Stopping Traffic

Chances are you've decorated your home for Hallowe'en, even if with a simple jack-o-lantern. A few years ago someone sent me this picture of a Vermont home with a witch driving a Crosley. She and her bevy of goblins exemplify the spirits that abound on All Hallow's Even. What that says about the Crosley I'm not sure.

Cars, however, do make good lawn sculpture. Dennis David's uncle keeps his a Farmall Cub in a flower bed as yard art, and some time ago we showed you a Volvo that advertises a clothing boutique in Quechee, Vermont.

It's become quite common for garden centers to use tractors and trucks as eye-catching signs. A horticultural supply business at the end of my street has an old Farmall M out front, and our local Agway store draws in customers with a green a Willys Jeep pickup. I wondered how all that a greenery affected the engine. It doesn't, for the engine's been removed. Over in Wallingford is a farm shop that draws in customers with a '29 Chevy truck. After they've stopped they're further intrigued by a McCormick 10-20 tractor in the barn.

Perhaps the ultimate automotive signboard is this posey-puking Ford F350 at a Smith's Acres in Niantic. I make it to be a 1961-66 model. Are there any motoring marquees in your neighborhood? Send 'em in.

Bragging Rights

You've probably noticed that automakers frequently boast about their latest technologies by putting little emblems on their cars. I don't mean the scripts that denote series, trim level or both. I'm referring to those that advertise new features or options.

They became especially prevalent as automatic transmissions became popular, particularly in the low-priced segment. Chevrolets sported Power Glide inscriptions on their trunk lids and 1951 Fords proclaimed Fordomatic Drive, later shortened to simply Fordomatic. Mercury, for some reason, stylized the O in Merc O Matic. Plymouth, without a real automatic, touted the oddball Hy-Drive before celebrating with PowerFlite scripts once the new Chrysler autobox became available in the low-priced Mopar. Cars with overdrive, previously unembellished, suddenly gained Overdrive scripts, among them Plymouth and the new-for-'52 Aero Willys. For Volvo, it was sufficient to say merely Automatic.

This trend began long before the 1950s, with Chrysler Corporation's Fluid Drive, which appeared in different locations on different makes. As simple Fluid Drive evolved into Gyro-Matic and Fluid-Torque, these were duly noted, sometimes inside the car. Oldsmobile might have been the first to court transmission envy with Hydra-Matic emblems on pre-war cars.

Once autoboxes became common, of course, it was unfashionable to beat the same old drum, but other forms of technology took up the cry: Studebaker put TT emblems on cars with Twin Traction limited slip differentials, Hudson touted Twin H-Power on cars with dual carbs and V8 engines in compact cars rated a fender mention. Before the ready availability of factory four-wheel drive, the few conversion systems were proudly noted.

The trend has never really stopped. Once manufacturers got electronic fuel injection to work properly they began decorating their cars with appropriate emblems. Today, GM wants us to know that many of its cars will burn 85-percent ethanol, and Hybrid logos are everywhere, even on models that don't have a conventional drivetrain alternative and are readily recognizable by sight.

CarPorters, what other technology badges have you seen recently? And what is the earliest such emblem you can think of? Send us some pix of your favorites.

Chocolate in Autumn

As surely as August brings Macungie, so does October offer up Hershey, traditionally the end of the northeastern car show season. Formally the Eastern Division National Fall Meet of the Antique Automobile Club of America, carfolk everywhere know it by its location: Hershey, as in chocolate and central Pennsylvania. This year's event was blessed with fine fall weather with nary a raindrop to be seen, which is rare in this century.

With some 10,000 vendor spaces, one can find most any car component or tool: carburetors, spark plugs, distributors, mufflers in all shapes and sizes, hubcaps, lenses and automobile jacks. A few dealers bring western sheet metal, though not all of it is rust-free. Toys, too, are plentiful, both old and new, as are pedal cars.

There are plenty of cars for sale, both on the fields and in the Car Corral, the latter offering such diverse wares as a vintage Bentley and a well-preserved 1979 Honda Civic. Others ranged from nearly new 1978 Mercury to Willys 77 to a '51 Ford with the desirable and rare 429 V8 option. There were foreign-bodied Fords like this Gläser cabriolet, incontinent Triumphs, and woodie Chryslers coming apart at the seams. Nissan/Datsun Z cars were plentiful, some of them, like this 280Z, in need of considerable help. Many prominent collectors attended, though Dan Strohl eschewed Hershey this year and missed out on a rare and desirable 1973 Hornet X. Popular racing driver and publisher Joe Freeman stopped by my space on his bike, which sports a rare and valuable Nantucket license plate.

Many clubs and organizations have headquarters on the fields. The Society of Automotive Historians opened their annual History Tent in the Orange Field, wherein a member proudly showed his newly acquired Fisher Coach. While wandering one could contemplate an Overland project, or buy a Bébé Peugeot from Connecticut dealers George and Manny Dragone.

Each year RM Auctions holds a Friday afternoon sale. The well-attended event featured a number of celebrity pedal cars auctioned to benefit the AACA Museum, some of which brought astronomical prices. Top money magnet among the 86 cars offered was a Duesenberg SJ phaeton knocked down for a cool $1.6885 million.

Saturday morning brings the Really Big Show, thousands of cars entered for AACA judging. Where else could one find not only a matched pair of EMF 30s but their cousin, the Everitt. Other notables included Stoddard-Dayton, Jordan, Rickenbacker (of the hat-in-the-ring mascot) and a plaid-side Willys-Knight. AACA eligibility now extends to 1983, so one sees things as modern as a VW Rabbit, and there's even a class for Second Generation Collector Vehicles, the sole inhabitant of which was a Shay Model A replica. My daughter Harriet checked out a VW nearly identical to the one she's restoring, and I coveted a patinated Crane Simplex in the Historic Preservation of Original Features class.

Some time ago I wrote that Advance Design Chevy trucks are seldom seen at car shows. Hershey proved me wrong. There were at least eight on hand, easily rivaling the Fords. By noon time, many were getting tired, these Valiants unable to stifle a yawn.

What car, you may ask, did I most want to take home? The Crane Simplex was outside my price range, if it was for sale at all. More feasible was a Hillman Husky in the Car Corral, a once-popular model I haven't seen in nearly 40 years.

In Like Flint

Outbid by former boss Billy Durant, Walter Chrysler was disappointed to lose out at the auction for the old Willys plant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Perhaps more important was the prototype automobile sold with the plant, a six-cylinder car designed by engineers Fred Zeder, Owen Skelton and Carl Breer. Durant, however, was on a roll, forming his third automotive empire (the first two being different eras of General Motors). He wanted an upscale car to compete with GM's Buick, and the Willys prototype, with some modifications, filled the bill. Thus was born the Flint, which could be called "Billy's Buick," built variously on Long Island, at Elizabeth and in Durant's old home town and the car's namesake city, Flint, Michigan. It was introduced in New York City in January 1923.

Priced from $1,195 to $2,085, the Flint Model E was indeed in Buick territory, whose prices ranged from $865 to $2,195. Its 120-inch wheelbase was between that of the two larger Buicks, and its 65 hp Continental engine slightly more powerful. For 1925 there were two Flints, a 49-hp, 115-inch H-40, and the E was now called "E-55," handsome from all angles. Three Flints were offered in 1926, a 40-hp, 115-inch Junior, a Model 60 that was a renamed H-40, and the E-55 had become the Model 80. For 1927 these became the Z-18, B-60 and E-80, respectively, but Flint was more out than in. With just 2,000 built that year, production was halted, though Billy's third automotive empire would struggle on a for a few more years. An excellent explanation of Flint's career can be found on line at Durant Cars.

The Flint atop this page was once in Ed Moore's eclectic yard at Bellingham Auto Sales in Massachusetts. It has now gone to a new owner, carefully loaded with a fork lift, such was its condition.

Walter Chrysler, however, had the last laugh. He set Zeder, Skelton and Breer to work on a new design, which appeared as the Chrysler B-70 in 1924. The Chrysler was an immediate hit, selling nearly 80,000 cars the first year. Buick was flying even higher, with 125,000 sixes going out the door. Flint, meanwhile, managed barely 15,000 in two years.

I've Seen the Future

Last week I attended an intriguing media event. The folks at Consumer Reports hosted a confab on "The Future of the Car" at their automotive testing site in East Haddam, Connecticut. CR had invited manufacturers to bring their latest alternative fuel vehicles for show-and-tell, and also brought in some local privateers to show what enthusiasts themselves can do.

GM and Ford were on hand, as well as import manufacturers Audi, BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Smart. Not only did we get presentations on the automakers' forward-looking development programs - they let us drive some of the cars over CR's extensive road course, despite atrocious weather.

The range of technologies was extensive. GM had a hydrogen fuel cell Equinox, while Ford showed diversity of propulsion with both an Escape plug-in hybrid and a Lincoln MKS powered with their new EcoBoost twin turbo engine. EcoBoost is a further development of the familiar turbocharger, which provides boosted acceleration from a small engine during the infrequent periods that full-throttle driving is required, and fuel-sipping operation otherwise. Ford sees a big payoff for its light truck lines.

Audi had a new Q7 diesel, and BMW had two oil burners, a 335d and the new "baby Bimmer" 123d. BMW, however, sees the future as hydrogen-powered internal combustion, so a 7-series "H7" sedan was on demo for the journos to experience.

Honda really did show us the future, for their demo car was all-new, the Clarity with Hydrogen fuel cell power. Nissan was a bit more conventional, with an Altima hybrid and X-Trail fuel cell vehicle. Mercedes' gambit was their "BlueTEC" diesel, in both M-Class and G-Class forms. Unlike any of the others was the now-familiar smart. I've written about smarts before, but this was my first chance to drive one, so I eagerly joined the queue that quickly formed.

The organizers had invited some local members of the Electric Auto Association, Bob Rice, who has converted a 1989 VW Jetta as a battery electric, eschewing all forms of petroleum power, and David Delman, whose DeLorean indeed seemed headed back to the future - with an engine compartment full of batteries, a clean electric motor installation and control equipment in the forward compartment (so where would you put your golf clubs...?). Undriven and unexplained was the Myers NmG, which seems to be a revival of the Corbin Sparrow.

I drove the Equinox fuel cell vehicle, the Escape plug-in hybrid, a Mercedes BlueTEC and two of the Bimmers. The first three of these demonstrated how seamless these vehicles have become. They all acted and felt much like any contemporary internal combustion car with an automatic transmission. The two Bimmers impressed me particularly, the 7H because it was running on pure hydrogen and the 335d because of its incredible torque. Of all the cars, the 335d was my favorite because of its visceral appetite for acceleration. The contrast between it and the 7H was perhaps partly down to the difference between a straight six and a V-12. I'd have to sample the corresponding gasoline cars to be sure.

About getting smart: This car is a genre unto itself, sharing nothing with the others. It is small, economical and inexpensive, things the others were not. It also creaks and rattles, its short wheelbase rocks over bumps and the automatic manual transmission lunges on full throttle acceleration. Before dissing it completely I'd have to try its actual US marketplace competition, the econoboxes from Kia, Hyundai or Chevrolet/Daewoo. An electric smart has been shown in Paris, so perhaps we'll see an alternative fuel model on our shores in the near future.

A discussion followed, in which manufacturers explained their visions for the future and answered questions. They had demonstrated that all the concepts will work. Which one(s) will become viable depend on things like infrastruture and cost. I have seen and driven the future. I just don't know which one(s) it will turn out to be.