|
|||||||||
 |
Hi Folks, |
||||||||
|
It’s me Enzo, I’m back. Thanks so much for the many nice comments. My dad says it’s going to my head though. Maybe asking for that new litter box with a privacy screen was a bit much? Say folks, now that I feel comfortable meowing with you; have you ever felt comfortable cruising down the road in your special car. So comfortable you lose track of most everything around you. You just enjoy the drive with no cares at all. Then out of nowhere one of your gauges starts to act funny. What do you do? Ignore it? Stop and investigate? Know that the car is running too good to have a problem? I bet a lot of you either ignore it, don’t even notice it, or figure the car is running too good to worry about it! Well let me tell you my dad was the worst! Oh my, could he mess up. Run out of gas or overheat. Why not that long ago I was outside on the fence with one of the neighbor cats, Albert Felinestein, he’s really smart! Albert said, “Your dad better pay more attention to the gauges.” Geez was he right as usual. Mom and Dad went out for dinner in the 25 Cadillac, making sure it was ready for the Vintage Tour. The oil gauge went to zero about 2 miles from home. Dad figured he heard no noise, everything seemed except for the oil gauge so it must be bad. Surely he could make it home. WRONG! Sure enough came that awful bang! bang! bang! and Dad knew he had messed up. Albert Felinestein was right again. So . . . always trust your gauges. Better to be too careful and waste some time than to lose a motor. I haven’t seen Dad that upset since my real mom Franklynn had us kids under the bed! Well that’s it for now. Time to eat. Trust those gauges and enjoy the touring season. Sincerely,
|
|||||||||
|
By Sherman Carey |
|||||||||
|
The 2003 Newsletter Contest is underway with May 15th being the deadline to register. If your region or chapter has not already responded, please go ahead and send your registration form to us as we will honor all forms received in a timely manner. The AACA Policy & Procedure Manual requires that each newsletter entered in the Publications Contest be distributed to the Publications Committee, and to National Headquarters. There is a provision to request a waiver if budget considerations prevent full distribution. We have editors continually asking what can be done to improve their newsletters to be considered for the various award levels. Listed below are a few of the areas the committee considers when judging newsletters.
The Publications Committee is receiving many newsletters and we’re enjoying reading all about the fun and fellowship the various chapters and regions are having in their areas. The newsletters are all unique in their own way and we appreciate you sharing your information with us via the mail.
|
|||||||||
|
By John L. Walker |
|||||||||
| This year AACA will host its annual summer seminars at the Annual Grand National
Meet, held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The dates when the meet will commence will be
August 15-16, 2003. We have been working hard on trying to get as many
interesting seminars as are provided in Philadelphia for our Annual Meeting. As
of now, the seminars will take place on Friday, August 15, during the morning
and early afternoon hours. Some of the seminars are:
Membership Roundtable These seminars may change prior to the event. AACA started holding these seminars during the spring/summertime for those people who could not make the Annual Philadelphia Meeting held each February. The seminars are always held in the Western or Midwestern area of the United States. Many of our National Directors moderate these seminars so members can get a first heads-up on many topics and issues. These seminars are very interesting and enjoyable to attend. The panelists often encourage the attendees to participate in question and answer sessions during the seminars. Many important topics are covered in these seminars, especially in the Legislative seminar. Every year, states and local governments consider passing various new laws regulating old cars. AACA has a committee to watch over this and inform us of any introduction of a law that could jeopardize our hobby. If you can, mark your calendars now for this fun-filled weekend, enjoying our hobby together. Experiencing the car show, the seminars, a judging school, and meeting old friends and making new ones as well, you will go away being glad you came.
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
R. E. Olds
With a new son and little work, Olds’ dad couldn’t feed the family. He took his blacksmith trade to Lansing, Michigan. Ransom and his brother added their mechanical and design skills to their father’s muscle. By age 20, Ransom owned the business. Steam power drove America in the late 1800s and by 1887 Ransom had adapted it to a vehicle. In 1895 the brothers Duryea developed a gasoline car a month ahead of Olds. Few realize Olds also produced a handful of electric cars around 1900. He smelled the future in the exhaust fumes but didn’t have the money to produce cars. Samuel L. Smith, a copper and metals magnate, made it happen. He posted $199,600 for 95% of the stock and Olds scratched together $400 to start The Olds Motor Works in August 1897. Smith insisted the plant be built in his hometown of Detroit. Smith and Olds differed on what type of car to build. Smith wanted large bulky vehicles whereas Olds -like Ford - saw the common man as the real market. A devastating fire decided the question. Only one prototype car survived. Undaunted, Olds sought help from John and Horace Dodge and Henry Leland to build HIS car. Dodge built 425 “little curved dash” Oldsmobiles the first year. The “Merry Oldsmobile” was more than a song. To prove its worth, Ransom gave Roy Chapin a cardboard box of spare parts and a roadmap to the 1901 New York Automobile Show. After seven days and 800 miles of rain, mud and rut, he chugged the 7 hp. 1 cylinder car to the entrance of the Waldolf Astoria in time for the show! A New York dealer sold a thousand cars at that event for $650 a piece. Despite the success, Samuel Smith held the pocketbook and demanded bigger cars. Olds left the company in 1904 and moved back to Lansing to start REO. By the 15th of October that year a spanking new model rolled across the pavement. REO, like Ford and Maxwell, had an opportunity to join William Durant’s General Motors. When they refused, GM merged Oldsmobile, Oakland, Chevrolet and Cadillac. REO built a two-passenger runabout with an optional rear seat. The reliable 1-cylinder engine used a chain drive for the two-speed transmission. REOs stamina fulfilled their slogan, “Built for What Happens.” In the New York Motor Club’s 1904 six-day National Economy Tour, a REO carried 4 people 682 miles for a total cost of $3.38 per person! Later a 5-passenger touring model took the economy prize in the 1905 Glidden Tour by covering over a thousand miles without a repair or a tire change! In another race a REO was one of four finishers in a field of 30 cars and the new sales pitch became, “YOU can do it with a REO!” By 1916 REO was selling 70,000 cars a year. The engines now had 4 cylinders in an F-head configuration using overhead intakes and side exhausts. REOs were solid reliable cars but never sold in quantity. Their record year was 1927. Their engineering department, unafraid of innovation, often led the pack. Like Jordan and a few other makers, The REO began using Lockheed hydraulic brakes in 1927. Another feature was REO’s Silent Second transmission that permitted easy downshifting from “high” to “second” at 40 mph. In 1934 REO offered the optional Self Shifter automatic transmission and the advertisements boldly stated “there is nothing to do but steer!” The most luxurious REO was the Reo-Royale built on a 135’ wheelbase. The raked windshield, a deep “V” grill and a longer hood gave an elegant flair to the drab 1930s. The Flying Clouds were priced in the $1200 range while the Royale’s elegance added $1500 more. A stylish convertible coupe topped the line. Despite being reasonably priced and stylish, REO ceased automobile production in 1936 when less than 5,000 units were sold. By then the body dies were shared with Graham. With America sniffing at an economic recovery, REO saw their future in the newborn trucking industry. They eventually sold out to White Trucks in 1957 who built the Diamond REO. The REO nameplate was hung on the wall forever in 1974.
See you next month!
|
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
It’s Like Packing a Suitcase When you, as editor, put together your newsletter, fitting all the material you have into a final form can be tricky. There is always the problem of filling out each page without a lot of white space. I keep a stock of interesting car related photos and clip art on my computer to fill in white space when needed, but my first preference is to fill the page with text. Look at this issue of the Rummage Box and you will see a subtle “pattern” that I used to get all the material in to eight pages. I started with the lead article by the V-P Regions, Dave Berg, on page one and then started inserting articles according to size. (Note that I receive these articles by e-mail that are already a set size.) I printed out all articles in advance in the same font and point size so I could examine their size and then started inserting them into the pages with full page articles first (or more than full page articles). The article on page two overflowed which left me with a half page on page three which I inserted a half page length article. I then inserted articles on page four and five, but each filled only about 75% of the page and I did not have any short article left that would fill out those pages. The solution was to start both articles from pages four and five in two columns on page four with overflow from both “lead” portions on page five. Then I had about a quarter of a page which is what I needed for inserting an article two columns wide at the bottom of the page. You can see how the remainder of the Rummage Box filled up using this technique. On the newsletter I do for the Hornets Nest Regions which may be from 24 pages to 44 or more pages monthly I use a somewhat similar technique in that I have the standard articles and information that is a monthly constant, including members’ monthly articles, at the very beginning and then add the onetime type articles about the recent tour event for the previous month and such single articles on the tail end. That way everything I put in the newsletter is a full page without leaving open spaces in various pages as the newsletter. I am always putting in material filling up each page working front to rear. When articles have pictures, the size of those pictures can be enlarged or reduced as needed to aid in filling out pages. Never increase text size for the purpose of filling up a page — it looks unprofessional. So, practice filling up the newsletter using your own system and see how much time you save! At any rate, we are starting a new year so enter the AACA Contest and see how you do! Just a reminder: Be sure to return your registration form for the 2003 Region and Chapter Newsletter Contest. And be sure to read the back side of the letter which outlines the nine points that make for a great newsletter. Maybe the pay isn’t so good, but you couldn’t have a more enjoyable job in your Region or Chapter. It’s all in what YOU make it.
|
|||||||||
Enzo the Cat
Today
the city of Geneva Ohio has a population of 6,883 people. The website
proudly proclaims a growth of 286 folks since 1990 but sadly lacks a mention
of their most famous citizen. There, near the banks of Lake Erie, Ransom Eli
Olds was born in 1864.