Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PUBLICATION
2016, G. DAVID
YAROS. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
Car Collector
Chronicles
Exploring:
Ca
High RPMs
Classic Rides
Reports From the Field
Oldsmobile (1897-2004)
Cadillac (1902- )
Allant (1987-1993)
Corvair (1960-1969)
= Clickable Link
IN THIS ISSUE:
High RPMs
Speedo Displays
Bucket Lists
Pics to Ponder
CCC Forum
EMail:
OldsD88@gmail.com
Cadillac
29-1916 Nash Motors Co. formed
30-1863
Henry Ford born,
Greenfield Village, MI
30-1898 1st Automobile ad in
magazine (Winton Motor Co)
31-1928 Chrysler buys Dodge
Auto Dealerships
July 2016
Page 2
Speedo Displays
. . . [O]ne
may make the
speedometer
fade to black
by going in
excess of 120
m.p.h.
In my naivet, having only seen this style of speedometer on an Olds, I thought the
rolling ribbon speedometer was unique to Oldsmobile. I do know Olds used such from
1959 through 1962. While this type of speedometer was very easy to read, it was not
necessarily noted for its precision.
Now being shall we say long in the tooth, I have come to learn that the ribbon or drum
type, needleless, speedometer was not unique to Oldsmobile. Nor was its use limited
to offerings from General Motors. Chrysler Corporation also featured this style of
speedometer in some of its cars. Likewise, several foreign car manufactures incorporated this device.
At GM rolling ribbon speedos were used by Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. I have
not found any indication they were ever used by Cadillac. The same may be said by
me as to Ford vehicles. If I am wrong in this regard, do enlighten me.
Chrysler Corporation put the ribbon speedometer in some of its Dodge and Plymouth
cars.
Foreign car manufacturers were also fond of the straight line speedometer display.
They were found in the Alfa Romeo, Jaeger, Saab and Volvo. On the next page I have
presented pics of some of these ribbon/drum, straight line speedometers.
So, should you encounter a speedometer with no needle pointer in the future, you will
have an idea as to what it is, and how it works.
Page 3
Speedo DisplaysContd.
1960 Buick
65 m.p.h
1957 Pontiac
I do not believe the
car would be travelling in excess of 65
m.p.h. while in [P]
ark?
while
In
[P]ark?
Page 4;;
Another auction viewer added: I just hope Wayne Carini doesn't try
to sell another 69 H/O, like the last one. He keep calling it a Cutlass.
Bucket Lists
An item on the web caught my attention, along with 4,000,000 + other
individuals. In the event you are not among that number, this is definitely worth checking out.
Well known car guy Jay Leno had the opportunity to check off one his bucket list items, getting to ride in the Hemi Under Glass with legendary driver Bob Riggle. Bob, by the way, is a mere 80
years young and still piloting a 2,500 H.P. motor! Let us just say this ride did
turn out to be quite eventful. You are guaranteed to flip over this video.
Auto Dealerships
A year ago I purchased a used truck to replace my rusting 18 year old Nissan D21 Pickup. I went all out
and bought a 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty XLT; going from 4 cylinders to 10! It had a couple of problems
I was not comfortable in tackling, namely the power door locks and the power side-view mirror. It appears
that now days all dealerships charge a diagnostic fee. That they do irks me to no end. I can see the wisdom of such if you do not authorize the determined repair(s). I feel it should be waived where the a) repair
(s) is/are performed and/or b) the authorized repair(s) exceed a minimum dollar threshold; say $500.
The first dealership I called wanted $115 to diagnose the problems. I took a pass and started calling
around. I did find a dealer who would only charge sixty bucks. What a deal!
I ended up having to replace the power door lock actuators and the right side-view mirror. Let me tell
you exterior power (towing) mirrors are not cheap!
What vexed more than the exorbitant part cost was the fact the Ford dealership was charging me more
for the needed parts than if I had purchased them myself, online, from the same supplier the dealer uses,
fordparts.com, and had them shipped direct to the servicing dealership! What kind of craziness is that?
My itemized bill did specify a dollar amount for labor, but did not state how many labor hours were necessary to complete the repairs. When I complained to the service manager about the overcharging for
parts, I did also inquire as to the per hour labor rate. To my surprise and shock I was informed labor is
billed at a rate of $120/Hr.! I can remember, having been one, when lawyers did not charge that much!
The bottom line here is, my questioning the charges was not for naught. I did get a refund on the parts
overcharges, along with a free oil change in the future and a strong confirmation of my resolve to avoid
using dealerships for repairs whenever possible!
Page 5;;
Pics to Ponder
There seems to be no end to the strange vehicle related things one is able to locate with little effort. This
column will have plenty of material to present over time. Here is what we have for your July viewing:
Who would do this?
Why?
Ok, Ive had my say for the month. Now its your turn! I invite/encourage submission
of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help
spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by
me. Submissions should be sent to CCC at OldsD88@gmail.com.
Now that you have finished reading the newsletter, if so inclined, like CCC on Facebook by going here. To UNSUBSCRIBE send an email to ==> OldsD88@gmail.com
_______________________________________