USER PROFILE: DEILIVESON (SEAN)

An informed voter is a wise voter…

I seldom vote FOR someone. Instead, I often use my vote AGAINST…

For those interested, the above graphic is the cover art for a new 95 minute DVD documentary, which compiles the past 40-year history of presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The documentary named “HYPE: The Obama Effect” focuses the majority of it’s time tracing and exposing the Senator’s political & personal ties, including some startling exposure to his legislative record as an Illinois State Senator and more recent as a U.S. Senator. The documentary is produced by Citizens United and may be obtained via their website below. The links below also display the official YouTube movie trailer & TV advertisement, which include a more in-depth description of the DVD content.

HYPE: The Obama Effect DVD is available for purchase by visiting the links below. The movie name is shown on the right margin of Citizen United’s home page.

Citizens United Productions www.citizensunited.org
If you prefer to order by phone, call (877) 255-5796
To view the documentary webpage direct visit: www.hypemovie.com


The YouTube video footage contained below is a 6-minute splice directly from the above mentioned documentary. It is very informative and shines some disturbing light on Senator Obama’s beliefs & support for [literal] infanticide. Turn up the speaker volume and listen to some disturbing truths…

Sincerely,

Mad Max Mark

Ok everybody… I screwed-up. The last post I made on everyone’s page last night
about the anniversary of Pontiac’s car brand being 81 years old… is incorrect !!

I figured that I better let everyone know - before ya’ll have a chance to yell at me for it.

It was so darn late last night by the time I was finished composing that history…
that my brain was not thinking clearly…

My mind was still stuck “In The Year 2007” … and I forgot this is 2008 already… (sheesh! )

Ever have that problem at the start of a new year???

Anyway… the headline title: “AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY” … at the top of the Pontiac article should read:

“82 YEARS AGO” … (not 81 Years ago)

math skills are always the first to suffer when one’s mind goes into a brain-stall from lack of sleep…

sorry…

Also – today is a very important anniversary date for Packard Motor Car Company. However, even as “romantically obsessed” with all Packard cars that I am… I’m just too pooped-out after last night’s Pontiac article to write about this part of Packard’s history…

Just know that on January 4th, 1955, some of the 1955 Packards were introduced to the public on this day. Corvettes and Thunderbirds were upping the horsepower ante, and Packard struck back with the Packard Caribbean, the first V-8 Packard and the debut of highly stylized cathedral taillights. This became the start of the famous era of the mighty tailfins during the later half of the 1950’s. I love automotive tailfins too… it pains me to miss this subject… but I don’t have time today… so I’ll skip this one…

there are so many other important milestone dates for Packard that I’ll catch up another time…

mad max mark

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – 81 YEARS AGO TODAY

January 3, 1926

Pontiac Is Born


General Motors introduced the Pontiac brand name on this day in 1926. The new Pontiac line was the descendant of the Oakland Motor Car Company, acquired by General Motors in 1909.


Although the General Motors Pontiac made it's first official nameplate debut in 1926, the Pontiac division's history actually dates back to much earlier years and involves numerous other entrepreneurs who each (simultaneously) tried their luck in the newly emerging “horseless carriage” revolution; by the founding of independent car businesses of their own.

In 1893, Edward M. Murphy established the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac, Michigan. This company produced horse drawn carriages. It wasn't long before it became clear that motorcar sales were going to out distance the carriages. In 1906, Edwin Murphy wanted to get into the new automobile business, and he met Alanson P. Brush, who was already in the business through having helped Henry Leland design the first Cadillac. Brush seemed like the right partner for Murphy. Brush had a two-cylinder engine of unusual design, a vertical engine which rotated counterclockwise. It had been rejected by Leland for use in his Cadillac, but Murphy was ready to give it a try in his new car.

In late August of 1907 a small group of businessmen lead by Edward Murphy, founder of the Pontiac Buggy Company, entered into an agreement to form a new motor car company carrying the Oakland marque. On August 28th, 1907 the Oakland Motor Car Company was officially Incorporated. Murphy would serve as president/general manager, with Alanson Brush as vice president/chief engineer and Martin Pulcher, secretary/treasure. The plant would be a substantial complex located on Oakland Avenue in Pontiac Michigan. The Oakland Motor Car Company officially began production in 1908 with the first car, a Model A, rolling off the assembly line in April of that year. Five models were offered the first year with prices ranging from $1,300 for the Model A runabout to $2,150 for the Model E four passenger landaulet. The engine worked, but the cars did not sell well with first year production amounting to approximately 200 vehicles. Engine designer and Vice President Brush soon left the company when Frank Briscoe offered to finance him in building his own single-cylinder Brush Runabout.

As originally conceived and introduced, the first Oakland used the vertical two cylinder engine; designed by Brush. This design lasted one year. Murphy is said to have chosen the Oakland name for his new car venture, located in the Oakland County, MI (city of Pontiac Michigan), because cross-town rival Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works already was making a high-wheel-version motor wagon of their own under the Pontiac name. A bit of history on the Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works Company – it was incorporated in July of 1899 by Albert G. North and Harry G. Hamilton. By 1905 they had taken over the manufacturing of the Rapid Truck (from the Rapid Motor Vehicle Co.) that had been introduced by Max Grabowsky in Detroit two years earlier. In automotive terms, the Pontiac name was first used in 1906 by the Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works due to the business being located in that city, whose name was linked to Chief Pontiac; the indian Chieftan who led an unsuccessful uprising against the British shortly after the French and Indian War. In 1907 the Pontiac Spring and Wagon Works Company also decided to produce an automobile, in addition to their acquired Rapid Motor Truck.

Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works introduced their first car in the fall of 1907, and it was a high-wheeler weighing 1,000 pounds and powered by a two-cylinder water-cooled 12 hp engine. The prototype was displayed in October at an exhibition sponsored by the Carriage Dealers' Association in New York City's Grand Central Palace. In December several of the new cars were exhibited at the Chicago Automobile Show. Well received by the press, the car featured final drive by double chain and a friction transmission. The wheelbase was 70 inches, front wheels 38, with 40’s in the rear, and solid tires all-around. The first deliveries were probably made in early 1908, but after about 30 to 40 units were dispatched to new owners, "The Car That's Built to Get There," as the slogan put it - went no further.

Both the Oakland Motor Company and Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works Company decided to merge together in November 1908. They would continue operations under the Oakland Motor Car Company name.

Of extreme importance to mention – was the relationship that Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works had with the “Cartercar” company in 1908, which formed only months before their merger with the Oakland Motor Company. The Cartercar was another American automobile manufactured in Detroit Michigan. There is a significant volume of automotive history with the Cartercar alone, but too much to include in this article without completely losing all of you readers. I’ll save that subject for another time.

Also In 1908, William Durant founded General Motors, a consolidation of 13 independent car companies and ten parts-and-accessories manufacturers, with a capitalization of $60 million. In January 1909, Murphy sold half of his Oakland Motor Car Company to General Motors. GM's founder William Durant, a friend of Murphy's, was actually more interested in Murphy’s talent and expertise than his Oakland cars. But shortly after the acquisition, in the summer of 1909, Murphy died unexpectedly at the age of 45 before Durant could use his talents. Shortly after this, GM purchased full control of Oakland. The Oakland automobile soon became regarded as the charter member in Durant's newly formed General Motors empire. The 1909 Oakland was upgraded to a more standard four-cylinder engine and sold reasonably well in that year. In 1916 the Oakland became available with a four, six or an all new V8 engine and its sales increases to 24,000 units. Between 1909 and 1931, the entity remained as the Oakland Motors Division of General Motors Corporation. The Oakland became a very successful car, however by early 1920, production & quality control problems along with an economic depression began to plague the division and GM.

In 1921 under new General Manager Fred Hannum, a consistent production schedule was underway and the quality of the cars improved. The 1924 Oakland received a new L-head six-cylinder engine, four-wheel brakes and a new marketing tactic was employed; utilizing a quick drying bright blue automotive lacquer by Duco (a DuPont brand product) – leading to Oakland being marketed with the slogan: "True Blue Oakland."

Because of the disarray that General Motors was in by 1920, William Durant who had founded the company 12 years earlier lost control of it again after loosing and regaining control several times before. The problem was that all of GM’s various divisions were fighting for the same customers, and none were trying to gain the Model T Ford customers, which had the largest market share.

GM's prices ranged from $795 for the lowest end Chevrolet, to $5,690 for the highest priced Cadillac. Since GM wasn't in the position to go after the Model T, a committee of company executives led by the new GM President Alfred Sloan, decided to create a car to fill a long-standing price gap between Chevrolet and Oldsmobile. Besides being a gap filler, this new car would serve as a platform to share vehicle components. This would improve volume efficiency.

General Motors pioneered the idea that consumers would aspire to “buy-upward” an automotive product ladder if a company met certain price points. As General Motors entered the early 1920s, the product ladder started with the economic price leading Chevrolet marque, and then progressed upward in price, power and appointments to Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and ultimately to the luxury Cadillac marque.

However by the mid 1920s, too large of a price gap had been created between Chevrolet and Oakland, while the difference between an Oldsmobile and a Buick was even wider. There was also a product gap between Buick and Cadillac. To solve this, General Motors authorized the introduction of four companion marques priced and designed to fill the gaps. Cadillac would introduce the LaSalle to fill the gap between Buick and Cadillac. Buick would introduce the Marquette to handle the higher end of the gap between Buick and Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile would introduce the Viking, which took the lower half of the spread between Oldsmobile and Buick. This is often referred to as General Motors Companion Make Program.

Oakland's part in this plan was the 1926 Pontiac, a shorter 110 inch wheelbase "light six" priced to sell at a 4 cylinder car's price point. The first model was designated as the Series 6-26 and debuted at the 1926 New York Auto Show. Pontiac was the first of the companion marques introduced, and in its first year outsold the larger, heavier Oakland. Introduction of Pontiac was enthusiastically accepted with 49,875 cars being registered in the first year of production. While the car was smaller in size its price was too. With a price range beginning two hundred less than a comparable Oakland, the marketing strategy was a complete success. In fact Pontiac sales exceeded those of its parent company marquee. Thus the first step in Oakland’s demise had been taken. Demand soon outpaced capacity and by mid 1926, the division began plans to build a new $15 million assembly plant in Pontiac, Michigan. By 1929, GM sold 163,000+ more Pontiacs than Oaklands. The discontinuation of Oakland was announced in 1931 and the Pontiac would be the only one of General Motors' companion makes to survive beyond 1940 - or to survive its "parent" make.

I have uncountable numbers of historic photographs of the many makes, eras and models of cars manufactured by the various entities I make mention of in this article, which predate Pontiac’s 1926 creation, but for the purpose of this article, I will begin with the famed “True Blue Oakland” ~ then procede with only post-1926 Pontiac and Oakland model comparisons…

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – 70 YEARS AGO TODAY

January 1, 1937

Automotive Windshield Glass Becomes Safer


Safety glass in windshields became mandatory in Great Britain. Unlike ordinary glass, safety glass shatters into thousands of tiny pieces when it breaks, instead of large jagged sheets. In early automobile accidents, ordinary glass windows often turned into large, deadly blades. Broken safety glass is relatively harmless. The most common type of safety glass is a sandwich in which a layer of clear, flexible plastic is bonded between two layers of glass. It was first produced in 1909 by French chemist Edouard Benedictus, who used a sheet of clear celluloid between glass layers. Various plastics were tried over the years. In 1936, a plastic called polyvinyl butyral (PVB) was introduced. It was so safe and effective that it soon became the only plastic used in safety windows. The British government was so impressed by the safety record of PVB windows that it required their use by law.

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – 92 YEARS AGO TODAY

December 30, 1915

The Tragic Death Of “Emily”

Just For The Infield Parking Ladies… A Real Love Story - Behind The Flying Lady


Have you ever taken a close look at the statuette on the front of a Rolls-Royce Automobile? What?? Did I just hear some of you girls say… “No”??? What the??? … Many of us “gear-head guys” practically worship this stuff… It is one of the most exquisite car mascots in the entire world, a work of art in its own right. But who was this beautiful subject in which the likeness of the Rolls-Royce statuette shares?

The ornament figurine is one of the most well known motor car mascots in history. During nearly a century of its existence, it has acquired a variety of different names and phrases such as “The Whisper”, “Silver Lady”, “Kneeling Lady”, “Emily” and the “Spirit Of Speed”. Designed by Charles Robinson Sykes, the figurine work was finished on February 6, 1911, and some version of it has adorned the radiators of Rolls-Royce motor cars since that year. In addition to the names given above, the statuette is most properly known az ``Spirit of Ecstasy'' and “The Flying Lady”.

Ok ladies… as I promised, here’s where your “love story” enters the scene…

The first, original version of the statuette was specially created for the personal 1910 model Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost (chassis number 1404) of John Walter Edward-Scott-Montagu; better known as “Lord Montagu” (second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu after 1905, a pioneer of the automobile movement). This wonderful statuette mascot was modeled after a young woman who had unsurpassed beauty, intellect and esprit - but unfortunately, lacked the social status which might have permitted her to marry the man with whom she had fallen in love – none other than Lord Montagu himself.

Yes ladies – the world’s most prestigious automotive symbol was modeled by a real-life woman named Eleanor Velasco Thornton, Lord Montagu's private secretary, and secret lover. In that very first statuette version, called “The Whisper” the woman figurine holds a finger over her lips as to signify the hushing and silence of words; symbolic of their covert romance - to symbolize the secrets of their love.

Following Lord Montagu's private statuette commission, Charles Sykes was asked to create a mascot which in future - would adorn every Rolls-Royce. In 1911 he presented the 2nd version; "Spirit of Ecstasy", which was easily recognizable as being a variation on the theme of "The Whisper". The similarity was hardly coincidental because the model [for both] had been Miss Thornton. Her relationship with Lord Montagu remained a secret for over a decade, principally because both lovers acted with the utmost discretion.

Lord Montagu, heir to his father's title, was a pioneer of the automobile in England. From 1902 he was editor of the "The Car" and Eleanor Thornton served as his secretary. Friends of the pair knew of their close relationship but they were sufficiently understanding as to overlook it. One member of their inner circle of friends was the statuette’s sculptor himself; Charles Sykes, who chose to use Eleanor as the model to enshrine the small mascot as a young woman in fluttering robes…

Good grief… this is getting way too hot, steamy & mushy for Mad Max Mark... can’t believe I just wrote some of that stuff…

Lord Montagu had made the decision to put the first “Whisper” mascot on top of his Silver Ghost’s radiator, and it had become a fashion. Rolls-Royce had noted other owners of their cars following after the new vogue trend, but doing so with questionable style by choosing mundane or even risqué and vulgar subjects.

The production version; the “Spirit of Ecstasy” began standard delivery by the Company with every Rolls-Royce. Each statuette was made using the technique which was thousands of years old and known as the lost-wax method. This practice results in the mold's being destroyed to reveal the casting, which explains why no two hood ornament figures are exactly alike. Sykes, assisted by his daughter Jo, remained responsible for manufacturing the Spirit of Ecstasy for many years. Likewise, each of the unique creations bore his signature on the plinth. The sculptures are either signed "Charles Sykes, February 1911" or sometimes "Feb 6, 1911" or "6.2.11". Even after Rolls-Royce took over the casting of the figures in 1948 each Spirit of Ecstasy continued to receive this inscription until 1951.

From 1911 to 1914 the Spirit of Ecstasy was silver-plated and thus many thought it a massive piece of precious metal - one reason for the frequent thefts. In smaller versions, and now made from highly polished nickel alloy, the radiator decoration has stood its ground on every Rolls-Royce, including those in the present-year-range.

Over the years various alterations have been made. Those mascots fitted for Rolls-Royce motor cars built at the Springfield, Massachusetts, USA plant - were modified. Bowing a little more forward; no longer were they a danger to the vehicle’s hinged bonnet (hood) housing the engine compartment. The original version had touched the bonnet sides when these were opened without the precaution having been taken to turn the figure sideways beforehand.

Royce [himself] did not like the Spirit of Ecstasy, which he judged her to be just a fashionable bauble and complained that she spoiled the clear line of the car's bow. The order to create the sculpture was given during the chief engineer's illness and had been absent. Thus it became a habit that Rolls-Royce cars used by Royce were rarely driven with a mascot in place.

Towards the end of the 1920’s the new body line of Sports Saloons had reduced the height of the coachwork. Royce was prompted to think about a lower variation of the Spirit of Ecstasy, by which alteration a driver might benefit from clear vision even with the windscreen lower and his seating position reduced in turn. Sykes created a kneeling version of the mascot, which fulfilled this requirement.

The kneeling version remained after the Second World War for the new Silver Wraith and Silver Dawn R-R models. All following models, however, sported a standing mascot, although this has now been reduced in size considerably compared to the old one.

Rarely, however, is the correct term "Spirit of Ecstasy" used - detractors remark this was only done at the factory in Crewe. The nickname "Emily" [short for Eleanor’s first name] is widespread and Americans generally speak of the "Silver Lady" or the "Flying Lady" when referring to the world’s most renowned vehicle hood ornament.

In 1920 Rolls-Royce had taken part in a competition in Paris for the most apposite mascot in the world. This they did with a gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy, which secured Rolls-Royce first place. From then on gold-plated versions of the Spirit of Ecstasy were available from the company - at an extra charge.

Safety regulations in some countries turned out to be a stumbling block to the fitting of the Spirit of Ecstasy. She qualified as a sharp-edged piece of metal jutting from the coachwork, which might injure a victim in an accident. Because of this, in Switzerland during the second half of the 1970’s, the installation of mascots on Rolls-Royces was forbidden and purchasers of a new Rolls-Royce delivered to that country found their mascot carefully wrapped in padding - in the glove compartment. The problem was solved with the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur model cars; at the merest knock or impact, the Spirit of Ecstasy sank into the radiator – surrounded by and vanished out of harms way. Thus were the safety regulations satisfied.

Tragically, the woman who had been the real-life model for the Rolls Royce radiator decoration, was not to appreciate its success. Eleanor Thornton lost her life during World War I when, on December 30, 1915, aboard the SS Persia, while on passage to India, her ship was torpedoed off Cape Martello, Crete by the German WWI U-Boat ace - Max Valentiner; commanding the German submarine U-38. She had been accompanying Lord Montagu who had been directed to take over a command in India.

The SS Persia they were aboard was a passenger liner ship, built in 1900 by Caird & Company, in Inverclyde, Greenock, Scotland. The Persia was owned and operated by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as [P&O]. P&O was a British shipping and logistics company. The ship was extremely large; nearly 500 feet long, and it housed aboard triple expansion steam engines capable of driving the ship at a respectable 18 knots.

At the time of the submarine torpedo strike, the SS Perisa passengers were having lunch. The Persia sank in five to ten minutes, killing 334 of the 501 aboard. The sinking was highly controversial, since it broke naval international law, or the "Cruiser Rules", that stated merchant shipping carrying passengers should be given opportunity for the passengers to disembark before combat could commence. A warning shot across the bow should have been given first. Instead, the rogue German U-Boat Captain; Lieutenant Commander Max Valentiner who ordered the torpedo launch – broke international law, and gave no warning. At the time of sinking, Persia was carrying a large quantity of gold and jewels belonging to the Maharaja Jagatjit Singh.

Among the passengers to survive were Lord Montagu himself, but his secretary (and mistress) Eleanor Thornton, who was the model for the Rolls-Royce "Spirit of Ecstasy" mascot by Charles Robinson Sykes, died. The story was front page news on many British newspapers, including the Daily Mirror and the Daily Sketch.

88 years after the sinking, the wreck of the Persia was located off Crete in 2003 at a depth of 10,000 feet, and an attempt made to salvage the treasure located in the bullion room. The salvage attempt met with limited success, retrieving artifacts and portions of the ship, and some jewels from the bullion room.

Sorry girls - for the tragic ending… but it happened… 92 years ago today. This is the stuff they make movies out of. Can you imagine it? “The Rolls-Royce Affair” starring Mel Gibson as Lord Montagu and… I don’t know… somebody like Nicole Kidman as Eleanor Thornton! It’s got everything that * “* *anic” had and more! … 92 years ago today…











































Video Of The Rolls Royce Silver Shadow I

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – 53 YEARS AGO TODAY

December 28, 1954

HUDSON MOTORS COLLABORATES WITH NASH AND GAINS ACCESS TO V-8 ENGINES


Earlier this month, I wrote an article about the early 50’s racing performance of the Hudson Hornet in NASCAR due to their 1948 model year introduction of a new, innovative body referred to as the “Step-Down Design”.

During the early 1950s, the fastest stock car in the U.S. was the Hudson Hornet, the pride of the Hudson Motor Car Company. Drivers in Hudson Hornets took virtually every major NASCAR event, and for a couple of short years, the wins helped sales. That got the attention of the Big Three: Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors (GM). They began supporting stock-car racers the way Hudson did, and soon began to win.

By the end of the 1954 racing season, the big-three were closing the performance gap and Hudson knew it. Going into 1955, a Chevrolet still had never won a race in NASCAR’s six-season history. In fact, Chevys hadn't even been available with V8 engines since first introduced in 1918 on their Touring car - and the company's "Stovebolt" sixes were slugs. But in 1955 Chevy’s new 265-cubic-inch "small-block" V8 promised to change that and Chevy decided to test that promise on the Grand National circuit where the cars were as close to stock as NASCAR could keep them. With the competition nipping at Hudson’s heals – more power would be needed under the hoods of their coveted Hornets if they were to keep up and maintain their undisputed race track superiority.

In an effort to stay ahead, Hudson merged with the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, which let Hudson replace the Hornet's old flat-six “Twin-H” engine with the big Nash V-8, providing more power. The first Hudson Hornet with a Nash engine was offered on this day in 1954. But the new Hornet design didn't handle as well on the race track beginning in the 1955 season, and the Big Three kept improving. After 1954 the Hudson Hornet's fortunes declined quickly. After the sixth race of the 1955 season, Chevy's new car and new engine had become winners.

By the 1955 model year, the common cars of competition were Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Plymouth, Mercury and Hudson. The six cylinder engines, which were so common In the early half of the 1950s, could no longer keep up with the NASCAR competition.

By the mid-1950s, all car manufacturers now had a V-8 engine, and each of these engines needed names. Plymouth had a "Hy-Fire V-8," introduced in 1955, Nash had a "JetFire V-8" in 1955, and Chevy introduced its famous small-block V-8, known in 1955 as the "Turbo-Fire V-8."

Pontiac's first V-8 in 1955 was called the "Strato-Streak V-8," and under the hood of a Studebaker the next year, you could get a "Skypower V-8." In 1956, Nash got away from the airplane theme and went with "Torque-Flo V-8." Mercury's "Marauder V-8" of 1958 also explored new territory in naming conventions.

For those who may not have heard, it was a very sad day in Pakistan today…
It was a sad day for everyone…

Benazir Bhutto; The foremost leader for democratic reforms in that country was
assassinated earlier this morning…

From most accounts, she was a good – and well intentioned person…

RIP…

Da Yoopers - "Unofficial Alt Version" Rusty Chevrolet

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – 74 YEARS AGO TODAY

December 26, 1933

NISSAN IS BORN


In 1914, the Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works , established three years earlier, in Azabu-Hiroo District in Tokyo, built their first automobile called a DAT. The new car's name was an acronym of the company's partnering' family last names; Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. “D-A-T”

The works was renamed to Kwaishinsha Motorcar Co. in 1918, and again, in 1925, to DAT Motorcar Co.

DAT Motors built trucks in addition to the DAT and Datsun passenger cars. The vast majority of its output was trucks, as there was almost no consumer market for cars at the time. Beginning in 1918, the first DAT trucks were produced for the military market. It was the low demand of the military market in the 1920s that forced DAT to merge in 1926 with Japan's 2nd most successful truck maker, Jitsuyo Motors.

In 1926 the Tokyo-based DAT Motors merged with the Osaka-based Jitsuyo Jidosha Co., Ltd. a.k.a. Jitsuyo Motors (established 1919, as a Kubota subsidiary) to become DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in Osaka until 1932.

In 1931, DAT came out with a new smaller car, the first "Datson", meaning "Son of DAT". Also in 1931, Yoshisuke Aikawa (founder the Japanese holding company Nippon Sangyo) purchased controlling shares in DAT Motors. In 1933 it merged Tobata Casting's automobile parts department with DAT Motors. On December 26, 1933, the company name was “Nipponized” to Jidosha-Seizo Co., Ltd. ("Automobile Manufacturing Co., Ltd.") and was moved to Yokohama. As Tobata Casting was a Nissan (Nippon Sangyo) company, this was the beginning of Nissan's automobile manufacturing. Later in 1933 after Nissan took control of DAT Motors, the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" in Japanese, hence the name "Datsun".

During World War II, Nissan was converted to military production. Yes, they supplied armaments and vehicles to the Japanese military, which America fought against. After Japan's defeat, the company operated in a limited capacity under the occupation government until 1955.

Are you confused yet? I sure am. I will skip the next 30 years of insane name changes, mind-boggling mergers and crazy corporate acquisitions…

Until 1982, Nissan automobiles in most export markets were sold under the Datsun brand. Since 1989, Nissan has sold its luxury models in North America under the Infiniti brand.

AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY – 22 YEARS AGO TODAY

Christmas Day - December 25, 1985

Longest Battery-Powered Car Drive Ends

On Christmas Day, David Turner and Tim Pickhard arrived in John o' Groat's, Scotland, the northernmost point in Great Britain. They had set out four days earlier from Land's End, the southernmost point in Britain, in a battery-powered Freight Rover Leyland Sherpa driven by a Lucas electric motor. They traveled 875 miles on a single battery charge, completing the longest battery-powered drive in history.



TRANSLATION = On this day in 1985, two men drove 875 miles across Britain in a battery powered car on a single charge – solely for the purpose of avoiding the “Honey-Do List”.

Ya, they both told their wives they were going out for groceries, and then they just kept going, having wild adventures and running from the law. Once they became apprehended and needed bail money – they called the wives and blamed their “excusion” on a faulty On-Star mapping system… no photos are available for this event because the two men feared them being used as “evidence against them” in divorce court!

well… I don’t know… I just made-up the last half of the story… but their accomplishment is duly noted and I thought you would like to know about their act which has thus far gone seemingly unnoticed.

Yay for roadtrips!