OT Whats Really Old is New

You know how irritating it is when Chrysler claims they invented the Mini Van, when we all know that VW did. I was reading Car & Driver, and saw an ad for the grossly overprices Lexus RX 330 SUV This vehicle has what they call Articulating headlights. The headlignts turn as you turn the wheel, so as they say, you can see what is around the bend before you get there. Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Preston Tucker have this feature on his car in

1948. I wonder what the headlights on this overpriced vehicle do during the SUV rollover given the fact that an SUV is 9 times more likely to rollover than a standard sedan. Bill Berckman 67 Beetle
Reply to
Bill Berckman
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Don't forget, VW was first with a crew cab, minivan, and unless I'm mistaken, a clutchless shifter. And Daf (pre-Volvo) had a variomatic, shiftless, continuously variable transmission in the 70's which Honda (or Mazda, can't remember) is touting.

Reply to
Rebecca Beste

On 08 Jul 2004 05:56:49 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@aol.comSPAMOUT (Bill Berckman) scribbled this interesting note:

If I'm not much mistaken, Tucker's version was a centrally located headlamp that turned with the direction of the steering wheel, in addition to the normal two fixed lights.

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

Reply to
John Willis

Citroên used that in the DS model too (in the 60's I think) plus didn't Nash have a model in the 60's with a single grille mounted center headlight (third headlight) that also turned with the wheel?

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

At least in the U.S. Nash was called Rambler by the 60's. Seems like Nash has some kind of innovative thing (for the time) where the seats would fold flat so you could sleep in the car.

Bill Berckman

67 Beetle
Reply to
Bill Berckman

On Thu, 8 Jul 2004 10:48:47 -0500, "Rebecca Beste" ran around screaming and yelling:

don't know who was first but i do know that MG had a semi-auto at the same time as vw... JT

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Yep, the Tucker had a lot of stuff like, disc brakes, padded dash, seat belts, aircraft-type doors, great miliage, acceleration and top speed. Much more.

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Reply to
Dennis Wik

I don't think Tucker was the first. however he did apply it to a car first.....................Motorcycles have been that way for years longer,......................A lot of years longer.

I Kinda like the fact that tucker was sportin' an aircooled 6 cylinder too. He also pioneered the "pop-out" windshield. I don't recall the aircraft type doors...............but After reading a few articles online, I understand what you're talking about. The opening of the doors was cut higher and into the roof a bit to ease entry/exit. A fairly inovative idea.

The engine he decided to use was a helicopter engine turned horizontal. More powerful than many cars today. over 4000 lbs of steel to haul, it still got 20 mpg..............how cool is that?

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply MUADIB®

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It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs. -- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

Reply to
MUADIB®

On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 02:55:12 GMT, MUADIB® ran around screaming and yelling:

common misconception....when a motorcycle or bicycle is in motion you actually turn the front wheel in the *OPPOSITE* way you want to go....so actually the light would point more in the opposite direction of the turn...ever so slightly....most cycles with fairings now have rigid mount lights that point straight ahead... JT

Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Don't forget...VW was first with a driver side sliding door...something Chrysler calls their own...I have seen a few 50s and 60s Transporters equipped with the driver side slider, but even the Eurovan had it as an option in 1991.

Reply to
Pete Cressman

This was a car that would have taken a good share of the Big 3 auto sales, if not for the fact that the good old boys club of that time made sure that this did not happen. Here is a link to a site with some interesting Tucker info.

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Berckman

67 Beetle
Reply to
Bill Berckman

=09Yes on the Citroen. I had a 1965 DS19 when I was in germany back in 1971-73. 1.9 litre Mazaratti engine....4 speed on the column...triple redundant hydraulic suspension and two of the headlights would turn with the wheels. was interesting car.

-- the Grokdoc Tom Malmevik all that groks is god

67 Baja "marti"
Reply to
Thomas Malmevik

I used to have a hotrodding mag around here that had an article about some guy who had made a Tucker clone out of 'glass which also incorporated some nice "lead sled" mods. This was a prototype but he was talking about producing them provided there was enough demand. It was painted a deep neon-like blue and had a Caddy Northstar V-8 in the rear-wasn't much of a slouch as I recall. I'll see if I can find that mag...

Reply to
Greg Smith

Citroen had those headlights back in the '50s... I think it was the DS.

-- Howard Rose

1966 VW Beetle 1300 Deluxe 1962 Austin Mini Deluxe 1964 Austin Mini Super Deluxe
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Reply to
Howard Rose

semi-auto transmissions are nothing new. They were quite fashionable in the '20s/'30s!

I believe the oldest car I've seen with a semi-auto gearchange was on an early '50s P4 Rover.

-- Howard Rose

1966 VW Beetle 1300 Deluxe 1962 Austin Mini Deluxe 1964 Austin Mini Super Deluxe
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Reply to
Howard Rose

Let's give credit where it is due -- the 1948 Tucker Torpedo. Preston Tucker intended to mass-produce a "car of the future" with advanced safety, styling, and engineering features. The automobile has its engine in the rear, an area where the front passenger can crouch during a collision, and a center headlight that turned with the steering wheel.

Reply to
Jim O'Malley (VW-F-V)

Yes.

You are mistaken. Opel had that in the '50s already. The term is "Olymat".

But Volkswagen was the first to have an electronically controlled fuel injection, in the 1600 LE/TLE.

The new CVT trannies do feature a steel band for power transmission though, whereas DAF relied on rubber. The first new-generation CVTs came from Ford and Fiat, in the 1980s. Pity that the cars around them are so unappealing, I could have wanted one if they weren't.

Airhowlingly yours, Erik.

Reply to
Erik Meltzer

Any VW Bus from '63 on could (and can) be ordered with a driver's side sliding door. (Sliding doors as such were optional from '63, and standard from '68 with the introduction of the Bay.)

You could get cargo doors on both sides with earlier models as well, making for a grand total of seven doors.

Airhowlingly yours, Erik.

Reply to
Erik Meltzer

Somebody please tell all of that to Chrysler....Ben Pon would be rolling in his grave if he knew about Chrysler's claim to be the first with a driver side sliding door...

Reply to
Pete Cressman

On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 06:31:06 +0200, Erik Meltzer scribbled this interesting note:

Chrysler introduced in 1931 a freewheeling transmission that allowed shifting without using the clutch.

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

Reply to
John Willis

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