Beavercreek, Ohio, Cruise-In on Friday, August 21, 2015

Hi folks -- I finally had a chance to make it the the Friday night cruise-in last evening. the photos below feature three cars that I found of interest -- a Lamborghini Diablo, Ed Garten's 1968 Mercury Cougar, and a VW Karmann-Ghia. It was a great night for this event, and many fine cars were on display. 

I had not seen this Diablo before, and it was in remarkable shape. Ed's car is really coming along, as he has made a number of minor but important improvements, including adding new wheels and tires. And the Karmann-Ghia was a remarkably creative restoration, done to a high standard.

"Keep-Em out of the Ditches!"

Essential American Automobile History Reading: Ralph C. Epstein, The Automobile Industry: Its Economic and Commercial Development

Epstein's The Automobile Industry, first published in 1928, is a largely forgotten classic that all those who are interested in American automobile history should read. Epstein, a Harvard-trained economist who authored this book while on the faculty at the University of Buffalo, wrote one of the first historical syntheses on the topic. It is rich in terms of insights on many topics:
1) Excellent in terms of the relationship between technology and social organization
2) The discussion of significant technological innovations -- the self starter, cord and balloon tires, enclosed cars, the Knight 1904 engine
3) A nice summary of the issues surrounding the Selden Patent and origins and significance of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
4) An important discussion of the rise of installment or credit purchases
5) Understanding the relatively under-appreciated topic of the automobile industry and trade organizations during the 1920s and industry-side patent sharing.

If you are a serious student of American automobile and transportation history, it is a must read!  

Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC, round 4, Nürburgring/Germany

Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC, round 4, Nürburgring/Germany 
Porsche Manthey squad aims to use home advantage at WEC debut in the Eifel
Stuttgart. The very first six-hour race of the Sports Car World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the Nürburgring on August 30th also marks the cameo appearance of the Porsche 911 RSR here. The 470 hp winning racer from Weissach, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, tackles the demanding circuit in Germany’s hilly Eifel region for the first time. With the Porsche Manthey team’s headquarters just a stone’s throw from the Nürburgring in the village of Meuspath, this race is truly a home event for the squad under team boss Olaf Manthey. The outfit campaigns a pair of 911 RSR in the GTE-Pro class at round four of the WEC season – the last stop on European soil before the series heads overseas to contest the next four races in Austin/USA, Fuji/Japan, Shanghai/China and Sakhir/Bahrain. 

The Porsche drivers
Four works drivers compete for the Porsche Manthey team in the Porsche 911 RSR on the 5.148-kilometre Nürburgring circuit: Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Richard Lietz (Austria) contest the GTE-Pro class at the wheel of the number 91 Porsche 911 RSR. The two French pilots Frédéric Makowiecki and Patrick Pilet share driving duties in the number 92 nine-eleven. Two customer teams take on the GTE-Am class with the 911 RSR: Competing for Dempsey Proton Racing is the American actor and race driver Patrick Dempsey as well as Porsche works driver Patrick Long (USA) and Marco Seefried (Austria). Abu Dhabi Proton Racing enjoys prominent support at the Nürburgring with Earl Bamber (New Zealand) joining Christian Ried (Germany) and Khaled Al Qubaisi (Abu Dhabi) in the cockpit. For this race, the Porsche works driver and 2015 overall winner at Le Mans steps in for the former Porsche Junior Klaus Bachler (Austria).

The Porsche 911 RSR
The Porsche 911 RSR is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car and crowned its maiden 2013 season with a double GTE-Pro class victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The winning racer from Weissach, mounted with a 3,996 cc flat-six engine in the rear developing 345 kW (470 hp), is characterised by a consequent lightweight design and sophisticated aerodynamics. The insights gained during the vehicle’s development and at race outings are directly incorporated into the design of future 911 generations. Last year the 911 RSR won three of America’s most prestigious long distance classics, the Daytona 24 Hours, the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. 

The schedule
The six-hour race on the Nürburgring takes off on Sunday, August 30, at 13.00 hrs CEST. TV station Eurosport broadcasts the last hour of racing as well as the award ceremony live from 18.00 to 19.15 hrs.  

Quotes before the race
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport: “We’re all very much looking forward to the Nürburgring premiere. As a German manufacturer, of course, we welcome the fact that a WEC round is contested in Germany for the first time. With its great long distance tradition, we feel that the Nürburgring is ideal. Motorsport fans from all over the world connect the Eifel circuit with the legendary 1,000 kilometre races, and it is also the home track of the Porsche Manthey team, which will certainly not be a disadvantage. The tests we conducted here in recent weeks were definitely promising. The main thing for us is that, with a strong performance, we should achieve the best possible foundation for the second half of the season.” 
Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Leader GT Works Motorsport: “We face two major challenges at the Nürburgring race. With the long break after Le Mans, the team has to adapt to the new tasks and optimise all processes. The second challenge is to be prepared for everything – that is, to have the right tyres available for all eventualities. We will be focussing on this with our partner Michelin, and then in the race we’ll try and get the best out of the entire package.”
Michael Christensen (911 RSR #91): “I won my first Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race at the Nürburgring in 2013 as a Porsche junior. Now I’m looking forward to returning to the demanding circuit with the 911 RSR as a works driver. As far as the Eifel weather is concerned, even in August you have to be ready for anything. But we’re well prepared and we don’t expect any surprises in this regard. The Nürburgring is the home track for the Porsche Manthey squad. The boys deserve a home win.” 
Richard Lietz (911 RSR #91): “The break after the 24 Hours of Le Mans was really long. Now it’s high time that the season gets going again. We can hardly wait for our home race. The fact that the 911 RSR will race for the first time at the Nürburgring is a special motivation for us all. We’ve worked very hard since Le Mans to guarantee the sports car fans a great show at this legendary race track. I’m very confident that we will succeed in doing this.”
Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “Le Mans didn’t really work out as we’d hoped for, and that makes it all the more important to achieve a good result at the Nürburgring and fight in the championship to make up lost ground. The tests make us feel confident. I can well imagine that many Porsche employees will come to the Nürburgring to witness us live in action. We’ll do everything in our power not to disappointment them on this demanding circuit.”  
Patrick Pilet (Porsche 911 RSR #92): “I’m very pleased that we’re back racing after the long break. We’ve done some testing at the Nürburgring and we’re well prepared. Although you can’t compare tests with races, I’m sure our engineers will manage to implement the experiences gained and further improve the performance of our 911 RSR. I like the Nürburgring. We’ve always done well in the GT Open with Porsche there.” 

The Sports Car World Endurance Championship WEC
Sports prototypes and GT vehicles contest the WEC (World Endurance Championship) in four classes: LMP1 (eg. Porsche 919 Hybrid), LMP2, LMGTE-Pro (eg. 911 RSR) and LMGTE-Am (eg. 911 RSR, 2014 homologation). They all compete together in one race but are classified separately. 

History 08/14/2015

Porsche at the 2015 Sachsen Classic

The Sachsen Classic is once again following the most scenic routes within the German state of Saxony. Traditionally, Porsche is joining the spectacle.

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In keeping with its tradition, Porsche will be represented with three classic cars: a 9113.2 Cabriolet (built in 1985), a 911 3.2 Speedster (1988) and a 356 S Speedster (1958).

The tour travels through the picturesque countryside of Saxony from Zwickau, via the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, to Dresden with classic cars of all ages from 70 years of automotive history. The finishing line is 628 kilometres away in front of Volkswagen’s transparent factory (Gläserne Manufaktur).

Porsche 911 3.2 at the 2015 Sachsen Classic 

Leading the Porsche team this year will be Siegfried Bülow and Dr. Joachim Lamla from the management board of Porsche Leipzig GmbH. Also taking part will be MDR television presenter Maira Rothe, as a celebrity passenger, and Bernd Ostmann, publisher and brand ambassador of the Auto Motor und Sport magazine.

“Every year I enjoy the enthusiasm shown by the people of Saxony, as they stand at the roadside cheering on the classic cars. However, there is also a note of ambition to accompany this anticipation when it comes to the numerous regularity and reliability tests en route,” explained Maira Rothe ahead of the 13th edition of the rally

Tudor United SportsCar Championship: Porsche 911 RSR at Road America

Tudor United SportsCar Championship, round 7 at Elkhart Lake/USA
Earl Bamber plants Porsche 911 RSR on pole at Road America
Stuttgart. After notching up victories at Watkins Glen and Bowmanville, the Porsche 911 RSR was again the fastest GT vehicle in qualifying on the storied Road America race circuit. At the wheel of the 470 hp winning racer from Weissach, which is based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, Porsche works driver Earl Bamber (New Zealand) clinched pole position for the seventh round of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship on Sunday. For the Le Mans winner, who contests the GTLM class sharing the cockpit of the 911 RSR fielded by the Porsche North America works squad with his teammate Jörg Bergmeister (Germany), this was his first ever GT qualifying session as a Porsche works driver. His top time was the fastest GTLM lap ever driven at Road America and handed Porsche the third pole position of the season. 

At the wheel of the 911 RSR campaigned by the Falken Tire customer team, Porsche factory pilot Wolf Henzler (Germany), who won the Watkins Glen round with Bryan Sellers (USA), posted the seventh quickest time. With the second 911 RSR run by Porsche North America, Patrick Pilet (France) managed just one timed lap on the 6.514-kilometre race track in Elkhart Lake in the US state of Wisconsin before he was sidelined with power loss. Together with Le Mans winner Nick Tandy (Great Britain), he secured victory recently at the Canadian round in Bowmanville. 

Pole position also went to Porsche in the GTD class: Patrick Lindsey (USA) from Park Place Motorsports posted the top qualifying time in the Porsche 911 GT America which he shares with his compatriot Spencer Pumpelly.

Quotes after the qualifying
Marco Ujhasi, Overall Project Manager GT Works Motorsport: “Well, this is definitely a perfect starting position for the race. Earl’s lap was simply sensational. Testing on this demanding circuit has paid off. Thanks as well to our partner Michelin. Together, everything came together perfectly for this qualifying and Earl put the icing on the cake.”
Earl Bamber (Porsche 911 RSR #912): “Everything worked just right in this qualifying. The team put a great car on the track for me. Quite frankly I was rather nervous before my first ever qualifying session as a Porsche works driver. But my fastest lap was perfect. The race tomorrow will definitely be exciting because our rivals are right behind us. But we’ll do our utmost to continue the winning streak for Porsche.”

The race on Sunday takes off at 14.05 hrs local time (21.05 hrs CEST) and runs over 2:40 hours. It will be broadcast on the Internet under www.imsa.com.


Qualifying result
GTLM class
1. Bamber/Bergmeister (NZ/D), Porsche 911 RSR, 2:02.384 minutes
2. Magnussen/Garcia (DK/E), Chevrolet Corvette, + 0.224 seconds
3. Kaffer/Fisichella (D/I), Ferrari F458 Italia, + 0.363
4. Edwards/Luhr (USA/D), BMW Z4 GTE, + 0.973
5. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, + 1.363
6. Auberlen/Werner (USA/D), BMW Z4 GTE, + 1.388
7. Henzler/Sellers (D/USA), Porsche 911 RSR, + 1.506
8. Pilet/Tandy (F/GB), Porsche 911 RSR, + 9.921

GTD class
1. Lindsey/Pumpelly (USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT America, 2:09.370 minutes
2. Keating/Bleekemolen (USA/NL), Dodge Viper SRT, + 0.118 seconds
3. Nielsen/Wittmer (DK/CDN), Aston Martin Vantage, + 0.577

Why WWI is an important episode in the history of the automobile in America

Hi folks -- it is WWI centennial time, and it is propitious to reexamine this period with the lens of automobile history in America. I almost totally neglected this topic in my The Automobile and American Life, with the exception of my discussion of women and the automobile. That was a huge oversight! Recently I have been reading up on this era, looking particularly at some secondary sources that do examine the topic as well as specific artless included in the New York Times.
Here are some reasons why one should not neglect the era when doing auto history:

1) the establishment of standards, which accelerated during the war and continued afterwords. From 200 tire sizes the standards movement pushed manufacturers to use only 32.
2) the rise of the S.A.E. in terms of importance, transitioning from a fringe group to one central to understanding the technology of the automobile in America.
3) the explosion in the manufacture of trucks, the recognition of their importance in the movement of freight, and the beginning of the decline of railroads, particularly for short hauls.
4) the linkage between automobile engine technology and aviation engine design, as exemplified by the Liberty engine project.
5) the beginnings of Du Pont family influence on General Motors, and initial reorganization efforts. 6) increased capitalization throughout the entire industry.
7) a gasoline shortage, real or imagined, and a voluntary Sunday driving abstinence day.  An emphasis on fuel economy led to carburetor improvements.
8) More and more interest and demand for closed cars. We tend to see this as a trend that occurred beginning in the early 1920s. Not true -- this is a main topic going back to 1917.