My Side of the Cave - A Look at Our World With a Little Common Sense Thrown In by Robert Strait - HTML preview

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Chapter 2

Travel and the romance with our cars.

Invention and transportation

Here in America and around the world, the movement of people from one place to another sparked the imagination of early modern man. This may have begun when someone found that he could hitch a ride on one of his four legged friends.

Someone then built a crude wagon that could be towed behind a horse or oxen or donkey.

So began our affair with early forms of transportation, be it on land or water and later in the air.

The steam engine was first invented by Thomas Savery in 1698 and later was used on both land and water. An early locomotive was built in England during the 17th century to be used on rails. Steam powered boats were first used in the United States in 1787, invented by Robert Fulton. Steam powered locomotives were used in the early to mid 1800s and flourished during the Civil War. The Central Pacific Railroad built the first transcontinental lines, allowing travel across the country.

The first successful internal combustion engines came along in the late 1800s through the successes of Gottlieb Daimler and Samuel Morey. Invention of the automobile by Karl Benz came soon after.

It is this invention of the automobile that has so captured the love of the American public.

It was Henry Ford"s assembly line that built cars so quickly and cheaply, and therefore allowed nearly every American to purchase one. Ford said, “It was a car for the common man.”

Owning and driving your own car became an American phenomenon. To this day owning a home and a car remains a top priority for most Americans.

Travel is now possible on the ground, over the waters, in the air and soon, in space. We are no longer limited to a confined area. Our neighborhood, our state, our country, our world and the unlimited space beyond has expanded our limitations.

Transportation

Mud paths to interstates

In early America, many native Indians used pathways created by animals to get from one place to another. The rivers were also used for transportation, hunting and fishing.

The American frontiersman followed this patchwork of trails and expanded them to allow more general movement and the creation of small villages along the way.

These pathways were used throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. During the Civil War, both the northern and southern armies used and improved these thoroughfares.

The advent of the automobile in the early 1900s, created a need for more and better corridors. In time, hard surface roads replaced dirt, dust and mud. The race was on.

The 1956 Highway Act and President Dwight Eisenhower started the interstate highway system. These new roadways tied together counties, states and country. General travel and interstate commerce was now possible from east coast to west coast. This was a boom to the prosperity of our land and the people.

There is a down side and it is called congestion. This is the result of too many automobiles using too few highways. No blame here. Road builders and planners had no idea of the traffic problems that they would soon face.

Examples abound in cities all over the country where roads and streets butt right against private business and home properties. It is therefore difficult now to change or make improvements.

Even in suburban areas today, highway planning may be inadequate. They build two lanes only to come back later and add two more lanes. A few traffic lights multiply into lights on every corner. This could also be said of signage, which in some cases grows to be obscene. Beautiful highway scapes turn into plain old ugly.

Traffic congestion can be a nightmare, turning left is a high risk, waiting at red lights is forever, and you along with the 10,000 other drivers sitting at that traffic light, and collectively wasting millions of gallons of gasoline!

There are one way streets, bumps, pot holes, idiot drivers, short sighted laws, and about a zillion other problems that can make your driving, well …… just no fun!

This is not what they had in mind when they wrote that old jingle, “In my merry Oldsmobile.”

Solving our traffic problems.

……….. Or not.

Well, I don"t think there"s a snowballs chance in hell of solving all the traffic problems, but there is room for monumental improvements and I wish to add my two cents worth.

• How about four way stop signs in place of signals. Cheap and simple. California has been very successful using them.

• Install signals only as a last resort. Traffic lights are way over used.

• Caution blinker lights and stop signs are adequate in many cases, especially during night time hours.

• Electrically controlled and programmed stop and caution signs make sense. Many can be solar operated. Most could be adapted to improve traffic flow.

• Widen two lane roads to allow slower traffic to move right. Texas (fm) roads do this, and it is, oh so civil!

• Local access roads relieve congestion and reduce accidents. Greater setbacks are required early on. Weighting the disruption and the sacrifice against the rewards will be a formidable selling task.

• Build thoroughfares around cities for all the obvious reasons. Local business may resist, but the result would reduce local congestion and accidents.

• Raise interstate speed limits. Think of the Autobahn in Germany. With little risk, high speed lanes are practical on most interstate highways. A high speed coast to coast highway is possible. Think of Route 80 as an example. Traveling time from New York to San Francisco could potentially be cut by 30-50 %.

• All directional signage should be minimal, approved and reviewed. Some of our streetscapes look terrible. How about a little common sense here.

• Review local regulations. This would include homemade signs and non conforming directions. Signage needs to be minimal and simple and understandable to all. Travelers need to be comfortable and happy.

• Eliminate illogical speed zones designed to entrap drivers. We need to get past this speed thing. Americans do not like unrealistic restrictions.

• Rethink directional information. People who travel our highways from state to state will tell you there is no uniformity and no consistency.

• Roundabouts move traffic in all directions without stopping. Washington D.C. uses them successfully and they can work in many cases if they are well thought out.

• Eliminate left turns where possible. This is a tough one! Create access roads, overpasses and roundabouts. Turning left should not be considered a form of suicide.

• Penalize drivers under the influence of alcohol, drugs and other influences. Build in technology to our vehicles that will not allow them access. There is no reason that these losers should ever endanger the lives of others.

• School bus safety must be addressed. Stop pickup of children in high traffic areas. Build off road pickup stations for buses. This problem demands that local people come together to find a solution for the safe movement of children and adults.

• We need a nationwide think tank to evaluate our transportation system. We need to find out what works and do away with what doesn"t. Accidents kill tens of thousands of people each year and giving tickets to little old ladies doing 10 miles an hour over the speed limit is just wrong.

The purpose of the highway system is to move traffic merrily along, safely and with a bit of joy in our hearts!

Speed bumps or your life

You are breezing along at the 35 mph speed limit when suddenly you see a speed bump in your path. Even though you have braked to 20 mph, you grip for the collision of your car hitting a curblike pile of concrete, called a speed bump. The jolt is tremendous and back injuries may be imminent. The kids in the back are now screaming and everything once on the seats is now on the floor. You pull over to see if all is well and to collect yourself.

Now wasn"t that a great experience? Don"t you feel a lot safer now, knowing that the nanny state has once again, in their great wisdom, protected you from ever thinking of going too fast? My question is, who was this brilliant politician (potential presidential timber) who dreamed up this speed bump thing? He should at least get kudos for selling this stupid idea to everyone in America.

I was in a shopping area this week, one that I try to avoid, and there are (I counted them) eight speed bumps and about a million little round concrete bumps, all in the length of a football field. This is an adventure in slow pain. But if keeping the speed down, regardless of the ramifications, is the purpose, they certainly achieved that in spades.

Anything over 2 mph is a danger only to you.

This kind of speed enforcement must cost us a ton of money, and along with taking care of our roads, wow! We"re talking big bucks!

Now, my suggestion is since all this money (our money), is spent on keeping our speeds down, why not just let the roads go to hell? Think of the savings for our state. Less dollars for repairing roads, installing speed bumps and speed signs, and we will not need as many policeman out there, since going too fast will no longer be an issue. Built in pot holes will be our speed bumps and the best thing is, that they will be free!

The automobile.

A romantic adventure on wheels.

Some great automobiles with really cool features arrived on the scene in the 1900s. Both before and after World War Two, the imaginations of automobile engineers and designers came together like never before. Dreams turned into reality and gave us cars that were both functional and sexy.

They helped initiate the love affair between the American public and Detroit. Engineers and designers created useful art. They combined imagination, form, texture and color to the automobile, bringing adventure to the average Joe.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, there seemed to be free reign from drawing board to the salesroom. Great inspirations still exist today, but there seems to be limitations on anything outside the box. Some great ideas must get sent off to the great auto cemetery in the sky.

Let"s go back a few years and talk about some of the wonderful cars and their adornments:

There was the Studebaker with it"s bullet like design in the 1950s. They made an overdrive that allowed the car to seemingly coast along the road. Because it looked similar both front and back, people said, “you don"t know if you"re coming or going.”

Preston Tucker gave us a very modern 1948 model that stressed safety. For example, it had a swivel head light in the middle of the grill that aimed to the left and to the right when turning the steering wheel.

The Cord, built from 1929 to1937, was the first to use front wheel drive and retractable headlights. This was one of the most beautiful, distinctive and alluring cars of the 20th century.

In 1922, Checker was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was square shaped and not particularly glamorous, but it was functional. It was built for room and comfort and the trunk was mammoth. You may remember it as a taxicab.

Crosley and the Henry J. were early inexpensive mini cars. They were made for around town driving and good gas mileage (50 mpg).

Brothers Fred and August Duesenberg began building race cars in 1913. They were sleek, fast and had super charged 400 horsepower engines. Their public cars were beautiful, expensive and are still highly desired.

Ransom Olds in 1940 built the Oldsmobile in Lansing, Michigan. It was later sold to General Motors and featured the first automatic transmission.

The Edsel was introduced by Ford Motors in 1958 and only lasted two years. It was very modern and it was said that it was ahead of it"s time.

Nash of Kenosha, Wisconsin opened its doors in 1916. Inventions for their cars included the first hot water heater, conditioned air systems, seat belts, and air liner type recliner seats that folded into a full size bed. This was great fun for drive-in movies!

The Stout Scarab was maybe the first mini van. It was handmade of fiberglass. Its design was considered futurist or perhaps art deco. It was large and stylish on the outside. It was like an expensive yacht on the inside with seating for eight, a card table, leather, chrome and wicker. In 1935, it sold for the unheard price of $5000.

Ford Thunderbird gave us the opera window in the back seat which was more style than function, but it was classy and had pizzazz!

The Road Plane, built in 1945, was an early attempt at a car that could fly.

Rowan was an electric runabout that could get an amazing 200 miles between charges.

The 1960"s amphicar, could be driven on the water as well as on the road.

Then there was the American Pickup Truck, a true success from day one. They are the epitome of rugged, go anywhere, do anything, western, cowboy, kick butt attitude, driving machines. Pickup trucks are a statement that says, “Don"t mess with me.” The Ford, The Chevy, The Dodge and the GMC continue to be the purchase choice for millions of people.

The American Convertible seems to exemplify freedom. What would hollywood have done without the sun on your face and wind in your hair, rag top sex machine? Most carmakers have attempted to build convertibles, but only a few have had lasting appeal.

They are the Corvette, the Ford Mustang, Chrysler Sebring and Thunderbird. It"s a shame that the large size automobiles no longer make convertibles because it was a real kick to drive a Caddy, Olds, Buick, Mercury, Pontiac, Plymouth, Packard or Chrysler down the road with the top down. Listen up car makers!

The Sports Car revolution. What an adventure they were! They were mostly European, small two seaters and open top. They were colorful, loud, fast and sexy. I mean knock out sexy. A young guy or gal driving a sports car was not alone, unless they chose to be alone!

The more popular names were Jaguar, Austin Healy, MG, Triumph, BMW, Corvette, Morgan and Porsche. The common thread in driving them was the performance, the feeling that you were a part of the road. Triumph, for example, was low enough that you could reach out and touch the ground. Driving and owning a sports car can be one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life!

What sells?

Marketing, design and the options are generally the reason for particular auto sales.

Designers are always seeking for that certain look that will catch on with the public. Car adornments, always a key to sales, may have begun with paint color and chrome. Shiny chrome bumpers and trim packages added greatly to the appeal in the 1950s and 60s. The Cadillac, Lincoln Continental and Oldsmobile 98 were ostentatiously beautiful with massive use of color and chrome.

The term hardtop convertible indicated window openings from front seat to back without a supporting post. This gave the car a convertible look. Some real hardtop beauties were Chevy, Ford and Mercury.

Tail fins became the rage in the late 1950s. Folks gobbled them up. They were strictly style but some say they helped to stabilize the car at higher speeds. Automobiles had small vent windows in the front doors for exhaust and fresh air. They were used by everyone in all seasons. Removing this feature was not welcomed by the public but the car companies were not listening.

Exterior color options offered vibrant shades of reds, blues and greens. Mixing two complimentary colors, one over the other, was called “two tone.” Interiors were intoxicating through the use of chrome and bringing the same color from the outside in.

The seating was fine leather in shades of white, yellow, red and blue that complimented the exterior paint colors. Interiors were bright and colorful, certainly not the bland and uninteresting interiors in today"s cars.

Personal options ran the gamut. One clever idea involved a two inch chrome, 180 degree sleeve with an attached rubber hose just under the dash and leading down through the floor. This was to hold your lit cigarette and the smoke was drawn down and out of the car. Its use today would be considered “politically incorrect.” Big V-8 engines were the rage in the 50s and 60s. They would later be called “muscle cars.” Innovations and marketing fits like hand and glove, and the American public has always bought in, big time!

One of the worst moments in the 20th century, was not the depression or the recessions or the wars. No, it was the day they invented bucket seats. The day they removed bench seats was the day that romance died. Do you know how many American couples, boy and girl, first expressed their love by hugging in the front seat of a car? I"ll tell you. It was nearly every man and woman in the USA. Some young jock engineer from Detroit thought bucket seats would sell cars. They sold, we lost!

Over 1000 automobiles have come and gone. Packard, De Soto, Continental, Hupmobile, Peerless, Overland, Hudson and Kaiser, are but a few of the names that have long since passed.

They are now like ghosts who invade only the minds of those who knew them. The feel, the sounds, the smells, the acceleration, the lifter of spirits, the know no bounds cars that took us away to dream.

The future of the automobile is unknown. Presently we see only bland look-alike hauling machines. There are those who speak of removing the combustion engine and perhaps some who would prefer that we return to the horse and buggy. After all, this ancient concept would indeed create jobs. People would be needed to remove the dung from the roads. However, in the end, I"m sure common sense will prevail and our future transportation needs will be met. Futuristic people movers may hover just above the ground, frictionless, or fly high above. They will be fast and safe and will provide comfort and convenience. Their value will advance the world"s living standards beyond imagination. What the future offers up, however, may fall short of the romance that we enjoyed in our cars of the 20th century.

Seat belts.

Don"t ya just love em?

Well, maybe not so much. Putting seat belts on and wearing them can be a real pain. Yes, I know, it"s against the law and, for the most part, they make you safer. The problem is the searching for the belt, hooking up the belt and confining yourself with the belt, problem. Otherwise I have no complaints. Also I don"t know about you, but the fastened belt hits me right on my collar bone. This is most uncomfortable after a few miles.

Couldn"t they design it to press somewhere else? There must be an easier and more comfortable method of keeping us alive. I have a thought. Could they adapt a padded apparatus that would swing down over your shoulders in a collision, similar to air bags?

Less confinement, more happiness.

While you"re thinking of a solution, and …………. to pass my valuable time, I"d like to make this worthless and unrelated point. If they made shoes higher in the back, we could always be walking down hill. No wonder women live longer than men!!!

Well ……… back to seat belts. There are some great solutions out there. Good luck on getting them enacted. However, keep shouting and just maybe someone will hear you!

My thought is, we could create a retractable something or other that would happen automatically and keep us contained in a safe atmosphere. A bubblesphere, maybe similar to the plastic bubble wrap used in packaging. ………… well, maybe not! How about the entire car being a kind of bubble made with materials that would absorb the impact?

Accidents in the US claim thousands of lives per year. The inventor of this new design would be a hero and become very rich! Then maybe that person could donate some of that money to fix the roads……. Well, maybe not!

What if the car we drive was designed by God.

Our Creator and Maker did a good job on human beings, along with our wondrous and misused brains ( misused is my term ), and He also was responsible for the fishes, the animals, and in his spare time, the mountains, the oceans and everything else.

So, with this great track record, couldn"t He (God), have also built a transportation machine to help us travel about? Just for kicks, let"ºs suppose that He did create a “people mover,” based on the human blueprint. What would that have looked like?

The human blue print

• He fitted humans with a skeletal form that is strong, flexible, provides movement, is long lasting and all of the parts have function.

• He gave us a skin covering that holds all of this together, is smooth, porous, functional and has beauty.

• He provided the internal engine system, our heart, lungs, stomach and such, that gives us the ability to exist from birth to death.

• He gave us the operating central control system, the brain, to run this marvelous machine.

Conclusion: This human package is fully functional, powered and capable to think, yet flexible enough to change thought and direction. There are no spare parts and no mistakes. We are self healing with everything being a perfect and beautiful symmetry.

The vehicle blue print

• He would have provided a protective and functional skeletal frame for capacity and strength.

• He would have provided an outer covering to hold and protect this frame.

• He would have created an inter operational system to provide the energy to create movement.

• He would have provided a central control system to operate and manage this power unit.

Conclusion: This transportation package like the human package, would be perfect, fully functional and beautiful with no mistakes and no spare parts required.

My 10 greatest cars

1932 Bugatti

1933 SJ Duesenberg

1937 Cord

1940 Packard 120

1948 Series 62 Cadillac

1957 Jaguar XKE

Austin Healey 4000

1957 Oldsmobile Starfire

1958 Corvette

1954 Mercedes Benz Gullwing 300 SL

Some other great cars that come in second include:

The Aston Martin that James Bond drove

1957 Bentley Coupe

1953 Buick Skylark

1966 Buick Riviera

1957 Chevrolet Convertible

1947 Chrysler Town Country Convertible (woody)

1951-55 Ferrari Type America Coupe

1947 Ford Super Deluxe Convertible (woody)

1958 Pontiac Bonneville

1987-88 Porsche 959 Coupe.

This is my list. What are your favorites?

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