Indholdsfortegnelse for November 1964 i MotorTrend

WHO NEEDS PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE? After reading MOTOR TREND’S preview of the ’65s, I join a host of car owners and mechanics who think Detroit’s changes in styling, chassis, and engines are usually made with the carefully camouflaged aim of planned obsolescence so the gullible American public will either want to or have to buy new models frequently. Progress means improvement, but improvement is never change for change’s sake, which is the motivation of the women’s apparel industry in its annual new styles. Aside from more powerful engines that need increasingly better brakes to prevent more collisions from too much uncontrolled momentum, automatic transmissions that wear out brake linings faster, and finer tires required to keep pace with the increased acceleration of the high-powered engines that gulp larger quantities of gasoline,…

NINETEEN SIXTY-FIVE marks what we and Detroit hope will be the third boom car year in a row. Both ’63 and ’64 ended near the record high of 1955, with 1963 scoring second-best in auto history. □ Detroit’s banking heavily on sales success next year—it shows in their extensive restyling jobs. More cars are new from the ground up than in any year since 1955. Restyled cars mean new body dies, new grille stampings, new wheel covers … and all these mean big investments in 1965 merchandise. Will the investments pay off? □ Two trends are important in ’65. The first, as mentioned, is styling. Appearance sells more cars than any other single attribute. The other big selling point—and probably the biggest single topic of current automotive conversation—is the new…

Imperial STYLING EVALUATION based on sales success isn’t always an accurate measure of a job’s quality, because other factors (like manufacturer’s reputation, general popularity, and economic trends) can be much more influential. However, 1964 generally has been good to luxury cars, and with it, Imperial’s all-new 1964 styling nearly doubled sales and increased the make’s penetration of this market to within 3% of its nearest rival. Changes for ’65 are very few, but most important is the fine-textured grille housing the headlights in glass-covered rectangles. The proportional effect is daringly new and highly flattering to the overall design. It even suggests that the industry might adopt rectangular Sealed Beams in the next few years. Imperial’s arrangement could be giving them a scoop on this design effect. Other noteworthy details include…

Studebaker UNCHANGED IN BASIC styling, Studebaker concentrates on fewer models for 1965. The popular Hawk and Avanti series have fallen by the wayside, as have Studebaker engines as such. They now call Stude the “Common Sense” car. The sale of their engine plant forced them to look around for new powerplants. Two engines, both supplied by General Motors, are offered in three series and three body styles. A 120-hp, ohv Six and a 195-hp V-8 supply the power (see spec chart) for two- and four-door sedans and the sliding-top four-door wagon in Commander, Daytona, and Cruiser series. A new model, the Daytona Sports Sedan, has a vinyl roof and is available with the V-8 engine only, as is the Daytona wagon. Studebakers have a longer list of standard equipment items…

THE YEAR 1964 marks the 30th birthday of the first Airflow. The three-dimensional airfoil shape of the Airflow made it stand out among its contemporaries. Its design was very controversial, but it’s doubtful whether any other single design had greater influence on later cars. A few years after Chrysler Corporation was formed, its research director, Carl Breer, decided to investigate the possibility of reducing air resistance by adapting aerodynamic principles to the design of automobiles. The Airflow’s shape was the result of many years of wind-tunnel testing, first using wooden blocks of various shapes and eventually going to scale-model automobiles. In contrast to the high, boxy cars then in vogue, the Airflow had low-slung, gracefully curved lines that had a minimum of protrusions and looked a little like it’d been…

Past President Model T Ford Club International AT THE BEGINNING of the 20th Century, there were only 8000 automobiles in the U.S. But more than 20 million horses and mules served our Victorian-tired population of 76 million people. The technical and industrial contributions that came from pioneers like Henry Ford dramatically paved the way for the most fantastic material revolution man has ever experienced. “I would like,” declared Ford, “to put the farmers in possession of the land, destroy ignorance, and leave the producers of goods free to develop… With the automobile, the farmer can live in the country and have all the experience of the world.” On March 10, 1908, the biggest forces at work selling Ford cars were the 20,000 horseless carriages Henry had built and sold. All…

BACK IN THE CAR-LESS year of 1945, when industrialist Henry J. Kaiser joined hands with Joe Frazer of the Graham-Paige Company, they set out to revolutionize the auto business. They bought the Willow Run factory so they could build cars where bombers once rolled down the assembly lines. It was a feat dubbed impossible by the rest of Detroit. Not bothered by older pre-war models and tools, they gave Howard Darrin a relatively free hand in styling the new venture. Darrin came up with a radical departure for Detroit. The Frazer was a conventional car with many plush features. The Kaiser was announced as “Now, for the first time, the advantages of modern front-wheel drive for all America. Plus sturdy, war-proved Torsionetic Suspension for new riding smoothness and safety. Wheelbase…

AETAT MAJESTAT—eternally majestic—is the phrase that best describes the Willys-Knight. From its inception, it was a leader in both performance and coach design. When John North Willys went to England in 1912, Daimler of Coventry and Charles Knight offered to let him road test one of their sleeve-valve-engined cars. Like many another American automobile manufacturer, he was skeptical of this new powerplant. Was it as silent as they claimed? Would it hold up? Would a car the factory prepared for him be “prepared”? Asking these questions, he rented a Daimler and drove 15 hours a day until he’d covered 4500 miles of English countryside. He was completely satisfied on the first count and when he asked the chauffeur how the engine was holding up, the reply was something like, “I…

DISC BRAKES have been trying to break the Detroit barrier for 15 years. Now they’ve finally made it. With the introduction of 1965 models, seven makes, representing all major manufacturers, will be offering disc brakes either as standard or optional equipment—eight if you want to count Studebaker. This looks like just the beginning. Observers predict that all American high-performance cars will have disc brakes within two years (like all such European cars have now), and maybe within five years they could be standard on almost all passenger cars. Why did it take so long to break through? What advantages do disc brakes offer? What kind of performance can we expect? What are the technical problems holding us back? What’s the outlook for the future? Needless to say, the idea of…

THE NUMBER OF CARS on the road has increased 33% in the last 10 years. This compares with a U.S. population growth of 18% during the same period. That’s almost two-to-one in favor of cars. In one year, the average automobile consumes its own weight in gasoline. In 10 years, it burns 20 tons of gasoline. So you can see that gasoline’s an important product in today’s economy. Gasoline has become a household word, but the average motorist knows little about its make-up and its various functions in engine operation. Over the past 50 years, a quiet revolution has taken place in the manufacture of gasoline, converting it from a “nature-made” product to a “man-made” product. As man has designed better machines, better fuels have been developed for better engine…

REQUIREMENTS: Copy limit of 25 words (not including name and address); first come first served. We reserve the right to edit where necessary. We’re not responsible for accuracy of descriptions, but we’ll reject any misleading statements. Only one car may be listed in any Sell ’n’ Swap ad; this limitation doesn’t apply to parts, catalogues, etc. The charge is $5 per insertion; no ad will be accepted unless payment is made in advance. Sell ’n’ Swap is NOT open io commercial advertisers. If your car is unusual and you have a photo of it suitable for publication, you may submit it with your ad. If we print it, there’s no extra charge—but we decide which photos to use. Sorry, no photos can be returned. SELL ’39 GRAHAM 2-dr sed. Chassis…

SMOG has been identified as a Los Angeles product, but this city isn’t necessarily the only producer of these eye-smarting, lung-stinging fumes. Anywhere in the world where local climatic conditions, such as temperature inversions, can trap the unburned hydrocarbons of auto exhaust and industrial emissions and allow the sun to shine on them long enough can produce this form of air pollution. At the present time, the most extensive research and legislation to regulate and control auto exhausts is being conducted in California, but motorists all over the country are likely to feel the effect of this action, because it’s likely to alter your factory-made automobile. California has made crankcasebreather controls mandatory on all new cars for several years, and any used car sold since the beginning of 1964 has…

Now, a Chevrolet that makes everything over, under and around you beautifully different. A completely new Corvair with its first big change in five years. A Chevelle that doesn’t hold back on anything but cost. And a Chevy II that’s turned into the most powerful tightwad in town! For 1965, the big luxurious Chevrolet could almost get by on looks alone. But that’s far from all that’s new. It’s longer, lower, roomier, heavier, more luxurious than any Chevrolet before. Completely new (need we tell you?) from that sleek Impala Super Sport Coupe roof line and curved side windows all the way down to the Jet-smooth suspension. And that makes even the lowest priced Chevrolet feel for all the world like a luxurious car. Which, indeed, it is. More expensive looking…

Lincoln IT TAKES great courage to make any changes in a design that’s been as successful and admired as the Lincoln Continental, but the 1965 model has a new face. Gone is the horizontal, mirror-image, die-cast, honeycomb, wedge-front of the original theme. In its place is a horizontal cavity containing a meticulous, horizontal, die-cast texture with center panel relief and strong, die-cast, polished-chrome, quad headlight bezels. Direction lights are now located behind small chrome grilles in the front edge of each fender fin, which has required lowering the tops of the bumper-end pads slightly. There’s also an entirely new hood panel from the windshield forward, but the main difference is that the longitudinal, raised section has been narrowed to match the width of the forward-relieved portion of the grille. We…

ECONOMY CARS aren’t new—not as an idea. Way back in 1930, with the formation of the American Austin Car Company, economical little cars rolled from their factory at Butler, Pennsylvania, to create a sensation all over the country. Throughout the Depression, when economy was especially important, you could buy an Austin for about $400 and drive it at an average of about 45 mpg. The crankcase held only two quarts of oil, and overall upkeep was minimal. The American Austin was a close copy of its British parent, but with a body by Hayes. This petite automobile had a 75-inch wheelbase and a 40-inch tread. These dimensions gave it exceptional maneuverability and ease of handling. It could turn easily in a 16-foot circle. Its four-cylinder, L-head engine (2.2-inch bore, three-inch…

THE H. H. FRANKLIN Manufacturing Company began as a subsidiary of a die-casting firm known as the Franklin Manufacturing Company. The newly formed subsidiary was charged with the responsibility of producing a car designed by its vice president, John Wilkinson. Although the first designs were made in 1897, it wasn’t until 1902 that 13 cars were made and sold. Harry Knox of Springfield, Massachusetts, was credited with putting the first car with an air-cooled engine on the road in the United States, but Franklin was the only really successful enterprise in the air-cooled-engine field. Early Franklin models, produced in Syracuse, New York, used more aluminum than any competitor, and it advertised the advantages of its laminated-wood frame. Although Franklin offered both four- and six-cylinder, pressure-air-cooled engines in runabouts and tourings…

THUNDERBIRD! To owners of the classic 1955-57 T-Bird, even the word sounds exhilarating. Design and performance of the two-seater Thunderbird have left little reason to wonder why they were able to renew America’s love affair with the automobile. For a car destined to leave an indelible mark on automotive design, it had what must have been (according to a former Ford official) one of the industry’s most spontaneous beginnings. Early in 1952, the Thunderbird was a shelved sketch in Ford’s Special Products Division. But a year later, at a European sports car show, a top Ford executive’s remark, “Why can’t we build something like these?” immediately led to renewed interest in the sketch and adaptation of contemporary Ford mechanical components to the plan. The Budd Company of Detroit was contracted…

MANY OF THE NEW developments in the automotive industry are of little or no value to automotive buffs because they’re too complex to be practical, too costly for general acceptance, or not really necessary. Transistorized ignition systems (more properly called “solid state ignition systems”) fit into none of these categories. Transistorized ignition systems aren’t too complex or costly and do show promise of filling a need. My purpose here is simply to explain how T-systems work, point out some pros and cons, and let you draw your own conclusions. Don’t press the panic button and turn to another page just because we’re talking about electronic devices and you’re not an electrical engineer (I’m not one either). Frankly, I don’t care which way electrons flow or what they flow through (unless…

BACK IN 1900, when one H. Ford was making $1000 a year as night engineer in the Detroit Edison Company’s plant, we had the first American Automobile Show in the old Madison Square Garden, New York City. That was the year when city parks were first opened to automobiles, when one ferry line decided to let gasoline cars come on their boats—provided they took the end of the lane so they could be dumped overboard if anything happened. It was the year when Fire Chief Croker bought a Locomobile Steamer and New York City had its first auto ambulance. It was the year, too, when the Automobile Club began to post road signs from New York to Boston; when the Columbia startled everyone by moving the engine up under the…

THERE’S AN OLD AXIOM to the effect that if you want to become popular, unpopular, or just well known, write about something controversial. My recent comments about mint cars versus non-restored cars have just about killed the mailman. About 750 letters on the subject have reached me. Approximately 20 to 1 favor old cars that look good, run well, and aren’t restored to mint condition. Although this viewpoint is in the overwhelming majority, you have to be objective and consider the fact that the owners of mint cars are in the minority. Phrased another way, there’s probably one perfectly restored car for every thousand restored in part. James L. Rubenstone of Paoli, Pennsylvania, mailed a typical response: “Thank you! Classic Comments in the August issue was a real service to…

SCUTTLED SKYLARK Foolishly, I didn’t order the heavy-duty spring and shock option for my 1964 Buick Skylark four-door. I use this car for carrying a good deal of sporting equipment—outboard motor, golf clubs, fishing tackle, and a couple of toolboxes—and they put a lot of weight in the trunk. This doesn’t do much for handling or headlight direction. At vacation time, my family of six piles in with baggage, and I tack on a camping trailer. I feel very sorry for this car. I’m seriously thinking about putting Delco Super-Lift shocks on the rear. Would they do as good a job as H-D units? How does their life expectancy compare with H-D shocks (that is, are they good for more than 10,000 miles of useful service)? I’d appreciate your opinions.…

Ambassador & Classic BOTH THE CLASSIC and Ambassador share the body shell introduced in ’63. Still, after the face lift and new accessories they’ve gotten, you’d never know it. All exterior sheet metal is new, but from the cowl back it’s the same on both cars. Even the basic hood panel’s the same (although the Ambassador has one ridge down the middle and the Classic has two ridges about 1½ feet apart). This leaves the front quarter panels and grille areas in which to exercise some imagination, and the characters of the two front ends are entirely different. The top edge of the Classic grille is derived from the ’64 trim edge, and AMC stylists have duplicated it on the bottom to make a dumbbell-shaped slot filled with extrusion texture…

TRACING ITS HISTORY back to the early years of automotive infancy, the Chevrolet Motor Company had its beginning when W. C. Durant, founder of General Motors, hired Louis Chevrolet to design, test, and assemble a new car for a fastgrowing market. Assembly of the first Chevrolets began in March of 1911, after two years of design and tests in a loft on Grand Avenue in Detroit. The model known as the Classic Six, or Type C, was a five-passenger touring car with a 120-inch wheelbase and a T-head, 299-cubic-inch engine. This model was produced from 1911 to ’13. Two other companies were also started in this same period and were to form an integral part of the Chevrolet Motor Company. They were the Little Motor Company, which merged with Chevrolet…

AUTOMOBILES BUILT by the Hudson Motor Car Company must be considered in any study of special-interest cars. For nearly half a century, this independent firm turned out products that were unique from a mechanical standpoint. Hudson engineers, beginning with Howard Coffin at the drawing boards of the first Model 20 in 1909, rarely settled for the conventional answer to any problem. It’s believed by many that this firm introduced more firsts to the industry than any other. In all Hudsons except the Jet (offered in 1953 and ’54), the clutch plates had cork inserts running in oil for the smoothest possible engagement. The Essex, marketed from 1919 through ’33, used an F-head, long-stroke engine with far more speed and power than other low-priced cars of that era. The first low-priced…

CHILDE HAROLD WILLS, despite his name, went up the business ladder like a man with his shirt on fire. He left his job as a cartoonist early in life to become a draftsman, then left that to be a master toolmaker, later became chief engineer with the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. From there, he cast his lot with Henry Ford, got to be chief engineer and production manager, but suddenly resigned in 1919. He finally knew what he wanted to do: build the perfect motor car. In 1919, this energetic man formed C. H. Wills & Company at Marysville, Michigan, on the banks of the Ste. Claire River. As a “working president,” he wore high boots, corduroy pants, and woolly shirts. He was known to roam the plant with a…

IF YOU’VE BEEN DRIVING for some time, how many close scrapes have you been in? How many driving mistakes do you make per mile? In a study of driving tests given to 7958 high school students and 2902 adults, they totaled 143,695 errors, an average of nearly 13 mistakes per driver, or one for each 0.4 mile of travel. If this is typical of all drivers, then no wonder so many get into trouble. These errors came out in what’s called speed control: going too fast for conditions or too fast for marked speed limits; failing to stop properly at stop signs or crosswalks; not looking in all directions at uncontrolled intersections and through streets; not slowing down with intent to stop if necessary; failing to give proper signals when…

(Bring on the Mustangs, Wildcats, Impalas … we’ll even squash a few Spyders while we’re at it.) Dodge has made it a little harder to survive in the asphalt jungle. They just uncaged the Coronet. A hot new Dodge at a new lower price … the newcomer that’s a real goer. Additup. All new styling—and seven models to pick from. Transmissions? 3-speed manual, standard, the TorqueFlite, and 4-speed synchromesh are options. Console with optional tach, available on the Coronet 500. Naturally we've got a Sure Grip differential option. And a red-hot range of engines from the 225 cu. in. Six, through the 318 V8 2-bbl., 361 V8 2-bbl., 383 V8 2-bbl.—and topping the list is that torrid 426 V8 4-bbl. Best of all, Coronet’s priced right in there with Fairlane…

JUDGING from letters we get, there are still a number of readers not yet familiar with the physical side of hitching up. Towing a trailer is duck soup. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There’s just one condition: Towing’s easy if your trailer’s properly attached to a well equipped towing vehicle. Basically, these are the mechanical connections between the car and trailer: 1) The hitch—it’s mounted on the car and stays with it (except on one type of “towing controller,” which mounts on the trailer). 2) The electrical coupler—this simple plug-in device joins the car’s wiring system to the trailer, to power lights, electric trailer brakes, and sometimes an electrical water system. 3) The safety chain—whether or not your state requires a safety chain (or two of them, as in…