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

This is an interesting tangent we've gotten into here! Pedal cars for kids, amusement-park "ride" cars, and then "micro-cars." All three categories are interesting (and I know that HAMBers have a soft spot for these kooky LITTLE cars). Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the TERM "micro-car" was actually coined for a whole generation of tiny gas-miser cars that sprung up to provide transportation in war-torn Europe. Natuarally, a lot of micro-cars found their way to curious U.S. owners.

There's a GREAT site for the biggest micro-car museum in the U.S., as follows: microcarmuseum.com/info.html .

 

Those who study Henry Ford, the person, versus his accomplishments, are quick to learn that he was not a very nice man to many. If it had not been for his son Edsel, Henry might of continued building the Model "T" and Ford Motor Co. may of not survived into the future.

 

A special feature at the Tampa Bay Florida Auto Museum is the world’s only replica of the French 1770 Fardier de Cugnot, the world’s first self-propelled vehicle. This vehicle is on loan from the Deutsche Bahn Museum in Nuremberg, Germany.

http://tbauto.org/index.php

 

SunRoof: Those who study Henry Ford, the person, versus his accomplishments, are quick to learn that he was not a very nice man to many. If it had not been for his son Edsel, Henry might of continued building the Model "T" and Ford Motor Co. may of not survived into the future.

Jimi: First, I am glad to hear that, as it's not something I even cared to look deeply into. I remember the TV mini-series on Henry (with Oscar-winner Cliff Robertson), and it depicted him as an unfaithful husband (nothing to do with cars, that) and a hard-driver. Some point to published material also showing him to be an anti-Semite. Details aside, he certainly had determination to reach, at least, his original goal! And THAT took him some 15 years, even picking up ideas and pointers from every other inventor he could. I guess, from there, I would have to say that -- perhaps flush with the Model T's success -- he just seemed to put on market-blinders and was apparently content to keeping riding the T-pony forever.

Secondly, that brings us to point number two: what you said about Edsel Ford. Edsel had an "eye" and viewed the automobile as something MUCH more than merely a tool. Maybe he wasn't Ned Jordan, but he definitely believed that cars should, or could, be quite attractive AND expressions of the personalities of their owners (so, to hell with Japanese black!).

I REALLY think YOU, Jim, are right: FoMoCo may well have wound DOWN from its #3 slot during the long 1930s and gone the way of Graham, Hupp, Pierce, Franklin, etc., etc. . . . . HAD IT NOT been for his son, Edsel, having the backbone to argue points with his old man, and even conduct some R&D in privacy!

Ironically, father and son died about the same time, and Edsel's name wound up on a car synonymous with failure! Now, that is a crime.<!-- / message -->

 

Jimi,

How I wish that Edsel had lived longer- he (and folks like Bob Gregorie, who Edsel hired) gave Ford the style and flow it's cars needed to contend in the late 20's- early 40's.

The Model 40 speedster is hands down one of my favorite cars- wish I had taken the time to get to Florida to see it!!! I know that it's back in the Detroit area, but is it somewhere the the public can get to- I've especially wanted to see the modifications to the frame/chassis.

 

Jim, this is a fantastic replica of something that was a bon fide technical marvel in 1770. This was nearly 2-1/2-centuries ago! This, amazingly, was before the Industrial Revolution had even shifted out of first gear, before the American Revolution, and before the French Revolution.

Surely, it looks VERY odd today, but this steamy, smokey beast was a harbinger of BIG things to come. Don you happen to know if the designers went on to refine it OR apply it to practical uses (say, in lieu of draft animals)? Heck, it wouldn't look at all weird, if we moved the boiler to the back or middle and put four wheels on this hotrod. (Some Crager mags wouldn't hurt, either! But I like the FENDERLESS look! LOL)

I could get up on my steam soapbox again, but I'll just say: STEAM and electric cars were pretty much on par with gasoline-powered cars until Kettering developed the first practical electric self-starters for gas cars in 1912.

 

Hate to say it, but my first visual experience of the Fardier de Cugnot is seeing Pops Racer driving it during the end credits from the Speed Racer cartoons !

 

With the reference to Edsel Ford and Bob Gregorie, I thought this would be a good place to insert this one.

Lincoln's 1939 Zephyr Continental prototype set the stage for design history

Hemmings Classic Car - OCTOBER 1, 2007 - BY GEORGE MATTAR

Although Henry Ford normally gets the credit for the great cars from Dearborn, there are several models that his soley son, Edsel, dreamed of and saw completed. Edsel's visionary influence would go on to shape the evolution of the company and its designs. It was he who convinced his father to replace the Model T with the Model A and after that car's success, Henry relented and made sure no products left a Ford factory without Edsel's approval. One of the cars he approved was the Lincoln Continental, designed by Eugene "Bob" Gregorie, Jr.

Actually, the Lincoln Continental of the 1940s was the result of evolution from the Lincoln Zephyr. When Ford's styling department was formed in 1935, Edsel named Gregorie, just 27, as chief stylist. He wasted little time in proving he had the right stuff for the job. He transformed the 1934 "Century of Progress" World's Fair show car into what would be the 1936 production Lincoln Zephyr.

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</td></tr></tbody></table>Edsel had plenty of guidance to offer to Gregorie in designing his dream car. His vision was influenced by the distinctive automobiles he saw in Europe--vehicles with long hoods, short trunks and spare tires mounted on the back. He called these "continental styles." In September 1938, Edsel returned to Dearborn with a "continental" car in mind. Fortuitously, Gregorie was already thinking along the same lines. A year later, Gregorie sketched a prototype from a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr. Taking this car, he lowered and lengthened the hood, removed the running boards and added a spare tire on the rear. Edsel approved the clay model and the project was sent to Henry Crecelius of Lincoln Body Engineering.

There, Gregorie selected a 1939 Lincoln Zephyr body as the basis for the new design; he chose a convertible sedan to take advantage of the chassis bracing. The Zephyr's floor pan, wheelhouses and basic body panels were used, but inserts were placed in the front fenders, stretching them a foot. Another foot was added to the hood, but the rear of the car didn't differ much from the original Zephyr design. Most body panels were hand-formed with liberal amounts of solder and lead--in the end, the car weighed nearly 5,000 pounds. Power came from Lincoln's 267-cu.in. V-12, equipped with a three-speed manual transmission. The first prototype, H-74750, was sent to Florida in the winter of 1939, where Edsel was on vacation. There, his two oldest sons, Henry II and Benson, drove the car near Palm Beach. People were so impressed with the car that Edsel received 200 orders almost immediately.

Despite it having a water leak problem, Edsel phoned Gregorie during his vacation to have him start building a second prototype, with some changes. Our feature car, owned by Bob Anderson of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, is that second prototype, known as the "engineering car." It was built as a 1940 prototype on the same 125-inch wheelbase as the unit-body Zephyr and Edsel's personal car; the hood and front fenders were lengthened by only eight inches. The doors were moved further forward and the interior room increased. The trunk on the second prototype stood a little taller to increase luggage space. Most of the other parts were standard-issue for 1939 Lincoln Zephyrs or Mercurys. The standard Zephyr door handles, hubcaps and "teardrop" taillamps were used. Inside, a huge circular speedometer and odometer housed all gauges. There were two ashtrays and a lone cigarette lighter, but no radio, heater or other accessories. Even the steering wheel was a standard Mercury part.

The engineering car, painted black with a tan leather interior, was completed in June 1939. The Lincoln engineering staff drove the car that summer for testing and to refine the mechanical features planned for the 1940 production models. Edsel gave the vehicle to Gregorie in late September 1939 for his personal use. In fact, Bob has the ultimate piece of documentation for his prototype--the original 1939 Michigan registration in Gregorie's name, with his signature, a gift from Gregorie's widow, Evie.

The first car was ordered dismantled. A document dated October 9, 1939, gives the reason for dismantling prototype No. 1 as being "of no further use." Rumors have circulated for years a third prototype was built, intended for Benson and Henry II, but they're just that--rumors.

Gregorie drove the second car until 1941, when he sold it for $800. By that time, he had modified it so heavily that the car could hardly be recognized. Sometime during World War II, the Lincoln made its way to southern California. There, the car was used to drive clients of an aircraft company to meetings. Later, a firefighter bought it and, while building a house in Woodland Hills, he reportedly jammed building materials into the one-of-a-kind car.

In 1952, the car was sold for $125 to Ralph Ball of Tarzana, California. Unfortunately, in 1956, another car plowed into the Lincoln, heavily damaging the car's left side and putting Ralph into a wheelchair temporarily; he then put the car in storage.

In 1959, Lincoln and Continental enthusiasts heard about the car and tried to buy it for a club restoration project that did not materialize. However, Lincoln and Continental Owner's Club member Jesse Haines was eventually able to buy the car and had it shipped to Ambler, Pennsylvania, in April 1963. He began a restoration, but never completed the project. Around 1972, Bob, the current owner, began hounding Jesse to sell the car and, in 1977, succeeded in his quest. He brought the car home to Houtzdale in what he described as "derelict" condition.

Bob, a lifelong Ford and Lincoln enthusiast, had other priorities and put the prototype Lincoln into storage until 1999, when its restoration began in earnest. Bob spent years sourcing Lincoln N.O.S. parts, and so had many at his disposal. "The car had had a V-8 installed while it was in California. It was missing an engine and transmission when I got it, but I had a V-12 and transmission, so it worked out."

The elder Anderson does not profess to be a mechanic by any means, but dove right into the project anyway. He and his sons, Todd and Bob Jr., did much of the work themselves, including rebuilding the V-12. They lavished attention on every detail--even polishing the aluminum cylinder heads.

There was no air cleaner on the prototype, which meant unusually high under-hood temperatures. To alleviate this problem, Gregorie had ordered extensive amounts of lead be put into the hood--today, Bob needs to use a prop rod to keep the hood open due to the weight. Bob Jr. had to fabricate an air cleaner, because the one normally found atop a 1939 Zephyr V-12 wouldn't work; since the hood and cowl of the Continental prototype were lowered considerably, the taller Zephyr air cleaner wouldn't fit.

Another problem facing Bob during the restoration was that the doors' latch parts conflicted with the window mechanisms. No one knows if they ever successfully worked together on the prototype. Without answers, the Andersons re-engineered the parts to make them mesh. That issue solved, another problem reared its ugly head--when the top was down and the door glass raised, it is impossible to close a door without breaking a window channel, because there's nothing to support the heavy glass at the top when the door hit the jamb. On production Continentals, a rigid bar separating the vent window from the side glass includes a deep channel that eliminated this problem. Unfortunately, the Andersons haven't been able to engineer a comparable solution for the prototype; Bob says they just make sure to roll down the windows when the top is down.

After finishing the car, Bob wanted to ensure that the engine was properly broken in. He rented out Clearfield (Pennsylvania) Speedway, which was then paved, and put 75 miles on the car riding around the 5/8-mile track. Bob says he doesn't drive the car much today, as most of the streets around his town are in terrible condition.

We recently had the pleasure of viewing this piece of history on a sunny day in this central Pennsylvania town. The ride was quite comfortable and extremely quiet, thanks to the V-12. During our photography session with this one-of-one, Bob mentioned a leather-wrapped steel tube "X" brace under the dash. "Gregorie had driven the car to New York once and felt vibrations so bad, he stopped at a lumber yard, bought some 2x4s and built a temporary brace. When he returned to Michigan, he had a brace made and welded in under the dash to keep the body from twisting," Bob said. The only brace ever made remains in the car today.

The Andersons' restoration efforts paid off and, when the car was first shown at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in March 2002, it wowed the crowd and won First in Class. During that trip, Bob arranged to meet with Gregorie, who had not seen the car in 60 years. The 94-year-old designer reminisced about the car he designed during a ride. "He was thrilled to get a ride in the car with me and he was like a kid at Christmas. His eyes lit up and it certainly was a thrill for me," Bob says. "It was great for both of us. To get a chance to meet the designer of the prototype and give him a ride was absolutely great." Gregorie died nine months later, on December 1, 2002, but his legacy lives on in the generations of Lincoln Continentals derived from his original design.

The last picture is Bob Gregorie

 

Mac-de-Yankee, I imagine SunRoofCord would agree, as I do. Edsel Byron Ford did more than just push ol' Henry off the fence of incalcitrance. In the '30s, he ALSO invigorated moribund Lincon with the fab, trend-setting Zephyrs (leading, of course, to the Continental). Too bad the '56 Mark II couldn't have been sub-named "Edsel Edition," instead of the ill-fated, mismanaged debacle the Ford Edsel turned out to be.

Edsel Ford had vision -- AND a love of car styling, not only mechanicals! For my money, Gregoire's Model 40 Speedster is as mean-looking as anything made in the '30s by an American or European company.

 

Okay, let's get serious now. Guys, what say, I go over and ask HAMBer James D to PhotoShop this baby?

 

The original 1939 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet - Prototype and a 1940 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet

 

Prototype of the Continental Mark II In front of the Continental Division plant.

 

Jimmy, don't you think the Zephyr and semi-secret Continental development REALLY underscore a point several people have emphasized on this thread: THAT DESPITE THE AWFUL DEPRESSION, DESIGN AND MECHANICAL INNOVATION BRAVELY REMAINED IN HIGH GEAR DURING THE '30s!!!

 

Birth of the Lincoln Continental Mark II

The Lincoln Continental Mark II is one of the most fascinating stories in the history of automobile production. It was supposed to establish Dearborn's dominance at the top of the market -- which it did -- but it was somehow supposed to make money -- which it couldn't. Here's the intriguing story behind the revival of a grand idea that proved too grand even for the 1950s.


The Lincoln Continental Mark II had a short, brilliant, doomed existence.

Great cars are never forgotten, and the original Lincoln Continental is one of them. In the early 1950s, memories of that timeless 1940-1941 design prompted dealers and would-be owners to ask Ford Motor Company for a successor, the first new Continental since the last of the postwar continuations was built in 1948. The result was the unforgettable Lincoln Continental 1956-1957 Mark II.

Riddles and myths about the end of the first-series Continental persist to this day, but several facts are indisputable. First, a second-generation model was included in Ford's postwar plans as late as early 1947, conceived for a 132-inch wheelbase to be shared with a new limousine at the top of the Lincoln line.

Second, those plans were drastically changed -- almost at the 11th hour -- by Ernest R. Breech, second in command to newly named company president Henry Ford II.

Economics was the reason. Ford Motor Company was in dire financial straits by the late-1940s, and cost-cutting was imperative for survival. The Continental was a natural target. It was not only expensive and thus had limited sales potential, it was old.

Though running gear had been improved over the years, its basic design still hearkened back to the V-12 Zephyr of the 1930s. Worse, the gorgeous original styling, executed by Eugene T. "Bob" Gregorie, had suffered from a 1942 facelift, which continued after the war.

But the main reason the Continental died after 1948 was that there was no one left to sponsor it. Its creator, former company president Edsel Ford, died in May 1943, precipitating a leadership crisis that only aggravated his firm's financial plight.

Despite the chaotic atmosphere of the early war years, he hand-worked with Gregorie and others on ideas for the firm's first new postwar designs. But if Edsel had any particular visions about a second-generation Continental, he carried them to his grave. His death left a vacuum that the Mark II would soon fill.

In the vacuum left by Edsel Ford's death, designers were left to ponder a possible successor -- the eventual Lincoln Continental Mark II -- bearing the "bathtub" shape that had emerged from wartime studies as management's favorite for the 1949 Lincoln and Mercury.

Stylist Bill Schmidt sketched one Continental in 1945 that looked like a mid-1950s Nash from the front and a 1948 Continental from the rear. Doors were cut down in a fashion predictive of the later Nash Metropolitan.
Other proposals envisioned the trademark closed rear roof quarters and external spare tire, but these classic elements clashed with the bathtub form like thunder and lightning.

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The Lincoln Continental Mark II was developed at Ford's Special Products Division.

</center></td></tr></tbody></table>Had things gone differently, the second-generation Continental would have appeared as part of a completely redesigned Ford Motor Company fleet for 1949. The reason it didn't was explained in 1955 by Walt Woron of Motor Trend magazine:

"It wasn't long after the last Lincoln Continental had rolled off the assembly line that rumblings were heard about a rebirth of this all-time beauty . . . After much diligent checking, I found out that they did build an abortive version of the 1949 Lincoln. It was rumored that this would be the new Continental. It bore some resemblance to the earlier car . . . but it was much too cumbersome and awkward-looking to meet with approval."

Former Ford stylist Robert Thomas recalls another ill-fated attempt. In 1947, George Snyder came over from General Motors to be co-director of Ford Styling and wanted to make his mark. Under his direction, a new Continental was mocked up as a full-size clay, with very advanced styling that was nothing at all like that of the eventual 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan.

Thomas had done something similar in 3/8 scale at GM, so creating it again was "a piece of cake." As he recalls: "Snyder decided on a convertible . . . so that both the exterior and interior could be modeled in clay and the top could be made separately to be set off to show the convertible as it would look with the top up or down. The finished model was beautiful. Both the exterior and interior were painted, and the hardware was made of aluminum. The model was so realistic that Ernie Breech grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door.

"But it was doomed, he says, probably because it was too "far out." More to the point, Ford simply couldn't afford a low-volume luxury liner that would return only marginal profits at best. Thomas left for Nash in 1950.

The clay he remembers may have influenced the experimental Continental-X, first shown in early 1952. A running prototype with aluminum bodywork on a 123-inch wheelbase, this five-passenger, two-door hardtop bore futuristic lines created by staff designers Elwood Engel and Joe Oros.

Among its many novel features was a "rain-cell" roof over the driver's compartment, a panel that closed automatically at the first sign of moisture. As the first of Dearborn's famous 1950s showmobiles, it was a real pacesetter, and was subsequently renamed Lincoln XL-100 and, later, Ford X-100.

More significantly, it prompted a new two-pronged corporate styling program. One path led to the firm's more radical production designs of the period, such as the 1957 Mercury, while the other led to a new Continental, intended to run against then-current trends by reviving "classic era" styling themes. This second path led to the birth of the Lincoln Continental Mark II.

 

Early Lincoln Continental Mark II Development

The impetus for what came to be the Lincoln Continental Mark II was the Ford family's deep-seated desire to revive the spirit of the original Continental in the modern idiom, thus establishing a new tradition of excellence. Pride also played a part.

After a long period of design stagnation, executive upheavals, and eroding sales, Ford Motor Company had made a spectacular turnaround with its well-received 1949 products. The entire fleet was again completely overhauled for 1952, when the firm regained its rank as the industry's number-two producer from a faltering Chrysler Corporation.

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This Lincoln Continental Mark II clay model shows the basic shape of the eventual car.

</center></td></tr></tbody></table>With profits higher than at any time since the war -- and with the company's Golden Anniversary coming up in 1953 -- it seemed like a good time to celebrate with a super-luxury model aimed at establishing Dearborn's dominance at the very top of the market -- higher, even, than Cadillac.

In early 1952, Ford brass formed a committee headed by long-time sales executive John R. Davis to investigate possibilities for future model expansion. The group returned in June with two recommendations: a brace of medium-price products to supplement Mercury (which culminated in the 1958 Ford- and Mercury-based Edsels) and a very high-priced luxury car.
To handle the latter, a new team called Special Product Operations was set up. This was later renamed Special Products Division, then Continental Division in 1955.

From the outset, Special Products was completely divorced from Lincoln-Mercury, so it couldn't borrow any of that division's talent. Accordingly, John Reinhart, veteran designer with GM, Packard, and the Raymond Loewy studios, was brought in to head styling, and Bob Thomas and Ray Smith were recruited from Nash-Kelvinator to work directly under him.

Reinhart's engineering counterpart was young Harley Copp. Harold Johnson was named chief chassis engineer, while Gordon Beuhrig, renowned for the striking 1936-1937 Cord 810/812, became chief body engineer. Overseeing all was William Clay Ford, the youngest of Edsel's three sons and brother of the company president.

The brief for Special Products was simple but daunting: Create the most luxurious, carefully crafted production car in the land -- literally an American Rolls-Royce. Retail price was projected at a formidable $7,500-$8,000; it ultimately worked out to near $10,000.

At that level, the new Continental would cost more than twice as much as a contemporary Lincoln, which meant that it couldn't be simply an updated version of the last 1948 model.

Ford's aim was a modern car with the quiet elegance and quality construction of the great 1930s classics. Originally, the firm didn't see it as a profit-maker so much as a prestige flagship, which explains why the project was approved despite an estimated annual loss of $1.6 million, based on 1,600 sales per year over a three-year period.

Harley Copp underscored this intent in a 1956 address to the Society of Automotive Engineers: "The Continental does not have the most chrome, the most horsepower, or the greatest size. [Instead, it emphasizes] elegance, and not only the elegance of appearance. Certainly, an essential requirement of elegance is enduring value. Rhinestones are no substitute for diamonds."

This would prove to be the guiding wisdom behind the development of the Lincoln Continental Mark II.

 

Early Lincoln Continental Mark II Design

Initial Lincoln Continental Mark II styling proposals picked up where the old Continental left off. But they failed to impress Henry Ford II, so four outside design teams were called in to compete with Reinhart's group, the same sort of situation that surrounded development of the 1949 Ford.

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The Lincoln Continental Mark II driveline and unique cow-belly frame were tested in a fleet of 1953 Lincolns.

</center></td></tr></tbody></table>Special Products now submitted three new proposals: a pair of 1948 updates and an entirely new, but conservative, concept labeled "Modern Formal." From George Walker's staff at Ford Styling came a Kaiser-like design, a mid-1950s interpretation of the 1948, and a third concept recalling the first Continental.

Walter Buell Ford (no relation to the Ford family) offered a pair of more radical designs, Vince Gardner stayed pretty close to original Continental themes, and the team of Reese Miller and A. B. "Buzz" Grisinger showed several, more contemporary ideas.

Each consultant prepared five views, all rendered in Bill Ford's favorite color, Honolulu Blue. None were signed. Interestingly, the company's Executive Committee was unmoved by any of the throwback or 1950s approaches, but it immediately went for Reinhart's "Modern Formal." The Lincoln Continental Mark II had been born.

This design "religion" was quickly translated into a 3/8-scale clay model, followed by a full-size clay approved in June 1953. Introduction was tentatively scheduled for 1956.

Meantime, Buehrig ordered six running "mules" for testing the new car's frame, suspension, and running gear. They were cobbled up with channeled 1953 Lincoln bodies by the Hess & Eisenhardt coachworks of Cincinnati, five hardtops and a convertible.

Despite the initial cost-no-object decree, budget considerations precluded drivetrain components unique to the Lincoln Continental Mark II. Continental historian Bob Davis notes that an all-new V-12 was briefly considered to maintain a link with the 1940s original, but production economics dictated the use of Lincoln hardware. And that was fine, because Lincoln was being completely made over for 1956.

Included was a new 368-cubic-inch V-8 developing 285 horsepower at 4,600 rpm, Lincoln's most powerful engine ever. It was the logical choice for the new Continental, along with Lincoln's new Turbo-Drive automatic, introduced for 1955.

From an appearance standpoint, the Lincoln Continental Mark II engine differed from its Lincoln twin only in paint color, oil pan, and cast-aluminum instead of steel valve covers. Production was another matter.

Mark II drivetrain components were machined to higher tolerances than the Lincoln's. Every engine was dynamometer tested, then partially disassembled for inspection, and transmissions were checked in another vehicle before being approved for installation. Rear axle and differential were basically stock 1956 Lincoln.

Though the Mark II rode the same 126-inch wheelbase as the 1956 Lincoln, its chassis was entirely different. Since the Continental's overall height could not exceed 58 inches (versus the Lincoln's 61.2), Copp and Johnson developed a unique "cowbelly" frame. This referred to side rails that dipped low between the axles, so that the floorpan sat nearer the bottom of the frame than the top.

The result was a recessed passenger compartment floor like that of the Step-down Hudsons, which permitted comfortably upright seating without a high roofline. A similar approach was taken with the 1957 Ford, but it wasn't until 1965 that the company took full advantage of the Mark II's superior "perimeter" design.

 

1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II Design

<!-- dtl_id=466487 //--> The 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II was unique in its innovative design. Structurally, the Lincoln Continental Mark II chassis combined ladder-type and Y-shape cross-bracing, which made it 30 percent stronger and much more rigid than Lincoln's 1952-1955 X-member frame.

Because the "cowbelly" design meant a relatively higher transmission hump, a special three-joint driveshaft was developed to minimize intrusion.

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The Lincoln Continental Mark II was offered with limited options.

</center></td></tr></tbody></table>The low-profile chassis also dictated some suspension differences compared to the 1956 Lincoln, but geometry was the same: coil springs and control arms in front, longitudinal leaf springs at the rear.

Exclusive to the Mark II were special temperature-sensitive shock absorbers, for a smoother ride. Each finished chassis was dynamometer tested and tuned before its body was added. Wheel alignment was held to super-fine tolerances, and wheels, tires, and the power-assisted drum brakes were all carefully balanced.

Attention to detail quality was evident in every phase of Lincoln Continental Mark II assembly. Consider the care involved with just the painting. First, the supporting structure and all body panels were fitted on a simulated chassis, then removed. After the body was surface-sealed, a primer coat was applied, water-sanded by hand, then baked.

Next came a surfacer coat with another hand sanding and baking, followed by two lacquer color coats that were oil-sanded by hand, then baked. Finally, two more lacquer coats were applied and baked, followed by a thorough hand-buffing and polishing.

Similar care was lavished in places where most customers would never think to look. Chrome plating exceeded SAE specification by a factor of three. Nuts and bolts were near-aircraft quality, and some were chromed.

Door end panels and door jambs were plated in hard chrome and screwed into place, and chrome was used even on stainless-steel trim. The Mark II was chromed where it counted, not necessarily where it showed.

This obsession with perfection partly explains why the Mark II was offered in just a single body style, a hardtop coupe, and with only one driveline. Buyers had a wide choice of exterior colors, but there were no pinks, aquamarines, or other shocking 1950s favorites. There were no two-tones, either, and they would have been out of place anyway.

From any angle, the Mark II was exceptionally elegant for this flamboyant era: clean, dignified without being stuffy and, most important, thoroughly evocative of its 1940-1941 ancestor.

Though its long-hood/short-deck proportions weren't as pronounced, it did have the same sort of close-coupled appearance. And it maintained tradition with a trunk-lid styled to resemble the familiar "continental" spare tire.

 

1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II Debut

The 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II debuted amongst much fanfare. For starters, Ford staged a series of private showings of the Lincoln Continental Mark II in major U.S. cities, all strictly invitation-only.

Bill Ford was usually on hand to greet the guests, most of whom were industrialists, politicians, and celebrities. Typically, a Mark II was the centerpiece, revolving slowly on a spotlighted turntable while pianist George Feyer played "The Continental" and other 1930s tunes.

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The 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II debuted to critical and consumer acclaim.

</center></td></tr></tbody></table>A special introductory commercial aired on the The Ed Sullivan Show, then sponsored by Lincoln-Mercury, and Continental Division managed to strong-arm Ed into letting Feyer play "The Continental" on his show. The pianist got all of two minutes. Evidently, "The Host of the Toast" wasn't impressed by Feyer or the Mark II. He reportedly drove a 1956 Lincoln Premiere. So did Walt Disney.

Nevertheless, there was no shortage of famous names on the Lincoln Continental Mark II owner list. Included were future New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, Milton Eisenhower (brother of the U.S. president), Barry Goldwater, and the Shah of Iran.

From Hollywood: singers Frank Sinatra and Louis Prima, actors Walter Brennan and Stuard Granger, and movie moguls Cecil B. DeMille, Darryl F. Zanuck, Mike Todd, and Jack Warner.

Tobacco baron R. J. Reynolds and Nevada hotelier Bill Harrah were also included, as was shipbuilding tycoon and erstwhile automaker Henry J. Kaiser.

You really had to be rich and famous to own a Mark II, because its suggested $10,000 retail price was simply simply stratospheric for the mid-1950s. Actually, most went out the door for about $8,500, and a short-lived rumor that Ford would sell only to blue-bloods was just a public relations ploy.

Whatever your station, you got a fully equipped car, which was only right. The only major extra was air conditioning, and about 75 percent of all Mark IIs were so equipped.

Minor accessories for 1957 were limited to automatic headlamp dimmer and Ford's "Lifeguard" seatbelts, dished steering wheel, and padded dash and sun-visors.

The Mark II may have cost twice as much as a Lincoln Premiere hardtop, but it was not exactly twice the car. It was more carefully crafted, to be sure, and it handled a little better -- but then the 1956 Lincoln was an exceptional handler for its size, and Mark II brakes were characteristically weak.

This would play a role in the eventually disappointing overall sales of the 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II.

 

1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II Sales

The 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II had debuted to popular acclaim and earned some glowing reviews from the critics as well.

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The Lincoln Continental Mark II's astronomical price damaged its sales.

</center></td></tr></tbody></table>Motor Trend magazine's Walt Woron had these observations about the Lincoln Continental Mark II: "It's with considerable pleasure that you get the feeling of being part of the car, even though the hood is long (which could give you a detached feeling).

"You're close to the windshield. Vision forward . . . is exceptionally good because of the combination of the wraparound windshield and extremely narrow (1 1/2-inch) post. You can see the ground just a few feet in front of the bumper, even with the seat in its full down position and despite the expanse of metal up front.

"Once you're out on the street, you're amazed at the quietness with which your Continental rolls along. Even when you really tromp down on the throttle and surge forward, you don't hear a mechanical clattering. You note with satisfaction that acceleration is plenty good from a stoplight or on the highway (around 11 or 12 seconds from 0 to 60, for instance). As you take your first few corners you feel confident that, if need be, you could drive this car hard."

Veteran tester Floyd Clymer drove a Continental 817 miles for Popular Mechanics. And he did drive it hard: up to 118 mph on a dry lake and under every kind of road and weather condition.

He reported that the car's "handling qualities are a combination of those found in sports, foreign, and conventional U. S. cars. It has the road 'feel' of the semi-sports car and handles not entirely unlike the Thunderbird, although it has softer front springing, which the average U.S. buyer wants in a stock car."

The Mark II got off to a dynamite sales start, and most of the "beautiful people" bought early. Some 1,300 orders were taken during the last three months of 1955, and 1,261 cars were produced before the end of the calendar year.

But sales began to fizzle in January 1956 and continued downward, with 1,307 units built for the 12 months. Production continued into 1957 and another 672 examples before the model was discontinued in May. (These figures are based on serial number spans. Some sources list model year production at only 1,325 for 1956 and just 444 of the 1957s.)

 

here youn got a Franklin from 1925


Bantam Roadster:
both in a local museum by Molde,Norway

A Avanti 1964 in my neighborhood:

A INDIANA truck , used by a local electric company years ago:

Sudebaker bus 1928


1939 Chevy Bus, body by local bodyshop still in work, but the bus is long gone..


1918 Rex Simplex. the first local closed bus w/roof

 

Cool Stuff you posted leaded. Do you know anything about Amelia Earharts Cord cars???? Her L29 is supposed to be in a museum some where in Norway.

 

I am a big Amelia Earhart fan and, in 1937, the world was still a big one and, still, a very, very dangerous place. Amelia, nevertheless, was as ballsy as Howard Hughes -- maybe, MORE so! She may have risked her very life -- and lost, apparently -- but the one thing that's sure from this photo is that Amelia had TASTE!!!

<INPUT title="Amelia Earhart standing in front of her new yellow Cord car" type=image alt="Amelia Earhart standing in front of her new yellow Cord car" src="http://e-archives.lib.purdue.edu/cgi-bin/getimage.exe?CISOROOT=/earhart&CISOPTR=912&DMSCALE=10.81861&DMWIDTH=600&DMHEIGHT=600&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=%20airplane&REC=20&DMTHUMB=1&DMROTATE=0" border=0>

For those who don't know, the Lockheed Electra was burnished aluminum, and the Cord was yellow.

 

<H1>The Stupidest Business Decisions in History</H1>By Alex in Bathroom Reader on Apr 15, 2008 at 1:01 am


Model T is Forever!

SHOULD WE INTRODUCE A NEW CAR?

Ford Model T (Photo: State Library of Victoria)​

Executive: Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
Background: When Henry Ford first marketed the Model
T in 1908, it was a state-of-the-art automobile. "There were cheaper cars on the market," writes Robert Lacey in Ford: The Men and Their Machine, "but no one could offer the same combination of innovation and reliability." Over the years, the price went down dramatically &#8230; and as the first truly affordable quality automobile, the Model T revolutionized American culture.
Decision: The Model T was the only car that the Ford Motor Co. made. As the auto industry grew and competition got stiffer, everyone in the company &#8211; from Ford&#8217;s employees to his family &#8211; pushed him to update the design. Lacey writes:

The first serious suggestions that the Model T might benefit from some major updating had been made when the car was only four years old. In 1912 Henry Ford had taken [his family] on their first visit to Europe, and on his return he discovered that his [chief aides] had prepared a surprise for him. [They] had labored to produce a new, low-slung version of the Model T, and the prototype stood in the middle of the factory floor, its gleaming red lacquer-work polished to a high sheen.
"He had his hands in his pockets," remembered one eyewitness, "and he walked around the car three or four times, looking at it very closely &#8230; Finally, he got to the left-hand side of the car that was facing me, and he takes his hands out, gets hold of the door, and bang! He ripped the door right off! God! How the man done it, I don&#8217;t know!"
​

Ford proceeded to destroy the whole car with his bare hands. It was a message to everyone around him not to mess with his prize creation. Lacey concludes: "The Model T had been the making of Henry Ford, lifting him from being any other Detroit automobile maker to becoming car maker to the world. It had yielded him untold riches and power and pleasure, and it was scarcely surprising that he should feel attached to it. But as the years went by, it became clear that Henry Ford had developed a fixation with his masterpiece which was almost unhealthy."
Ford had made his choice clear. In 1925, after more than 15 years on the market, the Model T was pretty much the same car it had been when it debuted. It still had the same noisy, underpowered four-cylinder engine, obsolete "planetary" transmission, and horse-buggy suspension that it had in the very beginning. Sure, Ford made a few concessions to the changing times, such as balloon tires, an electric starter, and a gas pedal on the floor. And by the early 1920s, the Model T was available in a variety of colors beyond Ford black. But the Model T was still &#8230; a Model T. "You can paint up a barn," one hurting New York Ford dealer complained, "but it will still be a barn and not a parlor."
Impact: While Ford rested on his laurels for a decade and a half, his competitors continued to innovate. Four-cylinder engines gave way to more powerful six-cylinder engines with manual clutch-and-gearshift transmissions. These new cars were powerful enough to travel at high speeds made possible by the country&#8217;s new paved highways. Ford&#8217;s "Tin Lizzie," designed in an era of dirt roads, was not.
Automobile buyers took notice and began trading up; Ford&#8217;s market share slid to 57% of U.S. automobile sales in 1923 down to 45% in 1925, and to 34% in 1926, as companies like Dodge and General Motors steadily gained ground. By the time Ford finally announced, that a replacement for the Model T was in the works in May 1927, the company had already lost the battle. That year, Chevrolet sold more cars than Ford for the first time. Ford regained first place in 1929 thanks to strong sales of its new Model A, but Chevrolet passed it again the following year and never looked back. "From 1930 onwards," Robert Lacey writes, "the once-proud Ford Motor Company had to be content with second place."

 

Take off the fairings over the frame rails, headlights, lower grill, and cycle fenders, and put expanded metal in the grill, what do you get?

A 1933 Ford V8 Indy Car


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<CENTER itxtvisited="1">1933 Ford V8 Indy Car


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If you look close at the following I think you will find another replica and it is right here in Ohio too. When I was a boy around 7 or 8 years old I met Ernest Warther there in Dover, Ohio



Six of the pieces from the history of the steam engine include Isacc Newton's proposed locomotive in the upper left down to the whirling Aeolipile from Greece in the first century AD. In the center of the top row is Hero's engine from Alexandria, Egypt in 250 BC.<!--mstheme-->

 

Factory-Built Miniature Car<!--mstheme-->






This miniature 1/2 scale Bugatti Type 52 was actually built at the factory and powered by an electric motor. It was designed for children from ages 5 to 8. The original "baby" Type 52 was built for Ettore Bugatti's second son, Roland and was shown at the 1927 Milan Automobile show. The wheelbase of the model is about 1.3 meters. The seat is leather and the bonnet and spare tire are held down with leather straps like the full-size car. Only about 250 of the full-size Type 52 Bugattis were built. It is said that the miniatures were quite popular and about 150 were built between 1927 and 1930, but numbers vary depending on who you ask. Original's are much sought-after collectibles, and a company in Argentina called Pur Sang now offers hand crafted aluminum reproduction versions. <!--mstheme-->

 

The 1/4 scale 1906 REO





An old promotional photo of the "Mama" and "Baby" REO with people appropriately sized for each. (Photo: RE Olds Transportation Museum)
The second photo shows the car at a concours in San Diego's Seaport Village in 1987. The car was then owned by auto designer Dick Teague.

Making this model unique is the fact that it is complete with a running engine. In 1906, it was the first running miniature car. Details can be seen here with the bodywork removed. (Photos: RE Olds Transportation Museum)

The dash and steering featured all of the original gauges and even a small bulb horn. (Photo: RE Olds Transportation Museum)


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In 2008 the famous pair of display cars were reunitied under the ownership of the relatives of the company's founder, Ransom Eli Olds. Seen here are Mr. Olds' great grand-daughter Debbie (Anderson) Stephens and her husband Peter. After over 100 years of traveling, the car is finally back in Lansing, Michigan. (Photo: RE Olds Transportation Museum)<!--mstheme-->

 

I would love to have seen the Model 40 speesdter with a '35 radiator shell, ala the Miller/Ford Indy cars (man did THEY leave a bad taste in Henry's mouth AND pretty much spell the end for Harry Miller... gotta love Preston Tucker for THAT fine mess...)!

 

1919 Spacke Car

​

SPACKE (US) 1919 - 1920
Spacke Machine & Tool Co., Indianapolis, Indiana
Spacke had been manufacturing compressors, engines, transmissions, gears and axles since 1900. Its car, introduced in 1919, was a two-seater runabout featuring a 2-cylinder air-cooled engine, and a round gasoline tank behind the seats. This was moved to the cowl for 1920. In September of that year the company entered voluntary receivership and the name was changed to Brook.

1920 Spacke Car

​

BROOK (US) 1920 - 1921
Spacke Machine & Tool Co., Indianapolis, Indiana
Formerly the Spacke, the Brook was similar to its predecessor excepting the location of the fuel tank which was transferred to the dummy radiator. The company also offered complete cars to manufacturers which did not have their own factories and in this fashion supplied cars to the Peters Motor Corporation of Trenton, NJ which marketed Brook cars with minor body changes under the Peters badge. The name is frequently and erroneously spelled 'Brooke'.