"Challenge" -- 1974 -- A Pantera and Corvette: Simply the Most Boring and Contrived Car Film Chase Scene

Hi folks -- If you enjoyed this send me a comment!  I found this scene contrived and silly.  Nice images of a Pantera, but beyond that nothing to shout about.

A 1958 Plymouth, 1960 Dodge and an Opel Admiral: The Master Touch (1972) Car Chase -- they take a licking and keep on ticking

This is one crazy car chase. Who would ever choose an old finned 1958 Plymouth to use as a get away car?  And who would ever think that an Opel Admiral was such a sturdy car to take the beating it did.  Why are all those young girls together on the top of a hill? A great trick in flipping an Opel on the car carrier upside down and on one of the chase cars. What a way to turn the Opel into a convertible!

The Master Touch (Italian: Un uomo da rispettare) is a 1972 Italian / West German crime film directed by Michele Lupo starring Kirk Douglas and Florinda Bolkan.^[1]

The film was released as A Man to Respect in the UK, the USA and the Philippines.Steve Wallace, a safe cracker, has just been released from prison. He attempts one last burglary with the help of a circus gymnast in Germany.

• Kirk Douglas as Steve Wallace
• Giuliano Gemma as Marco
• Florinda Bolkan as Anna
• Wolfgang Preiss as Miller
• Reinhard Kolldehoff as Detective Hoffman
• Romano Puppo as Miller's Lieutenant
• Bruno Corazzari as Eric
• John Bartha as Murdered Security Guard
• Allen Stanley
• Vittorio Fanfoni
• Luigi Antonio Guerra

Vehicle Manufacturing in South Vietnam to its Fall in 1975?

So I had quite a shock when reading the 1976 Ward's Automotive Yearbook the other day.  Looking at the table "World Motor Vehicle Production, 1973-74" (p.82), I discovered a strange and unlikely statistic: South Vietnam produced an estimated 700,000 passenger cars in 1974 and some 120,000 Trucks and busses.  Very suspect since in 1973 the numbers were 1,200 and 300 respectively!  So I started to poke around and discover that indeed vehicles were made in South Vietnam until its fall in 1975.

A brief background taken from a web page featuring the Citroen La Dalat:

In 1936 Citroën set up a subsidiary in Indochine française, headquarter at today’s Rex Hotel. In 1970 the Société Automobile d’Extrême-Orient became the Société Industrielle et Commerciale «Xe Hoi Citroën Cong Ty» and specialized in the assembly of a version of the Baby Brousse called La Dalat. This is the first car ever assembled, branded and produced in large scale in Vietnam with the localized percentage up to 40%

Only important parts such as engine, steering wheel, brake, suspension were imported from France, the rest were all localized. There were 4 types of La Dalat with 4 seats or 2 seats with space to carry goods.

The model was a great success targeting the mid class clients: convenient, economy and easy to customize/personalize as most of the parts are made in Vietnam with great extend of flexibility.

The production continued until the fall of Saigon in 1975.

Now only few La Dalat can still be seen on Saigon street and some can be still found in Laos.

Below are a few photos of this vehicle now lost in the mists of time.  Are there any readers out there who can fill in this story?

An Early Automotive Dealership -- Dayton Motors, 810 North Avenue, Dayton, Montgomery County, OH

• I am embarrassed to know so little about Dayton's early automotive history. These photos are from the Library of Congress.  Can anyone tell me what brands of cars were sold at this location and when?
• From LC Caption:
• Significance: This building is significant for its contribution to the commercial development of the Steele's Hill-Grafton Hill Historic District; a district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The district is composed mainly of late nineteenth and early twentieth century residential buildings expressed with a mix of architectural styles. For a description of the Steele's Hill-Grafton Hill Historic District, refer to HABS No. OH-2467.

Huey Long, his 1936 Chrysler Imperial Airflow, and Getting Louisiana Out of the Mud

Library of Congress

During the late 1920s, Louisiana was one state whose drivers finally climbed out of the mud (or “gumbo”). Its history illustrates not only the fact that the automobile preceded road development but also that politics proved critical to the story. 

Like the rest of the nation, Louisiana witnessed an upsurge in car ownership beginning in the early 1920s. For example, in 1922, there were 122,000 motor vehicles registered in the state, but by 1924 that figure had risen to 178,000. In 1920, a state highway commission had been established, but it was poorly funded and staffed, and the state’s elite patrician leadership was conservative in raising the monies necessary to build a comprehensive state road system. Given the climatic and geographical difficulties associated with the state – for example, there were more than 5,000 streams and rivers in Louisiana – its citizens were limited in where they could take the new cars they had purchased. In Orleans Parish alone there were 43,000 vehicles, and yet there was no road to the east that connected New Orleans with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The situation changed dramatically, however, with the coming of Huey Long to the Governor’s mansion in 1928. The “Kingfish’s” clever political maneuvering resulted in first raising the necessary state funds to build good roads, and then the will to build them throughout the state. Long hired some of the best highway engineers in the country, raised the gasoline tax and floated state bonds, and put more than 8,000 men to work in the process. In a 1929 Louisiana Highway Commission report, it was asserted that “Power Creates Wealth,” and that “Good Roads Throughout Louisiana Provide for a Wider Distribution of Power.”  Furthermore,

The automobile has revolutionized transportation methods and eliminated distance. Combined with improved highways, the automobile has made friends and neighbors of us all, removed imaginary barriers and provided a sound foundation on which to build for happiness, prosperity, and permanent development.

            

During the Long administration, thousands of miles of improved roadways were constructed, but three projects stand out. First, east of New Orleans, the Chef Menteur Highway connecting New Orleans to Mississippi was completed. Secondly, the Airline Highway connecting New Orleans to Baton Rouge shortened the driving distance between the state’s major urban center of New Orleans and its capital of Baton Rouge. Thirdly, a landmark achievement was the erection of a bridge across the Mississippi River at Jefferson, west of New Orleans. The Huey Long Bridge, with four lanes for motor vehicle traffic and railroad tracks in the middle, remains an adventure to cross today. Yet at its dedication in late 1935, the bridge provided a critical connecting point for the Jefferson Highway, Old Spanish Trail, Louisiana Purchase Highway, Colonial Highway, Mississippi Scenic Highway, and the Pershing Highway.

Photographic copy of circa 1935, black and white, 10” x 14” photograph. Loose in Huey P. Long folder in oversized box located at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Archives Center, Work and Industry Division, Washington, D.C. Photographer, Lionel T. Berryhill, Apple Valley, California. CIRCA 1935 PHOTOGRAPH OF BRIDGE TAKEN FROM WEST BANK LOOKING NORTH AT PIER “A” NEAR LEVEE. - Huey P. Long Bridge, Spanning Mississippi River approximately midway between nine & twelve mile points upstream from & west of New Orleans, Jefferson, Jefferson Parish, LA

Beware of Buying a Flood Car

A great deal, perhaps. A good long term purchase, absolutely not!  A car that has been exposed to high water has too many potential problems. Even if everything is working properly, it is only a matter of time before gremlins will start to appear.  Remember, your car contains a complex computer network, with many electrical connections the are subject to corrosion.  Even if mildew has been dealt with, carpets removed, seats cleaned, etc., those remedies are not enough.  I would only think of purchasing one of these cars for parts, and then at a ridiculously low price and with the notion that I will go through the parts one by one with lubricants and cleaning agents.

One way to detect a flood car is to remove the interior door panel and look for a water line. then run from the vehicle, no matter what the price!

Inspect the carpets to see if they show signs of having been waterlogged, such as smelling musty or having caked-on mud. Likewise, brand-new carpets in an older vehicle may be another red flag.

Check the seat-mounting screws to see if there is any evidence that they have been removed. To dry the carpets effectively, the seats must be removed and possibly even replaced.

Inspect the lights. Headlights and taillights are expensive to replace, and a visible water line may still show on the lens or the reflector

Inspect the difficult-to-clean places, such as gaps between panels in the trunk and under the hood. Waterborne mud and debris may still appear in these places.

Look for mud or debris on the bottom edges of brackets or panels, where it wouldn’t settle naturally.

Search around the engine compartment. Water lines and debris can appear in hard-to-clean places, such as behind the engine.

Look at the heads of any unpainted, exposed screws under the dashboard. Unpainted metal in flood cars will show signs of rust.

Check if the rubber drain plugs under the car and on the bottom of doors look as if they have been removed recently. It may have been done to drain floodwater.