnight SpeedTV July 31 Hungary (Hungaroring) August 21 Turkey (Istanbul) Sept. 4 Italy (Monza) Sept. 11 Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps) Sept. 25 Brazil (Interlagos) October 9 Japan (Suzuka) October 16 China (Shanghai International Circuit)

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• Bits and Pieces

Sightings To catch a glimpse of a Torch Red '55 Thunderbird on the street is a treat. To look one over in a parking lot is a delight. To suddenly be offered the keys to take it for a spin is a memory to be savored! It was an early evening this month, perfect weather, at a restaurant surrounded by country roads. When my cousin offered, it took me about a nanosecond to accept.

This car is an icon of its time. Its classic styling still looks good. Clean straight lines and just enough chrome trim. The V8 was a joy, with that low rumbling idle and a subtle 'here I am' vibration, just begging to be driven. It is a boulevard car, not a stoplight warrior, but it pulled easily away with plenty of acceleration. The interior's stock red and white pleat and roll looked just right. The view from the then-new wraparound windshield was panoramic. A couple of kids stopped and watched us go by; the car brings appreciative stares from all age groups. Driving a car of this vintage was eye opening. Although the T-bird was up-to-date in its time, a few things stood out. The 'Deep Dish' steering wheel seemed two feet wide; it had a thin plastic rim and not an air bag in sight. The key was on the dash, to the left of the wheel. The seat belts, quite a new thing at the time, were lap belts only, and you had to adjust them to fit. The automatic was a two speed. No power steering, no power brakes, or power windows. And NO catalytic converters. All these things were gentle reminders of the way things have changed in the last half century.

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Lyons and Tigers and Stags, Oh My There were hundreds of kids in their 50's and 60's playing with their beautiful toys among the lily ponds in Buckeystown, MD for the annual British Car Day. Walking around so many fine examples of machinery was a great way to spend a hot summer day. Sensuous Jags, stately Rolls Royces, several Triumphs (cars & bikes), a swarm of MGBs, even a couple of Deloreans. Everyone with stories about the ones they had, they drove, they kept, and the ones that got away. Did I ever tell you about my TR4? Not pretty, but a great personality. One time in Rock Creek Park .

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Speaking of DeLoreans,

One of the neatest vanity license plates I ever saw was on a DeLorean.

The tag was: AQUITED

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Car-Guy Trivia Answers

1) Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper.

2) Chrysler was the first to install alternators in their production cars in

1960. Mercedes came out with them three years later, in 1963.

(From the October ' 04 issue of Classic Cars, thanks to our friend, Jeff M.)

3) The first U.S. auto race was won at a heady Five Miles Per Hour. We got this from Trivial Pursuit Genus IV, but they didn't bother to give any other data. The first person that tells us what cars raced and where, and where we can confirm that information, will receive a $25 Gift Certificate.

4) The three drivers that had the pole position on their first F1 race were:

1968 Mario Andretti

1972 Carlos Reutemann

1996 Jacques Villeneuve

5) Maserati also made machine tools and had shipped a large order to Argentina on behalf of Juan Peron, who was heavily into racing in Europe. (How do you think Fangio got to Europe?) Unfortunately, the timing was bad, and Peron fell from grace shortly after the machine tools arrived. Evidently, they just sat rusting in a warehouse, and Maserati was never paid. This is when money got tight, and Maserati left F1. Eva Peron was the wife of Juan Peron. She was a woman that grew from a poverty stricken, illegitimate child to the First Lady of Argentina. And of course, the play is Evita.

And you thought Max and Bernie where the only politicos to have an influence on F1.

(Thanks to our friend, Jeff M, for this one.)

--- Retreads ---

6) -What car did Fred Gwynne drive in "The Munsters"? The Munster Koach, a creation by George Barris. He also did the Monkee Mobile, a stretched Pontiac GTO, and the original Batmobile, a modified Lincoln show car.

-What car did James Dean drive in "Rebel Without a Cause"? A '49 Mercury Coupe

-What car did Shirley Temple drive in "Heidi"?

Shirley Temple didn't drive; she was too young.

7) The inspiration for the first Corvette body style was the Cisitalia 202 of 1947, one of which is in the permanent collection of the MOMA in New York. This is not officially documented but is Dave McLellan's opinion, for which he makes a good case.

(From 'Corvette From The Inside' by Dave McLellan, Corvette chief engineer. Thanks to our friend, Jeff M for this one too.)

8) Ford's slogan "Safety of steel from wheel to wheel" was bragging that they were not using hydraulic brakes. And, at the time, not using them may have been a good idea; manufacturers were experimenting with different fluids then. Some were using a mixture including alcohol, which would eventually eat through the lines, leaving the driver with no brakes at all. (Thanks to our friend, Roger B.)

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We try to choose these trivia questions from several groups and still be interesting. This month, we have clean windows, shocking parts, slow races, fast newcomers, Munsters, a teen idol, a child star, a beautiful Italian body, bad brakes and a Broadway Lady. Not too bad.

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10% Off Purchases For Your Trivia Questions

I want to thank Jeff M and Roger B for so many of this month's questions. And I want to thank Jack N; I forgot to thank him last month for his Patrick Tambay question. Next time you three order, you get 10% off of all your purchases.

Send us an interesting fact of just about anything on wheels: cars, trucks, F1, Drags, Muscle Cars, weird obsolete car thingies, whatever, and if we use it, you get 10% off all purchases on everything on your next order.

Thanks,

Dave