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Would you like to help the Smithsonian with their auto exhibit?


Guest Paul Christ

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Guest Paul Christ

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In the National Museum of American History, there is a cabinet full of keys—keys that fit the 73 cars in the museum’s automobile collection. 14 of these cars are on display, but most are in a Smithsonian building miles away from the National Mall, sitting under car covers. Now the covers are coming off! The public is invited—for the first time ever—to tell the museum which 2 cars should be put on display for a limited time this winter.

Vote for your favorite of 8 automotive jewels in the Smithsonian car collection, covering 120 years of history. The two cars with the most votes will be exhibited January 22 through February 21, 2011.

Long steam tricycle, about 1880

Balzer automobile, 1894

Oldsmobile curved-dash runabout, 1903

Miller race car, 1929

Tucker sedan, 1948

Glasspar sports car, 1953

GM Sunraycer solar car, 1987

EV1 electric car, 1997

Click on the link below to read more;

http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/osaycanyousee/2010/12/race-to-the-museum-vote-for-your-favorite-car.html

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Let's see.....Smithsonian is govt funded....political correctness is all the rage...is there anyone who isn't already convinced that the featured cars will be the electric and the solar? Call me cynical.

Maybe the Tucker to symbolize government sanctioned abuse of the free market through the court system....

Or they can use one of the horseless carriages next to a horse drawn carriage to create another government funded display supporting evolution.

Edited by W_Higgins (see edit history)
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My remark is based on my long term but soon to expire without renewal subscription to Smithsonian magazine. More and more "socially conscious" articles in place of the pure science I enjoy reading. Latest issue has an article "proving" that the US has always been a religiously intolerant nation. Maybe it has and maybe it hasn't but should a museum be editorializing, either in print or by what they choose to exhibit? I'll vote for the cars I would like to see displayed and will appologize if the electric and the solar aren't the "winners". Will the vote totals be made public?

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I don't understand how you vote, or if you can vote many times. The MILLER is the most historic IMO.

Click on the link above, click on the word vote in the screen that comes up, click on the picture of the car you want to vote for, click submit. You voted. It appears you can vote only once. The Miller is leading followed by the Tucker.

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I agree with that. The Smithsonian has transformed itself into an agenda-based institution.
… narrow minds think nothing of importance but their own favorite pursuit, but liberal views exclude no branch of science or literature, for they all contribute to sweeten, to adorn, and to embellish life … science is the pursuit above all which impresses us with the capacity of man for intellectual and moral progress and awakens the human intellect to aspiration for a higher condition of humanity.

--Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute (1846-1878)

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--Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute (1846-1878)

Everyone here already knows that you consider yourself among the self-anointed intelligentsia, you don't have go to out of your way to prove it.

The difference is that agendas are not within the purview of a publicly funded institution. Presenting agendas and presenting facts are two entirely different things.

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The summer of 2000 I learned that Bill Tritt had a daughter living in Monroe County, WV and that Mr. Tritt had moved here to live with her. I invited him to be our guest at a car show we held October 5th at the local school which was grades K-8 and he graciously accepted. He was probably well into his 80's at the time. Of course the kids didn't realize the significance of his work building the first fiberglass car bodies but I enjoyed listening to him speak of his automobile building experiences. In spite of a slight lack of mobility his mind and recollections seemed without fault. I don't know if the gentleman is still living or not but I still have the photo I took of him that day.

Looking back at the photo I took of Mr. Tritt it appears that maybe he was closer to 70 than 80.

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You are assuming that the votes of AACA members will actually determine which cars are shown. Is AACA the only group voting? Is the vote binding or is it like the voting on Dancing With The Stars? I think the Smithsonian would likely stimulate the most traffic thru their halls by exhibiting the Miller and the Tucker. I spent many a day as a school kid wandering the halls of the Smithsonian and wife and I are anxiously awaiting the coming of age of our grandkids so we can show them some of the delights housed there. I will gladly apologize if need be. It's sad that we are even having this conversation. Even National Geographic seems to have become more and more agenda based over the years.

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The difference is that agendas are not within the purview of a publicly funded institution. Presenting agendas and presenting facts are two entirely different things.

Actually the point of the 18th Century quote (from the guy who first ran the place for 32 years) is that the Institution hasn't changed at all, we have. Being spoiled in the contentment that we already know everything that's good and bad about ourselves, and don't need to grow or hear otherwise, is very much a 21st Century condition.

That is "the difference".

Now you can go back to blaming me and/or the Smithsonian for that, as I'm sure the next "automotive" posts will. :rolleyes: (Sorry MochetVelo!:))

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In case anyone cares about the actual exhibit, I visited it in January 2004 1 month after it opened. It is awesome.

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Edited by Dave@Moon
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Actually the point of the 18th Century quote (from the guy who first ran the place for 32 years) is that the Institution hasn't changed at all, we have. Being spoiled in the contentment that we already know everything that's good and bad about ourselves, and don't need to grow or hear otherwise, is very much a 21st Century condition.

That is "the difference".

Now you can go back to blaming me and/or the Smithsonian for that, as I'm sure the next "automotive" posts will. :rolleyes: (Sorry MochetVelo!:))

Well, it's a 19th century quote, and I don't interpret agenda from it. Agendas are pressing forward ones own case to obtain a desired goal. If they want to present facts and let people make up their minds by thinking for themselves, that's quite alright, but their recent history is such that they've proven their penchant for promoting agendas.

People such as yourself with an agenda like to force your opinions to be heard because when people are free to hear untainted facts and draw a conclusion that differs from your view of reality, you're insecure with the idea that your judgment is called into question.

It's the General Discussion area, by the way, and the topic is the Smithsonian. Plenty of other non-"car" discussions have taken place here before.

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