You’re driving along and you see one guy driving a ‘77 AMC Hornet and another guy driving an ‘79 Mercury Bobcat. They get pissed off at each other and start driving dangerously, like they’re trying to run each other off the road. Who wins this fight?
Well I wouldn't drive dangerously or try to run anyone off the road. But the AMC Hornet was a neat car. Name came from the Hudson Hornet. I say that if FIAT-Chrysler (Stellantis) wanted to make something to compete with the Ford Mustang, they should call it either Hornet or Javelin. They own all those names, so long as no one else claims them. And they always own the right to use the old advertising pictures and to claim the legacy.
Mustang was and is popular because it is not that big. Challenger and Charger are too big. And Mustang is one of the few American cars which is still selling.
A girl in an office I worked in had a new Mustang, but it was not a Mustang II, it was more what you could call a Mustang III. It was a size bigger than a Pinto. It was the beginnings of the modern Mustang, close to the original size.
This girl was really displeased with it. The automatic transmission plus the air conditioning plus the power steering would make he engine slow way down at idle, so it seemed to resonate with the soft motor mounts and the suspension and tires. The car body would shake like hell, like the mirrors would go out of adjustment. Ford looked at it many many times and the brought out a factory specialist.
I was the one who finally told this girl and our office what was the matter. But doing anything about it would be a different matter.
I once tried to help a guy who had a Pinto of that era. It would not idle. I worked on the car one night and tried to figure what was the matter. To me it seemed like it was a vacuum and emission control problem. But I could not get beyond that. For one thing I was not able to keep the engine running unless my foot was on the gas pedal. So a lot of tests I was not able to do.
The standard kind of analysis was that in the 70's and early 80's the US makers did not adapt well enough to the desire for smaller and more fuel efficient cars.
I think this is only part of it. They actually did move to smaller. Chrysler A body from the late 50's. Ford Falcon from the 50's. And Maverick was made from that. Then Mustang, then Pinto and Mustang II. And GM has smaller cars.
I think there was a quality and technology issue.
Some years back now I looked at a Ford Focus and told the dealer that the technology was out of date.
And same thing for the Plymouth/Dodge Neon.
And then the first Nuevo FIAT 500's seemed to use the same power train.
They were not competitive with the Japanese cars.
Chrysler K-Car needed a 4th transmission gear, due to the size of the vehicle, to make it drive nice.
Chrysler cab forward or LH, was nice.
Ford Taurus was nice.
Ford Escort was to be a world class car, and it became Focus. Fiesta, all its versions, coming I think from German Ford, it was nice.
Now there is very little passenger car building in North America. Mostly a few cartoon models.
Cleaner Cars
The History and Technology of Emission Control Since the 1960s
by Mondt, J. Robert (2000)
Lee Iacocca wanted to take extra money collected for restoring the Statue of Liberty and make this museum of the history of the American car. People called it Iacocca land. He had to give the money back. I wonder how he would have treated these issues.
Ford Pinto & Mercury Bobcat, 1971-1980 shop manual / by Alan Ahlstrand ; Sydnie A. Wauson, editor ; Jeff Robinson, publisher
Clymer Ford Pinto & Mercury Bobcat, 1971-1980 shop manual. Clymer
The Ford Pinto case : a study in applied ethics, business, and technology / edited by Douglas Birsch and John H. Fielder (1994)
Ford pinto fuel tanks / Emma Huddleston ; content consultant, Patrick T. Hester, PhD, Associate Professor of Management, Department of Management and Accountancy, University of North Carolina, Asheville (2020)
The American auto makers screwed up when they could not maintain any model continuity. They can change the design of the cars and change their size. But they should have done a better job of maintaining some continuity in naming and look.
Now they have failed in type of car again and again and again. They make stuff and it fails to sell, whereas the ones made in Germany and Japan do sell.
Just going to smaller and more fuel efficient models was not really the issue. They just did not work hard enough to stay competitive in technology and in quality. They wasted a huge built in advantate.
Chrysler K-Cars and LH or Cab Forward were good.
Ford Probe, Festiva, Taurus, Escort/Focus were all good.
Should have done what was necessary to sustain them.
So besides filling tires and the impact wrench, I want my air compressor to be good for cleaning stuff out, for sand blasting small stuff like auto parts, and for spray painting.
Tach Timing Light does not seem to work on 6v, need an external 12v supply. And on some cars with no High Tension Distributor. Some have coils sitting on top of spark plugs. I think you use and old spark plug wire and make an extension. Otherwise you would have to tap in to the low tension ignition.
Xenon bulbs in timing lights rarely fail. Unless the glass is broken or severely blackened, flash tubes usually do not require replacement. If your light doesn't flash anymore, repair of the internal circuitry may be required. Please contact Actron at 1-800-228-7667 for information on sending your light in for service.
Hornets were nice cars. Much bigger and heavier than Bobcat.
The name came from the Hudson Hornet. And AMC was formed by joining Hudson and Nash together in 1952.
And today Stellatis (FIAT-Chrysler) also owns the legacy of AMC. They could launch a new division and reuse the names.
But as it is, they don't even make enough passenger car models to use the division names they have in play.
Look at what is on the road today. Any of the popular models could be make by Stellantis, and made in North America. But it is nothing, no passenger cars except Challenger, Charger, and 300, and those are cartoon cars. And Ford only makes Mustang and GT, and except for FWD's made in China, GM has only Caddilac, Corvette and Camaro.
'56 was the last year for Packard. Only 290 produced. Getting close to 3 tons. V8 instead of straight 8, but I think flat heads.
'56 was a great year for Cadillac, outselling Packard, Lincoln, and Imperial combined.
Packard did merge with Studebaker, but that never worked.
I would add myself that the look of these last Packards was very much like the Forward Look that Virgil Exner was doing for Chysler at that time. He had been hired away from Studebaker.
41 comments
Latest
Mustang was and is popular because it is not that big. Challenger and Charger are too big. And Mustang is one of the few American cars which is still selling.
https://www.schmitt.com/inventory/1971-a…
https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0121-444498…
SJG
Ann Wilson - Beware Of Darkness @ George Fest 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pphBiAY…
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1131…
SJG
BMW made a 3 series hatchback, and I had thought about that.
Best if you want hatchback to have FWD and then the gas tank can be midships.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-v…
SJG
GEORGE FEST - Norah Jones - SOMETHING @ Fonda 09-28-14
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC42CJoB…
The guy riding the huffy bike watching these two fools is the winner!
One win for SJG -
Rong. The Mercury Bobcat guy wins. But only if his car explodes into a giant fireball that ends his sad existence as a Bobcat driver.
AMC Hornet was a nice car. I want to see the North American passenger car building industry revived. Now it just makes a few RWD cartoon vehicles.
I want to revive the FWD practical car industry.
AMC Hornet was a nice car. The name can still be good.
SJG
https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=9837
So was Bobcat
https://autopolis.wordpress.com/2009/10/…
A girl in an office I worked in had a new Mustang, but it was not a Mustang II, it was more what you could call a Mustang III. It was a size bigger than a Pinto. It was the beginnings of the modern Mustang, close to the original size.
This girl was really displeased with it. The automatic transmission plus the air conditioning plus the power steering would make he engine slow way down at idle, so it seemed to resonate with the soft motor mounts and the suspension and tires. The car body would shake like hell, like the mirrors would go out of adjustment. Ford looked at it many many times and the brought out a factory specialist.
I was the one who finally told this girl and our office what was the matter. But doing anything about it would be a different matter.
I once tried to help a guy who had a Pinto of that era. It would not idle. I worked on the car one night and tried to figure what was the matter. To me it seemed like it was a vacuum and emission control problem. But I could not get beyond that. For one thing I was not able to keep the engine running unless my foot was on the gas pedal. So a lot of tests I was not able to do.
SJG
Peter Frampton, Do You Feel Like We Do, Festival de Viña 2008 w/ Rob Arthur, 26min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axs7w6lF…
I think this is only part of it. They actually did move to smaller. Chrysler A body from the late 50's. Ford Falcon from the 50's. And Maverick was made from that. Then Mustang, then Pinto and Mustang II. And GM has smaller cars.
I think there was a quality and technology issue.
Some years back now I looked at a Ford Focus and told the dealer that the technology was out of date.
And same thing for the Plymouth/Dodge Neon.
And then the first Nuevo FIAT 500's seemed to use the same power train.
They were not competitive with the Japanese cars.
Chrysler K-Car needed a 4th transmission gear, due to the size of the vehicle, to make it drive nice.
Chrysler cab forward or LH, was nice.
Ford Taurus was nice.
Ford Escort was to be a world class car, and it became Focus. Fiesta, all its versions, coming I think from German Ford, it was nice.
Now there is very little passenger car building in North America. Mostly a few cartoon models.
Cleaner Cars
The History and Technology of Emission Control Since the 1960s
by Mondt, J. Robert (2000)
Lee Iacocca wanted to take extra money collected for restoring the Statue of Liberty and make this museum of the history of the American car. People called it Iacocca land. He had to give the money back. I wonder how he would have treated these issues.
Ford Pinto & Mercury Bobcat, 1971-1980 shop manual / by Alan Ahlstrand ; Sydnie A. Wauson, editor ; Jeff Robinson, publisher
Clymer Ford Pinto & Mercury Bobcat, 1971-1980 shop manual. Clymer
SJG
The Ford Pinto case : a study in applied ethics, business, and technology / edited by Douglas Birsch and John H. Fielder (1994)
Ford pinto fuel tanks / Emma Huddleston ; content consultant, Patrick T. Hester, PhD, Associate Professor of Management, Department of Management and Accountancy, University of North Carolina, Asheville (2020)
SJG
Why 'Sports Illustrated Swimsuit' will only work with brands that 'prove they are creating change for women'
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/sports-i…
Weather Report - Live at Montreux (1976) [Remastered]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfvfXA2S…
Now they have failed in type of car again and again and again. They make stuff and it fails to sell, whereas the ones made in Germany and Japan do sell.
Just going to smaller and more fuel efficient models was not really the issue. They just did not work hard enough to stay competitive in technology and in quality. They wasted a huge built in advantate.
Chrysler K-Cars and LH or Cab Forward were good.
Ford Probe, Festiva, Taurus, Escort/Focus were all good.
Should have done what was necessary to sustain them.
SJG
The Gnostic Origins of Christianity, featuring Tim Freke and Peter Gandy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94tvaGrB…
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Air-Co…
SJG
Drive My Car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCprklY9…
Why do some makes fill car tires with Nitrogen?
Lighter? No Oxidation of rubber?
https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a3….
SJG
SJG
https://www.asedeals.com/other-tools-and…
Only $4600
What I have seen though for gas separation is the size of a 3 story building. So I don't know how this works.
They say that you get less pressure increase with temperature in the tire. But this runs against the universal gas law.
I think it must be because of the water, condensing to liquid when the tire is cold, the vaporizing as it heats up.
https://www.pcltireinflationusa.com/cate…
SJG
The Fall of the Gnostics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5C8b6Ci…
https://www.truckinginfo.com/150534/nitr…
I have never heard of this method before. All I know of is liquification and expansion, making it super cold.
And why does the oxygen matter. Seems like it is the water vapor you need to get rid of.
Digital Display, Kenworth
https://www.kenworth.com/innovation/digi…
SJG
Digital Timing Light, w/ tachometer
https://actron.com/content/digital-timin…
$81.19
brochure
https://actron.com/sites/default/files/h…
instructions, 26 pages
https://actron.com/sites/default/files/p…
AutoZone
Innova Inductive Timing Light
$49.99
no tachometer
https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-and-s…
Great Neck Digital tach advance timing light
$142.99
I think you set the advance. It might also have a tachometer
https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-and-s…
Their other stuff goes from $200 and up, this MSD company.
SJG
https://www.amazon.com/125-Digital-Advan…
made by Electronic Specialties
https://www.esitest.com/130.html
SJG
And it is always a Xenon flash
https://www.esitest.com/125.html
Doesn't say how to buy a replacement Xenon lamp.
Cables seem to be detachable.
Pins for back probing connectors, $11 pair
https://www.esitest.com/142-5.html
Tach Timing Light does not seem to work on 6v, need an external 12v supply. And on some cars with no High Tension Distributor. Some have coils sitting on top of spark plugs. I think you use and old spark plug wire and make an extension. Otherwise you would have to tap in to the low tension ignition.
Code Buddy
https://www.esitest.com/904.html
https://www.esitest.com/385a.html
SJG
https://www.xenonflashtubes.com/linear-f…
SJG
https://www.xenonflashtubes.com/p/about-…
^^ Seems to be in Israel
$27 replacement bulb
https://www.americanmuscle.com/powerhous…
This is for Dodge Charger V8 Hemi?
https://www.americanmuscle.com/charger-c…
They say this replacement bulb is for timing lights
https://www.americanmuscle.com/powerhous…
Some recommend for photography:
https://www.paulcbuff.com/AlienBees-tm-F…
SJG
Xenon bulbs in timing lights rarely fail. Unless the glass is broken or severely blackened, flash tubes usually do not require replacement. If your light doesn't flash anymore, repair of the internal circuitry may be required. Please contact Actron at 1-800-228-7667 for information on sending your light in for service.
https://www.toolsource.com/flashlights-c…
This is the same timing light tach I had found above:
https://www.toolsource.com/timing-lights…
SJG
https://www.toolsource.com/tachometers-c…
SJG
And a mini-van with a trap door to drive over the fuel tank fill places in gas stations.
This kind of stuff is dangerous.
https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/t…
SJG
https://www.phcppros.com/articles/12755-…
SJG
X Burning House of Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kbDuaio…
The name came from the Hudson Hornet. And AMC was formed by joining Hudson and Nash together in 1952.
And today Stellatis (FIAT-Chrysler) also owns the legacy of AMC. They could launch a new division and reuse the names.
But as it is, they don't even make enough passenger car models to use the division names they have in play.
Look at what is on the road today. Any of the popular models could be make by Stellantis, and made in North America. But it is nothing, no passenger cars except Challenger, Charger, and 300, and those are cartoon cars. And Ford only makes Mustang and GT, and except for FWD's made in China, GM has only Caddilac, Corvette and Camaro.
SJG
SJG
They are convenient because they are light weight. I've never trust them though.
What I use are sections railroad ties that have been cut up by a chain saw. Want them cut up because a full railroad tie is about 300 lbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp0sZ5ft…
SJG
Ain't No Mountain High Enough
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABfQuZqq…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2XyLgv-…
Jay Leno
SJG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fsbu7vX…
https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/vide…
'56 was the last year for Packard. Only 290 produced. Getting close to 3 tons. V8 instead of straight 8, but I think flat heads.
'56 was a great year for Cadillac, outselling Packard, Lincoln, and Imperial combined.
Packard did merge with Studebaker, but that never worked.
I would add myself that the look of these last Packards was very much like the Forward Look that Virgil Exner was doing for Chysler at that time. He had been hired away from Studebaker.
SJG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nS0Fday…
I don't know, maybe have to go to hybrids?
SJG
But the Bobcat was *worse*.
Therefore, Hornet. QED.