History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

cool pic, Brandy. I see the picture is obviously taken in Europe (note rail car at right of vehicle), so I guess they imported stuff world wide. I live near the small town that J. I. Case opened his fist shop in Rochester Wisconsin before moving to Racine, which isn't that far from me either.

 

As far as CASE, now, they are the same company that went on just to specialize in HEAVY equipment (bull dozers, etc.), correct?[/QUOTE]

I posted alot of Case Info and pix on this thread. In my postings it says there are about 100 Case automobiles known to exist.

Wessel notes that there are about a hundred Case cars left in existence

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356214&highlight=case

 

I stand corrected. It's a 1920 Stanley Steamer 735 that was re-bodied with a 1916 Woods Dual Power body sometime in the 20's. It's been for sale for a while at 89k. Very very cool (and I'm not necessarily into the earlier stuff).

http://tomlaferriere.com/1920_Stanley_Steamer.htm

There is also a whole hamb thread about it:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225308&highlight=stanley+woods

 

1946 Beechcraft Plainsman Concept Car Performance

<!-- dtl_id=470330 //-->According to its maker, which claimed a 160-mph top speed and 30 mpg, 1946 Beechcraft Plainsman concept car performance was outstanding. But no one had a chance to find out. Just one 1946 Beechcraft Plainsman concept car was built, and it was never put to a full test.

Though the Plainsman wore a conventional grille, it carried a rear-mounted engine: an air-cooled, horizontally opposed gasoline four adapted from one of Beech's contemporary aircraft units.
But the compact powerplant could have been up front just as well. Not only was there plenty of room for it, but Beech planned on using an innovative four-wheel electric drive system that completely eliminated the differential, propshaft, clutch, and transmission (and with the last, the interior floor hump, thus adding to passenger room).



Exact details of this patented system were never disclosed -- likely because it was patented -- but it's known to have worked from a generator driven by the engine and housed in the same soundproof compartment.


Wheel control was evidently independent, because Beech claimed two advantages for its electric drive: automatic apportioning of torque to those wheels with greater grip on slippery roads -- call it embryonic traction
control -- and a "reverse current" feature that provided "dynamic braking" when the driver stepped on the pedal-a sort of early anti-lock system. Naturally, there were also regular hydraulic drum brakes, activated by a slightly harder push on the same pedal.

Only a bit less novel was the Beechcraft Plainsman's air-spring suspension. Unlike later Detroit "air ride" setups that relied on flexible bladders, this one employed aircraft-type air shocks that automatically adjusted damping to suit load and weight distribution.

A manual override switch was planned to permit selecting a softer setting for a smoother ride on very rough roads. Though not known for sure, the damping rate was probably varied by the drive system's electric generator.

Coming from an aircraft maker, the Beechcraft Plainsman was predictably designed for low weight and good aerodynamics in the interests of both performance and economy. Aluminum was chosen for exterior panels and inner structure, and the shape was tested in the wind tunnel with impressive results.

According to Beech, the Plainsman would top 160 mph despite its relatively small engine yet return more than 25 miles per gallon at a steady 60 mph and about 30 mpg at town speeds. Company engineers credited this efficiency more to the electric drive than to the styling, which hardly looked "wind-cheating anyway.

 

Zip Cyclecar
The Zip Cyclecar Co.
Davenport, Iowa
1913-1914
The Zip Cyclecar Co. was formed in Davenport, Iowa about 1913. By November 1914 this American Cyclecar company was out of business. The Zip was a two passenger side by side Cyclecar. It was equipped with a V-twin cylinder air cooled engine with 10-14 horsepower. The maker of this engine was the Universal Machinery Co. of Milwaukee, WI. A six bladed fan provided cooling, a friction transmission and belt drive were used.

First cyclecar race? 1914


Cars from left to right:

• Saginaw
• Twombly
• Princess
• Coey
• Detroit
• Morgan
• Downing
• Vixen
• Be Be Peugeot
• Mercury
• Saginaw
• Malcolm
• Twombly
• Twombly
• Vixen
• Zip

 

AMEN! What a waste....

 

Swi, the TECH info on the Beechcraft Plainsman is pretty darn fascinating! For osme reason, I'd assumed the car was pretty conventional -- not so! But, I also think, now, that Beechcraft put a good deal more R&D $$$ into the car than I imagined previously.

Kind of funny that the internals are still maintained under tight wraps. This would be one INTERESTING car, just to be able to LOOK OVER from every angle! I DID read a while back that the prototype is stored securely in some aircraft hanger in the heartland. So, defunct but not EXTINCT. Only one!!!

One could rightly say: The Beechcraft never got "off the ground," eh?

It is interesting that Beechcraft was NOT out to get into the car business for the same reason most others were, after WWII. Company heads, worried that bread-&-butter government contracts would dry up and leave Beechcraft high and dry, launched the auto project as a HEDGE against that possibility. When fears over losing government business proved unfounded, the Plainsman was shelved, and the company continued full ahead with aircraft work.

 

You're my fucking hero! That's AWESOME! I know once I posted a thread asking about them and got nada...........thank you for pay dirt!

 

Brandy, obviously, the HAMB is de place (and this thread has attracted some apparent experts on out-of-production cars!).

Revisiting STEAM for a second here: Someone said steam cars can't technically be "green," since they had to burn fossile fuels to heat the boilers. Well, using the STANLEY as an example, they could be made to run on a variety of fuels, including alcohol. And I think alcohol burns pretty darn CLEAN compared to most petro-derived fuels.

In the seemingly endless debate over alternative means of auto propulsion, there doesn't seem to be ANY energy souce that doesn't have SOME environmental impact. Even if someone finally "splits" H-2-O to produce a hydrogen cell, seem to me there'd still be environmental issues there.

Input?

 

SunRoof, sounds as though the Milburn WAS one of the better and more
affordable electrics, man! I've always been a bit fascinated with electrics,
at least in terms of urban driving. For an electric in that era, the SPEED was respectable! The current hybrids are promising, if they ever get to a point of affordability.

It would surely be great if (in an ideal world, maybe?) one could charge
his/her car batteries in a home garage with solar cells plastering the roof!
Maybe someone has ALREADY done this?

 

Diana - St. Louis, Missouri (1925-1928)

1925 Diana​

Diana Motors Company of St. Louis, Missouri was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Moon Motor Car Company. The company never dwelled on the fact their car was named after a Roman mythology goddess of the Moon. The radiator shell was a carbon copy of the Belgian Minerva car. In late May of 1925, the new car and company was announced by Steward Macdonald (the president of Moon and Diana). When the Diana car arrived June 25th it was very well received. The company referred to it as the "the easiest steering car in America," "the only car built entirely for balloon tires," and "a car for women drivers." The Moon Company had projected that they would sell 7,000 Diana in the first year of production. The car's engine was a 72hp Continental straight-eight, hydraulic four-wheel brakes, and as well as the Lancaster Vibration Damper, both progressive features of its time. It got about 15 to 18 miles per gallon, with a maximum speed of 70mph. The price was around $2,000.00, but had to pay extra for wire wheels and radiator in bronze, which was the fancy sports roadsters. A town car at $5,000.00 was another limited production model. With some early structural problems in the car itself, and unfortunately the public never did forget - the Diana just faded away. Though the 1928 models were announced, it never produced one and the Diana became a Moon Aerotype 8-80 model for 1928. The Diana still has one the loveliest radiator mascots on an American car.

From Old Car Manual Project

 

1912 Detroit Electric Coupe





1922 Detroit Electric Coupe

 

And here is one of the remaining Case Automobiles. Still driven during the summer months. Here it is pictured at the Monday night Cruise night in Lockport NY

 

Seeing as how you guys reading this thread are into old iron.
I thought I would give you a llink to another thread I started.
No extinct cars, but thought you might enjoy it anyways.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4605260#post4605260

 

If there was only one ever made and it still exists, can it truly be considered extinct or almost extinct???? An example here is the Bergholt Streamline Car built by Fred Bergholt of Minneapols Mn. who actually filed lawsuit with Chrysler and others for copying his design. He considered the Chrysler Airflow a copy of his design.

The Bergholt Streamline Car

<!--END Page Title --> <!--BEGIN Content Body //--> The biggest design news in the entire field of transportation during the 1930s was, without a doubt, streamlining. The streamline movement forever changed not just automobiles, but other forms of transportation, architecture and most manufactured goods that were part of everyday life. Everything from trains to toasters got totally restyled in the ’30s as a result of the acceptance of the concepts of streamlining. This is the story of a unique streamlined automobile designed and built by a visionary man from Minneapolis named Fred Bergholt, who built his dream in 1932, at the very dawn of the streamline age.


The Streamline is the product of Fred Bergholt, a Minneapolis resident who wanted a car that was as aerodynamic as an airplane.

Streamlining burst on the scene, seemingly all over the world at once, in 1933 and ’34. Those two years saw the introduction of the first popular and successful high-speed lightweight streamlined train, the Burlington Zephyr. On the automotive scene, a number of radical streamlined concept cars appeared at such places as the Chicago Century of Progress Exposition. One of these concept cars by designer John Tjaarda became the prototype for the Lincoln-Zephyr, which was put in production in 1936. In Europe, there was much activity as well. The Volkswagen Beetle made its first appearance, as did the revolutionary rear-engined Czech Tatra. In the United States, the aerodynamic Chrysler Airflow was introduced in 1934.


At a time when nearly all automobiles sported open front fenders, the Streamline had enclosed fenders that sloped from the windshield to the front bumper.

Interest in smoothing the contours of moving objects such as trains and autos was inspired by the infant aviation industry. Airplanes had to move with the absolute minimum of wind resistance, or they simply would not have enough power to be able to maintain air speed. Interest in aviation was crystallized by Lindberg’s solo non-stop flight from New York to Paris in 1927. From that point on, airplane-inspired streamlining became the wave of the future. After a five-year gestation period, streamlining burst on the scene from all directions in 1933.

One of the significant new automobile designs that first appeared in January 1933 at the New York Auto Show was the Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow. This was a trailblazing new design on a Pierce-Arrow V-12 chassis. Only six were built, as the real purpose was to present new design concepts. The roof line was a racy fastback, and it was one of the first cars designed in America with full fender design, that made the fenders an integral part of the body and extended them the entire length of the car. This design provided room for the spare tire carriers to be entirely enclosed within the body sides just behind the front wheels. The body sides extended out to the full width of the car, completely covering the running boards. It was a stunning car and became the talk of the town.


Inside the cockpit, occupants of the Streamline can enjoy a luxurious environment, complete with fold-out windshield sections and map pockets in the door panels.

What Pierce-Arrow and New Yorkers didn’t know was that, for at least a month before the Silver Arrow was introduced, a car had been running on the streets of far-away Minneapolis, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Silver Arrow. It was the Bergholt Streamline, an innovative new car designed by Fred Bergholt and built under his direction. The Bergholt car had the same sloping front end, the same fastback rear, and sides that enclosed even more of the fenders than the Pierce. The spare tire was even concealed in the front fender, just like the Silver Arrow. How did such a coincidence come about?


The rear passenger compartment of the big two-door sedan features a large seat, side lamps and map pockets. The split rear window is similar to the Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow.

Fred Bergholt was an inventive, creative guy who became interested in aviation in the 1920s. He and his brother actually built and sold gliders and then airplanes for a time. After 1927, Fred began thinking about designing a car. His aircraft experience led him from the start to seek an innovative new shape that would move through the air smoothly like an airplane. He came up with two inspirations, both inspired by animals. He concluded that the turtle was one of the most aerodynamic, as well as hydrodynamic, forms in nature. Whether swimming or walking, water or air flows off the turtle’s back without encumbrance. In promoting his car design later, Bergholt made much use of his turtle inspiration.

The other inspiration from nature was the hammerhead shark, which inspired Fred to make the body larger at the front and tapering down at the rear. Both of these design concepts are found to various degrees in the work of other early streamline designers. The basic tear-drop shape, often a streamline design objective, is a good example. Bergholt’s concepts are very similar to those advocated by Leon Jaray, a pioneering European advocate of automotive aerodynamics in the ’20s.


From the rear, the Streamline shows the fastback styling that became popular years after the car was constructed.

Bergholt bought a new 1932 Ford V-8 sedan and removed the body. A metal worker named Edgar Lantz then went to work to shape a new metal body to Fred’s design. But before work began, Fred took out several patents on the unique design features of the Bergholt Streamline (his choice of name for the car). Many years later, after Fred contended that other car builders were using his design ideas, litigation resulted in a settlement in which Fred felt he had been vindicated.

The car was completed in 1932, well before the Silver Arrow. Fred subsequently showed it to several auto companies, but none were interested. Bergholt claimed they all thought it was too far ahead of its time and that he should come see them again in five years! After that, the Streamline was put to work promoting the family cosmetics business, where it rang up over 200,000 miles and went through three engines! Fred claimed that the slippery body let the car and engine run so fast that engine bearings burned out.

In Fred’s later years, the family fortunes turned for the worse, and the Streamline languished in storage. After Bergholt died in 1978, the family turned the car over to a good friend Harlow Loney, who has cared for the car ever since. In 1993, Loney began a complete restoration of the Streamline, a process that took 10 years. Today, the Streamline looks better, and is in better condition than it has been since it was built. The 1932-vintage Ford V-8 runs great, and the entire interior has been beautifully redone. Standing close to the car is a reminder of how foresighted Fred Bergholt was. The sides flair out dramatically, reminding one of the ground effects spoilers on modern performance cars. The wind-cheating, sloping front end, the concealed running boards and the spare tire well concealed inside the front fender are all reminders of Fred’s creative genius.

Harlow Loney, the custodian and restorer of the Streamline died in 2008 and the car is currently on display at Ellingson Auto Museum in Rogers Mn.


http://ellingsoncarmuseum.com/Active/2007%20Cars/1932%20Bergholt%20Streamline/1932_Bergholt_History.htm

 

Enjoyable article, Swi!

The pic of the '27 CASE is cool! (Hey, and it's NOT every day you get to be somebody's f--king hero, eh??? LOL)

It kinda looks like the radiator louvers opened/closed. I wonder if that was mechanicaly or electrically controled.

 

Anyone know if there are any AeroCar survivors? And no....not the airplane/car thing.

 

HJ, THOSE are some FINE Detroit Electrics! I find the bodies both quaint AND yet APPEALING!!! And the ctrystal carriage lamps are a very stylish touch. Way cool!

 

SunRoofCord, THAT is a fantastic piece and photos on the Bergholt Streamliner AND the streamlining design movement. REALLY, in just a few years -- you are SO right -- the "shape" of what constituted an automobile was transformed forever!!! I am reminded, too, of Raymond Lowey's design for Art Deco streamliner railroad locomotives. In about every city and town, the TRAIN was a big deal in the '30s, SO the streamliners really set the public on its ear! Despite the economic depression and hard times, the '30s were a time NOT depressed in art and design!

THANKS for this great article AND for presenting a pic of the ONE-OF-A-KIND Bergholt!

 

Diana. Seems Moon was nearly as good at packaging their product as Ned Jordan was with HIS! What a beautiful radiator ornament! Funny, way before LaSalle got subsumed (basically disappeared) into the Cadillac Division of GM, the Diana had ALREADY gone that route. Now you SEE it; now you DON'T!

 

The Crosley Hotshot and the derivitive Crosley Super Sport seemed to be Powell Crosley's final effort to win more buyers to the brand he started in 1939. The little 1,100-pound sports cars actually did pretty well on racing circuits, and Tom McCahill of Mechanix Illustrated gave the Super Sport good marks on performance.

But the did not SELL well. And, NO, they are not extinct, just rare in complete condition. I think they were marketed in 1950-1952. My questions are two: (1) Anyone in HAMBland have a grip on HOW MANY may survive? (2) Given reasonable durability, I assume the block was cast-iron, not one of the engines made of rolled steel?

 

Vincent Bendix and His Car

The Bendix name is familiar to most, but few know the true story behind the Bendix automobile. Listen in as Pete Leatherwood, a 25 year executive with the Bendix Corporation speaks about Vincent Bendix and his 1934 car now on display at the Studebaker museum in South Bend Indiana.

http://studebakermuseum.blogspot.com/2006/03/mr-bendix-and-his-car.html

 

" COX " Just got another Make to be ID'.
Found this " COX " Hubcap in Arizona years back. It's not in the Encyclopedia of cars or trucks. Always wondered what it was off of. though I heard of a Steam Car with that name, but didn't find any info.

 

Jim; I sent your questions to my friend, the Crosley expert and this was his response.

The car pictured is a custom post war 4 cyl cast block with a modified pre-war body. Owned by Chuck Koehler in Pennsylvania. Not a HotShot or Super Sports.

Answering your question, there were about 2500 roadsters (model VC) built from 1949 through 1952. I have production numbers from these years, but no breakdown by HS/SS models. The Super HotShot came out in 1950 (quite rare) and the Super Sports with actual doors in 1951. We guess about 50/50 production split. A side note, the front and rear fenders are all from the front fender stampings of the CC (1946-1948) sedan/wagon models. All VC's had the cast iron motor (CiBA - cast iron block assembly) and had 4 wheel disk brakes until late 1950 when they were changed to 9" Bendix. We only can guess, but the survival rate is very high, either the cars were valued by the owners - or they were not worth scrapping... We guess about 30 to 40% still survive, possibly over a 1000 cars. There are about a dozen known in the Twin Cities. The value ranges from about $3000 for a restorable car to over $20,000 for some exceptional examples. Ignore the $39,000 paid for the purported VC #1 at auction - they must have been serving something a bit too potent.

Hope that helps.

Fred Syrdal
VC advisor, Crosley Club of America

 

C300, hey man, what is the diameter of that hubcap? BTW, Cox isn't even on Wikipedia's huge list of defunct cars.

Heck, you MAY have hit on one that's EXTINCT. If all that's left to show they existed is a hubcap . . .

Anybody??

 

SunRoof, please THANK Fred Syrdal of the Crosley Club of America for his succinct yet detailed passage on the Hot Shot and Super Sports !!!! Illuminating, indeed!

Bottom line: Not rare . . . though the Super Hot Shot IS very scarce!

 

While we are on the subject of early "sub-compacts," ANYBODY have any idea what would have possessed HJ Kaiser to think he could SUCCEED with a tiny, cheap car in '51, right as Powell Crosley's long-term efforts were ultimately proving pointless?

 

I found this a while ago when I did a search on epay for my youngest sons name. Never heard about this make before. Grant, is it extinct?

 

I think that the Henry wasn't out of line in the early fifties. They were in a period of rising gas costs and general inflation (a recession hit in early 53), and it was a different beast then the Crosley, which in my opinion was a step up from a tin can (sorry owners, just my opinion).
The Henry at least felt like a semblence of a big three car.