The Drive-In Era

I'm the first to admit I'm getting to be an old guy, and going back to when I was a teenager is a trip of many decades. But if we did that, we'd find drive-in restaurants were popular, particularly with the younger crowd. In good old Kelowna, BC, there were several, but the most popular was the A&W. There's still an A&W restaurant in the same Capri Mall location, but it has long since become just a walk-in establishment.

In the sixties (my era), the A&W did not, I recall, offer any sit-down service. It had a long covered walkway projecting from the front of the building – cars pulled up and angle parked on either side of the canopy, facing towards the building. Over each space, conveniently positioned to be read through your windshield was a copy of the menu. What was offered: three sizes of hamburger (baby, mama, and papa), french fries, onion rings, hot dogs, and two soft drinks (root beer and orange). Once you'd decided on your order, you turned on your lights, and a young car hop in a smart A&W uniform would come right to the driver's window, take your order and collect payment. My favourite order: mama burger, onion rings and "swamp water" a tasty combination half orange and half root beer. When your order was ready, she'd bring it out on a tray, you'd lower your window about two-thirds down, and the tray would clip on to the glass. The drinks would be in a heavy chilled glass mug, and the food was served in a foil bag, which did a reasonable job of keeping it hot.

If you had a nice car or were really cool, instead of pulling up to the walkway under the canopy, you'd back into a parking stall on the other side of the driveway – this would allow you to keep tabs on who was coming and going through the drive-in. I was never cool enough or had a nice enough car to pull that off. But if I was riding with my friend John in his bright yellow '36 Ford, yeah we were good for the back row.
Back then, the A&W was on the "cruise route."
Every town had one, and Kelowna's started with a trip down the main street (Bernard Avenue), then into City Park (back then there was a loop drive through the park), then it was up Harvey Avenue (Highway 97), turn right onto Glenmore Drive (now called Gordon Drive) and through the A&W, then back along Glenmore and left onto Bernard to complete the loop. This route might be done three or four times in the course of the evening, sometimes stopping on Bernard, or in the park to talk to friends. For sure there would be a stop for burgers and brew at the A&W. Sometimes a car full of guys would park next to one full of girls. There would be chatting back and forth, and maybe even some passengers would switch cars.

If you're too young to remember the drive-in era, there's a movie that does quite a good job of depicting this phase of car culture. Check out "American Graffiti" a 1973 coming of age film directed and co-written by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips,Wolfman Jack and Suzanne Somers.
Those were the days!

Images courtesy of google!

My absolute favourite car ad...

The Jordan Motor Car Company was founded in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio by Edward S. "Ned" Jordan. Prior to his foray into manufacturing cars he had been an advertising executive, and it showed in his approach to making and marketing his cars.
Much like many of the cars of today, Jordan's cars used components from other manufacturers – the factory produced what is known as "assembled cars." Even the bodies were produced off-site, but Jordan did have the capacity to paint them, and boy did he ever do a bang up job on that! While Henry Ford exclusively used the fast-drying lacquer called Japan Black, Ned offered a myriad of choices, including: Apache Red, Mercedes Red, Savage Red, Ocean Sand Gray, Venetian Green, Briarcliff Green, Egyptian Bronze, Liberty Blue, Chinese Blue, Submarine Gray and of course, Black. Ned said, "Cars are too dull and drab." He thought since people dressed smartly, they'd be willing to drive "smart looking cars" as well.
It was in the advertising of his cars that Ned led the way. He was one of the first to name Jordan models with unique evocative names such as: The Sport Marine, The Tomboy, and The Friendly Three Coupe. The Friendly Three's slogan, "Seats two, three if they're friendly."
But it is his print advertisement titled, "Somewhere West of Laramie" that caught my eye many years ago. It is promoting the Jordan Playboy and like all good advertisements hardly mentions the actual product it's promoting. Jordan had considered calling his sporting car the "Doughboy," but decided that soldiers returning from The Great War would be more attracted to an ideal of fun and frivolity instead. The name was adapted from a noteworthy Irish play called, "The Playboy of the Western World."

From 1923, here is "Somewhere West of Laramie" enjoy...

If you're having trouble reading the copy in the ad, here's a more readable copy.

SOMEWHERE west of Laramie there's a bronco-busting, steer roping girl who knows what I’m talking about. She can tell what a sassy pony, that’s a cross between greased lighting and the place where it hits, can do with eleven hundred pounds of steel and action when he's going high, wide and handsome. The truth is - the Playboy was built for her. Built for the lass whose, face is brown with the sun when the day is done of revel and romp and race. She loves the cross of the wild and the tame. There's a savor of links about that car - of laughter and lilt and light - a hint of old loves - and saddle and quirt. It’s a brawny thing - yet a graceful thing for the sweep o' the Avenue. Step into the Playboy when the hour grows dull with things gone dead and stale. Then start for the land of real living with the spirit of the lass who rides, lean and rangy, into the red horizon of a Wyoming twilight.

Ever Wonder Where The Names Come From?

In the early days of the automobile, many of the brand names were the same as their founders. Here are but a few for your amusement, starting with the one most widely known...

Ford

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Although Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford.
Henry could be stubborn when it came to updating his engineering, often to the detriment of their product. Steve Jobs of Apple Computer showed similar traits, e.g. adamantly insisting on NO cooling fans in the original Macintosh and years later, the terrible "round" mouse of the first iMacs.

Chevrolet

Louis-Joseph Chevrolet (December 25, 1878 – June 6, 1941) was a Swiss-born American race car driver of French descent, founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911, and a founder in 1916 of the Frontenac Motor Corporation, which made racing parts for Ford's Model T.
Louis was never pleased that General Motors made sure "his" Chevrolet was the low-price offering from General Motors.





Cadillac

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac,  (March 5, 1658 — Oct. 15, 1730), French soldier, explorer, and administrator in French North America, founder of the city of Detroit (1701), and governor of Louisiana (1710 to 1716 or 1717).
I find it ironic that one of the PREMIUM American automotive marques is named for a person whose life preceded the automobile by nearly 150 years! 

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes Jellinek

Initially Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz worked independently of one another. Benz founded the firm Benz & Cie. in October 1883, and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was formed in November 1890. Later, a new brand name for DMG products appeared, when Emil Jellinek became involved in the company. That new brand name was Mercédès, the name of his daughter.
Inflation after the First World War meant a difficult time for sales – especially of luxury passenger cars. Only financially strong companies were to survive – even these were frequently forced merge. It was in this way that the former rivals, Mercedes (DMG) and Benz & Cie., merged in 1926 to become what is now known as Mercedes-Benz.


Dodge

After meeting Henry Ford, the two Dodge brothers, Horace and John, were intrigued by his car and its engine. They were so impressed by Ford that they risked their business future on a contract with him. The Dodges agreed to give Ford the $7,000 worth of automobile parts and $3,000 in cash that he needed in return for a ten-percent stake in Ford Motor Company.

In 1913, Dodge announced they’d stop building Ford cars and would design, build, and sell their own car. On July 17, 1914, Dodge Brothers was formed with $5 million in common stock. Later that year, the first Dodge car rolled off the assembly line. Ford was not happy that the dividends he paid to Dodge were being used to bankroll his competition. In 1916 he announced that he would stop paying. The Dodge brothers sued and got appropriately $19 million in back dividends.

So there's the origins of just five automotive names. If you'd like to see more like: Maserati, Bugatti, Ferrari, Kaiser, Willys, Hupmobile, Chrysler, Essex, Jordan, and so on, just let me know.

The Ritual of The Nenette Brush

For those of you not familiar with a Nenette brush, it came in a round cardboard tube, inside was NOT a brush at all, but a small fringe mop on a short wooden handle. The mop fringe was impregnated with an oil called "Nenetol" that made it attract and trap dust. When not in use, the Nenette brush was always stored in the tube. Surprisingly, the dirtier it looked, the better it worked!
In the early sixties our family car was a 1953 Chrysler Windsor Club Coupe. A big heavy good-looking car, with a flathead six engine and a Fluid Drive transmission. Although fast approaching its tenth year, it was still a very nice-looking car. My dad, who we ALWAYS called Pop, was very proud of that car, and took very good care of it. All the chrome and paintwork on the car looked nearly new, but the deep burgundy colour showed every speck of dust.
So from April to the end of September, Pop's evening ritual was to go out to the car, take the Nenette Brush out of the trunk, and give the car a thorough dusting. The way Pop would "Nenette" the car followed the same unhurried routine. Step one was to light up a Players Plain, and then pull the brush out of the tube. He'd give the brush a little shake to release any clumps of dust it might be holding from its last use. Open the driver's door and step up on the sill – Pop was about 5'-7" tall, so he needed to do that to reach the centre of the roof. After wiping down half the roof, he'd go round to the other side and repeat the open door, step on sill, wipe the roof process. He'd then move to the trunk and back bumper giving them a thorough wipe down. Both sides of the car were done next, including the hubcaps and tire sidewalls. He always saved the hood and front of the car for last. The hood got a thorough wiping, then he'd give the front and grille a good going-over. Just about then, his smoke would be done, which was convenient as often there were fresh bug splats on the front that needed attention. That part took two hands to do, Pop would hold the handle of the brush in one hand with the fringes over the bug spot, he'd loosely bunch a few strands of the fringe in his other hand and rub them gently on the spot until the bug was gone.
With the front of the car finished, the brush would be put back in the trunk. He'd lean comfortably on the fence and spend a moment to admire the car. As the last light in the sky faded, he might just finish off with another Players.

Learning To Drive...

Phase One
So maybe I had a different start to the driving world than most. The first time I "took the wheel" was at age six, sitting on Pop's lap in our '48 Ford. Today, if a father was caught with his young son sitting between him and the steering wheel in a moving car, he'd be thrown in jail! But back in the olden days, we hadn't yet realized everyone should be buckled in. In fact, I often rode in the car standing up behind the front seat. The only hard and fast rule, "Don't ever touch the back door handles!" Pop was paranoid about those doors, which were hinged at the back. If a child opened one of those doors while the car was moving at speed, the air rushing past the car would violently rip the door wide open. Before said child could release their grip on the door handle they would likely be flung out of the car! They weren't called "Suicide Doors" for nothing! But I digress, this post is about learning to drive.

Phase Two
When my friend Ron was twelve years old, his mom had a nice little Volkswagen beetle. When he knew his mom was going to be out for the afternoon and didn't take her car, he'd grab the VW's keys and four thick volumes of their encyclopedia. With two books on each seat we'd start up the car and back it down the driveway to the back lane. The first few outings were just back and forth in the lane. But it wasn't long before Ron felt the need to explore further. It's amazing how far two young boys in a Beetle can go staying mostly in back lanes. I never drove that car, but I was, as they say, taking detailed notes of how the clutch, gearshift and gas pedal all worked. The last outing in the Beetle found us miles away, no longer restricted to back lanes. Fortunately we got the wits scared out of us when a police car followed us for a while. The Beetle got home that day with no incidents, and we considered ourselves lucky not to have gotten caught.

Phase Three
It was an old 1941 Ford panel truck that was used at the greenhouse and nursery business my friend Don's family operated. The truck wasn't licensed, so it was used only on site to haul plants and dirt. Don and I were fourteen and were allowed to use the truck in our "work" at the nursery. For example if someone bought a shrub or an ornamental tree, off in the truck we'd go with shovels and a burlap sack. We'd dig up the plant, pack its roots in burlap and bring it back to the front of the greenhouse. Then we'd have to patrol the whole site in the truck, just to make sure everything was OK. I got to take many turns at the wheel and got quite proficient with the clutch and shifting gears. We were allowed to take the truck across the street into the orchard, supposedly to deliver ladders and other equipment for the orchard workers.
This arrangement held steadfast for a good part of the summer of my 14th year. But as time went on, the speed we drove steadily increased. Alas, one day the truck somehow ended up on its side in the orchard. No one was hurt, but sadly the truck was soon to the junkyard. To our dismay, it was replaced by two shiny new wheelbarrows.
On a trip to Oregon last year, I happened to see an old Ford very similar to that greenhouse truck from years ago. I stopped and took a few pictures of it, which I later worked into a digital painting I titled "Rust In Peace." I gave Don a print, and which I'm pleased to see hanging in his home. At the end of this post is a copy of it for your amusement.
When I finally turned sixteen and got my Learner's License, Pop offered to teach me to drive. We had just one outing, after which he said, "I don't know how, but you drive as good as anyone on the road, go take the damn Driving Test!" If only he knew...

   

My Very First Car

In a previous post I'd reported that a 1951 Anglia was my first car. To be more specific, it was my first MOTORIZED car, the pedal car in my illustration holds the honour of being "My Very First Car."

I was four years old when this car came into my life. Even though I was restricted to the length of the sidewalk in front of our house on Marshall Street, which was only one block long, it was enough. I was thrilled to be mobile! Several times a day I'd set out for a drive to see the sights.

How Does a Pedal Car Work?
The back axle resembles a two cylinder engine's crankshaft. Two connecting rods are attached to the axle and run forward to two pedals hung from pivots on the underside of the hood. You put your feet on the pedals and push. As one pedal goes forward the other went back, a natural walking motion that is easy to learn. But like most things that initially appear simple, there's always more to it. The hard part is figuring out which pedal to push FIRST to go forward. It could be either one, depending on where that crankshaft shaped rear axle was positioned – what I did, was to push gently on one pedal and see if the car went in the direction I wanted. If it did, then I'd push hard on that pedal and away you went. If the gentle push moved the car opposite to the desired direction, you pushed the other pedal to go. It was also important that you never "parked" with one pedal all the way back and the other all the way forward. That put the crankshaft in a flat position and consequently you could not  move the car with the pedals. But since the car had no floor, you could "Fred Flintstone" it a few inches, pop your feet back on the pedals and off you went.  

Little Ricky's Big Adventure
A year later we moved to Okanagan Boulevard to be closer to the site of the new house that Pop was building at Poplar Point. I often went to the new house with Pop where my job was to carry nails for him and the carpenter he'd hired to run the framing of the house. I was paid 25 cents a day for this very important job.
One day, Pop went to work on the house and forgot to take me. I didn't want to miss a day of work, so I decided to drive MY car to the new house. I knew the way, and it was only two kilometres. Two hours later, when I pulled into the driveway at the new house, I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

The End Of The Car
As I got older, I got bigger. I no longer could fit my legs inside the car. No problem, I'd just sit in the seat and put my legs around the steering wheel and cross my ankles on the hood. Did I mention Poplar Point Drive was a nice winding unpaved hill, great for coasting down in a pedal car? One day Johnny, the kid who lived across the street, talked me into letting him drive the car. He had seen how I finished off the ride by doing a big sliding turn onto a driveway near the bottom of the hill.
So here comes Johnny roaring down the hill in my car. He was bigger and heavier than me, consequently he was going MUCH faster than I ever did. I realized it was way too fast to make the corner. "Drag your feet Johnny!" I yelled as he zoomed past, giving me a bewildered wild-eyed look. Johnny cranked the wheel hard right, but car turned only the slightest bit (today we'd call that classic understeer). The far side of the driveway had about a seven foot drop into thick bush. Johnny and my car parted ways as they sailed off that embankment. The car landed on its side and moments later, Johnny hit with his beefiest part right on top of it. The car was flattened and Johnny couldn't sit down for two weeks!

Deal-breaker Design Details

I would've bought that car except for...

That's how the description of a deal-breaker design detail begins. There's lots of them throughout the automotive world. Everyone has their own opinion in this area, but this is MY blog and I can say and show what is a deal-breaker detail for me.
Over the years, there's been lots of design details I didn't like on several cars. In most cases, they're things I could live with, if I had to. But this is about deal-breakers, so here's what is currently my most despised deal-breaker detail.

This is the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. I like the overall look of this car. It has a nice wide stance, and flowing, interesting lines throughout, except for the deal-breaker. It's that notch in the bottom of the window behind the door. It's awkward and ill-conceived and does not enhance the car in any way. Hyundai says it's to enhance the driver's ability to shoulder-check when changing lanes – that's just a load of hooey and they know it. They were just trying too hard to come up with something different and it didn't work.
I can imagine a lot of you thinking, "it's easy to criticize, but let's see you come up with a better detail." Well that's just what me and photoshop have done. Here's how I think that window should look. I'll let you be the judge whose is better-looking...  If you click on either image, it enlarges to fill the screen and you can click back and forth from their design to my "notch removed" design.

My apologies to Hyundai for selecting one of your cars as my first deal-breaker detail. I think you make great cars, in fact my wife and I are very happy with our Elantra Touring.
Look out Nissan, Mini, Ferrari and others, you'll all get your turn when I air out more of my deal-breaker details.

Cheers, Rick