Conclusion about early automobiling in the summer

[padgett]

Key to convertibles in different seasons is "Location is everything".

[60FlatTop]

On 5/29/2016 at 1:59 PM, Restorer32 said:

I would imagine riding behind a horse on a hot day wasn't all that pleasant either. Amish buggies have no a/c but they do have brakes, sometimes drums, sometimes disc.

A couple of years ago my wife and I left the house in my '60 Electra and took a nice leisurely ride from Lake Ontario to Olean on the Pennsylvania border. We used Route 19 and from Olean we cut over to Randolph and caught Route 62 heading north to Buffalo. It was noon, hot, and windows open time when we headed north through the Amish country. Lots of horse drawn traffic, too hot to roll the windows up, and definitely an experience for the Greenies who say the cars are polluters. It may not be the buggy you are riding in, but the one that came before.

 

My house was built in 1853 and has no AC. Some pines and a few Maple trees keep it decent. And I've been in that business all my life. Just got back from lunch at the China Buffet. I have been joking about the Harbor Freight store going in next door. Today they painted the handicapped parking. Wow! I think there are expecting a LOT of return customers.

Bernie

[Rusty_OToole]

21 hours ago, helfen said:

Porsche didn't pirate the body design as much as Ford pirated the design from Chrysler Airflow or some of the aerodynamic designs coming from Tatra or Mercedes of this era. The styling cycle refers to all cars of a particular era. What about the little NSU car that Porsche made the type 12 that was his basis for the beetle.  As far as wheels go, I'm afraid Ford got those wheels from Kelsey Hayes who also made Wheels for GM  and Chrysler and other concerns.

Let's not let this thread get out of control. 

Actually the car was designed by Tom Tjaarda for the Briggs company. Briggs supplied bodies to Ford and others. They made new, experimental cars to drum up business. They had no intention of building cars themselves but hoped to interest car manufacturers. In this case Ford took up the idea and used it as the basis for the Lincoln Zephyr.

 

Porsche made trips to the US in 1933 and 1937 specifically to keep up to date on the newest mass production methods. There is no doubt that he visited the Ford factory and talked with Henry Ford. The VW beetle design we know today came about after one of these trips and was quite different in appearance from anything they made before, and also the wide 5 wheels were adopted at the same time.

 

It's no shame to say VW copied them, car companies copy ideas off each other all the time. Next year Edsel Ford would be asking stylist Bob Gregoire  for a "Continental" style Lincoln Zephyr, in other words a Lincoln with a European look/

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Actually the car was designed by Tom Tjaarda for the Briggs company. Briggs supplied bodies to Ford and others. They made new, experimental cars to drum up business. They had no intention of building cars themselves but hoped to interest car manufacturers. In this case Ford took up the idea and used it as the basis for the Lincoln Zephyr.

 

Porsche made trips to the US in 1933 and 1937 specifically to keep up to date on the newest mass production methods. There is no doubt that he visited the Ford factory and talked with Henry Ford. The VW beetle design we know today came about after one of these trips and was quite different in appearance from anything they made before, and also the wide 5 wheels were adopted at the same time.

 

It's no shame to say VW copied them, car companies copy ideas off each other all the time. Next year Edsel Ford would be asking stylist Bob Gregoire  for a "Continental" style Lincoln Zephyr, in other words a Lincoln with a European look/

 I don't believe it was copied, and I'm sure Erwin Komenda if he were alive wouldn't either. But you are entitled to your opinion. You did get the year wrong though. The first trip was 1936, the second 1937. In 1936 the VW30 was fast becoming a reality, the preproduction cars (30) made By Mercedes for Porsche on orders from the German labor front looks like a Flash Gordon car, but has all the design elements of the beetle. Notice no Wide Fives here. Probably copied those rims from Chevrolet....Just kidding.

VW30;

 

Edited June 1, 2016 by helfen (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

Last time I looked 1936 came before 1937 which came before 1939. Line up the VW prototypes in chronological order and you will see what I mean.

[Restorer32]

On 5/29/2016 at 10:43 PM, padgett said:

oh the mythconceptions.

 

I grew up in South Florida before AC was generally available. Population in winter was 35,000, summer 5,000

 

Don't remember it hitting 90. Would get to about 88 by the 3:30 rainstorm (could set your clock) and it would drop 10 degrees

 

Do remember taking a shower at bedtime and going to bed wet (can make a remarkable difference, in my SCCA days pit crew had a bucket of water and a quart of chocolate milk ready when I came in)

 

Helped son a while ago with a school project: figured the increased population, ACs, and autos were raising the temp over the state by 5 degrees in the last 100 years and creating an artificial high pressure area. Effect was to deflect hurr and himmicanes not coming straight at the coast elsewhere. Afternoon rainstorm is now iffy and mid-90s are common.

 

Florida has no income tax because not enough people have incomes and we have a militant retirement population with nothing else to do. (70 is the new 50).

 

More to the original point, convertible weather is mid-September to June. Natives always seek shade.

 

All of my cars have working AC. My camper even has AC when dry camping. (they said it couldn't be done).

 

Think about this...All those wind turbine generators are slowing the Earth's rotation. That can't be good.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

Last time I looked 1936 came before 1937 which came before 1939. Line up the VW prototypes in chronological order and you will see what I mean.

Porsche type 12  1931

 

 

 

V1, V2, V3 below 1935-1936

 

 

1936-37 VW30,

 

Final shape 1938 Beetle

Edited June 1, 2016 by helfen (see edit history)

[John348]

Copied is a tough word, I think in the design business the word they use is "inspired"