SAHJournal ISSUE 298 MAY / JUNE 2019 SAH Journal No. 298 • May / June 2019 $5.00 US1 Contents 3 PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE SAHJournal 4 WALK TIME 6 CAPTURING THE SOUNDS OF SPORTS AND RACE CARS ISSUE 298 • MAY/JUNE 2019 10 NEW SAH AWARDS FOR AUTOMOBILES THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIANS, INC. 11 ADS IN TIME An Affiliate of the American Historical Association 12 BOOK REVIEWS 15 IN MEMORIAM until 3:00 pm, in the SAH Hospitality Tent Billboard which will be located in the Orange Field Officers SAH Annual Meeting of at OBB 17-19. The venue will be the An- Louis F. Fourie President Members & Gala Awards nual Fall Meet of the Antique Automobile Edward Garten Vice President Robert Casey Secretary Banquet Celebrating Our Club of America in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Rubén L. Verdés Treasurer 50th Anniversary: The annual You are welcome to bring any ti- meeting and gala awards banquet will take tles, recent or not. Authors will be Board of Directors place on Friday, October 11th, in the Tradi- provided a name place card and table Andrew Beckman (ex-officio) ∆ Robert G. Barr ∆ tions Dining Room at the Hershey Country space to exhibit and sign their books. H. Donald Capps # Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania (that’s during The Society will provide credit card Bob Elton † the annual AACA “Hershey” Fall Meet). Our customer purchases processing to you at no Donald J. Keefe ∆ special guest speaker will be Karl Ludvigsen charge. For any questions, please contact him Kevin Kirbitz # (author, historian, and recipient of the at: [email protected]. To participate, Carla R. Lesh † John A. Marino # Friend of Automotive History award and please send him a short description of the Dean Nelson † multiple Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot awards). books, along with website, and social media Matthew Short ∆ For details and how to register, please go to links. Terms through October (∆) 2019, (#) 2020, and (†) 2021 the SAH website: autohistory.org. Editor Wanted: Contributors! The SAH Jour- Rubén L. Verdés SAH Tent & Authors’ Book nal invites contributors for articles and book 7491 N. Federal Hwy., Ste C5337 Signing at Hershey: Vince Wright, reviews. With your help, we can continue Boca Raton, FL 33487-1625 USA Book Signing Event Committee Coordina- to feature a steady and consistent stream of [email protected] [email protected] tor, is pleased to announce an authors’ book material advancing the record of automotive tel: +1.561.866.5010 signing, artists and publishers event on history. Please contact the editor directly. Thursday, October 10th, from 12:30 pm Thank you! Publications Committee Thomas S. Jakups, Chair Front cover (and left): The 1911 E-M-F Model 30 Racer; here is its Boyce MotoMeter. Back cover: The Patricia E. Chappell 1903 Cadillac Model A; here we see its modest instrumentation. See pages 10 and 11 for the rest of the story. Louis F. Fourie Christopher G. Foster Donald J. Keefe Rubén L. Verdés Steve Wilson SAH Journal (ISSN 1057–1973) is published six times a year by The Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Subscription is by membership in the Society. Membership dues are $50 per year ($60 per year outside North America & Mexico); digital membership dues are $20. Dues and changes of address go to: Submission Deadlines: Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Deadline: 12/1 2/1 4/1 6/1 8/1 10/1 c/o Cornerstone Registration Ltd. Issue: Jan/Feb Mar/Apr May/Jun Jul/Aug Sep/Oct Nov/Dec P.O. Box 1715 Mailed: 1/31 3/31 5/31 7/31 9/30 11/30 Maple Grove, MN 55311-6715 USA Note: the SAH Journal is a bimonthly publication (printed 6 times a year) and there is ©2019 a two-month horizon for submitted material before it is mailed (e.g., material sub- The Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. mitted by February 1st appears in the Mar/Apr issue and is mailed on or before 3/31.) www.autohistory.org All letters, manuscripts, and advertisement submissions and inquiries go to the editor. Join, renew and more right on-line! 2 SAH Journal No. 298 • May / June 2019 PPresident’sresident’s PPerspectiveerspective etermining the relative status of an WWHOHO BUILDSBUILDS THETHE BESTBEST Dautomotive make within its peers was CCOMPACTOMPACT LLUXURYUXURY SEDAN?SEDAN? relatively easy through to the end of the 1950s. Size and additional bright trim were Editor's (Long) Note: this May 22, 2019 the major differentiators. But as the 1960s article by Derek Powell (Words) and Jade unfolded with compacts, intermediates, per- Nelson (photos) entitled “Tesla Model 3 vs. sonal luxury coupes and pony cars, brands BMW 330i vs. Genesis G70 Comparison: began cannibalizing each other’s territory. Who Builds the Best Compact Luxury Se- The fuel crisis of the early 1970s ac- dan?: The new 2019 BMW 3 Series goes up celerated the appeal of the well-trimmed against our Car of the Year and the upstart imports particularly from Japan while any electric Tesla” complements the subject matter small domestic offerings were very much in Louis Fourie’s “President's Perspective.” built to a price with limited appeal. It took Here we present an excerpt. For the full ar- a while before the Big Three recognized that ticle, go to https://www.motortrend.com/ these imports had established a beachhead. cars/tesla/model-3/2018/tesla-model-3-vs- A slowly emerging sector was the bmw-330i-vs-genesis-g70-comparison-test. European sophisticated automobile which If you are reading this on the PDF version, began eating into the typical American you should be able to click on the above ad- luxury makes, even though these upstart dress to view the article and its video. If you imports frequently lacked the plush trim and discovers that the high maintenance and re- are reading this on the printed version and electrical assists that defi ned luxury. Lacking pair costs render their vehicle one of the worst don't want to type out the full address, here, a soft ride or abundant V8 power this new depreciating cars on the market. Meanwhile for the fi rst time, we have a QR code (box) wave substituted precise handling from an the Toyota owner, whose equally complex car that can be read by your smart phone/device. independent rear suspension, tight steering is able to hold its value better, sleeps soundly. (You probably have, or can get, an app on and a host of attributes that made driving Who is the smart consumer here? Once again your smart device—a QR reader—and the an engaging experience. the wealthy consumer is seen as gullible by camera on your device will read the code box All manufacturers had diffi culty com- the premium manufacturers. below and the article will pop up. To digress: ing to terms with smog regulations, but the Into this mix arrived an American QR barcodes were fi rst designed in 1994 for smaller imports had an easier ride to meet the manufacturer with no heritage, namely Tesla. use in automobile production in Japan.) CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) re- While Mercedes-Benz and BMW may take strictions, while the expensive imports turned comfort that their S-Class and 7-Series se- to better fuel injection and valve breathing. dan losses have been replaced by SUV sales, Defi ning luxury and prestige, and in maybe they should also look at how many turn brand image, increasingly recognized customers moved to Tesla. The Tesla own- substance rather than a basic chassis gussied ers who previously had German cars are not up with bells and whistles. It took a long time likely to forget the vastly lower maintenance for the American industry to identify this costs of their new electric cars, so are hardly “Sport sedan lovers, your time is now. Al- change. But the big differentiator between likely to head back to the premium German though crossover SUVs have invaded the the common car and the expensive prestige electric offerings in the future. market like a herd of stampeding cattle, there brand was strong body construction that In a future of autonomous ride sharing, are still plenty of options for those who pre- placed safety as the primary consideration. the last bastion of private vehicle ownership fer a lower center of gravity in a traditional The network of safety crash tests with will likely be the premium brands and com- three-box shape. As you're reading this, no increasingly difficult scoring has quickly mercial vehicles. Ford executives are already fewer than 12 automakers offer a spirited, forced all but a few third-world offerings to talking about a future focused primarily premium, well-equipped four-door in the incorporate as much safety engineering as around commercial vehicles such as the F150 $50,000 range—from Acura to Volvo. The possible. Add in all the other regulations and and Transit. luxury sport sedan segment might be down, restrictions and we are now at the point that So who will survive as the premium but it is defi nitely not out. there is little difference in engineering sophis- brands? How long can the brand manage- “In our latest comparison test, we focus tication, irrespective of price and prestige. ment boffins keep this perceived luxury on the standouts in the class—three shining The premium image that prestige cars balloon afl oat with a reputation for high stars that each bring something class-leading enjoy rapidly evaporated because of a fear maintenance and rapid devaluation? Will and unique to the table. There’s the sport- that once out of warranty, the complexity and Tesla survive to lay claim to a position as sedan legend, an award-winning newcomer, costly parts create a nightmare for the affl uent one of the prestige cars? and, fi nally, a disruptive upstart.