The Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. JournalIssue 244 Electronic Edition March-April 2010

SAH in Paris 2010 The Society’s 15th Annual European Two Awards of Distinction were Meeting convened in Paris on January presented for books in languages 21, as 34 members and guests met for other than English. Adrien Cahuzac, dinner in the Salon De Dion of the of Paris, received an award for www.autohistory.org Automobile Club de France. The date, SIMCA – l’aventure de l’hirondelle, a two weeks earlier than customary, was history of Simca from 1934 to 1987, Inside selected to coincide with the opening and Bernard Vermeylen, a Belgian of Rétromobile, Europe’s largest indoor citizen, accepted one for his book SAH News 3 historic automobile event. Members Voitures des Pays de l’Est, a postwar were present from Finland, Spain, history of the of Eastern Europe. Letters 5 Britain, Belgium and the USA, as well Both books were published by as the host nation. Attendees were E.T.A.I. of Paris. All book awards End of Checker Motors 6 welcomed by Kit Foster, and Malcolm were for works published in calendar Jeal, Chairman of the Society of year 2008. Book Reviews 9 Automotive Historians in Britain, gave a brief tribute to the late Taylor Vinson, Rétromobile XXXV Rolls-Royce Post-War Phantoms co-organizer and convener of the fi rst Occurring for the fi rst time in January, 13 Paris meetings. Following dinner, Breaking the Banks in Motor City the 35th Rétromobile was rescheduled several of the Society’s annual awards Editorial 11 were presented. this year as a result of confl icts at the Expo grounds at the Porte de Date Reminders The Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Award, continued page 2 April 15, 2010 for the best book in the fi eld of Award Nominations due: automotive history in the English Benz, language, was presented to Karl Don Keefe, [email protected] Ludvigsen for Ferdinand Porsche, Cugnot, English, Genesis of Genius: Road, Racing and Doug Leighton, [email protected] Aviation Innovation, 1900 to 1933. Cugnot, Non-English, The book was published by Bentley Bill Kreiner, [email protected] Publishers of Cambridge, Massachusetts Friend of Auto History, USA. The Cugnot Award for the best Darwyn Lumley, [email protected] book in a language other than English Ingersoll non-print, was given to Manuel Lage, a Spanish Arthur Jones, [email protected] member, for 1,000,000: Un Millón de Camiones y Buses Españoles, a history Above: Karl Ludvigsen (r) receives his Cugnot award. Below: La Baleine, by designer Paul Arzens. Named for June 1, 2010 of commercial vehicles in Spain. The publisher was IVECO España. its whale-like shape and grille, it was built in 1938 on a Brigham Award Nominations to 1926 Buick chassis. Photos from Kit Foster. Jack Juratovic, 9501 Bearfoot Trail Brooksville, FL 34613

June 15, 2010 Scharchburg Award Nominations to Bob Ebert, [email protected]

June 27, 2010 SAH Literature Faire at Automobile Driving Museum, El Segundo, CA

July 31, 2010 Bradley Award Nominations to Judith Endelman [email protected] March - April 2010 1 SAH in Paris from page 1

Award of Distinction winner Adrien Cahuzac, right. Award of Distinction winner Bernard Vermeylen, right. Cugnot award winner Manuel Lage, right.

Versailles. Some of the regular manufacturers Peugeot and Citroën was the stand of Motul lubricants, American attendees were not to be had large displays, each hosting a which exhibited La Baleine, French seen, as the new dates confl icted with number of associated clubs, and designer Paul Arzens’ streamlined the annual auction extravaganzas in Mercedes-Benz showed off gull wings concept . Named for its whale-like Arizona. Many members assembled old and new (under the heading shape and grille, it was built in 1938, for the annual press conference of “portes papillon,” which I believe the same year as Harley Earl’s Y-Job, Fondation de la Automobile Marius translates as “butterfl y doors”). and looks fully as modern. Only a Berliet the morning following the Missing were BMW and Mini, but in look inside reveals its origins; the SAH dinner, and stayed on to enjoy their place was Mazda, exhibiting instruments and controls are those the full range of exhibits. some of their early small cars as of the 1926 Buick that furnished the well as the oft-forgotten Cosmo 110S chassis. The centerpiece of Rétromobile this sports model of 1970. Alfa Romeo, year was “2 siècles de locomotion celebrating a centenary, had a large Rétromobile continues for eleven Urbaine” (two centuries of urban exhibit, too. days, including two weekends. It is transport). Examples ranged from not known at this time whether next a horse-drawn omnibus, with As always, there were plenty of year’s show will again be in January statuary horses, to the modern vendors of restoration supplies, parts, or will revert to the traditional early Citroën Osmose concept. French literature and automobilia. My favorite February dates. —Kit Foster

JournalThe Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Issue 244 March-April 2010 Offi cers Publications Committee SAH Journal (ISSN 1057–1973) Susan S. Davis President Thomas S. Jakups, Chair is published six times a year by the J. Douglas Leighton Vice President Christopher G. Foster Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Robert R. Ebert Secretary D. David Duricy Patrick D. Bisson Treasurer Donald J. Keefe Subscription is by membership Steve Wilson in the Society. Board of Directors Allan Meyer Through October 2010 Membership dues are $40 per year. Paul N. Lashbrook Stanton A. Lyman Past Editors Send dues, membership inquiries Judith E. Endelman Richard B. Brigham and changes of address to Through October 2011 Issues 1–29 Sept. 1969–(undated) 1973 Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. John A. Marino John Heitmann G. Marshall Naul 178 Crescent Road David M. Woodhouse 30–50 July 1973–Dec. 1976 Fairport, NY 14450 USA Darwyn H. Lumley, ex-offi cio John Peckham Through October 2012 ©2010 51–59 Feb. 1977–July 1978 Steve Wilson Leslie Kendall The Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Thomas S. Jakups Walter Gosden 60–87 Nov. 1978–Dec. 1983 Find the Society of Automotive Historians SAH Journal Richard B. Brigham on the web at www.autohistory.org. Allan G. Y. Meyer, Editor, Adv. Mgr. 88–117 Jan./Feb. 1983–Nov./Dec. 1988 P.O. Box 1948 Christopher G. Foster Vashon, WA 98070-1948 USA 118–157 Jan./Feb. 1989–July/Aug. 1995 206-304-3872 [email protected] Samuel V. Fiorani [email protected] 158–194 Sept./Oct. 1995–Sept./Oct. 2001 Copy Deadline for Journal 245 Thomas S. Jakups May 1, 2010 195–236 Nov./Dec. 2001–Sept./Oct. 2008

2 SAH Journal No. 244 Electronic Edition SAH News Jendza to head Leland Chapter Frederick A. Usher, Jr. 1923 -2009 SAH SoCal Chapter At a recent meeting held at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum and Frederick Usher of Santa Barbara, CA The date for our annual Literature Miller Motors Hudson, the local Henry passed away in April, 2009. He was Faire remains the same (the M. LeLand Chapter of the Society of an industrial designer, automotive his- last Sunday in June, this year the Automotive Historians announced the tory enthusiast, and lover of anthro- 27th) but the location is new. The newly-elected Director, John Jos. Jendza pology, art and music. A full obituary Automobile Driving Museum in El III (Top Hat John) of Mount Clemens, will be published in a subsequent Segundo is the chosen location, Michigan. He is joined by Jim Petersen issue of the Journal. promising cooler temperatures and of Kalamazoo, MI as Associate Director new automotive sights to enjoy. and Victoria Mobley of Harrison Twp, MI as Secretary/Treasurer. Mr. Jendza One of the bonus features for our is also a member of the prestigious event is the promise of much cooler Detroit APA-Automotive Press weather than we have experienced Association, SEMA, Hall of Fame North- in the past at locations in the San St. Ignace and NADA old car pricing Gabriel Valley. My guess is that we advisory board member. Well known will experience temperatures about locally as well as nationally, Mr. Jendza thirty degrees cooler. is a long time Detroit area specialty vehicle appraiser, automotive writer/ The ADM is a short distance south speaker and hosts/produces a specialty of LAX, one block east of Sepulveda vehicle television show. Mr. Jendza’s Boulevard. It is very close to the I-105 father, John Jos. Jendza Jr. is the retired Freeway which intersects with all the former Art Director of the famed Fisher north-south interstate and state routes Body Craftsmen’s Guild. Top Hat John west of the city of Norwalk. Once credits his automotive interest to his on the I-105 westbound and at the father’s 40-year involvement in the freeway ending take the Sepulveda, industry and General Motors. south exit and proceed south to the —Victoria Mobley second traffi c light (Maple Avenue) after Imperial Boulevard and turn east (left) one block to Lairport Street his history reveals the then south (right) to the museum T major role played by the located at 610 Lairport. Recently, my automobile industry in the drive time on a light traffi c Saturday 1933 banking crisis and sub- morning from my home in Rosemead sequent New Deal reforms. was forty minutes! —Bob Falcon Spurred by failed decision making and conflicts of inter- est by auto industry leaders, Detroit banks experienced an emergency, precipitating the federal closure of banks on March 4, 1933, the first in a series of actions by which the federal government acquired power over economics pre- viously held by states and pri- vate interests.

202 pages $35 softcover 11 photos, chronology, notes, bibliography, index ISBN 978-0-7864-4417-5 2009 McFarland Box 6¡¡, Jefferson NC 28640 • Orders 800-253-2¡87 • FAX 336-246-4403 • www.mcfarlandpub.com March - April 2010 3 Friend of Automotive James J. Bradley History Award Distinguished Service Award

Nominations for the award of Friend A nominating statement, supporting The Bradley Award honors the work of Automotive History are now being each nomination is required. of libraries and archives whose accepted. The timeline for submitting mission is to preserve motor vehicle a nomination is April 15, 2010. Friend of Automotive History Award resource materials. In 1982 the now- Recipients: defunct Motor Vehicles Manufacturers The Friend of Automotive History Association of the United States, a Award is presented in recognition Henry Austin Clark, Jr., Charles L. resource library of the then “Big of outstanding contributions to Betts, Jr., Dick and Grace Brigham, Three,” received the very fi rst the Society and to the cause of Beverly Rae Kimes, Peter Helck, Bradley Award. Since that time, the automotive history. Contributions Keith Marvin, Ralph Dunwoodie, award has gone to collections in six to automotive history may include Michael Lamm, David L. Lewis, John different countries and eight states. collecting, preserving, writing, Conde, Frederick D. Roe, Walter O. As a former award winner, in 2008, editing, and publishing, or any other MacIlvain, Chester L. Krause, L. Scott I can tell you what a great feeling automotive history-related activity Bailey, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, of accomplishment it is to receive Michael Worthington-Williams, David this award. We toasted our success Nominations may be made by any Brownell, Paul Berliet, Thomas E. with an after-hours celebratory party SAH member in good standing. Warth, John Martin Smith, Richard and our award hangs proudly in our Nominees need not be members of M. Langworth, Karl Ludvigsen, Taylor reading room. the Society of Automotive Historians. Vinson, Maurice Hendry, Leroy D. Current SAH offi cers/directors are not Cole, Bobbie’dine Rodda, Malcolm I encourage you as historians and eligible for nomination. Posthumous Jeal, Thomas Brownell, and G. users of libraries, archives, and awards have not been made. Marshall Naul. —Darwyn Lumley other collections, to recognize the Please submit nominations, in writing, repositories that you rely on and send to FOAH Chair Darwyn Lumley, in a nomination. Just send a brief [email protected] or, essay to me explaining why you think 1911 Goodwin Drive, Vista, CA 92084. the institution is worthy of the award. In order to quality, the institution’s collection must be available for public use. Private collections that do not open their doors to the public do not qualify.

Applications are due July 31 and the award will be presented at the SAH annual banquet in October. Committee members Jim Wagner, Mark Patrick and I will review the nominations and select this year’s winner.

Nominations can be sent to

Judith Endelman The Henry Ford 20900 Oakwood Blvd. Dearborn, MI 48124

Email: [email protected] FAX: 313-982-6244

4 SAH Journal No. 244 Electronic Edition Letters column appears to be drawn into the photo and I question whether From David Lyon, Lawton MI the mechanism as shown could actually turn those big solid front Regarding the photo on the front wheels. How would that work, given cover of Journal 243, Jan-Feb. 2010. the arrangement in the photo of a small column that is not attached I purchased a copy of this to anything except a gear (?) at the photograph from the Internet as I belt drive in the middle (an oiler?), fl oor level? believed that I had a purpose for it. the pipe in the front of the engine My review of the photo when it that is attached to nothing (carburetor 3) Questionable areas- The ground arrived suggested otherwise, and I intake?) and the belt drive behind the beneath the “car” and behind the believe that the car is a fi gment of front wheel that does not appear to wheels does not look real, and the someone’s imagination. be heavy enough to drive a wheel composition of that ground changes of that size, but does seem to be just in front of the buggy wheel. The reproduction in the SAH Journal designed to drive a circular saw (or The area above the steering wheel looks much better than the copy that whatever that non-automotive wheel does not show a continuation of the I received, because some of the detail would be at the very front). buildings as you would see in a real is lost in the printing process. photo. There is a nondescript area 2) Photo stitching- The man on the behind the steering wheel where 1) Engine- The rear wheels suggest seat has his hand on what might have there should be something concrete that this is an early car, but the engine been the top of the dash on a horse- related to one of the two buildings. appears to be a single block and not drawn vehicle. It in turn is under a My notion is that someone married a set of jugs bolted to a crankcase steering wheel, and that arrangement the front piece of this car, motor as would be typical of an early car. does not look correct. Note that that and solid wheel, to the front of a Have you ever seen an engine that steering column does not connect horse-drawn vehicle to create an large in an early car of this type and at the center of the steering wheel. interesting high wheel motorcar. It size? Some of the items on the engine Why would someone build that is interesting and innovative, but I appear to have little function, e.g. the steering mechanism. The steering doubt that it is real.

ight years in the making, The Greatest Auto Race Eon Earth is now available on DVD, telling the story of the 1908 New York to Paris auto race.

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March - April 2010 5 The End of Checker Motors

Among the little-noticed casualties of American automakers’ fi nancial woes in 2009 was the demise of Checker Motors of Kalamazoo, Michigan, which was most famous for producing the iconic Checker taxicab until 1982. Since then the company had survived by fabricating steel stampings and body panels for the Big Three automakers, in particular General Motors.

Morris Markin, a Russian immigrant, E. L. Cord briefl y bought control of forward models mainly for city use. had established the Checker Cab Checker in 1933, but Markin had At its peak Checker employed about Manufacturing Co. in Joliet, Illinois, regained control by March 1936, 1,000 workers and built 5,000 vehicles in 1922 by merging struggling just months before Cord’s remaining a year. Commonwealth Motors with his automotive empire folded in 1937 and own taxicab body manufacturing took such names as Auburn and Stutz The all-new A-8 appeared in 1956, company. Commonwealth, in turn, with it. As a result, renowned chief using the same basic body that would traced its ancestry back through the Auburn engineer Herbert C. Snow, endure until production ended. The Partin-Palmer, Palmer, Suburban, and who had helped develop the Cord closely related successor models, A- Deschaum auto companies to William 810, went to similar work at Checker. 9 through A-12, included a station A. Schaum’s high-wheeler of 1908. wagon and the famous stretched The Markin Auto Body Corp. had As the U.S. prepared for World War Aerobus for hotel and airport use. formerly been Lomberg Auto Body, II, the company built prototypes Checker Cab became Checker Motors but Markin took it over after its owner of a small jeep, though these were Corporation in 1958, paving the way defaulted on a $15,000 personal loan possibly simply modifi cations of the for private sales through a dealer Markin had made. original Bantam design; during the network. These began in late 1959 as war came production of numerous 1960 models with the A-10 Superba, In 1923 Checker relocated to former trailers and vehicle bodies for the later replaced by the A-12 Marathon Dort and Handley-Knight facilities military. Such work would continue that would be available until the end in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after after the war ended. Taxi production in 1982. outgrowing the old Joliet plant. resumed with the Model A-2 in Various series of purpose-built taxis 1947. Successor models were made Because of fundamental changes followed, from the H-2 of 1923 available by special order as private in the taxi market that included through several lettered models in the cars. The company also briefl y built relaxation of past city rules on what 1930s, then the Model A just before Transit buses, which were cab- vehicles could be used as taxis, World War II. Many of these cars had striking styling and numerous innovations; Checkers had already gained a reputation for quality and durability. Buda had originally supplied engines, but Lycoming took its place in 1933 and Continental followed a short time later.

During these years Markin bought several taxi companies, assuring continued business for Checker, which also built -like vehicles under the name Suburban (before ’s use of the name) and even a few trucks and buses. By decade’s end Checker Cab was building commercial bodies for Hudson, Ford, and Dodge, as well as trailers for Sears, Roebuck and Co., starting a well-needed diversifi cation that would keep the company going decades later.

Above: Checker Superba taxi in the Lake Tahoe, California region. Being in a state border area the vehicle carries both California and Nevada licenses. Image from editor’s collection. 6 SAH Journal No. 244 Electronic Edition Marcia Koestner assured a reporter in July 2008: “Basically, the products we produce are not products that are in jeopardy. They’re not for SUVs… Our major lines are not going to be affected [by GM cuts], we hope.” But Checker’s sales to GM had already dropped signifi cantly, and overall sales for 2009 were projected to drop by over 40 percent.

The federal government bailout of the banking system and the news that fi nancier Bernard Madoff had Checker began to have periodic last new Marathon came off the line. defrauded investment clients of fi nancial diffi culties even in the Taxi production had ended after 60 billions soon followed—which further 1950s. Continental declined to years, 59 of them in Kalamazoo. In a rocked the ailing economy. One of provide engines after 1964, and testament to their famed durability, Madoff’s victims was none other than after briefl y using engines, the last Checker still used as a taxi in David Markin. Another government Checker adopted Chevrolet sixes New York City retired in 1999. bailout to keep GM and Chrysler and V-8s for use until Marathon afl oat became necessary. And this and taxi production ended. (A few From then Checker soldiered on led to bankruptcy proceedings for Perkins diesel engines found their by stamping steel and building Checker, which fi led on January way into the cars in 1968, making subassemblies for other automakers, 16, 2009, not long before GM and Checker possibly the fi rst American and was also allied with trailer Chrysler themselves followed. It was manufacturer to offer a diesel- manufacturer Great Dane. Examples the eighth largest American auto powered production car.) Morris of its work included Chevrolet truck supplier to do so and had already Markin sold his taxi holdings after bed and tailgate assemblies, but laid off at least 90 workers. Ironically, New York fi led an antitrust lawsuit this in turn showed the company’s in an echo of the controversy over against him for forcing his taxi dependence on GM’s business. Of the bonuses for executives of bailed- companies to buy his taxis, even as fi ve original equipment manufacturers out banks, bankruptcy judge James Checker lost an antitrust suit against listed as “key customers” on D. Gregg denied the company Chrysler over related claims. Upon Checker’s website, three were relief from collective bargaining his death in July 1970 at age 76, his GM, Saturn (division of GM, now agreements with the United Steel son David assumed control of the closing), and Shanghai GM (China). Workers the following month, citing company amid building storm clouds. Nonetheless, the company continued executive retention bonuses totaling to invest in new capabilities, adding $275,000 Checker had paid to Markin, The 1970s saw smaller auto a laser cutting system and new Koestner, Markin’s son Christopher, manufacturers such as Checker hemming (edge fi nishing) equipment and Mark Walburn in December buffeted by high infl ation, energy as recently as 2008, joining existing 2008 amid all the layoffs. David crises, labor troubles, and federal capacities of stamping, welding, Markin had received over $241,000 in safety and emissions mandates. The modular assembly, and structural and compensation in 2008. company adapted its products as well acoustical foam injection. In mid–2008 as it could, often using Chevrolet Checker had about 340 workers. In April 2009 Checker announced its or other off-the-shelf components, intent to close by the end of June. but quality suffered. Proposals for During that year, however, GM During that month Judge Gregg a replacement for the venerable production cuts resulting from the approved the company’s sale to two Marathon repeatedly went by the harsh recession and high fuel prices Canadian auto suppliers for a total wayside as sales began to drop called into question the future of its of $1.6 million. This might seem like for the thirsty vehicles. Although suppliers, including Checker, whose a low value for the assets, but much fabrication for other automakers human resources vice-president of Checker’s machinery could not assumed increasing importance as the decade progressed, the company was regularly losing money on taxi production and temporarily shut down assembly lines a number of times due to excess inventory. Ed Cole, former head of GM, was hired to modernize Checker, but died in a plane crash in 1977 before effecting a proposal to adapt elongated diesel- powered Volkswagen Rabbits (Golfs) to taxi production. Finally, the end came on July 12, 1982, when the Above: Checker Aerobus in 8-door guise. A smaller 6-door version was available. Image from editor’s collection. March - April 2010 7 The End of Checker Motors

be sold because of a glut of such equipment on the market. The fi nal day of production in Kalamazoo for some 125 remaining workers was June 25, and then production equipment was transferred to Canada. The nearby Gilmore Car Museum sent a crew into the empty plant in September to document and collect Checker artifacts; during that same month Gregg ordered that Checker send severance checks to those fi nal workers. By December demolition of the plant was under way. In its fi nal act, the company sold the 72–acre site to the Jones Group for “just under $3 million” in January 2010, according to The New York Times City Blog. David Markin, by then age 78, said, “It’s fi nished. Our family is very distressed about the closing of the company, but it became inevitable.” A bizarre footnote is that Checker’s factory website remains online as of this writing in February 2010.

John Weinhoeft of the Checker Car Club of America echoed Markin in the blog story: “In some ways it’s kind of sad; in other ways it was kind of inevitable. The company basically died in 1982 when they quit building the cars.” Rest in peace, Checker. —Edwin Krampitz, Jr.

Below: Checker Superba in taxi livery, in the Lake Tahoe, California area. Images from the editor’s collection.

8 SAH Journal No. 244 Electronic Edition drawings and specifi cations. The Book Reviews extraordinary depth of scholarship does not stop there. There is an entire chapter on owner’s manuals. Rolls-Royce: For these cars Rolls-Royce supplied The Post-War Phantoms IV/V/VI two manuals for each car. A driver’s By Martin Bennett manual, and a higher quality bound Tables by Bernard L. King. volume for the owner in the rear Published 2008. compartment. ISBN (casebound) 978-1-85443-220-9 ISBN (special bound) 978-1-85443- Messieurs Bennett and King are 238-4 known for their attention to detail 303 Pages, Illustrated 440 B/W and and have outdone themselves in this Color photos, line drawings, tables. volume. There are very complete Dalton Watson Fine Books. chassis tables for each model giving Price US$115 UK £59 wonderful information, and even, when possible, the status of the cars, All Rolls-Royce automobiles are and any modifi cations to each, as of special, however, some are more the publication of this book in 2008. special than others. This is especially V-8 was paired with the four speed true of the post World War II This is, overall, one of the best Hydramatic transmission which Phantoms, bespoke cars born into treatments of a specialized series was also used in the Phantom IVs. a world of mass-produced product of models that I have ever had the The majority of the coachwork was sameness. pleasure of reading. —Greg Nolan done by Mulliner, Park Ward, and Of all the post-war Phantoms the James Young, practically the only Phantom IV is the rarest and most coachbuilders left in England at the exclusive. Built, as it turns out, for time. A very few examples of the royalty and heads of state, this was Phantom V were bodied by French not the original aim of the factory, fi rm Henri Chapron, one based on but became so by default. Concurrent a design by Hooper, one a pure SAH members are invited to join with this model was the standard- Chapron design. These cars were the Classic Car Club of America bodied Silver Dawn, the Mark VI, wonderfully unique as the factory (CCCA) and R type Bentleys and later the would, for a price, build them to the founded in 1952 to promote the Silver Cloud I as well as the Silver special requirements of any customer preservation and restoration of Wraith, a slightly smaller car but who wished to buy one. distinctive motorcars built between nonetheless a truly bespoke motor of 1925 and 1948. unimpeachable quality. The last of the cars covered would The club publishes its Bulletin eight be the Phantom VI, similar to times a year and the quarterly Classic Phantom IV production was a mere the Phantom V but with enough Car magazine. 18 chassis, truly a small number for differences to warrant a new The club maintains a museum and any manufacturer. The Phantom IV classifi cation. Italian coachbuilder research library on the grounds of was powered with the new in-line Frua bodied a P VI. All the Phantoms, the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory 8-cylinder engine of the post-war following Rolls-Royce policy, Corners, Michigan. rationalized range of chassis and incorporated any improvements For membership details contact the club engines introduced by Rolls-Royce. which had been introduced on the at either of the addresses below. With a wheelbase of 145 inches it standard cars, such as the Silver was capable of carrying large and Shadow I and II, and the Spirit-Spur impressive coachwork suitable for the range of cars until the last Phantom most important of state occasions. was built in 1990.

The successor of the Phantom This extraordinary book covers all IV was logically the Phantom V these models with a thoroughness 1645 Des Plaines River Road, Suite 7 (1959-1967). Built on a 145-inch which is a real pleasure to study and Des Plaines, IL 60018-2206 wheelbase, it was powered by the read. The illustrations are of superb (847) 390-0443 then newly-introduced V-8 engine quality. Wonderful photographs www.ClassicCarClub.org also used in the Silver Cloud II. The are paired with coachbuilders’ line

March - April 2010 9 that put into high relief the close Book Reviews relations and often self-serving actions of the automotive elite. In an industry Breaking the Banks in Motor City: that was barely thirty years old and The Auto Industry, the 1933 Detroit growing rapidly, the interlocking Banking Crisis and the Start of the interests of competitors should not New Deal. surprise us. By Darwyn H. Lumley, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7864-4417-5. paid and directors were given loans James Couzens seems to be the sole Softcover 195 pages, 11 b/w with Guardian stock as security. player who comes off with a record illustrations, chronology, bibliography Deposits were moved among of ethical behavior. That is important and index. McFarland & Company, banking units to conceal the fi nancial because he was for many years given Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 condition of the group. Edsel Ford, blame for the denial of a government $35.00 with 50,000 shares, was the largest loan that, it was claimed, would have shareholder. He borrowed on his own bailed out Guardian and saved the It is not often that an automotive account and from the Ford Motor day. Breaking the Banks shows this history title strikes a timely note, but Company, of which he was president, could not have been the outcome and Darwyn Lumley’s Breaking the Banks in attempts to support the stock as that it would in any case have been in in Motor City does just that. Its subject it sank to become worthless. When violation of federal regulations. is the collapse of Guardian Detroit fi nally a creditor demanded payment Union Group, a holding company he was threatened with personal The principal facts of the crisis formed in 1927 to acquire shares in bankruptcy. have been known for many years Michigan banks through the exchange through the testimony of the Senate of stock. By 1929 it held control of 31 Ford Motor Company and its Banking and Currency Committee, banks while its larger rival, the Detroit executives had been Guardian’s ‘the Pecora investigation’, and from Bankers Company, owned 40. The principal backers with loans and later scholarship. The author’s focus two companies controlled 87 percent substantial deposits of operating is on the automobile men who at fi rst of the banking in Detroit. Guardian funds. All investors were at risk, but profi ted from an insider’s position investors were primarily executives Edsel Ford was in a special position. in the fi nancial transactions of the of the auto companies including He would be able to protect his industry but then lost heavily when Edsel Ford, Ernest Kanzler, Fred J. interests through the resources of the economy turned down. Theirs Fisher, Alvan Macauley, Roy Chapin his father who, when he learned of were iconic names that enjoyed and other well-known fi gures. Later, the straits in which his son found heroic reputations on the national through their ownership of banks that himself, gave orders that Ford Motor scene, but, when they were shown to were acquired, were added Charles Company funds be taken to make up have acted no differently from others Stewart Mott, James Couzens and Edsel’s losses. Other members of the of the business community, lost that Clifford Longley, counsel to the Ford Guardian group did not learn about magic and became ordinary men. Motor Company and the Ford family. this until after the bank had been —Arthur Jones The purpose of these combinations closed down. was to take over the banking business in the state which, with the growing This extraordinary tale which dominance of the automobile Lumley has brought together throws industry, had become a major center light on the complex relationship of fi nancial activity. between Henry Ford and his son. The elder Ford, always an opponent That in itself was a reasonable goal, of banks, stood by while Edsel As you might expect from a club publication, the Horseless Carriage Gazette is chock full of exciting but the banks were placed under became involved, then stepped in to four-color photographs showing brass-era automobiles increasing pressure by the collapsing rescue him from what he no doubt in action. First-generation cars don’t get out often but, when they do, it is a real privilege to be along for the economy after the market crash of considered the consequences of ride. 1929. As auto sales dropped and irresponsible actions. Those who History buffs will enjoy a feature or two in each workers were laid off, they became have wondered that Edsel did not in Horseless Carriage Gazette about marques both later years take a stronger position in popular and obscure. In addition, more than 240 black unable to make payments and, & white images from the pre-1916 era were used as by February 1933, 72 percent of Ford policy might remember how he illustrations in the six 2007 issues. Guardian’s mortgages were in default. had been humiliated in the eyes of Membership is $45 ($55 outside of the USA). With their investments at stake, his father when in a role of nominal There is no better place to connect with nearly 5,000 enthusiasts who appreciate pioneer vehicles than in the the stockholders acted to support high authority. Horseless Carriage Club. We’ll be honored if you decide the stock, forming pools that were to join. There are, of course, many more Horseless Carriage Club quickly overcome by the decline of PO Box 62, Bakersfield CA 93302 the market. Large dividends were aspects of the Detroit fi nancial crisis 888/832-2374 or [email protected] 10 SAH Journal No. 244 Electronic Edition Editorial

Too Much Information car, but what happens when the manufacturers themselves get in A recent question about on the game? technology in cars brought up a related point about information Electronic digital gadgets, rather overload of the driver. How much than mechanical, began to pop Above: SAAB offered the Halda Speed Pilot on the Granturismo 750 as a information does a contemporary up in the 1980s and the trend has factory-installed accessory, circa 1959. To be fair, this was mounted on the driver need? At the most essential, become more prevalent. These passenger side, as it would be used by a co-driver. only two things, a view of the items may involve operation road and some notion of the of the vehicle, entertainment, speed of the vehicle. The status communication, or all three. The of the onboard fuel supply would Cadillac V8-6-4 range featured a be helpful as well, though the highly entertaining real time fuel Volkswagen and the Citroën mileage calculator, for example. 2 CV did without this information for years. An obscure cultural twist in some traffi c-choked cities has Today’s roads tend to be fairly drivers savoring the hours spent well paved, marked, and lit, in the car as their only private depending on the country. In any or personal time during a hectic case, on a dark, rutted dirt track, day. Surely there are better uses concentration on the road is more for a person’s time, but to each critical rather than less. We all his own. I have not yet seen a know that a hundred years ago, a bumper sticker reading “Hang up and sit in traffi c.” —A. Meyer Above: The 1986 Buick Riviera featured a touch-screen display to control fortunate driver could complete a the radio and climate control system, seen at top right. This display was a trip with only one fl at tire or stop cathode ray tube which presents some handling diffculties during repairs. for mechanical adjustments. Below: For rear passengers, Oldsmobile offered a VHS video player with a Personal experience demonstrates fold-down color liquid crystal display in the 1999-model Silhouette Premier. that young drivers overestimate their ability to cope with the unexpected, while older drivers overestimate the quickness of their refl exes. One argument is that the driver needs more information to stay clear of risks, while an opposing view is that the driver needs less distraction.

Since World War II there has been an increasing cultural obsession with gadgets in the car. Not just fuzzy dice or Chrysler’s Highway Above: With the 1986 generation IV Fleetwood, Cadillac offered a factory-installed cellular tele- Hi-Fi record player, but with phone with a handset concealed in the front seat functional gadgets requiring the center armrest. A hands-free microphone was part driver’s attention. Anyone can add of the system along with an “exclusive radio mute a J.C. Whitney tachometer to their module.”

Left: circa 1995 Oldsmobile offered the Guidestar™ navigation system on the Eighty Eight with limited availability.

The display would tend to take the driver’s eyes off the road, an ergo- nomic issue still not fully addressed with onboard navigation systems fifteen years later. Images from editor’s collection.

March - April 2010 11 First Class Presort JournalThe Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. U.S. Postage Issue 244 March-April 2010 PAID The Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Permit #1 P.O. Box 1948 Whittier, CA Vashon, WA 98070-1948

Too Much Information. See page 11.

1960 Citroën DS 19 Prestige. This all-black version of the DS 19 featured a division between the driver and rear passenger compartment. The car was meant to be a mobile offi ce for CEOs and bureaucrats. Coachbuilder Henri Chapron com- pleted the cars at Levallois, France. In the front compartment, upholstery was black leather. The passenger compartment was upholstered in grey helanca (simultaneous) communication like a real telephone. cloth. The division featured a console with a lighter, ashtrays, The car’s trunk contained the amplifi er, transmitter- radio controls, clock, reading lamp controls, optional telephone receiver, and other supporting equipment. The system handset and intercom for communication with the driver. included a second aerial mounted at the rear edge The optional radio-telephone was available with the caveat of the roof. The DS Prestige electrical system ran 12 that it only worked in Paris within 12 miles of Notre Dame. Un- volts, compared to the 6-volt system of the standard like traditional mobile radio systems, this one allowed “duplex” cars. From editor’s collection.

12 SAH Journal No. 244 Electronic Edition