AV Geeks Lunch 3 21 2022

um in the old days before the turn of the century this was the american road [Music] the old road was not only a road it was a wave slow and often rough [Music] if you lived way out in the country 15 or 20 miles away from the railroad station you had to get up before dawn to catch the 930 train you harnessed up the reliable horse and for the next two hours the carriage went creeking down the old familiar road while the countryside moves slowly past if you were leaving the farm for good to go to the city you had mixed feelings on that long ride to the station it's not easy to pull up roots and start a new kind of life [Music] you saw the faces of old friends as you passed their house waving goodbye and you felt sad at leaving them but you saw too how old and tired they looked worn out by hard work locked on the land a woman looked 50 before she was 35 with all she had to do in a way you were glad you were leaving you passed the old school house where you'd gone as a kid and you remember the long miles you'd walked morning after morning to get there final run to get inside before the bell stop clanging [Music] or perhaps you passed the doctor's buggy drawn up in front of someone's house and you'd remember the terrible night your mother lay upstairs in the bedroom sick and the long hours of waiting for the doctor to come the roads were bad that night when he finally arrived there was nothing he could do anymore after that you never saw the doctor's buggy without wondering if he'd gotten there in time you passed the church too but you knew you were not leaving god behind he would be with you in the uncertain days that lay ahead still there were good times to remember as well as bad and by the time you reached the station you wondered if you were making a mistake some people might call you a darn fool to leave a fine farm and go running off of the city where it was noisy and dirty full of pickpockets and swindlers and women who painted their faces [Music] but there were things you wanted to do that couldn't get done on the farm if you were interested in machinery for instance or wanted to tinker with engines that ran on gasoline the country was no place for you you had to go where other men were doing this kind of thing train was late of course you could have slept another half hour [Music] you stood and looked down the empty tracks waiting somewhere out there beyond the horizon lay the city where your destiny waited [Music] the people who lived in the city stayed in the city they walked the hard pavements to left feet if a person were well healed he took a cab [Music] if a nickel was all he could afford he took a street car and got there an hour later the fastest thing in town was the fire engine run [Music] in the good old summer time the streets got hot as ovens vegetables and people wilted under the blazing sun and the kids get hard-boiled everybody panted and sweltered and longed to get away from the clanking thunder of the elevated trains and the clatter of wagon wheels on cobblestone far uptown lay the ballpark [Music] and if you went for a long boat ride down the bay you finally arrived at an amusement park where there were roller coasters shoot the shoots camels to ride and a real beach where a kid could get to swim in the ocean but it took the better part of a day to get there and back so you settle for the nearest fire hydrant on your block [Music] bicycles were all the rage on sunday afternoons you could pedal out past the city limits and see real trees and grass and hear a bird sing that was fun as long as your legs held out you could go wherever you wanted right up to the end of the road that is a few miles out of town the paving ended and from then on bicycling was no pleasure a lot of people accepted the end of the road and turned back but the bicycle wheels had a greater destiny in detroit a man named henry ford who had left the farm and come to the city to tinker with machinery was making what he called a quadricycle it looked like a buggy when he'd had no shafts for a horse to be harnessed to the horsepower was going to come from a gasoline engine he'd made himself he did everything himself working nights and holding down a daytime job with the detroit illuminating company it took a long while to make this machine but henry ford stuck to it finally it was ready one momentous night he pushed it out for its first trial run so [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] up and down the dark empty streets ran the little quadricycle past the sleeping houses ghost-like and unreal flitted the shape of things to come if anybody had waked up and looked out the window he probably would have thought he was still dreaming [Music] at night history was made the street was never the same again it didn't happen overnight the going was rough for those early cars on the american road we should pause to remember and admire not only the adventurous men who kept on making automobiles but the reckless few who had courage enough to drive them [Music] some people thought that the sail wagon had a more promising future than the automobile built like an ice boat on wheels it could hit over 50 miles an hour if the wheel stayed on of course it took a land-going sailor to operate it and on a public road it really stopped traffic while people were still letting the wind blow them in various directions men like henry ford were putting their faith in the gasoline engine he built a big one and put it in a racing car called the 999 it was a huge heavy monster and it spent most of his time in the shop getting tuned up nobody at the time probably realized it but the 999 had a prophetic look this was no horseless carriage it was long and low and powerful built for speed in a crude but unmistakable way it forecasts the shape of cars to come on october 25th 1902 barney oldfield set a world's record in the 999 he drove it a mile a minute and this phrase ushered in a new era cars now became a more and more frequent site particularly in cities by 1903 there were more than a thousand automobile manufacturers in the united states and in that year the ford motor company was founded the first payroll didn't take much bookkeeping [Music] the first car of the new little company was called the model a it had a two two-cylinder eight horsepower engine and it could go 30 miles an hour it sold for 850 a lot of money in those days and its owners were chiefly in the upper brackets it was smart and fashionably designed with a door in the rear like a pony cart and it cranked from the side a good safety measure designed to prevent the cranker from being knocked flat and run over if the car started prematurely everybody admired it but only the more daring could be persuaded to ride in any kind of a motor car [Music] the farmer was a forgotten man during this early period he saw occasional cars go by on the rough roads but these strange mechanical contraptions seemed out of place in the country they were for city people not for him he kept on grooming his old reliable horse and waited and suddenly one day it appeared it was called the model t it had a four cylinder 20 horsepower engine and a planetary gear that defied the laws of science maybe it didn't look classy but it could take a beating on rough country roads and still get you there it was a farmer's car built by a farmer [Music] there was only one thing wrong with it it cost eight hundred and fifty dollars millions of citizens looked at the model t and licked their chops there it was the car of their dreams but they couldn't afford it back in detroit henry ford wondered how he could bring the price of the model t down to where everybody could buy it he figured that the more cars he made and sold the cheaper he could sell each one and he went to work on this idea [Music] in those days each car was built from the frame up on stationary wooden horses there was a different crew for each car and the same crew stayed on a car until it was finished that meant duplication of effort and a lot of time wasted so they tried moving the men from car to car each man had a special job to do and as soon as he finished it he moved on to the next car did the same thing there that was better but it still took 12 and a half hours to assemble each model t henry ford watched it for a while and he had an inspiration instead of moving the men past the cars why not move the cars past the men [Music] so on one hot august morning they tried it that way a husky young fella put a rope over his shoulder and henry ford called let's go [Music] and at that very moment as the workman began to fasten the parts onto the slowly moving car the assembly line was born a technique that was to revolutionize mass production all over the world once they found that the idea would work they began to improve it refine it they rolled a chassis down a single line of track pushing it from crew to crew and the more expert they became at this new method the faster the cars came off the assembly line and the price of the model t began to drop they tried the same idea in all the various parts of the car and created what were called sub-assemblies each man on the line became a specialist he did one thing and he did it perfectly and pass the work along to the next man minute by minute production was winning the battle against wasted time and wasted effort parts were fed to the workmen by gravity slides so they wouldn't have to stop and wait for new parts then they put the parts on moving conveyor belts this was a great step forward because now they could regulate the flow of work and keep it moving at a constant rate of speed and the conveyor belts grew longer and more complex as they move the work from place to place in the huge shops they became fantastic masterpieces of planning and engineering but the battle against wasted time and wasted effort was being won the cars began coming off the assembly line at the rate of one every 40 seconds and what henry ford had foreseen happened mass production and the assembly line drove the price of the model t down from 850 to 300 dollars now everybody could have one [Music] what a wonderful feeling it was to own your own car a sunday afternoon drive became a national pastime [Music] off you went to visit uncle obadiah with the car bouncing along like a boat in a choppy sea jolting your teeth out every time it hit a bump mom would keep saying papa don't drive so fast and when you suddenly met another car coming the other way on those narrow roads oh boy that was a thrill that stood your hair right up on him [Music] at first just being able to drive a car was enough but pretty soon the novelty wore off and people began to get angry at the bad roads so they started to make the roads better in every state all across the nation men and machines went to work [Applause] [Music] the rutted mud gave place to smooth ribbons of pavement wide enough for two cars to pass each other and the roads became longer they pushed out in every direction and down every road ran the model t panting and quivering all was eager to go farther and now an interesting thing began to happen people from the cities began riding out into the country and people from the farms began going to the city and whole sections of the population began to get acquainted with each other for the first time no road maps in those days [Music] [Applause] [Music] if you got lost the kindly natives would give you directions so complicated you couldn't find your way home with a compass [Music] everything was down the road a piece if you got lost you stayed lost [Music] everywhere you looked you saw the model t it became a part of the american scene it took the housewife to market he brought the doctor to his patients in time to save their lives [Music] it saved time and speeded up business [Music] filling stations sprang up by the thousands and a whole new industry in gas and oil was created not only did it save time it gave the average citizen the wonderful new way to spend the time he saved now for the first time americans were able to travel inexpensively across their own country in their own cars and see the grandeur of their inheritance they could visit the great national parks which had been created for the people but which so few people had ever had an opportunity to see [Music] now the whole family could get away from the noise in the heat of the city [Music] people could go camping over a weekend and be back to work monday morning with renewed energy they could go to the mountains or if they preferred the beach the faithful tin lizzy would carry them to the sea's edge [Music] there were many new images in the people's minds now things they had seen along the american road wonderful things they would never have been able to see at all without the motor car [Music] there was a new look in people's faces a look of discovery and wonderment and pleasure a new world had been opened up for them [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the nation took the model t to its heart people called it a fliver made jokes about it loved it they said it could go anywhere except in society [Music] hollywood comedians had a field day with it [Music] so [Music] so [Music] the model t was more than a motor car it was the symbol of an industrial revolution for mass production and the assembly line were now able to bring the price down on all sorts of products put them within everyone's reach mass production also created thousands of new skills new jobs at higher wages and under this powerful stimulus the nation's economy expanded enormously what about the man who was chiefly responsible for all this what was he like [Music] let's take a look at the family album here he is at his home fair lane walking with his wife clara through the garden [Music] laughing with a friend over a cartoon of himself on the ice-covered pond with his grandchildren here he is back on the land tinkering with one of the old steam engines he was always wondering how he could take the burden of work from the back of the farmer and put it onto the machine maybe it was at times like this that the idea of a tractor came to him the tractor was the realization of one of his oldest dreams [Music] here he is in his office having a conference the man whose five dollar day startled the industrial world this is a family scene son edsel starting out with some friends on a transcontinental trip getting a big send-off a drive like this was quite an adventure in those days he liked to dance country dances [Music] a grandchild henry ford ii showing his grandchild a baby bird with mrs edsel ford watching still a farmer teaching his grandchildren henry ii and benson ford to love the on anniversaries and other state occasions he'd get out the old quadricycle and drive it around fairlane with his wife clara what memories it must have brought back [Music] sometimes he liked to go camping with some of his old friends the bearded man is john burroughs the naturalist on the right is harvey feister he still knew how to swing an axe had his own ideas about cooking too that's edison in the background vigorous man with vigorous minds and healthy appetites they used to have a saying you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy [Applause] whatever he did henry ford always kept a certain rustic simplicity a rugged quality that nothing could alter or soften [Music] burrows had always looked down his beard at the model t called it a noisy device that frightened the birds but finally eden burroughs overcame his prejudices [Music] [Applause] the man behind the legend these are men whose ideas changed our way of life and made it better [Music] father and son [Music] they walk side by side reviewing the past planning the future together [Music] how quickly it all had happened in less than 25 years [Music] henry ford he personified the american credo of individualism and freedom of enterprise he will long be remembered as the american road became better the cars that drove along it began to change they became larger and heavier lower and longer the highway had become an extension of the city street and people began to demand boulevard comfort and luxury and their transportation tires and shock absorbers took the roughness out of driving interiors were the ritz some even had a crystal vas to hold a single elegant flower henry ford saw the trend and began making the lincoln one of the finest and most luxurious cars in the world alongside of such grandeur the old model t began to look more and more like a country cousin the times have changed and the car that had changed them was no longer needed henry ford decided to stop producing it in may 1927 the 15 millionth model t came out of the plant and the assembly line closed down forever on the world's most famous car [Music] from then on the old fliver began to disappear from the roads as old cars were turned in they were taken back to the plant there they were scrapped their steel was salvaged for use in the new models [Music] once in a while a car would walk at the mouth of the furnace as though in a last effort to save itself [Music] the model t died hard although the model t began to fade from the american scene the impetus and the new direction it gave to our way of life did not stop there it gathered momentum that carried us through the gay twenties [Music] even the grim depression of the thirties could not stop the powerful forces that had been set in motion [Music] the lessons learned from the assembly line and mass production helped us to win the long and terrible war ten [Music] [Applause] [Music] nothing has been able to stop us we have kept on working kept on building and today this is how the american road looks the whole nation has become swift and mobile flowing along over a great network of highways more than 3 million miles long and constantly growing the american road has lifted itself high above the muddy rats of 50 years ago the road has bridged the gulf between city and country their ways of life have mingled and both share the fruits of progress equally machines have taken the burden of work from the back of the farmer [Music] no longer do the women on the farms grow old before their time [Music] and the people of the cities have been able to move out into quiet communities full of sun and fresh air that seem almost like living in the country the old country schoolhouse has vanished and the energy of the children is no longer wasted and walking miles to get there the worker of today no longer has to live close to the plant that employs it his home is in pleasant surroundings and he drives to work every car on the american road every new building that towers against the sky is a sign of our progress towards a better way of life but perhaps the most wonderful thing about the american road is the freedom it gives us you've only to get in your car and start driving to feel it the american road what magnificent vistas open up before us as we travel along it we have come a long way since the quadricycle and the model t in this short years our whole way of life has changed we have accomplished much but the achievements to come will dwarf the american road stretches ahead of us always towards a new horizon we are all traveling along that road all moving forward towards an even better tomorrow [Music] so powered vehicle was developed in france as early as 1769 and steam-powered road locomotives became a reality in england around 1800 at about the same time americans had fallen in love with the bicycle there were all kinds from bicycles built for two or built for ten to velocipedes with front wheels that went up to five feet in diameter it was the bicycle that gave most americans the desire to travel about easily and set the stage for the automobile it's not surprising then that many of the early auto manufacturers were people from the bicycle industry the first commercially available automobile was manufactured by carl benz and his brother in germany in 1885. in america a man named dorier demonstrated his car in 1893 and the following year he sold three of them henry ford's famous quad recycle obviously a relative of the bicycle was built in 1896 and in that same year ransom oles introduced his first gasoline-powered automobile contrary to popular belief neither oles nor ford were first with mass production durier produced 13 identical automobiles in springfield massachusetts in 1896. looking back it's difficult to see why the early automobiles created so much excitement the first cars were merely platforms with four wheels a seat a steering device and an engine as it developed some obvious things had to be done right away engines were covered to keep out inquisitive fingers and cut down on noise and fumes lights were added to aid in night driving this was the basic arrangement of the curved dash olds of 1901 the automobile that established detroit automotive center of the us a fire in the oldsmobile motorworks destroyed everything but one car a curved ash holes in order to stay in business drawings were made directly from the one remaining car and various parts were subcontracted in detroit most of these subcontractors eventually became automobile manufacturers about 1904 the first windscreens appeared and most of the automobile bodies of this era had what was called roy de bill's coach work taken from a vehicle built to the specifications of the king of belgium this general body design sometimes called a tonno with two seats in front and three at the rear was retained by the industry for almost 15 years the entrance to the back seat was from the rear of the car originally most accessories were outside the passenger compartment under the floor or fastened to the back even the brakes and gear shift were outside at first as well as appropriate boxes for tools or picnic lunches it's said that in those days even the mother-in-law rode outside the car whether or not this is true many of the cars sported small seats at the rear called mother-in-law seats it would be some years before the top windshield doors and basic body would gradually grow together into one piece but all the pieces necessary for an enclosed automobile were already well developed by 1909 there were 290 different makes of automobiles produced at 145 cities in 45 states talk about competition detroit alone had 25 different car makes and a total of 45 makes were produced in michigan options such as tops windshields and lamps became standard equipment speedometers shock absorbers and sliding transmissions all added to the weight and size of the automobile which in turn required bigger engines cadillac introduced an electric starter developed by charles f kettering along with a generator battery lighting system the electric starter made it practical for the first time for a woman to own and drive an automobile during the period before the first world war the basic configuration of the automobile was still somewhat uncertain and many strange and marvelous variations were attempted the inventor of the reeves octo auto felt that eight wheels were better than four others experimented with size from the 1911 holes limited with 43-inch wheels the largest production car ever built in the u.s to the woods mobile left [Music] some tried steam gasoline and electricity and at times even combined them as in this woods gas electric this 1915 saxon illustrates the trend to light cars in this period another car the gap about roadster offered a wicker body and the national had an original seating arrangement four armchairs that could be moved on casters in any direction about the time of the first world war most automobiles started to settle down the general mechanical configuration we know in america today designers borrowed from the armored cars and other military vehicles that were produced at the time straight lines higher hoods and steel wheels gave many of the new models a war-like appearance following a short sharp depression in 1920 things got better and better until they reached a climax in the giddy and glamorous days just before the stock market crash of 1929 the essex was one of the first new low price closed cars introduced in the 20s and the overlap offered a unique body style three doors another closed car the 1921 ford sedan featured a single door on each side which allowed driver and passenger to enter either the front or back seats from the center door as the economy improved luxury cars began to appear in greater numbers duesenberg brought out the first straight eight and the first four-wheel hydraulic brakes in the u.s the stutt's bearcat was the playboy's car and one that attracted crowds then even as now the general motors proving ground in milford michigan was completed in 1924 not one electric or steam car was displayed at the national automobile show top attractions were cars featuring four-wheel brakes and balloon tires as standard equipment at this time there was one automobile for every seven people in the us with the increased number of cars came real personal freedom of movement and the much talked about love affair with the motor car the 25 millionth u.s motor vehicle was produced in 1925 the new models featured one-piece windshields mohair upholstery and crank type window lips synthetic quick drying paints that could be sprayed on and baked gave the industry a wide range of high gloss finishes for the first time more clothes than open models were sold general motors introduced the lasalle in 1927 it was the first mass-produced car to be styled by a professional designer directly employed by the manufacturer at the other end of the price range henry ford brought out his model a a dramatic change for ford automobiles during this decade the body became a solid enclosure as windshields roof and doors grew together to make the cars more sturdy and more reliable up to this time automobiles used very straightforward body work but gradually the corners started to round off and compound curves started to appear on fenders and rear corners of the roof and the headlights this normal evolution plus the dramatic luxury cars coming into existence created a consumer demand for automotive styling more than ever before the car expressed status power fun glamour and freedom the late 20s and early 30s was the era of the flapper the newport mansions yachts thompson trophy races movie stars and classic cars the l-29 cord was introduced in 1929. this front-wheel drive car indicated a new willingness on the part of the manufacturer to temp the public with new features and new concepts duesenberg shocked the automotive world by offering a car with fantastic performance ranging from 265 horsepower in the j model to 320 horsepower in the sj series this car had about the same impact that would result from the introduction of a car today with almost a thousand horsepower cadillac's introduction of a b-16 in 1930 announced the era of multiple cylinder engines in this country the 1930 packard custom theater the 1932 kb lincoln with its v12 engine and the 1933 chrysler imperial lebaron one of the last chryslers with a solid front axle are some of the classics of this period in europe designers were building some memories of their own the bugatti royale is one of the most famous classics even though less than 10 were sold this hispano suiza was built to be driven in the 1924 take a floral race the body is made of tulip wood and defenders were added after the race the supercharged mercedes ssk and the 1931 rolls-royce phantom 2 convertible sedan are outstanding examples of some of the european cars of this vintage the luxury car consumer of the 30s placed more emphasis on performance and overall magnificence than ever before the pressure of consumer demands spurred the stylist and engineer to further developments in automotive design the invention of the hypoid rear axle was one of the first moves in lowering the silhouette of the automobile by offsetting the drive shaft below the axle knee action or independent front wheel suspension was introduced in 1934 this created a drastic change in the proportions of the automobile without the beam axle the engine could move forward and eventually down between the front wheels other changes affected the interior compartment room in 1931 the rio royale started the popular trend to slanted windshields and in 1936 side windows that sloped in at the top were first seen in the years between 1935 and 1939 it was discovered that the automobile stylus could drastically change the exterior shape of the american production automobile the styling of the 810 812 cord with its front wheel drive brought this to the public's attention the 1936 lincoln zephyr with its pointed grill and fastback roof line and the 1938 cadillac 60 special which eliminated running boards and introduced the use of lightweight convertible window frames were the forerunners of a remarkable acceleration in the appearance characteristics of the automobile over the years styling and aerodynamics gradually moved the body shell outwards in the process the trunk became part of the body shell and the spare tire moved inside the headlights flared out then dissolved into the fender the hood sheet metal moved out over the radiator and the fenders elongated flattened and gradually became part of the body side over the span of time every major component of the automobile moved inside the body in 1938 pontiac moved the gear shift from the floor up onto the steering column to help provide more front foot room and automatic transmissions were offered by oldsmobile and buick for the first time during the war years we really can't point out too much of a change in automobiles however the jeep became a legend while most of the manufacturers turned to products other than automobiles following the war most consumers eagerly awaited the post-war car studebaker was first to bring out a new model and in 1946 kaiser fraser introduced the first car with straight through body sides which eliminated fender forms the most sensational post-war announcement was the tucker and although the car never became a reality the public's appetite for new cars was obvious the 1948 hudson offered a new step down design which put the passengers not only down between the wheels but down between the frame members as well this basic arrangement exists in most of today's automobiles by 1949 every major manufacturer had eliminated most of the fender forms and had some version of the so-called flush side styling with the introduction of the four-door hardtop gm eliminated the center pillar in the side windows and gave the consumer an automobile with the feeling of a convertible and the safety of an all steel roof wartime scarcities created a tremendous desire for new cars and new features an era of challenge and response was begun the customers let the producers know what they wanted by posting sales records for vehicles and options they liked and the manufacturers responded by competing for customer attention many of the sales records set in the mid 50s still stand today the wraparound windshield was one of the features that helped set off a consumer demand for automobiles unequaled in automotive history the 1960s ushered in an era that saw a trend to small cars a greater emphasis on automotive safety and increased concern for the environment the continuing movement of people to the suburbs and the increase in personal income resulted in the growth of two car families the preference of many consumers for simple or economical transportation spurred the sales of small imports until they reached a total of almost 1 million in 1968. u.s manufacturers responded by introducing compacts of their own and automotive engineers and designers had to find new ways to create more room inside the car in 1962 buick moved the engine and transmission forward to reduce the hump in the floor and the tempest transaxle moved the transmission to the rear of the car curved glass made it possible to create thinner doors and increase shoulder room safety features added to cars during this decade included dual braking systems factory installed seat belts amber lights for front turn signals and energy absorbing steering columns in 1963 positive crank case ventilating systems were installed nationwide on all cars and light trucks and several years later exhaust emission control systems became standard equipment on all 1967 mates [Music] 1970 found u.s automakers in a global automotive battle as japanese manufacturers were challenging the older makers in europe and the us two u.s sub-combats were introduced one the vega featured an innovative four-cylinder aluminum engine front disc brakes and electric fuel pump for the first time since model t days more four-cylinder new cars were sold than ones with six-cylinder engines emission control requirements caused a general lowering of horsepower in 1971 models and much of the auto industry's research and development effort was devoted to meeting government regulations in safety and emission control areas one of the casualties of the early 70s was the high performance or muscle car reflecting high insurance rates placed on it a consumer trend the less expensive cars and the clean air crusade a decline in the sale of convertibles was offset by a growing popularity of the sunroof option and all makes offered a sliding roof in either a manually or power operated version side beams were installed in all cars to aid inside impact collisions and in 1973 manufacturers added bumpers that would withstand a five mile an hour barrier crash in front and a two and a half mile per hour crash in the rear in the years to come the architecture of the automobile may see some radical changes worldwide increases in the use of energy will continue to make fuel efficiency and the conservation of all our natural resources a primary consideration in car design engineers and designers are finding answers in many directions weight reduction programs will accelerate the development and use of lighter weight materials such as aluminum and plastics and high strength low alloy steels they replace the conventional steels used in automobiles for years new types of seating may be developed and possibly new seating arrangements computers and structural analysis systems will play an important role in helping design more efficient vehicles electronics and the techniques of miniaturization developed in the space program may well reduce the size of electrical components and monitor and control such functions as air fuel ratio and spark advance these are just some of the approaches being used today to provide the efficient safe comfortable personal transportation the automotive pioneers could only dream of the search for better automotive architecture will always exist and the consumer will continue to present new challenges to the designer and engineer today's automobiles are more indicative of the people and times which produce them than any other product in some future day they will take their place as one of the important artifacts of today's civilization you