Salt Walther Dies at 65

Hi folks -- I never met the man, but play tennis at a park that is named for his father.  His obituary in the Dayton Daily News yesterday was only 4 lines or so. Ho could I have missed looking up and talking to this Iconic racing figure from my generation, not the fastest driver but certainly a survivor of one of the most horrific crashes of the 1970s or for that matter any decade.It was said that addiction to pain killers dominated his life after 1973 until the recent past. It was said that he lived life on the edge, at least part of it. He drove the Dayton Steel Wheel special, a car owned by his father and made possible by the wealth accrued from the Dayton-Walther Corporation. He was a generational legacy of a Dayton that is no more -- a medium sized city filled with metalworking and foundry firms, a prosperous city that is now the shell of its once proud self.

I am sure the stories he could have told me would have been one great book, a reflection of one fast-burning life that took no hostages.

More Donks Photos

The older I get, the more I like Donks! Actually, I need to get with friend Ed Garten and go down to Nashville to visit the Donks Bar & Grill! Seriously, these cars seem to me to be a silly waste of money. But the neat thing about contemporary car culture is that there are so many varieties of the hobby.

Merry Christmas -- A Becker Europa Radio for the Porsche!

And it works,as I bench tested it on Christmas Eve.  Snow storm today, so I'll have to wait a while to install it. I have had several Becker radios that did not work, but this is the first that does.

The Miller-Chapman Security Auto-Theft Signal System, Patent 1,343,709

As a few of you know, I am in the process of finishing a book entitled Stealing Cars: Technology and Society form the Model T to Gran Torino. Recently I purchased what is described below on Ebay. The 1920s were one high point in stolen car activity, and there were numerous devices that were sold to deter thieves. The table below lists related patented equipment, and illustrates just how complex any history of technology can be.

The creation of Earle E. Chapman of Los Angeles, the "Vehicle Shackle" was one of numerous types of wheel and tire locks that  were patented during the 1910s and 1920s. Apparently there were 34 different sizes to accommodate a broad range of tire dimensions. The one I have is  marked B1.

Patent #	Issue Date	Title	Inventor Name	Assignee
1108156	1914-08-25	Chock for vehicle wheels	H. D. Ells	Edward E. McKee
1230799	1917-06-19	Automobile lock	F. Scholly
1304785	1919-05-27	Hobble for motor vehicles	J.J. McDade; F.P. Donnelly
1325307	1919-12-16	Lock for automobiles	T.A. Reeder
1326688	1919-12-30	Wheel chock	V.N. Perry
1337568	1920-04-20	Automobile lock and traction device	Shannon S. Q.; Randall, Herman P.	Randall; Shannon
1343709	1920-06-15	Vehicle-shackle	Chapman, Earle E.	Chapman, Earle E.
1347262	1920-07-20	Automobile-lock	Eichorn, Frederick C. H.	James, Burke W.; Albert, Eichorn H.
1348960	1920-08-10	Automobile-lock for disk wheels	Saegesser, Albert W.	LIBERTY AUTO LOCK CO
1351644	1920-08-31	Wheel-lock	Ignaz, Hadinger	Ignaz, Hadinger
1353117	1920-09-14	Wheel-lock	Thompson, Charles E.	Thomas, Hill J.
1353541	1920-09-21	Automobile-chock	Fred, Retterer	Fred, Retterer
1361108	1920-12-07	Automobile-lock	Soleau, Charles J.	Soleau, Charles J.
1362955	1920-12-21	Safety-lock for vehicles	Miller, Arthur E.	Miller, Arthur E.
1367086	1921-02-01	Lock	Paddleford, Oliver M.	Paddleford, Oliver M.
1371691	1921-03-15	Automobile theft-signal	Lawrence, Klinker	Lawrence, Klinker
1385461	1921-07-26	Theft-warning automobile-lock	Mcdonald, John K.	THEFT WARNING AUTO LOCK CORP
1388322	1921-08-23	Wheel-lock	Michael, Branco	Michael, Branco
1394219	1921-10-18	Wheel-lock	Raddick, David J.	Graf, Siegfried
1408133	1922-02-28	Auto theft signal	Ochs, Ralph J.; Hodes, Carl E.	Ochs, Ralph J.; Hodes, Carl E.
1411886	1922-04-04	Automobile wheel attachment	Mackey, Huggins Claude; John, Cline Calvin	Mackey, Huggins Claude; John, Cline Calvin
1415401	1922-05-09	Vehicle lock	Wingate, Rollins; Seymour, Clinton K.; Sargent, John A.	Wingate, Rollins; Seymour, Clinton K.; Sargent, John A.
1418534	1922-06-06	Side chain shackle for automobile wheels	Chapman, Earle E.	MILLER CHAPMAN COMPANY
1424106	1922-07-25	Automobile theft signal	H.M. Lake; O.C. Betry
1444161	1923-02-06	Vehicle lock	Arnold, Frederick A.	Arnold, Frederick A.
1445750	1923-02-20	Auto safety device	Carey, George F.	Carey, George F.
1447053	1923-02-27	Automobile wheel lock	Elmer, Trimm Leslie	Elmer, Trimm Leslie
1453882	1923-05-01	Auto lock	Mchugh, James N.	Mchugh, James N.
1463387	1923-07-31	Shackle for automobile wheels and spokes	Chapman, Earle E.	MILLER CHAPMAN COMPANY
1469772	1923-10-09	Auto-theft signal	Chapman, Erale E.	MILLER CHAPMAN COMPANY
1470662	1923-10-16	Automobile lock	William, Barnett	William, Barnett
1472155	1923-10-30	Wire-rope shackle for automobile wheels	Chapman, Earle E.	MILLER CHAPMAN COMPANY
1476467	1923-12-04	Lock for automobile wheels	Saegesser, Albert W.	Saegesser, Albert W.
1481537	1924-01-22	Vehicle lock	Carney, George A.	Carney, George A.
1483687	1924-02-12	Wheel lock	Shepard, John W.	Shepard, John W.
1485595	1924-03-04	Shackle for automobile wheels and spokes	Chapman, Earle E.	MILLER CHAPMAN COMPANY
1500924	1924-07-08	Theft warning signal or wheel lock for vehicles	Chadwick, William E.; Creighton, John A.	Gustavus, Edward Westberg
1503210	05/25/1922	Auto lock and traction device	S.Q. Shannon	Donald R. Morrison
RE14956	1920-10-12	Automobile theft signal	H.D. Ells	H.G. Miller
RE15428	1922-08-08	Locking device for automobile wheels	A.M. Cummings

Review of Joe Corn's User Unfriendly: Consumer Struggles with Personal Technologies, from Clocks and Sewing Machines to Cars and Computers

Joseph J. Corn, User Unfriendly: Consumer Struggles with Personal Technologies, from Clocks and Sewing Machines to Cars and Computers. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2011.

It seems the older we get the more we wrestle with the new technologies that we acquire. And particularly when it comes to digital technologies, including systems found on new car dashboards and consoles, the experience can turn us into technophobes. Personally, I can handle the tuning and synchronization of Weber carburetors and the setting of Porsche 944 cams, but just attempting to understand the controls of an Audi A5 results in high levels of frustration and defeat. Thus Joseph Corn’s easily read and sometimes amusing User Unfriendly struck a chord with this reader. And while this study covers a rather broad array of consumer technologies that includes clocks, sewing machines, appliances, and personal computers, at its heart is the automobile during its period of diffusion, namely to the 1930s. Historians have spent the past two decades examining the process of consumption in considerable detail. Yet, as Corn points out the consumption of technological devices is rather different, and beginning in the mid-19^th century, posed difficulties to its owners. Learning about those technologies in historical context, then, is the subject of this book.

The introduction of the automobile proved to be a daunting challenge to its first generation of owners. First and foremost was the issue of what car to purchase, made especially difficult by not only the plethora of manufacturers and models but also the lack of knowledge on the part of consumers concerning the technologies associated with the automobile and the performance and quality of the various makes. On this topic the author is at his best, drawing on popular literature, trade magazines, manufacturers sales manuals directed towards the training of salesmen, and advertising. In the subsequent chapter “Running a Car,” however, little new is brought to the reader.  Corn discusses the difficulties of hand cranking, fixing flats, steering, shifting gears, braking, and “supervising performance” once the vehicle was underway. Suffice it to say that driving automobiles before the 1930s was as much an intuitive art as a skill, and the process of making controls and instrumentation less idiosyncratic and more uniform took several decades to achieve. By the Great Depression, however, American automobiles were far more reliable and safer than the first generation of vehicles that hit the road. And of course the fact that roads became better changed the entire equation.

What follows are chapters centering on maintenance, repair, and operation.  Drawing on a wide variety of sources including popular and scholarly literature, numerous owners’ manuals, and archival material, Corn’s engaging narrative brings in the insights of a good number of historians of the automobile and technology without bogging down in esoteric academic prose.  If you have worked with old cars and done restoration, these chapters will be familiar, but nevertheless freshly packaged. Perhaps what is missing in the author’s discussion centers on generational issues. Namely, young people have no difficulty in adapting to new technologies; however, as one gets older learning becomes increasingly difficult.  Was that the case at the beginning of the automobile age as it was with the coming of personal computers? If so, what does that mean in terms of reexamining the early history of the automobile?

John Heitmann
University of Dayton

More Historical Substance on the Trotters

The Trotters Hot Rod Club

Several years ago, as I was perusing through the stacks of my local library, I found a brief history of a car club from Middletown, Ohio.  What struck me about its contents, however, was a photo taken of a dragster that was built by an African-American car club from Columbus, Ohio known as the Trotters. I found a few photos of the Trotter’s cars on the Web, and I posted them  on my blog, but nothing else. Lately, however, two of the members of the Trotters contacted me and gave me their stories of the club and their role in the membership.

The Club began around 1952  with 5 members and one car, a 1932 Ford 2 door sedan powered with a Chrysler hemi.  During the early 1950s these 5 friends, including George Wingo, from the Dayton area, and Larry Williams, approached the Pipers Car Club from the East side of Columbus, but were rebuffed from joining. So the Trotters emerged as a primarily African American, but also interracial club that  built, owned, and maintained a show and go trophy winning B dragster, and a screaming 34 3 window coupe. Their cars and members were featured in Hot Rod Magazineand Ebony, but their very success ultimately led to their end.

The Trotters organized an annual  custom car show in Columbus, appropriately named Trott-A-Rama, that proved to be a tremendous financial success.  So much so, that the true car guys in the club were purged by a group not nearly as obsessed with racing machines. Charles Bryant, his brother, and Larry Williams were all removed from the club, a fatal move in the long run.  And what happened to the B rail dragster?  Apparently one night, after being left behind before a race, maintenance chief Bill Richardson, out of anger or frustration, took a torch to the frame of the dragster and cut it in two, thus ending the Trotter’s presence on Midwest and national drag events in 1966.

Only five members of the Trotters are still alive, the rest having gone “through the pearly gates.” During the Golden Age of the 1950s and early 1960s there were many hot rod clubs active from coast to coast, and like the Trotters their members are now either getting up there  or deceased.  With their passing we are losing historical accounts of great value. If you were once a member of one of these clubs, or know someone who was a member, please get your recollections down on paper, as they are a valuable part of auto history.

The Trotters Hot Rod Club Revisited

Hi folks -- I got two emails in my box this morning from members of the Trotters Hot Rod Club, an African American group that was very competitive during the 1960s.  From the short messages, it appears on 5 members are still alive, as the rest "have gone through the pearly gates." I'll try to call my two contacts today and get back to you with some interesting history. Until then, here are a few new photos I dug up on the web.  See a previous post of mine on topic if you are interested, but I'll report back soon.

Happy Thanksgiving -- Turkeys who drive cars or turkey cars?

Hi folks -- there are a few images depicting turkey cars -- Pintos. Pacers, Edsels, etc. Not that funny. More significantly, we need to think about all the turkeys who drive cars -- stupidly as a a turkey. You know them -- the folks who don't dim their high beams, go the wrong way on an interstate entrance ramp, are texting while driving, and it goes on and on. We need to gut their heads off, and be thankful they are off the road!

Mitt Romney Pumping Gas in LaJolla

Hi folks -- I visited Romney's place in LaJolla back in August ( well ,to better explain I drive by it), and wish I were there for Thanksgiving! We all look ruffled once and a while. A good man who would have been a good president, but it wasn't in the cards.
Unless you are in New Jersey where they have mandated gas station attendants (what a bunch of quasi-socialist  bullshit -- let's give all morons a job!), filling your own tank is a reflection of the democratic ideal.

More Mary Kay Cars and Women

Hi folks -- I am sure the stories behind the people are far more interesting than the cars themselves  It is about determination, entrepreneurship, self image and esteem, and overcoming the odds.  It is about inner strength and developing a spiritual whole that exudes self-confidence. The car is a symbol of achievement, but more importantly about the inner being!  Congratulations to all who earned a pink Mary Kay car!.