MetaFilter posts tagged with automobiles

gravity

plexi — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:25:55 -0800

Saturn is no more. "Other industries could learn from the Saturn Corporation. Certainly GM is taking what they have learned from their Saturn investment and incorporating it into their existing plants and facilities where practical. It will not be an overnight experience. Like Saturn, it will take time, investment and a strong commitment to regain the role of world leader in the automobile industry."

FoMoCo's Early Years

Turkey Glue — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:23:49 -0800

On October 1, 1908, the first Ford Model T rolled out of the factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit. Many people today wonder why Henry Ford started his nomenclature with the letter "T." Short answer: He didn't. Long answer: He developed and sold 8 models under the Ford name before the Model T. (Note: Henry's first automobile, built independently in 1896, was dubbed the Quadricycle, which was one of the first cars on the streets of Detroit. He sold this for $200, bought it back for $65, and it is now on display at the Henry Ford Museum.) The first car produced by the Ford Motor Company was the 1903 Model A. (No, not that Model A; that came in 1927.) Sold for $750 (with an optional rear seat for an extra $100,) the car had a 2 cylinder, 8 horsepower motor located under the front seat (the notch for the engine crank is noticeable in this picture) that could push the car to 30 miles per hour. Only 1750 of these were built, and obviously, very few survive to this day. (As a matter of fact, one was sold at auction for $630,000 in 2007.) The Model A was a success, which was fortunate, as Mr. Ford had spent all but $228 of his original $28,000 investment. This led to the Model C, basically a modified Model A. First produced in late 1904, the C had a longer wheelbase, a 10 horsepower motor, as well as an ornamental hood, which held the fuel tank. Also notable is that the Model C is the first Ford to be built in Canada. Ford's Model F, also introduced in late 1904, also shared many similarities with the A & C. The Model F had a longer wheelbase than both cars, a larger (12hp) engine, and it represented a mid-size addition to the Ford product line. Only 1000 were built, and not much information is available about this model, though it seems to be represented as at least a modest success. Not all early Fords were as popular or profitable as the A, C, and F, however. Alexander Malcomson, who owned an equal share of the Ford Motor Company, urged Henry Ford to build large luxury cars, hopefully to reap their large profit margins. Thus, the Model B was born. The B was the first Ford to have a front-mounted, 4-cylinder engine. Despite all its modern mechanics, Ford couldn't convince many people to ante up the $2000 price tag (roughly $50,000 today,) and only 600 were built. There remain only 2 Model Bs in running condition today. Following in the B's footsteps came the Model K, whose 6-cylinder, 40 horsepower engine could power the car to a terrifying 60 miles per hour. The K was billed as a steady, powerful, and luxurious automobile, but in reality, the cars were unreliable and ungodly expensive ($2500-3000 in 1906.) Only 900 were built, and less than 10 are known to exist. The lack of success of the B & K allowed Henry Ford to buy out Malcomson's share of the company (recounted by Malcomson's wife at the bottom of this page,) which left him free to produce the small, durable, cheap automobiles he dreamed of making. Thus, Ford's first smash hit was born: the Model N. The N wasn't much more than a covered engine on wheels, which led to its low selling price of $500. The Model R and Model S were variants of the N, and together, they made Ford the world's largest automobile manufacturer in 1908. So, while these early Ford variants are not well-known (only ~18,000 total pre-T Fords were produced,) they provided the foundation and direction that allowed Henry Ford to dominate the world's automobile market for the next 19 years. (Previously, sort of.)

My New Nano Won't Charge On My MacBook Pro.

Xurando — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:18:11 -0800

Today marks the launch of the Tata Nano. Some see this car as the next Ipod. Some have grave environmental concerns. (previously)

For all your infrastructure news needs

Horace Rumpole — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:34:20 -0800

Infrastructurist. Although the blog is only a few days old, they've already debunked some of the myths of 24, interviewed Michael Dukakis, and grappled with Amtrak economics.

UFO or Solar Car?

mrgrimm — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:09:49 -0800

Marcelo da Luz has been attracting a lot of attention with his snazzy solar car. He's hoping to set a new world record by driving the car from Buffalo, NY, to Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

Model T Body Modification

Knappster — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:50:54 -0800

Ford Model T owners "transformed the cars into tractors, pickup trucks, paddy wagons, mobile lumber mills and power plants for milling grain." Add to this list school bus es, snow mobiles, railway locomotives, firetrucks, and military ambulances. One man turned his into a cottage on wheels "complete with its own sunroom and back porch"; an itinerant minister in the Midwest turned his into a church: "He installed a pint-size organ inside and designed the steeple to fold down so the road-going chapel could be garaged." The production model wasn't built for speed, but modified "Fronty Fords" performed well at Indy. This aeromodded Model T could reach 70 mph with its original engine. And let's not forget the Comedy Ford—a "sawed off bug" that was "funny just to look at."

The Great Automobile Race of 1908

peacay — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:32:08 -0800

On 30th July 1908, after 169 days of competition, the 4-cylinder, 60-horsepower Thomas Flyer, driven by George Schuster from America, crossed the finish line to win the Great 1908 New York-to-Paris Automobile Race. After driving to the West Coast, the vehicles were shipped to Vladivostok from where only three teams managed to continue with the race across Asia and Europe. [I wonder if Time will change their title to 'New York-to-Paris'?] See also: -The Great Auto Race 1908 -The Greatest Auto Race on Earth

chomp

plexi — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:34:01 -0800

A new sort of pop art has sprung up in New Orleans - cars emblazoned with brand names, usually snack foods.

R.I.P. Arizona Parking Solutions

five fresh fish — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:55:21 -0800

R.I.P., Arizona Parking Solutions. Guy parks car without displaying his pass. APS boots car. Guy dollies car into his garage and invites APS to reclaim their boots. Or not; their choice: either way, they can't tow, he won't pay the fine, and he really doesn't need to be driving the car. This catch-22 upsets the owner. And eventually APS goes off the deep end, booting nearly everyone's car in the community. The media becomes involved. And we become witness to a business owner suiciding his own business.

Does the Nucleon come in Cherenkov blue?

cog_nate — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:22:49 -0800

Car of the Future , NOVA's latest episode, is fully online and includes a slew of extras including CC-licensed content, a brief historical overview of "innovative" automobiles, Amory Lovins flogging his Hypercar concept, the Car Talk guys making nuisances of themselves, and much more. (It's no Design for Dreaming, but really, what could be?)

Speed, Style and Beauty: The Ralph Lauren Car Collection

Fuzzy Skinner — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:26:40 -0800

Speed, Style and Beauty: The Ralph Lauren Car Collection photo gallery. More photos here (although some are duplicates). Details of the automobiles at Motor Trend. The cars were the subject of a Boston Museum of Fine Arts exhibition in 2005, and an excellent Discovery Channel documentary last October. If you missed the broadcast, you can buy the book. (There's no DVD that I can find, but watch for a repeat broadcast. Or maybe you can catch it some other way.)

Lee press-on car

XMLicious — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 05:16:25 -0800

The Tata Nano (pic) is a car that costs less new than the amount I've spent on gas during single car trips, recently announced to the auto market in India. The Chery QQ ^, successful , wide ly ex por ted, and recognized as the Hostage Taker's Vehicle of Choice by China Car Times, is the runner-up for the world's cheapest car but is still approximately twice as expensive. Yes indeed, the price of gas is not going to come back down. So much for my coast-to-coast road trips. Forbes magazine's The World's Cheapest Cars (javascript slideshow)

Action painting

ardgedee — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:18:19 -0800

How to Paint a Picture With a Car (Bandwidth-saving Youtube version) Transcript. Selected works of other car-painters. Explanatory nomenclature. Other works.

Adding up US subsidies for auto travel with and without the costs of war

salvia — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:02:34 -0800

In the U.S., motorists do not pay their way. The US government spends more on highways and other auto-related expenses than it receives from auto-related taxes, unlike almost every country in Europe. In a recent report [pdf], Mark Delucchi calculates automobile-related costs and revenues in three different ways and concludes the subsidy is around 20-70 cents per gallon or $24-105 billion in 2002. But what are automobile-related costs, you ask? Largely tucked away in footnotes and background papers [pdf] are his careful considerations about which expenditures to include and what portion of costs relate directly to automobile oil use, for everything from the highway patrol, to fighting brushfires, to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to military activity in the Middle East. Don't miss Report #15, in which Delucchi and coauthor James Murphy seek to calculate: “If the U.S. transportation sector did not use oil, how much would the U.S. federal government reduce its military commitment in the Persian Gulf?” [pdf] (especially Table 15-12, which summarizes much of the paper). [previously] [originally via]

Because buying new is for suckers.

punkfloyd — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 11:06:48 -0800

BeaterReview was formed to help the depreciation-averse enthusiast and automotive bottom-feeder alike find gold in them thar' mountains of rust.

Yasujiro Ozu on trains & automobiles

hama7 — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:57:01 -0800

Yasujiro Ozu on trains & automobiles

$50 Paint Job

Ufez Jones — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:26:15 -0800

$50 Paint Job I figured since the Corvair is not in line to be professionally painted, I'd give it a try.

Now those are some bodacious Tatas.

Afroblanco — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:57:47 -0800

For years, MDI has been developing a car that runs on compressed air. Last month, they signed an agreement with Tata Motors to produce the MiniCat - a zero-emissions vehicle that will travel up to 180 miles on $3 worth of fuel. See it in action here. (youtube)

Going with the flow...

cenoxo — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 01:04:03 -0800

Luigi Colani, Biomorphic Designer — This prolific master of plastic has been creating organically streamlined planes, trains, automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, ships, cities, homes, computers, cameras, televisions, furniture, pianos, ceramics, shoes, eyewear^PDF, pens, airbrushes, and other wonderful stuff (including the kitchen sink) for some 60 years. Wherever you need to g o, you can reach your final destination in Colani style. More designs here, here, here, and here. [Brits and touristas take note: London's Design Museum will host a Colani exhibition, Translating Nature, from March 3 to June 17, 2007. Bibliophiles can check out the book Colani: The Art of Shaping the Future.]

Cars Under Covers

rzklkng — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:53:21 -0800

Broken Embargoes. Given the long amount of preparation required to print an automotive "buff book" (US examples include Car&Driver, Road&Track, Automobile, and MotorTrend), automobile manufacturers customarily provide them with access to concepts and new production vehicles months prior to the "official" public unveiling, requiring them to abide by an embargo on the images and data until a certain date has passed, usually to accomodate a carshow or other media event. In these cases, it was to coincide with the North American International Autoshow (NAIAS, aka Detroit Autoshow, 1/13-1/21), with the embargo lifted with either 1/7/2007 online publication or February print issues, which the buff books dropped the last week of a December. As soons as that happened, web outlets like b l o g s and various forums released their embargoed materials for each model. As a result, many manufacturers have had their marketing plans torn assunder (list and more background inside)...

Next up: BME for BMWs?

mr_crash_davis — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 18:31:21 -0800

If you've run out of places to pierce yourself, you can now pierce your car.

Microcar Photos

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 14:44:38 -0800

Microcars are cool. (Earlier microcar post )

These kids and their crazy cars

mr_crash_davis — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:19:32 -0800

Donk, box, or bubble?

Speed kills saves

caddis — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 11:00:01 -0800

Safe at Any Speed With higher speed limits, our highways have been getting safer.

China follows a familiar road

Tlogmer — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 16:15:24 -0800

The Great Chinese Road Trip !
Beijing to Three Gorges Dam to Shennong jia to Nanyang etc.