Hot Rod Stamps; Google on Road; A GM Prospectus
The Beach Boys immortalized the 1932 Ford “Little Deuce Coupe’’ in their 1963 song and album of that name.
Now the United States Postal Service is paying homage to hot rodding by offering limited-edition stamps that feature a pair of 1932 Ford roadsters.
One stamp shows a black roadster with orange flames, and the other a red roadster.
“These Hot Rod stamps mark the beginning of America’s fascination with customizing fast cars,’’ says postmaster general Patrick Donahoe. *CQ*
To emphasize the enduring value of the Forever stamp, he added, “They’re just as popular today as they were decades ago. And just like the cars they celebrate, these stamps are timeless in that they’ll be good for mailing First-Class letters anytime in the future.’’
Like many aspects of pop culture, hot rodding took off in Southern California where dry lake beds north and east of Los Angeles were ideal spots for racing chopped and stripped street cars.
The ’32 Fords were considered the ideal car to turn into a hot rod. They were plentiful in the 1940s and ‘50s, relatively inexpensive, and had the powerful (for its time) flathead V-8 engine that Ford continued using through 1953.
Hot rodding pretty much led to drag racing, then to Hot Rod magazine, and the formation of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), which eventually became drag racing’s governing body.
Pete Petersen, who founded Hot Rod magazine and Motor Trend, produced an early hot rod car show at the Los Angeles Armory in 1948 and later founded the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The USPS has been doing well by automotive aficionados in recent years. The 2013 muscle car stamps (GTO, Shelby GT-500, Dodge Charger Daytona, Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda, and Chevelle SS) were still available recently.
In 2011, there was an Indy 500 centennial stamp, and in 2010 a Pixar series contained, among others, Lightning McQueen and his BFF, the animated (and droll) tow truck Mater.
Ogling Google
Consumer Watchdog, a California non-profit consumer education and advocacy organization, is urging that state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to resist pressure from Google and other groups developing “driverless cars.’’
“We urge the DMV to follow a sensible and deliberate approach that would require adequate testing and time to analyze the results,’’ is the position of John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s director.
“The whole topic of safety system engineering and the so-called driverless or autonomous car is of worldwide interest,’’ he wrote.
However, there’s the reverse side of regulation. On one side is the need to protect citizens; on the other side they don’t want to hinder their technology industry’s attempts to be at the forefront of the automotive future.
That’s a Wash
Even old-school parts of the industry are looking to the future.
Belmont Car Wash & Detailing in Waverly Square marked its 50th anniversary last Saturday (June 21) and is offering 1964 prices on the popular Soft Touch wash ($1, regularly $9.99) and Super Shine wash ($2., regularly $13.99). Those prices are in effect through July 4.
Owners Paul and Adam Tocci recently completed a massive renovation of the tunnel equipment and customer waiting area of the business their dad founded in 1964.
GM Recall Numbers
By mid-June, the regularly updated graphic done by New York-based Mojomotors.com showed the number of vehicles involved in GM’s 2014 recalls had passed the 13 million mark. Jalopnik.com points out that is more cars than the company sold in the five-year period from 2009-2013. “It would seem that people just don’t care about recalls,’’ says Sam Jackson of Mojomotors.com.
He’s correct.
But, just walking around every day, you see people carrying massive key rings. That’s a sign folks should be concerned about GM’s ignition switch recall.
Tests show the switches are safe with just a single key being used, but most of us walk around with at least a few keys on a ring and usually with a weighty remote fob attached, too. It means GM car owners should get the part replaced because it’s the added weight that can switch the ignition to the “off’’ position.
GM does many things well, but for years now, even casual observers have to have noticed how the company regularly plays musical chairs along its executive row.
What that does for corporate memory, long-term sales and model planning, and accountability is obvious. When the music stops, the CEO of the moment is left holding the bag.
It’s not a new phenomenon.
Late in the fall of 2000, Oldsmobile sent a product rep to visit the New England Motor Press Association. His message was that the company had good cars in place in the Alero, Intrigue, and Bravada with newer models in the pipeline.
A month later, GM discontinued the entire Oldsmobile division.
In this case, it’s Mary Barra who is saddled with the job of cleaning up the recalls and messes left by her predecessors. As the stock sales pitches say, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results,’’ so let’s reverse it and say we hope “GM’s past failures aren’t an indication of future embarrassments.’’
Barra has said a lot of the right things about the “it’s not my problem’’ attitude at the company. If she can succeed in changing the corporate culture and have a lengthy run at the helm, it would be one of the great success stories in automotive history.
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