Tag Archives: Hemmings Daily
The Carcajou Motor Home – The Neatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
David Traver Adolphus at Hemmings Daily has come up with a very interest-ing story, along with excellent photos of Carcajou, a luxury motor home. Paul Seiler president of the Yellow Truck & Coach Mfg. Company, which was also known as General Motors Truck Corp. had it built in 1929 as his vacation home on wheels. And wouldn’t it be neat to have one for our very own?
Left to right (above) you can see the driving compartment and luxury arm chairs for passengers, the bathroom complete with a stained glass window and finally a view to the rear and the master bed room. The spare tires (below) were carried behind an ornate platform and rack on the back.
To learn more and view many more excellent photos, see the post by David Traver Adolphus at Hemmings Daily. You can also view a couple of other early motorhomes (scroll down) here on The Old Motor.
The three Scimitar show cars designed by Brooks Stevens
No this is not a photo from Roswell, New Mexico, showing us an unusual UFO sighting. It is a photo of the station wagon, one of the three Scimitar show cars that famous designer Brooks Stevens designed for Olin Aluminum Corporation. The other two body styles were called a hardtop convertible and a convertible town car and all were built in 1959, on a Chrysler New Yorker chassis.
Renderings of all three versions can be seen below and Dan Strohl over at Hemmings Daily, has an article posted that originally was written by Arch Brown, with photographs by Roy Query all about these unique Brooks Stevens Scimitar cars for you to enjoy.
Posted in Auto photos 1946 - 1965
Tagged Brooks Stevens, Hemmings Daily, Olin Aluminum Corporation, Scimitar show cars
Green motoring in the 1890s, the Roberts Electric
David Traver Adolphus of Hemmings, has a nose for unusual and interesting early cars. On Hemmings Daily recently, he posted these photos and specs of a Roberts Electric car. Follow along as he tells about it in his own words:
Whenever I photograph a very rare car, I always try to take my own measurements for a later spec page, knowing they might otherwise be impossible to find. So naturally, when I shot a (the) 1896/97 Roberts Electric for our upcoming alt-power issue of Hemmings Classic Car, me and mechanic Muncie Brayton broke out the sticks and tape measure.
Wheelbase – 54 inches
Front/Rear track – 54.25 inches
Height (top up) – 88 inches
Height (top down) – 63 inches
Length – 89 inches
Brake pads – 2.5 x 9 inches
Wheels (front) – 30.5 x 1.625 inch wood wagon
Wheels (rear) – 32 x 2 inch wood wagon
Tires (front) – 32.5 x 1.375 inch molded rubber
Tires (rear) – 35 x 1.75 inch molded rubber
Suspension (front) – 35.25-inch transverse cart spring
Suspension (rear) – 34.5-inch parallel cart springs
For additional technical details from the patent drawings as well as the full story, check out the October 2012 issue of Hemmings Classic Car , on newsstands now.
For an interesting comparison, below we have a video of a restored Baker Electric Car, which features five forward speeds. The car was owned by the 2nd president of General Electric, E.W. Rice Jr. It used a mercury arc rectifier for a battery charger and it runs on 24 volts.
Watch this interesting video by The Edison Tech Center, were E. Wilber Rice III tells about his great grandfather, E.W. Rice Jr. and his Baker Electric car in Schenectady, NY. To watch the Baker Electric video click here and go for an interesting ride in the veteran electric car.
