7 April 2017 - RUNNING REPAIRS

RUNNING REPAIRS

G'day folks,

Here are some more samples of quick fixes to automobiles. Some people are so innovative and inventive.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... One can only imagine what their house is like.

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8 December 2016 - THE FIRST U.S. DRIVER'S LICENSE

THE FIRST U.S. DRIVER’S LICENSE

G'day folks,

Welcome to some facts about the first U.S Driver's license. 

In 1886, German inventor Karl Benz patented what is generally regarded as the first modern car. Less than two decades later, in 1903, Massachusetts and Missouri became the first states to require a driver’s license, although it wasn’t necessary to pass a test to obtain one. In 1908, Henry Ford launched the Model T, the first affordable automobile for many middle-class Americans. (In 1919, when Ford’s native state of Michigan started issuing driver’s licenses, he got his first one at age 56.) The same year the Model T debuted, Rhode Island became the first state to require both a license and a driver’s exam (Massachusetts instituted a chauffeur exam in 1907 and started requiring tests for all other drivers in 1920). 

California, now known for its car culture, started requiring licenses in 1913 and exams in 1927. However, it took several decades for licenses and tests to be adopted by all states. In 1930, only 24 states required a license to drive a car and just 15 states had mandatory driver’s exams. South Dakota was the last state to begin issuing licenses (without exams), in 1954. Additionally, a handful of states didn’t impose driver’s tests until the 1950s, including Alaska (1956), Arizona (1951), Idaho (1951), Illinois (1953), Missouri (1952) and Wisconsin (1956). In 1959, South Dakota became the final state to institute a driver’s exam requirement.

Getting a license was long considered a rite of passage for many American teenagers; however, in recent years the number of young people who are legal to drive has declined. Around 77 percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 24 had driver’s licenses in 2014, compared with almost 92 percent in 1983, according to a 2016 report by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Among 16 year olds, less than 25 percent had licenses in 2014, down from about 46 percent in 1983. Although the study didn’t cite specific reasons for the drop, other research has suggested that contributing factors include new transportation options as well as the Internet, which has made it possible for people to socialize and shop online instead of getting in a car to do so.
         

Clancy's comment:  Interesting history, eh?

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10 April 2016 - THE BUGATTI BROTHERS

THE  BUGATTI BROTHERS

G'day folks,

Most people know the name Bugatti, but here are some interesting facts behind the name. Sadly, in 1916 Rembrandt Bugatti, a sculptor and younger brother of Italian auto designer and manufacturer Ettore Bugatti, committed suicide at the age of 31.


The Bugatti brothers were born in Milan, Italy; Ettore in 1881 and Rembrandt in 1884. They came from a creative family that included artists and architects. Their father, Carlo Bugatti, was a successful furniture and jewelry designer. In 1909, Ettore founded the Bugatti car company in present-day Molsheim, France; the business became known for its stylish, high-performance automobiles. During the 1920s and 1930s, Bugatti made a name for itself in the racing world, taking first place at the inaugural French Grand Prix at Monaco in 1926 (and going on to win a number of later Grand Prix races) and claiming victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 and 1939.

Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean, was a talented car designer who worked with his father. He died in 1939 at the age of 30 while testing a Type 57 car. Ettore Bugatti died on August 21, 1947, and was buried in the Bugatti family plot in Dorlisheim, France, near his brother Rembrandt and his son Jean. The Bugatti company had experienced difficulties during World War II and after Ettore’s death, the business went into decline and was sold. In the late 1990s, Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti name and incorporated Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S., basing the new company once again in Molsheim. In 2004, the company began production of the Bugatti Veyron, a super sports car that carried a price tag of over $1 million and was capable of reaching speeds of around 250 miles per hour, making it one of the world’s fastest production cars.

In February 2009, a rare unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe that was found in the garage of a British doctor sold at a Paris auction for some $4.4 million. The black two-seater, one of just 17 57S Atalante Coupes ever made by Bugatti, had been owned by English orthopedic surgeon Harold Carr since 1955. The vehicle was built in May 1937 and originally owned by Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, the 5th Earl Howe and the first president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club and a winner of the 24 Hour Le Mans race. At the time of the auction, the car was said to be in good condition and had 26,284 miles on its odometer. When it was built, the 57S Atalante Coupe was capable of reaching speeds of more than 120 miles per hour at a time when the average car couldn’t do more than 50 miles per hour.

 Like Bugatti automobiles, Rembrandt Bugatti’s sculptures are sought out today among art collectors. He was best known for his sculptures of animals; a replica of a dancing elephant he designed was featured as a hood ornament on a 1920s Bugatti Royale auto. At the time of his suicide in 1916, Rembrandt Bugatti was reportedly experiencing financial troubles and suffering from a depression spurred on by the events he’d witnessed as a volunteer paramedic aide during World War I.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... I've been fortunate enough to have been in and driven a few Bugatti's, only because friends of mine owned them.  However, there always seems to be an element of sadness behind success.

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