Michigan Drag Racing Although commercial drag racing was first popularized in California in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Michigan hot-rodding was quick to follow. Early drag races in Michigan were informal affairs when youngsters, often from Detroit, would head out to the sticks where there was plenty of road space and few cops to interfere with this growing phenomenon.
Like something from the movie Grease or Rebel Without a Cause:, young racers would challenge each other on dirt roads, with no stands or protective walls. It was a dangerous environment and with the advances in auto technology allowing for greater and greater speeds, it promised to become even more hazardous.
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Historians and motor heads of all ages are invited to attend Detroit's largest gathering of automotive history writers. The fifth annual Automotive Authors Book Fair will take place on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at the Skillman Branch, Detroit Public Library, home of the National Automotive History Collection (NAHC) 121 Gratiot Avenue between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. Attended parking is available in the Compuware visitor lot south of the Skillman Branch on Farmer Street. This event is free and open to the public.
Twenty-five authors from across the United States and Canada will meet with the public to discuss book topics ranging from fire engines, to the sleek and sexy muscle cars of the 1960’s, to the fiasco known as the Yugo. Books will be on sale and authors will sign books upon request. The Wayne State University Press, a noted publisher of automotive history books, will be on hand offering for sale a diverse selection of its automotive titles.
With automakers scrambling to retool their factories in an effort to produce more fuel-efficient models, they may want to look back for inspiration from the car considered the first compact “the now" defunct Rambler.
During its heyday in the 50s and 60s, the modest, gas stingy Rambler carved a very profitable niche, filling a product vacuum the other big three automakers were slow to respond to. Today there are numerous Rambler clubs in American paying homage to the inverted bathtub-shaped gadabout that was so popular 50 years ago.
While historians often date the arrival of the Rambler to the aftermath of the Second World War, the vehicle actually had much earlier roots. A Chicago native and bicycle maker by the name of Thomas B. Jeffery was the first to use the Rambler name. From 1878 until 1900 he did a brisk business selling two wheelers before switching gears and throwing in his lot (and production facilities) into the untested waters of automobile production.
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In the beginning of the auto industry (1900-1920) there were over 600 manufacturers. Most did not survive after the production of one or a few cars. Because it was a risky venture to invest in cars banks were reticent to lend money to new automobile ventures. Plus, most car inventors had great mechanical skill and ideas but lacked business sense and experience. They could get a car built but then wondered – what do I do now to sell it so I can make more cars.
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CPP’s new Complete Rear Dual Adjustable Coil-Over Kit is designed to convert your 1963-72 Chevy truck to a corner carving, performance driving vehicle! Our kit includes our new Totally Tubular Trailing arms, coil over springs and dual adjustable coil over shocks and all the mounting hardware to make this rear suspension
Get that cool street rod stance and track proven performance for your 1963-87 Chevrolet C10 Truck! Our Complete Front Coil-Over Conversion Kits include dual-adjustable coil-over shocks, spanner wrench and bearing kit, our Totally Tubular™ upper and lower control arms, and all the mounting brackets and hardware for a simple bolt-on installation.
Sue Vanderbilt in a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Seville “Baroness;" the show car that she styled for the Feminine Show. When you look back at General Motors’ rich design history, one of the most talented individuals, who made her career as part of GM’s vaunted Creative Design Team, was the late Suzanne E. Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt was one of the original Damsels of Design – a group of eight, great talented female designers that the famed Harley Earl hired during the early days of the 1950s.
Throughout history, the Oldsmobile story has inspired many automotive historians with its rich and celebrated heritage which started right in Michigan’s capital city of Lansing.
I remember a particularly exciting year in 1978 when Oldsmobile introduced their new line of vehicles and automotive catalogues to the buying public. My first impression was that Oldsmobile was using 1978 to create a family-oriented lineup of new cars. The company used its advertising and marketing to highlight many traditional family values
The year 1966 was a great year for automotive sales in the U.S. Many car manufacturers were doing very well for the economy and in 1966 the average cost for a new Dodge vehicle sold for $ 2,280 and the price of gasoline for 32 cents a gallon.
The Chrysler Corporation was also doing very well within the automotive markets with its popular Dodge Dart models. The 1966 Dodge Dart models made their debut in Dodge dealerships on September 30, 1965.
Based on a 1956 Chevrolet 210 Sedan, this recently completed mild custom was built to showcase the timeless factory “Tri-Five” heritage. With a new GM Performance ZZ4 power plant backed by a factory-fresh GM 700R4 transmission, it is equipped with rack-and-pinion steering, four-wheel Wilwood disc
To ensure that Shelby American would have its 1966 GT350 models in dealerships when Ford released the new ‘66 Mustangs, Shelby ordered an additional 252 cars from Ford’s San Jose plant at the very end of 1965 production. These ‘change-over’ cars (often referred to as ‘carry-overs’) were essentially Shelby-spec ’65 GT350s, and received the same performance modifications,
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