Docent Newsletter - California Automobile Museum

Docent Newsletter
Docent Corps of the California Automobile Museum
Volume 14, No 1
February-March 2012
Notes From the Dashboard…
February-March 2012
DOCENT CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PARTY AND FUNDRAISER
If you weren’t there, you missed a fun party. Lots of good food, conversation and lots
of items to bid on in the raffles and auctions. Over 110 docents, family and friends
attended. Thanks to all of you who donated items and to Tom Bailey and his crew
who organized and set up for the event. It was well done. We realized a gross
income of $4410 from the raffles, auctions and ticket sales; our expenses were $852
for a net income of $3558 that can be used by the Docent Council to further ‘…awareness of the automobile through
public tours that provide insight to the history of the automobile and its influence on our lives’. Thanks, again.
FREE MUSEUM DAY IS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4
This is one of the busiest days of the year for the Museum with close to 5000 visitors that day. MANY DOCENTS will be
needed. Check the sign-up sheets in the Museum office and select a time you can help out. It will be much appreciated.
MUSEUM DOCENT AND VOLUNTEER POLICIES (NOT DOCENT CORPS
ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES)All of you will be receiving this new 7-page
document in the mail very soon. It specifies the behavior that you and I, as
docents or volunteers, must adhere to when involved in Museum duties. It is
extremely important that you read, understand your obligations, and return the
WUNDERCARS!
The Three-pointed Star takes the
WUNDERCARS! Center Stage… Read More
Meet the man who claimed a popular
American marque “…corners like a fat
lady with bad ankles” and inspired GM to
produce its hottest V8 ever… Read More
The car that Ettore Bugatti admired so much he acquired
one to study for its beautiful machining and advanced
features… Read More
Studebakers descend on CAM in January… Read More
Upcoming Events
Docent Inservice: Mercedes........... Jan 26
Free Museum Day......................... Feb 4
Annual CAM Membership Meeting. Feb 24
Docent Trip: Blackhawk Museum.... Apr 14
Board Meeting................ 4th Weds, 6 pm
Docent Council (new day) 2nd Weds, 6 pm
Revenue.......................... 3rd Tues, 3 pm
Speed............................ 4th Thurs, 1 pm
Education...................... 2nd Weds, 5 pm
Exhibits......................... 2nd Weds, 4 pm
Collections................. 1st Thurs, 5:30 pm
Finance...................... 3rd Tues, 4:30 pm
Library............................... Thurs 10 am
Staff.................................... Tues, 9 am
Building......................................... TBD
New Home..................................... TBD
Notes From the Dashboard…
Receipt and Acknowledgement Form by the time specified in the letter you
receive.You will be given a reasonable amount of time to return the Form. If you
have any questions about it, contact me. Please understand, acceptance, by you,
of these policies is a condition of volunteer status with the Museum.
WALK-THROUGH INSPECTIONS
Docents are the eyes of the Museum.You know what has changed, either for the
good, or not so good. I would like to implement a procedure that was
implemented years ago by docent and past Exhibits Committee Chair, Al
Babayco that uses your keen eyesight to identify and correct any problems you
may see in the Museum. Included in this Newsletter is the procedure for
conducting Walk-Through Inspections, and the Form to document your findings.
If you have any questions about how to do this, please contact me. I would hate
to see an item needing attention be ignored because someone didn’t know what
to do.
DOCENT OF THE YEAR (DOTY)-2011
It’s not too late! Send me your recommendation for Docent of The Year. Which
one of your fellow docents do you feel worthy of this honor? Give me a call or
send me an email. There are forms on the Docent Desk.
NEW MEETING TIME FOR DOCENT COUNCIL
Docent Council meetings will now be held on the second Wednesday of the
month at 6pm in the lunch room.You are welcome to attend and see how your
Docent Council operates.You may have some worthwhile suggestions.
2012 DOCENT TRAINING CLASS
Don’t forget the new starting time of 6:00 pm NOT 6:30 pm as in the past. Come
down for some post-graduate training and refresher classes.
CAM CAR CRUISE COULD USE SOME HELP IN THE PLANNING STAGES
The 4th Annual Cam Car Cruise is scheduled for Saturday, August 4. If you would
like to get involved in any way, please contact Kim Nelson at 916-337-7716 or at
[email protected].
DOCENT COUNCIL MEETING
The next meeting is Wednesday, February 8 at 6 PM in the Lunch Room.You are
all invited to attend. Questions, comments or complaints, email me at
[email protected], or call me at 916-960-6858.
Thanks for all you are doing.
…Ken
EDITOR’S NOTE
Special thanks this month to the following for contributing articles and other material for
this edition: Ken Jordan, Bill Millard, Nathan Smith, Paul Tanner, Tom Bailey and Jon
Stalnaker. If you would like to contribute articles, photos, trivia or other material for the
newsletter, contact me at [email protected] or call me at 916-933-5026.
California Automobile
Museum
2200 Front Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
916.442.6802
www.calautomuseum.org
Board of Directors
Al Buescher
David Felderstein
Mark Glover
Jerry Godfrey
Joe Hensler
Mike Hess
Ken Jordan
Kim Nelson
Mike Ritenour
Carl Stein
Larry Stiver
Bob Tarczy
Keith Tronson
Docent Council
Ken Jordan
Terry Root
Bill Van Gundy
Bill Millard
Keith Tronson
Wayne Saunders
Tom Bailey
Richard Floch
Museum Staff
Karen McClaflin
Nathan Smith
Olessya Zhuk
Art Osby
Stacy Hart
Carly Miller
Deborah Davis
Deborah Davis
Hallie Morris
Randy Masterson
Volunteers
Bill Millard
Tom Mason
Bob & Connie Tarczy
Greg Glubka and
Jon Stalnaker
Greg Goodsell
Milt Webb
Dave Eichner
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Secretary/Treasurer
Training
Membership
Speaker’s Bureau
Events
Newsletter Editor
Executive Director
Curator
Membership
Vehicle Sales
Gift Shop/Front Desk
Marketing
Education
Rentals and Events
Maintenance
Training
Road Crew
CAM Trips
Car Club Cavalcade
Placards
Technical, Mechanical
Visit Us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Myspace, Yelp and Vehicle Sales on Ebay
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
2
Notes From the Curator
Some news from the Museum floor –
WUNDERCARS! exhibits a continued failure to stand still; we’ll soon bid auf wiedersehen to
BMW and wilkommen to Mercedes-Benz in the featured gallery. Check out Tom Bailey’s
comprehensive overview of this storied marque’s long history in this issue, and I hope you’ll plan
to attend the mini-docent inservice I’ll be conducting on Thursday, January 26, at 4:00 p.m.
Elsewhere in the Museum, you have no doubt already noticed many changes to placards, cars on the floor, and their layout.
We’ve just completed a major shuffle to the 1950s,‘60s, and ‘70s legs of our permanent exhibit, and replaced the placards in
the Brass Era and Lincoln Highway/Yosemite exhibit areas – with more to come. While a move is not yet imminent, we’re at
a crucial point of looking toward moving, and toward what form our Museum might take in a new facility, so the next
several months – likely the next couple of years – will be a prime opportunity to experiment and try new things. The first
stab you’re seeing now is an attempt to reflect a more constant narrative through the object placards, choosing a few facts
about each object that, when all of the objects in a gallery are taken as a whole, will present a larger historical context for
our exhibits.
What I want to emphasize to you, as this concerns your Docent tours, is that while the placards may not always have as
much specific technical information or as many stories about each car, we’re still counting on you to provide the same
entertaining anecdotes and historic context about the cars in your tours as you always have. To help you in that effort, as
the old, longer placards are replaced, they will be filed in a notebook at the Docent Resource Desk. I encourage you to
view your tours as an added bonus to the written information accompanying each car, complementing that contextual
information with plenty of color and stories of the people and events that have shaped automotive history.
As always, thank you all for your hard work and
dedication. I’ll see you around the Museum!
Nathan Smith, Curator
[email protected]
Docent Trivia Question
Clean, conservative styling...
the kind of car your Uncle Joe might
drive to church on Sunday morning.
What make and model is it?
You know this one… Right?
Answer on Page 16
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
3
In January
Studebaker: Inventor of Cool
Jon Stalnaker, Docent Class of 2005
The Studebaker Drivers Club has become so bold as to
make the claim that Studebaker Invented Cool.You may have
seen the advertisements in the many car magazines that have
run it. While this may be subject to debate by car guys that
give their allegiance to Fords or Chevys or Mopars or
whatever happens to be their favorite marque, we Studebaker
Dudes believe it. That’s why we drive Studebakers.
The thing I like best about the Studebaker Drivers Club can
be found in the name itself. We call ourselves a “Drivers” club
and for the most part are pretty good about not judging whatever it is you want to do to your car as long as you keep it out
on the road—and not on a trailer. That’s not to say there isn’t a handful of purists that wince when you tell them you put a
small block Chevy engine in your Stude. They only like to make their point that one of the best things about Studebakers
was their powerplants. Studebaker made great engines and were fast ahead of their time. They were putting superchargers
in their family cars way back in the 50s.
The other thing about Studebaker that may surprise people is the parts availability. When Studebaker closed its American
automobile operations, none of the parts inventory was destroyed. It has changed hands a few times over the past 40 plus
years but is still available. How many other orphan makes can claim that. There is no reason to fear owning a Studebaker
because you cannot find parts.You can get nearly everything you need within a few days. Even NOS sheet metal parts and
interior trim is within easy reach.
Northern California’s local chapter and is the Karel Staple Club and we are one of the more active chapters in the SDC. Our
membership continues to grow and we like to take any opportunity to expose the world to our “cool” cars. January’s Car
Club Cavalcade is a display of a small cross section of the many cool Studes in our club. Make sure you stop by and get a
taste of what gets our blood pumping. Read over our display placards and you will see why we unapologetically claim that
we invented cool.
Check us out at www.hawktalks.com.
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
4
Time to Clean Out that Stack of Old Magazines and Help the CAM Library
Start the new year by cleaning out that stack of old car magazines and donating them to the CAM Library. If you have any
of the following issues and would like to donate them to the Library, please leave them at the Museum marked
“attention: Paul Tanner.”
‣ Practical Classics and Car Restorer (all before
January 1992 and after June 1992)
‣ Miata (Winter 1990 through Spring 1991, Fall 1991
through August 2002, October and November 2002,
January through May 2003, all after October 2003
‣ Auto Enthusiast (all except August 2011)
‣ Auto Aficionado (all before September 2007 and
after April 2008)
‣ Car Life (all before January 1969, February through
May 1969, July 1969, all after September 1970)
‣ Thoroughbred and Classic Cars (all except July
2011)
‣ BMW (January 1995 and before; January 1996; April
through December of 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and
1999; March through December of 2000 and 2001;
and all after January 2002)
‣ MG Enthusiast (all before June 1985, October and
November 1985, December 1986, January through
March 1987, all after July 1987)
‣ MPH (all before March 2005, May through July 2005,
October 2005, all after May 2006)
‣ Hemming Sports and Exotic Cars (all before
2009, February through December 2009, January
through October 2010, February through April 2011,
September 2011, all after October 2011)
‣ Motor Trend Classic (December 2005, February
2006, April through June 2006, all after Spring 2010)
‣ Car Review (all before May 1984 and after
November 1986)
‣ British Car (all except February 1991)
‣ Sports Car International (all before July 1991,
August 1991 through July 1993, all of 1995, February
through May 1996, July 1996 through September
1997, November 1997 through September
1999, November 1999 and after)
Docent Newsletter
‣ European Cars (all before December 1991,
February 1992, January 1993 through May 1994, July
and August 1994, October through December 1994,
February through April 1995, June through December
1995, August 1998, October 2000, April through July
2001, February and June 2002, August 2003, October
and November 2003, December 2004, January
through March 2005, January and February 2006,
June 2006, January 2007 through July 2011,
September 2011 and after)
‣ Classic Motorsports (all before July 2003, August
2003, October through December of both 2003 and
2004, January through April 2004, June through
August 2004, February through August 2005, October
and December 2005, February and April 2006, July
and August 2006, October through December 2006,
February through August 2007, October through
December 2007, January and February 2008, April
and June 2008, August and October 2008, December
2008 and after)
‣ Classic and Sports Car (all before April 1982,
June through August 1982, March 1983, July and
August 1983, April 1984 through December 1985,
February through July 1986, September 1986 through
January 1987, July 1987, October 1987 through
January 1989, March through July 1989, September
and October 1989, January 1990 through July 1991,
September and October 1991, December 1991,
February through April 1992, June through November
1991, January and February 1993, May 1993, July
through October 1993, December 1993, February
through July 1994, September 1994 through May
1995, July through November 1995, January and
February 1996, April 1996, June through August 1996,
October and November 1996, January 1997, March
through May 1997, July 1997 through April 1998, June
through August 1998, October through December
1998, February 1999, April through December 1999,
February 2000 through August 2002, October 2002
through January 2005, April and June 2005, August
through November 2005, January 2006 through
November 2007, January 2008 through August
2009, October 2009 and after)
February-March 2012
5
New Exhibit at the California Auto Museum Spotlights Germany’s Premier Cars
WUNDERCARS!
Mercedes-Benz–the Car for the Day after Tomorrow
Tom Bailey, Docent Class of 2011
Some say that the concept for the first automobile was invented by Leonardo DaVinci in 1495, others that
Francois Cugnot had the idea first with his steam-powered artillery tractor in 1769. However, it is generally accepted that
the first “real” automobile was the brainchild of Karl Benz, when he installed a two-stroke internal combustion engine into
his 3-wheeled Patent-Motorwagen.
Variations and developments on the internal combustion concept have been identified as far back as the 13th century in
Asia. Mid-19th Century drilling improvements had made possible easy access to petroleum products at a reasonable cost,
making gasoline (or benzene) available and providing the economic impetus to perfect the internal combustion concept
as a means to eliminate the need for draft animals.
Prior to that point, most engines were stationary and fueled with illuminating coal gas, a byproduct of the mining industry,
and for the most part only for industrial uses. Steam-powered vehicles had previously been used for transportation during
the mid-1800s but by the early 1900’s would be generally abandoned as not being economically feasible. In short, gasoline
provided the portability that allowed the great leap to the self-propelled vehicle.
By the mid-19th Century, Germany was fast becoming the leading industrial nation in Europe and German engineers like
Karl Benz in Mannheim, and Gottlieb Daimler in Bad Canstaat, a suburb of Stuttgart, were products of that environment.
Both men had been working independently on the development of gasoline engines. At about the same time each applied
for and received patents for an internal combustion engine mounted to a vehicle. And, although living some 60 miles
apart, they apparently never met.
Karl Benz formed his company, Benz & Cie., Rheinisch Gasmoteren-Fabrik in 1872. He started experimenting with internal
combustion and developed his two-stroke engine in 1878, receiving a patent in 1879. He expressed the goal of wanting to
“build a machine that runs under its own power, like a locomotive, but not on tracks but on any street.” The business
foundered in the early days but his wife, Bertha, bankrolled him through her dowry. He started with a 2-stroke design since
the Otto 4-stroke patent would have required the payment of royalties; he developed a 4-stroke engine when the Otto patent
was overturned in 1884.
He installed this engine into a tricycle that has been credited as
being the first practical motor vehicle, his goal always having been
the development of the “horseless carriage.” While test-driving this
vehicle around the factory grounds and through the town, his son
Eugene ran alongside and ladled gasoline into a tray that
evaporated the gas into the air intake – no gas tank at the start. The
first engine produced 0.8 hp at 250 rpm and was water cooled. It
was started by hand-spinning the horizontal flywheel. Benz
submitted his patent request for the Patent-Motorwagen, which was
issued in January 1886. The car was equipped with an electrical
coil and battery ignition system.
Uncertainty about public acceptance caused Benz to continue
tinkering with his invention; meanwhile, his wife Bertha urged him
to let the general public see the car so that they would see it as a
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
Benz Patent-Motorwagen 1886
6
WUNDERCARS!
useful invention. In the face of his reluctance, Bertha, along with two of their sons, snuck off early one morning without
Benz’s knowledge and proceeded to drive the Motorwagen from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back – some 66 miles – to
“visit her mother.” On the way she stopped to purchase fuel at a pharmacy, get a blacksmith to attach leather pads to the
brake cleats (the first brake shoes), repair the chain drive, clear a blocked fuel line with a hat pin and solve a short-circuit
using one of her garters. At one point in their journey, the car could not make it over a hill, so the boys got out and pushed.
Upon returning, Bertha made several suggestions for improvements, including an additional, lower gear for better climbing.
Today, her drive is memorialized in Germany as an historic event and the road she travelled is called the Bertha Benz
Memorial Route.
Karl Benz was off and running. In 1891, with new partners, he
produced his first 4-wheeled vehicle, the Benz Viktoria which set a
standard for modern cars. “He abandoned the horizontal flywheel . . .
and used a three horse-power engine. It used the forerunner of the
modern jet carburetor and had variable gear ratios by moveable belt.”
During the 1890s, the company was the first to mass-produce cars,
including the Patent Motorwagen in 1888, the Viktoria in 1892, the Velo
in 1893 and the Ideal in 1898. The latter featured vis-a-vis seating,
where the folks in the front seat faced those in the rear.
During the 1890s Benz und Cie. was the largest car manufacturer in the
world. Karl Benz, however, was getting complacent. He felt that what
Benz Viktoria 1892 he was producing was cutting-edge enough as he had continued to
make refinements in his cars into the 20 th Century. He refused to
acknowledge the developments and improvements coming from other manufacturers – a road which Henry Ford would
travel about 20 years later.
Meanwhile, during the 1870s, Gottlieb Daimler was working as the technical director at Deutz AG in Deutz, near
Cologne. He worked for owner Nikolaus Otto, who had designed and patented a 4-stroke internal combustion engine
designed primarily for stationary use. During his time there, he worked with such persons as Wilhelm Maybach, Rudolf
Diesel, Robert Bosch and Ettore Bugatti. As technical director for Deutz, Daimler pushed the company to get into
automobile production, but Otto resisted, resulting in Daimler’s eventual departure, along with Maybach. They started their
own company, Daimler Motoren Gessellschaft in 1890. Maybach’s role was as Daimler’s designer, while Daimler tended to
be the idea man. Working together, they developed the world’s first high-speed, light-weight internal combustion engine,
with an eye towards its use in many different commercial applications. It was capable of an estimated 600 rpm when most
motors of the day produced little more than 120 to 180. It weighed 110 lb., stood 30 inches tall, and was patented in 1885
and licensed to foreign countries starting 1887.
In 1886 they mounted their engine to Frau Daimler’s new carriage after first experimenting with a boat and the Reitwagen,
a motorcycle – likely the first, made of wood – which they road-tested. They created a streetcar system, experimented with
boat engines, hot air balloons, and even zeppelins (primarily Maybach, and later his son, designing and building engines for
Count Zeppelin). Daimler successfully flew over the city of Seelburg in August 1888. Their difference from Benz was that
Daimler and Maybach were more focused on designing and producing high-speed engines for many and varied industrial
applications and didn’t seriously pursue their engine’s application to cars until 1889, when they built their first car that
wasn’t based on a horse-drawn vehicle. It wasn’t sold in Germany, but licensed for French manufacture in that year.
Daimler’s goal was to produce “small, high speed engines for use on land, water and air transport” which led to the use of
the three-pointed star logo. In 1892 they sold their first auto but didn’t really make a splash until the turn of the century.
However, in 1894 Daimler, his son Paul, and Maybach designed the Phoenix engine, which had four vertical cylinders,
exhaust valves operated by camshaft, a spray-nozzle carburetor, hot tube ignition and an improved belt drive system. The
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
7
WUNDERCARS!
Phoenix made Daimler famous as it powered a car that won the petrol category in the Paris to Rouen concours in 1894.
This resulted in their ability to sell licenses for building the engine to France (Panhard et Levassor, Peugeot), the U.S.
(Steinway & Sons), the U.K. (Daimler Motor Syndicate) and Austria (Austro-Daimler), where Paul Daimler would eventually
become Managing Director. This decision also created a conflict in 1902 regarding the name by which the company would
ultimately be known, as the name Daimler was compromised for trademarking purposes.
Gottlieb Daimler died in 1900, never having met Karl Benz. Management of the company was taken over by his
son Paul, Wilhelm Maybach, and a member of the Board of Directors, Emil Jellinek, who among other things was their sales
agent in the south of France. In addition to his role at Daimler
AG, Jellinek had worked as a businessman, an entrepreneur
and even as a diplomat representing Austria in Nice. He had
purchased different vehicles, including a De Dion-Bouton and
a four-seat Benz motorized coach, and was fascinated by the
way they worked. He began selling cars in the 1890’s and
toward the end of the decade was selling around 140 cars a
year. Seeing an advertisement for Daimler, Jellinek paid a visit
to the Canstaat factory to learn more about the company –
and ended up placing an order for a Phoenix Double
Phaeton with the four cylinder engine and a top speed of 15
mph. This experience caused him to want to sell Daimler
cars, which he did quite successfully, as well as racing them.
He routinely would contact the f actor y and request
Emile and Mercedes Jellinek
enhancements to improve power and handling. In 1899,
Jellinek entered his DMG-Phoenix cars in all of the events at
Speed Week on the French Riviera, calling his team Mercedes,
which was written on the sides of all the cars. They won every
event! This led to an agreement with the factory to build 36
special order cars with improved stability, positioning the
engine to the front (which lowered the center of gravity), a 4speed gearbox, vertical in-line 4-cylinder engine, a jet-type
carburetor and the new Bosch electric ignition system
(replacing the outmoded hot tube ignition). All this was in
order to “overcome problems found in many Ill-designed
horseless carriages,” and, incidentally, set the basic automotive
configuration for about a century to come. Oh, and it must be
named for Jellinek’s 11-year-old daughter Mercedes, to be
called the Daimler-Mercedes. Daimler’s Board of Directors
concurred, and the car, which was completed in 1901, once
Daimler Phoenix 1899
again swept all the events on the French Riviera with top speeds of 37 mph, prompting a local newspaper to headline “We
have entered the Mercedes era.” It is considered by many to be the first modern motorcar – “the foundation upon which
every successful automobile has since been based” – and was so popular that sales demand resulted in the relocation of
the factory into Stuttgart proper, although the Canstaat plant remained active until the building was destroyed by fire in
1903. In 1902, the company made the decision to use the name Mercedes as the trademark for all its products.
As was usually the case, both Benz and Daimler made cars for racing. Both entered the Paris to Rouen concours in
1894. Mercedes, besides winning the spring races on the Riviera, also won the French Grand Prix in 1914, taking the first
three positions, and in 1922 and 1924 Mercedes also won the Targa Florio, the brutal open road endurance race in the
mountains of Sicily.
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
8
WUNDERCARS!
Benz’s relationship with racing can most easily be seen in a sales pitch
which the company (and many others) used prior to the start of the
First World War, where they stated “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.”
One notable car, called the Blitzen Benz, was driven by many wellknown drivers, including Bob Burman and Barney Oldfield, who was
quoted as saying that “. . . If I go, I want it to be in the Blitzen Benz.” The
Benz had performed well at Brooklands in England and also in the
Indianapolis 500, and in 1911 the car set a land speed record of 141.7
mph at Daytona running a 1200 c.i. 4-cylinder engine.
All this activity was cut short with the start of the First World War, when
Blitzen Benz 1911 the German government ordered Benz and Daimler to go into war
production. It turns out that Mercedes racing engines were used as prototypes for military engines, including by Rolls
Royce in England, made possible through earlier licensing agreements in many locations.
In the aftermath of the First World War, Germany was left in a shambles, its economy in very poor condition. Where
before the war there had been 86 car companies producing some 144 models, afterwards almost none were left. This led
to a cooperation agreement between the strongest survivors, Daimler/Mercedes and Benz and eventually to their merger in
1926. This made them the leading auto producer in Germany, if not Europe. The company was called Daimler-Benz AG and
became simply Mercedes-Benz. Karl Benz lived to see the merger take place; he died in 1929.
In those days, however, inflation was rampant in post-war Germany. A new Mercedes cost 25 million marks. In 1926 the new
company produced a new car called the Model K, designed by Paul Daimler, working with Ferdinand Porsche. It was
thought to be the fastest standard model of its type in the world, with a recorded top speed of 90 mph, whose design was
considered a revolutionary improvement over its predecessors. It
had a supercharged 6-cylinder engine, with 4-speed transmission,
displacing 6.24 liters and generating 160 hp. It was capable of a
top speed of 90 mph.
From 1931 to 1939, the company developed and produced the
130, 150, and 170 models (the numbers indicating approximate
engine size, multiplying the displacement in liters by a factor of
100), which experimented with relocating the engine from the
front to the rear of the vehicle. The rear-engine variant was
designed by Hans Nibel, who had started with Benz and stayed on
after the merger. “Among the vehicles he designed were the
Blitzen Benz (1909), the 770 Grand Mercedes (1930), the
Model K 1926
Mercedes-Benz 170 (1932) and the W25 Silver Arrow racing car
(1934). Nibel was also one of the architects of the Mercedes-Benz merger.” Although the rear-engine car was available for a
six year span, it didn’t sell all that well, possibly because it didn’t reflect the traditional Mercedes-Benz design
characteristics, especially the grille. Of interest, though, is the car’s similarity to the Volkswagen and the fact that the head of
design for that period was Ferdinand Porsche, the father of the VW. It has also been rumored that the design anticipated,
and perhaps developed in prototype, the first mid-engine car.
Another innovative design, produced in 1935, was the Model 540K Special Coupe, which was designed at the Sindelfingen
plant, the source of many of the iconic classic designs that Mercedes produced in the late 1920s and 1930s. Introduced at
the Paris Motor Show of 1936, the car came in your choice of a two-seat cabriolet, a four-seat coupe or a seven-seat
limousine. The 540K was powered by a supercharged 5.4 liter straight-8 cylinder 180 hp engine driving an optional 5-speed
manual transmission, and was based on the earlier SSK design. The engine produced 180 hp and the car was capable of a
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
9
WUNDERCARS!
540K 1935
top speed of 110 mph. Its supercharger could be engaged either
manually or automatically when the accelerator pedal was
pressed all the way to the floor. The chassis used oval tubing, a
refinement from the company’s racing program, especially the
W25 Silver Arrow, which competed on the Grand Prix circuit. In
1937, Herman Goering ordered a 540Ks (special VIP
enhancements) in blue, with armor-plated sides and bulletproof
glass. The car was captured at Berchtesgaden by the Allies in
1945, and is now in a private collection.
With the rise of the National Socialist Party in the early 1930’s, Chancellor Adolf Hitler strongly supported the sport of
motorcar racing, and was especially motivated to battle for dominance over the Italians (Mussolini) as well as other
European nations. This activity continued without letup until war was declared in 1939. Prior to the war, Mercedes-Benz
was always the car of choice for Adolph Hitler, who used it for any and all photo ops. However, once Germany invaded
Poland, the company became totally involved in the development and production of aircraft engines for “practically every
significant Luftwaffe plane.” They also produced many trucks, tanks and other war materiel. During this period slave labor
was used to meet the stringent production demands – as it was by virtually every other Axis-Power goods producer.
By the end of the Second World War there was little left of Mercedes-Benz. Most factories had been destroyed; the country
was essentially devastated, although there were operations located away from major centers that survived quite intact.
Aside from providing depot support for the occupation, automobile production did not resume until 1948 under the
auspices of the Allies, both to get people back to work and respond to the dire need for dependable transportation.
Mercedes went on to develop some notable cars – perhaps the most iconic being the 300SL, derived from a racing design
first launched in 1952. The roadgoing version, sold from 1954 to 1963, was created at the urging of U.S. Mercedes-Benz
importer Max Hoffman, as was the smaller, but stylistically similar, 190SL roadster. The “SL” designation stood for “Sport
Leicht,” or “Lightweight Sports,” and the car was Mercedes’ first using direct fuel injection into the cylinder, a design which
was based on technology developed for aircraft engines. The 3 liter, in-line 6-cylinder engine developed 215 hp at 5800 rpm
with a top speed of 162 mph. The racing version (300SLR) had a straight 8-cylinder direct-injected engine with
desmodromic (springless) valves. It cranked out 310 hp at 7500 rpm.
Throughout the years, Benz, Daimler, and the combined company have put together an impressive list of industry firsts, in
terms of technical innovations, performance enhancements and safety features, including being (arguably) the first
automobile and first modern car, along with leading the way in terms of gearbox (1888), mass production (1890’s), cooling
fan (1901), spray jet nozzle carburetor(1902), raked steering wheel (1902), 6-cylinder racing engine (1906), many world
speed records and victories in different venues, front wheel brakes (1921), supercharged passenger car (1921), brakes on
all 4 wheels (1926), double wishbone suspension (1933),
aerodynamic design (1934), diesel passenger car (1935), direct
fuel-injected passenger car (1954), passenger safety cell (1957),
crumple zones (1959), diagonal safety belts (1965), telescoping
steering wheel (1967), safety head restraint (1975), child
restraining system (1977), anti-lock braking (1978), driver air
bag (1981), driver-selected 4-wheel drive (1984), and 7-speed
automatic transmission (2003) to name a few.
Actively involved with Daimler AG’s designers in planning
refinements to the Mercedes 35, Emil Jellinek made the
comment that “I don’t want a car for today or tomorrow, it will
be the car of the day after tomorrow.” In retrospect, it seems that
they have probably succeeded in that objective.
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
300SL 1954
10
Personalities at California Auto Museum
…Richard Floch, Docent Class of 2007
You could say that this month’s CAMprofiles is a fraud—or maybe we just couldn’t
catch up with you for interviews over the Holidays.The individual featured this
month isn’t one of us…except in spirit perhaps. He never set foot in CAM although
he would have been right at home in a blue vest...if he could find one to fit his
portly 6’2” frame that is. But for many car guys from the Baby Boom generation who
grew up thumbing through the newest issue of Mechanix Illustrated to find his latest
road test, he was for us, our own Uncle Tom, the original chrome-dome.
Tom McCahill, Automotive Journalist
…before there was such a thing
His grasp of automotive engineering was probably not at good as many shade tree mechanics of his day— Tom
McCahill’s degree from Yale was in fine arts and he had failed at running Murray’s Garage in NYC during the Depression—
but Tom didn’t let that stop him from becoming the most widely read Automotive Journalist for nearly 30 years and perhaps
the first to be given that title.
Coming out of the war and unable to find a job, McCahill walked into the offices of the small format, 15¢ monthly Mechanix
Illustrated and suggested that the country was about to go crazy for new cars and they should hire him to do a regular
automotive feature. His first ‘road test’, a term he coined that is now firmly a part of the automotive lexicon, was written
using his own 1946 Ford. For years afterward he had to borrow his test vehicles, often posing as a photographer and then
taking out the car for a punishing junket on and off public roads. The Detroit establishment, who always had a love-hate
relationship with McCahill, told him, not so politely,“We do our own testing”. When they finally relented and began
providing vehicles, never quite sure whether it was a good idea, he would then go out and beat up the factory jobs before
scalding them in print as often as not. In the process McCahill invented the 0-60 acceleration test as a standard measure of
a car’s performance, and long before Car & Driver added fifth wheels and electronic timing in their own more rigorous
‘road tests’, there was McCahill with his photographer clocking his borrowed test cars with a stopwatch.
McCahill covered just about every vehicle manufactured during the heyday of “bigger is better” in Detroit but his favorites
seemed to be Chrysler products (Walter Chrysler was a personal friend), and sports cars. He raced his own Cadillac Series
62 on the NASCAR circuit in 1952 and won a NASCAR Sedan race at Daytona in the same year in another of his personal
cars, a Jaguar Mark VII. In 1955 he bought the first T-bird built and then took it out at the Daytona Speed Trials.
Thirty years and 600 articles after his first road test in the Ford, McCahill was so much a part of MI and the automotive
universe that upon his death in 1975, the publishers hid his passing from the public and continued to publish a ghostwritten feature called “McCahill Reports” for some time. Mechanix Illustrated couldn’t survive Tom’s loss for long and was
bought out three years later, transforming itself finally into a home improvement magazine called Home Mechanix and later
Today’s Homeowner until it finally ceased publication entirely in 2001.
Uncle Tom’s colorful language and use of the simile is legendary. With it, he goaded the conservative Detroit automotive
establishment for years to improve the suspension and handling of its products and his comment that depressing the
accelerator of the 1948 in-line 8-cylinder Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 was “…like stepping on a wet sponge” is credited with
GM coming out the next year with the hottest OHV V8 of its day, the Rocket 88. His flamboyant prose put us in the
passenger seat next to Uncle Tom in a way that we could almost feel the bumps in the road each month.
“A good sports car,” the East Valley Tribune quoted McCahill before his death,“(is) like any other piece of good sporting
equipment. It should be something you can work up a real affection for.You may even have a pet name for it, and you may
even talk to it when you’re alone. Because you and the sports car, out on the road, are a couple of pals together. And if
you’re incapable of working up such affection over a jewel-like piece of machinery, you’d be far better off with a Buick.”
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
11
Here are a few, but certainly not all, of Uncle Tom’s more memorable McCahill-isms.
If you can’t get enough, drop by the CAM Library on a Thursday and check out any
issue of Mechanix Illustrated from 1946 to 1975…[editor]
On early 30's Classic Imperials:
“These long-hooded brutes had more sex-appeal than a
boatload of starlets anchored off Alcatraz."
On the 1962 Plymouth Valiant:
"The slightly teutonic looks of the Valiant stand out like a hip
flask in a bikini." [my personal favorite–ed.]
On the 1952 Buick:
“(The 52 Buick) corners like a fat lady with bad ankles." But by
the time he tested the '57 Buick he could report "There's no
more of that old-fashioned Roadmaster plowing and wallowing,
like a fat matron trying to get out of the bathtub."
On the 1959 Dodge:
"The front end is as new as next February's cold."
On the 1959 Imperial:
"This doll was as loaded as an opium peddler during a tong war.
Swivel seats make it as easy to get into as a floating crap game
with fresh money. On the 31 degree banked turns the big Imp
hung in there like oil going through a hose."
On the 1954 Triumph TR-2:
"The Triumph’s looks, however, are subject to challenge. To me,
the front end resembles a cardboard box that someone has
shoved his foot through. Aside from this head-on aspect, which
has the esthetic grace of an on-its-side rubbish can, I think the
looks are fine. The seats are comfortable and truly adjustable.
Whether you are six feet four, or just four, the seat has enough
back and forward movement to square you up. The instrument
panel is neat, adequate and as easy to read as a Marilyn Monroe
calendar and almost as informative. The drive shaft tunnel
divides the port and starboard sides of the car in two, like a
Quaker pew. There is enough room behind the seat to carry a
limp, flexible drunk and this barge has a real trunk big enough
for two five-rib roasts of beef or 10,391 Philco refrigerator ice
cubes."
On the Jeep CJ3:
"The standard seats are rumored to be made of foam rubber. For
my dough, some stew blew the foam from a short beer between
some plastic -- and that was that. Aside from their lack of
comfort, they are cut so that with a well-planned wheel spin you
could toss Gramp right over a vegetable cart, and into a saloon
on one bounce."
On a 1963 Mercury 427:
"It has more hair on its chest than a middle-aged yak"
On the 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix:
"When equipped with the optional D-500 engine, displacing 383
cubic inches with 2 four barrel carburetors, it should be able to
chew around a race course with enough stuff to turn the
humidity into steam.......... (and) make a helluva ridge-runner for
the moonshine boys."
On the AC Cobra:
(The Cobra is) "...hairier than a Borneo gorilla in a raccoon
suit."[apparently Tom was unconcerned there are no gorillas in
Borneo.–ed.]
Docent Newsletter
On the 1957 Ford:
"Rugged as an Irish riot in a Russian saloon."
On the 1969 Dodge Polara,
“Our test car was as loaded as a slowly drowning mouse in a vat
of bourbon."
On the 1966 Dodge Coronet Hemi:
"This family sized rig has all the belt of a 2 mile swim in a
whiskey vat. When you put your foot through the firewall make
sure your teeth are well anchored. It is as furry as a mink farm
and as snarly as a bengal tiger in a butcher shop."
On the 1965 Aston Martin DB5:
"Built to do 150 mph, (the DB5's) are real beasts and about as
gentle around town as galloping hiccups at a prayer meeting.
This Aston is as docile as a puppy with a full tummy in traffic but
a snarler when you give it a whip."
On the 1957 Imperial:
"It will get down the pike like a vaselined arrow, and with no
more effort than skipping off a cliff."
On the 1962 Chrysler 300:
"I had the car for over a month, and had as many adventures
with it as a Siberian trapper would have in Miami Beach. The
new 300 is the old Windsor, sexed up and poured into a sport
suit. When you slide behind the wheel you get the feeling that
this is a big compact, and not an oversized barge as awkward to
handle as wearing moose antlers in a telephone booth. A
functional car that gives top performance with lots of room for
beaucoup stuff, which might include wine, weazels or women."
On the 1959 Chevy Impala:
"Styling is as wild as you’ve seen . . . just as different as Santa
Claus without a beard . . . That rear deck is pure Louis Armstrong
—gone, man, gone! What a spot to land a Piper Cub.”
On the AC Unit in the 1958 Chrysler Imperial:
"…cold enough to blue the lips of an Eskimo blubber collector
parked inside a blast furnace."
On the new, compact 1956 Rambler:
"As short as a Sing Sing haircut."
On the 1957 Pontiac:
"The ride is as smooth as a prom queen's thighs."
February-March 2012
12
This issue includes the following article on “Magic”, from Bill Millard’s Chalk Dust
From the Schoolhouse Floor collection, available for sale in the Museum’s Gift
Shop. Purchase a copy so you can enjoy all of these informative pieces, many not a part
of the Docent Training Program.The proceeds go to supporting the Museum.
Chalk Dust from the Schoolhouse Floor
Magic
Harry was kind of different. Grew up in a little Wisconsin timber town, quit school at thirteen and went to work for the
local machine shop. His scholar dad blew his stack when he found out, but Harry’d just had enough of school, wanted to be
out in the “real” world. He had the knack: Became a master machinist by 17. Left for Salt Lake, then Los Angeles.
In L.A. he worked for a bicycle shop, building speed equipment for bike racers. He also fell in love and married a young
lady named Edna and pretty soon they moved back to Wisconsin. There he fabricated a one-cylinder engine to power his
go-to-work bike– making perhaps America’s first motorcycle. He also built a little four-cylinder engine, drive and prop to
clamp onto a rowboat, then didn’t do anything with it. A fellow machinist– guy named Olie Evinrude– did.
Pretty soon Edna got homesick for L.A. (and probably up to here with Wisconsin winters), so they moved back to the Coast,
this time San Francisco, where Harry built himself another motorcycle. There he learned foundry work and started making
aluminum pistons, again probably America’s first. Then they went back to L.A. and he started designing and making spark
plugs. Tried a car, too, but it didn’t work out too well. By1912 he was producing his own carburetor, and that did work out:
Became just the thing for airplanes and winning race cars. His small shop couldn’t make enough of ‘em, and the money
was good. The money got even better when he sold out to a group from Indianapolis.
Harry promptly designed another carb– one that used a barrel throttle instead of a butterfly– and soon it dominated the
race tracks and runways from coast to coast. Again he sold the business and went to work with a new aluminum-nickelcopper alloy for carburetor bodies, which also proved to be great for pistons. Same story again– he didn’t seem able to fail,
despite being not even the shadow of a businessman. The magic was working.
The next project was engines, aero and racing, and soon came the job of restoring Bob Burman’s shelled-out Peugeot
double overhead cam hemi four. Inspired by, but not copying that design, Harry built the first of a long line of legends, and
pretty soon the cars that ran them as well.
By now you’ve probably figured out that Harry’s last name was Miller. Harry Armenius Miller.You don’t often hear it these
days, but you certainly did in 1929. In those days “Miller” was just about synonymous with “Indianapolis 500.” That’s where
the Miller 91s (91 cubic inches in eight cylinders, supercharged), front, rear or four-wheel drive, inspired most of the
competition to just forget it. Those gorgeous, slim cars’ unseen parts were all as beautifully contoured and finished as their
outsides, and their horsepower-to-cubic inch ratios were a multiple of any other American engine.Years ahead of their time,
they were just about unconquerable until the Indy boys changed the formula to lots bigger displacement and encouraged
the production makers to jump in.
Oh, Harry wasn’t perfect: He had some big blind spots. For instance, he needed help expressing anything in engineering or
mathematical terms, and he never much cared where the money went as long as he had plenty. His skimpy formal
education always haunted him, but his instincts were amazing. He was an artist in mechanisms– a match, perhaps, for Ettore
Bugatti.
He actually claimed he was divinely guided, but it was probably something else entirely: Besides great ideas he had the
ability to gather and keep the very best to work with him. Behind Harry’s inspiration was his team– people like master
draftsman and designer (and fellow artist) Leo Goossen, practical engineer Fred Offutt and master machinist and
toolmaker Fred Offenhauser. It was never a big crew, but the finest that could be attracted by the Miller magic to bring his
dreams to life.
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
13
Chalkdust from the Schoolhouse Floor: Magic
Whatever the cause, the results were profound and the cars’ stories enough to fill books. Griffith Borgeson did just that in
The Golden Age of the American Racing Car, and Miller. Miller legends around the world and through the years: His first
from-the-ground-up race engine in Bar ney Oldfield’s
beautiful Golden Submarine; the unbeatable 91-cube Indy
engine; a fleet of drop-dead beautiful race cars; the legacy of
the Offenhauser four-banger (Meyer-Drake, later) that ruled
the big car and midget tracks longer than any other power
plant; the front-wheel drive transaxle design adapted for the
Cord L-29; the Miller-Schofield (later Crager) go-fast mods for
the Model A Ford engine; the two Miller 91 front-drives found
in the ‘50s in the old Bugatti works in France, obviously
acquired for “study”; the comely if uncompetitive 1935 MillerFord Indy V-8s, one of which later became the first Novi
Special; the Miller-Gulf mid-engined car of 1938. Thus the
Miller name is woven through the prime years of America’s
racing– and automotive– history.
So Harry Miller was one of America’s foremost automakers,
while building hardly a one for the road. Right here I’d love to
tell you about his happy old age in the glow of his fame and
glory, how he sunned away his declining years with Edna and
their animals on their ranch near L.A., but I can’t do that.You
see, businessman that he wasn’t, he went bankrupt in 1930
and left for the East. He made many tries after that and
produced some beautiful things, but he’d lost his old team
and the respect he’d had on the Coast and it was never the
same again. He developed diabetes and a drinking problem
and the failures mounted up. In the last years a scratch on his
cheek went cancerous, becoming a disfigurement he
wouldn’t let even Edna see: He just didn’t go home. Died
almost alone at age 67 in May, 1943, the same month we lost
Edsel Ford.
Magic can be fleeting.
– Bill Millard
Photo Credit: The Old Motor
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
14
Docent
Nuts
andCalendar
Bolts
More Automotive Ideas
that Never Caught On
The Iter Auto: GPS,1930s Style. This prescient accessory consisted in a number of scrolling paper road
maps that could be inserted into a device that was mechanically geared by cable to a car’s speedometer
and would scroll as fast as you traveled. Drivers of the ‘30s would never be nagged by the irritating
“recalculating…” voice message of today’s GPS devices but whenever they turned onto a different road,
they would have to pull over and change the scrolling map inside their Iter Auto.
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
15
Docent
Nuts
andCalendar
Bolts
Docent Trivia Answer:
WRONG!
The car is a 1949 Soviet ZIS 110, a Stalin-era copy of a Packard Clipper down to all but the hood ornament.The Soviet
auto industry blatantly copied many cars from the US and Western Europe from Ford to Fiat from the 1920’s to the 1970’s.
Packards were said to be favorites of Joseph Stalin.
Docent Extra Credit
1 point if you said 1942 Packard Clipper 160 or 180. At least you were paying attention on Week 5 of Docent Training.
10 points if you said ZIS Model 110, the correct answer.
–10 points if that’s your Uncle Joe.
Click HERE for an illustrated 3-part article on other Soviet automobile clones.
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
16
Docent Calendar
CAM Docent Schedule, CAM Group Tours
Sun
Mon
29
1 0 a m - Hutchinson,
Fred
1 0 a m - Vaughn,
Gene
1 2 p m - Buckridge,
Gary
1 2 p m - Hendricks,
Robert
2 p m - Balkow, Bob
2 p m - N/A Macher,
Charlie
2 p m - Swain, Boode
Feb 2012 (Pacific Time)
Tue
30
1 0 a m - Fisch,
Nianne
1 0 a m - Gutermann,
Carl
1 0 a m - Kellogg, Jim
1 0 a m - Simpson,
Roy
1 2 p m - Saunders,
Wayne
1 2 p m - Sheffield,
Bob
2 p m - Anton, Ed
Wed
31
1 0 a m - Asmus, John
1 0 a m - Thompson,
Gary
1 0 a m - VanAlstine,
Gordan
1 2 p m - Rondeau,
Glenn
1 2 p m - VanGundy,
Bill
2 p m - Edlund, John
Thu
Fri
1
2
1 0 a m - Craghead,
Don
1 0 a m - Gollaher,
Mike
1 0 a m - Saltenberge
r, Otto
1 2 p m - Owens,
Richard
1 2 p m - Walters, Jim
1 0 a m - Adams,
Bruce
1 0 a m - Brooks,
Duwayne
1 0 a m - Tolbert,
Eugene @
1
D0oac m
e n-t W a l l a c e ,
Don
1 2 p m - Bailey, Tom
2 p m - Beckemeyer,
Barry
1 2 p m - Chow, Greg
2 p m - Reynolds,
Jerry
1 2 p m - Smith, Verle
2 p m - Lomazzi,
Brad
Sat
3
1 0 a m - Holinski,
Tom
1 0 a m - Lowe, Eldon
1 0 a m - Whitver,
Howard
1 2 p m - Cocciante,
Paul
1 2 p m - Utterback,
Arnold
2 p m - Salca,
Kenneth
2 p m - Willett,
Barbara
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
FREE MUSEUM DAY
Docents Needed!
2 p m - Larson,
Dennis
5
6
7
1 0 a m - Borgquist,
Rich
1 0 a m - Cutright, Jim
1 0 a m - Johnson, H
1 0 a m - Swarts, John
1 0 a m - Orr, Mary
1 2 p m - Lazzarini,
Ken
2 p m - Reid, Jim
2 p m - Whitehead,
Craig
2 p m - Tronson,
Keith
1 2 p m - Bashaw,
David
1 2 p m - Goldberg
Larry
2 p m - Eilers, Rich
8
10am
Dick
10am
Greg
12pm
Bob
12pm
1 0 a m - Lopez, Joe
1 0 a m - Hutchinson,
Fred
1 0 a m - Vaughn,
Gene
1 2 p m - Buckridge,
Gary
1 2 p m - Hendricks,
Robert
2 p m - Balkow, Bob
2 p m - Macher,
Charlie
2 p m - Swain, Boode
13
1 0 a m - Fisch,
Nianne
1 0 a m - Gutermann,
Carl
1 0 a m - Kellogg, Jim
1 0 a m - Simpson,
Roy
1 2 p m - Saunders,
Wayne
1 2 p m - Sheffield,
Bob
2 p m - Anton, Ed
10
1 0 a m - Barks, Ray
1 0 a m - Alton, Tim
- Goodsell,
1 0 a m - Clubb, Jim
1 0 a m - Fabian, Ed
- Florence,
1 0 a m - Smith, Ken
- Turner, John
1 0 a m - UTI
Scavenger
1
H2upnm
t - Crail,
Charles n/a
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
1 2 p m - Dinwiddie
Lou
1 2 p m - Mauk,
Merlin
2 p m - Beckwith,
Chuck
2 p m - Stegeman,
Rick
2 p m - Young, Hy
12
9
- Bohnsack,
2 p m - Franzi,
Cheryl
2 p m - Weishahn,
Tim
1 0 a m - Martinelli,
Gary
1 0 a m - Painter,
Johnnie
1 0 a m - Reichow,
Bruce
1 2 p m - Shenefield,
Joseph
2 p m - Bleau,
Richard
2 p m - Dubois,
Lamar
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Root, Terry
2 p m - Bourne, Bill
1 0 a m - Tousignant,
Bob
1 0 a m - Zillner,
Robert
1 2 p m - Lindquist,
Mitch
1 2 p m - Tennyson,
John
2 p m - Skaggs, Burl
4
11
1 0 a m - Waters,
Carolyn
1 0 a m - Wilson,
Mike
1 2 p m - Whelply,
Mike
2 p m - Finch,
Randall
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Daloia, Bob
2 p m - Vogel, Ron
14
1 0 a m - Asmus, John
1 0 a m - Thompson,
Gary
1 0 a m - VanAlstine,
Gordan
1 2 p m - Rondeau,
Glenn
1 2 p m - VanGundy,
Bill
2 p m - Edlund, John
15
4 p m - UTI
Scavenger
Hunt
16
1 0 a m - Craghead,
Don
1 0 a m - Gollaher,
Mike
1 0 a m - Saltenberge
r, Otto
1 2 p m - Owens,
Richard
1 2 p m - Walters, Jim
1 0 a m - Adams,
Bruce
1 0 a m - Brooks,
Duwayne
1 0 a m - Tolbert,
Eugene
1 0 a m - Wallace,
Don
1 2 p m - Bailey, Tom
2 p m - Beckemeyer,
Barry
1 2 p m - Chow, Greg
2 p m - Reynolds,
Jerry
1 2 p m - Smith, Verle
2 p m - Lomazzi,
Brad
17
1 0 a m - Holinski,
Tom
1 0 a m - Lowe, Eldon
1 0 a m - Whitver,
Howard
1 2 p m - Cocciante,
Paul
1 2 p m - Utterback,
Arnold
2 p m - Salca,
Kenneth
2 p m - Willett,
Barbara
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
18
1 0 a m - Martinelli,
Gary
1 0 a m - Painter,
Johnnie
1 0 a m - Reichow,
Bruce
1 2 p m - Shenefield,
Joseph
2 p m - Bleau,
Richard
2 p m - Dubois,
Lamar
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Root, Terry
2 p m - Bourne, Bill
2 p m - Larson,
Dennis
19
20
21
1 0 a m - Bucholz,
Kenn (10-6)
1 0 a m - Tousignant,
Bob
1 2 p m - Lindquist,
Mitch
1 2 p m - Tennyson,
John
2 p m - Skaggs, Burl
1 0 a m - Borgquist,
Rich
1 0 a m - Cutright, Jim
1 0 a m - Johnson, H
1 0 a m - Swarts, John
1 0 a m - Orr, Mary
1 2 p m - Lazzarini,
Ken
2 p m - Reid, Jim
2 p m - Whitehead,
Craig
2 p m - Tronson,
Keith
1 2 p m - Bashaw,
David
1 2 p m - Goldberg
Larry
2 p m - Eilers, Rich
22
10am
Dick
10am
Greg
12pm
Bob
12pm
1 0 a m - Lopez, Joe
1 0 a m - Hutchinson,
Fred
1 0 a m - Vaughn,
Gene
1 2 p m - Buckridge,
Gary
1 2 p m - Hendricks,
Robert
2 p m - Balkow, Bob
2 p m - Macher,
Charlie
2 p m - Swain, Boode
27
1 0 a m - Barks, Ray
1 0 a m - Alton, Tim
- Goodsell,
1 0 a m - Clubb, Jim
1 0 a m - Fabian, Ed
- Florence,
1 0 a m - Smith, Ken
- Turner, John
1 2 p m - Crail,
Charles n/a
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
1 2 p m - Dinwiddie
Lou
1 2 p m - Mauk,
Merlin
2 p m - Beckwith,
Chuck
2 p m - Franzi,
Cheryl
2 p m - Weishahn,
Tim
1 0 a m - Fisch,
Nianne
1 0 a m - Gutermann,
Carl
1 0 a m - Kellogg, Jim
1 0 a m - Simpson,
Roy
1 2 p m - Saunders,
Wayne
1 2 p m - Sheffield,
Bob
2 p m - Anton, Ed
2 p m - Lomazzi,
Brad
1 0 a m - Asmus, John
1 0 a m - Thompson,
Gary
1 0 a m - VanAlstine,
Gordan
1 2 p m - Rondeau,
Glenn
1 2 p m - VanGundy,
Bill
2 p m - Edlund, John
2 p m - Reynolds,
Jerry
25
1 0 a m - Waters,
Carolyn
1 0 a m - Wilson,
Mike
1 2 p m - Whelply,
Mike
2 p m - Finch,
Randall
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Daloia, Bob
CAM Membership
Meeting 7 PM
2 p m - Vogel, Ron
28
24
- Bohnsack,
2 p m - Stegeman,
Rick
2 p m - Young, Hy
26
23
29
1 0 a m - Craghead,
Don
1 0 a m - Gollaher,
Mike
1 0 a m - Saltenberge
r, Otto
1 2 p m - Owens,
Richard
1 2 p m - Walters, Jim
2 p m - Beckemeyer,
Barry
1
1 0 a m - Adams,
Bruce
1 0 a m - Brooks,
Duwayne
1 0 a m - Tolbert,
Eugene @
1
D0oac m
e n-t U T I
Scavenger
1
H0uanm
t - Wallace,
Don
1 2 p m - Bailey, Tom
1 2 p m - Chow, Greg
1 2 p m - Smith, Verle
2
1 0 a m - Holinski,
Tom
1 0 a m - Lowe, Eldon
1 0 a m - Whitver,
Howard
1 2 p m - Cocciante,
Paul
1 2 p m - Utterback,
Arnold
2 p m - Salca,
Kenneth
2 p m - Willett,
Barbara
3
1 0 a m - Martinelli,
Gary
1 0 a m - Painter,
Johnnie
1 0 a m - Reichow,
Bruce
1 2 p m - Shenefield,
Joseph
2 p m - Bleau,
Richard
2 p m - Dubois,
Lamar
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Root, Terry
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
2 p m - Bourne, Bill
2 p m - Larson,
Dennis
4 p m - UTI
Scavenger
Hunt
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
17
Docent Calendar
CAM Docent Schedule, CAM Group Tours
Sun
Mon
26
1 0 a m - Hutchinson,
Fred
1 0 a m - Vaughn,
Gene
1 2 p m - Buckridge,
Gary
1 2 p m - Hendricks,
Robert
2 p m - Balkow, Bob
2 p m - Macher,
Charlie
2 p m - Swain, Boode
Mar 2012 (Pacific Time)
Tue
27
1 0 a m - Fisch,
Nianne
1 0 a m - Gutermann,
Carl
1 0 a m - Kellogg, Jim
1 0 a m - Simpson,
Roy
1 2 p m - Saunders,
Wayne
1 2 p m - Sheffield,
Bob
2 p m - Anton, Ed
Wed
28
1 0 a m - Asmus, John
1 0 a m - Thompson,
Gary
1 0 a m - VanAlstine,
Gordan
1 2 p m - Rondeau,
Glenn
1 2 p m - VanGundy,
Bill
2 p m - Edlund, John
Thu
Fri
29
1 0 a m - Craghead,
Don
1 0 a m - Gollaher,
Mike
1 0 a m - Saltenberge
r, Otto
1 2 p m - Owens,
Richard
1 2 p m - Walters, Jim
2 p m - Beckemeyer,
Barry
2 p m - Reynolds,
Jerry
1
1 0 a m - Adams,
Bruce
1 0 a m - Brooks,
Duwayne
1 0 a m - Tolbert,
Eugene @
1
D0oac m
e n-t U T I
Scavenger
1
H0uanm
t - Wallace,
Don
1 2 p m - Bailey, Tom
1 2 p m - Chow, Greg
2 p m - Lomazzi,
Brad
Sat
2
1 0 a m - Holinski,
Tom
1 0 a m - Lowe, Eldon
1 0 a m - Whitver,
Howard
1 2 p m - Cocciante,
Paul
1 2 p m - Utterback,
Arnold
2 p m - Salca,
Kenneth
2 p m - Willett,
Barbara
1 2 p m - Smith, Verle
3
1 0 a m - Martinelli,
Gary
1 0 a m - Painter,
Johnnie
1 0 a m - Reichow,
Bruce
1 2 p m - Shenefield,
Joseph
2 p m - Bleau,
Richard
2 p m - Dubois,
Lamar
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Root, Terry
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
2 p m - Bourne, Bill
4
5
6
1 0 a m - Tousignant,
Bob
1 0 a m - Zillner,
Robert
1 2 p m - Lindquist,
Mitch
1 2 p m - Tennyson,
John
2 p m - Skaggs, Burl
1 0 a m - Borgquist,
Rich
1 0 a m - Cutright, Jim
1 0 a m - Johnson, H
1 0 a m - Swarts, John
1 0 a m - Orr, Mary
1 2 p m - Lazzarini,
Ken
2 p m - Reid, Jim
2 p m - Whitehead,
Craig
2 p m - Tronson,
Keith
1 0 a m - Tentative
Hold - 2nd
1
G2r apdme - B a s h a w ,
D
ae
vm
i de d
Th
1
2 p m@- Goldberg
Tour
L
arry
California
2
- Eilers,
Ap
u tmo m
o b i l e Rich
Museum,
2 p m - Stegeman,
Alhambra
Rick
2 p m - Young, Hy
11
1 0 a m - Hutchinson,
Fred
1 0 a m - Vaughn,
Gene
1 2 p m - Buckridge,
Gary
1 2 p m - Hendricks,
Robert
2 p m - Balkow, Bob
2 p m - Macher,
Charlie
2 p m - Swain, Boode
1 0 a m - Lopez, Joe
12
1 0 a m - Fisch,
Nianne
1 0 a m - Gutermann,
Carl
1 0 a m - Kellogg, Jim
1 0 a m - Simpson,
Roy
1 2 p m - Saunders,
Wayne
1 2 p m - Sheffield,
Bob
2 p m - Anton, Ed
7
10am
Dick
10am
Greg
12pm
Bob
12pm
2 p m - Larson,
Dennis
4 p m - UTI
Scavenger
Hunt
8
9
- Bohnsack,
1 0 a m - Barks, Ray
1 0 a m - Alton, Tim
- Goodsell,
1 0 a m - Clubb, Jim
1 0 a m - Fabian, Ed
- Florence,
1 0 a m - Smith, Ken
- Turner, John
1 2 p m - Crail,
Charles n/a
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
1 2 p m - Dinwiddie
Lou
1 2 p m - Mauk,
Merlin
2 p m - Beckwith,
Chuck
2 p m - Franzi,
Cheryl
2 p m - Weishahn,
Tim
10
1 0 a m - Waters,
Carolyn
1 0 a m - Wilson,
Mike
1 2 p m - Whelply,
Mike
2 p m - Finch,
Randall
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Daloia, Bob
2 p m - Vogel, Ron
13
1 0 a m - Asmus, John
1 0 a m - Thompson,
Gary
1 0 a m - VanAlstine,
Gordan
1 2 p m - Rondeau,
Glenn
1 2 p m - VanGundy,
Bill
2 p m - Edlund, John
14
15
1 0 a m - Craghead,
Don
1 0 a m - Gollaher,
Mike
1 0 a m - Saltenberge
r, Otto
1 2 p m - Owens,
Richard
1 2 p m - Walters, Jim
1 0 a m - Adams,
Bruce
1 0 a m - Brooks,
Duwayne
1 0 a m - Tolbert,
Eugene
1 0 a m - Wallace,
Don
1 2 p m - Bailey, Tom
2 p m - Beckemeyer,
Barry
1 2 p m - Chow, Greg
2 p m - Reynolds,
Jerry
1 2 p m - Smith, Verle
2 p m - Lomazzi,
Brad
16
1 0 a m - Holinski,
Tom
1 0 a m - Lowe, Eldon
1 0 a m - Whitver,
Howard
1 2 p m - Cocciante,
Paul
1 2 p m - Utterback,
Arnold
2 p m - Salca,
Kenneth
2 p m - Willett,
Barbara
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
17
1 0 a m - Martinelli,
Gary
1 0 a m - Painter,
Johnnie
1 0 a m - Reichow,
Bruce
1 2 p m - Shenefield,
Joseph
2 p m - Bleau,
Richard
2 p m - Dubois,
Lamar
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Root, Terry
2 p m - Bourne, Bill
2 p m - Larson,
Dennis
18
19
20
1 0 a m - Bucholz,
Kenn (10-6)
1 0 a m - Tousignant,
Bob
1 2 p m - Lindquist,
Mitch
1 2 p m - Tennyson,
John
2 p m - Skaggs, Burl
1 0 a m - Borgquist,
Rich
1 0 a m - Cutright, Jim
1 0 a m - Johnson, H
1 0 a m - Swarts, John
1 0 a m - Orr, Mary
1 2 p m - Lazzarini,
Ken
2 p m - Reid, Jim
2 p m - Whitehead,
Craig
2 p m - Tronson,
Keith
1 2 p m - Bashaw,
David
1 2 p m - Goldberg
Larry
2 p m - Eilers, Rich
21
10am
Dick
10am
Greg
12pm
Bob
12pm
1 0 a m - Lopez, Joe
25
2 p m - Macher,
Charlie
2 p m - Swain, Boode
26
1 0 a m - Fisch,
Nianne
1 0 a m - Gutermann,
Carl
1 0 a m - Kellogg, Jim
1 0 a m - Simpson,
Roy
1 2 p m - Saunders,
Wayne
1 2 p m - Sheffield,
Bob
2 p m - Anton, Ed
1 0 a m - Alton, Tim
- Goodsell,
1 0 a m - Clubb, Jim
1 0 a m - Fabian, Ed
- Florence,
1 0 a m - Smith, Ken
- Turner, John
1 0 a m - UTI
Scavenger
1
H2upnm
t - Crail,
Charles n/a
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
1 2 p m - Dinwiddie
Lou
1 2 p m - Mauk,
Merlin
2 p m - Beckwith,
Chuck
2 p m - Franzi,
Cheryl
2 p m - Weishahn,
Tim
2 p m - Lomazzi,
Brad
24
1 0 a m - Waters,
Carolyn
1 0 a m - Wilson,
Mike
1 2 p m - Whelply,
Mike
2 p m - Finch,
Randall
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Daloia, Bob
2 p m - Vogel, Ron
27
1 0 a m - Asmus, John
1 0 a m - Thompson,
Gary
1 0 a m - VanAlstine,
Gordan
1 2 p m - Rondeau,
Glenn
1 2 p m - VanGundy,
Bill
2 p m - Edlund, John
2 p m - Reynolds,
Jerry
23
1 0 a m - Barks, Ray
2 p m - Stegeman,
Rick
2 p m - Young, Hy
1 0 a m - Hutchinson,
Fred
1 0 a m - Vaughn,
Gene
1 2 p m - Buckridge,
Gary
1 2 p m - Hendricks,
Robert
2 p m - Balkow, Bob
22
- Bohnsack,
28
4 p m - UTI
Scavenger
Hunt
29
1 0 a m - Craghead,
Don
1 0 a m - Gollaher,
Mike
1 0 a m - Saltenberge
r, Otto
1 2 p m - Owens,
Richard
1 2 p m - Walters, Jim
1 0 a m - Adams,
Bruce
1 0 a m - Brooks,
Duwayne
1 0 a m - Wallace,
Don
1 2 p m - Bailey, Tom
2 p m - Beckemeyer,
Barry
1 2 p m - Smith, Verle
1 2 p m - Chow, Greg
2 p m - Ayer, Mark
2 p m - Bourne, Bill
30
1 0 a m - Holinski,
Tom
1 0 a m - Lowe, Eldon
1 0 a m - Whitver,
Howard
1 2 p m - Cocciante,
Paul
1 2 p m - Utterback,
Arnold
2 p m - Salca,
Kenneth
2 p m - Willett,
Barbara
31
1 0 a m - Martinelli,
Gary
1 0 a m - Painter,
Johnnie
1 0 a m - Reichow,
Bruce
1 2 p m - Shenefield,
Joseph
2 p m - Bleau,
Richard
2 p m - Dubois,
Lamar
2 p m - Hess, Mike
2 p m - Root, Terry
2 p m - Larson,
Dennis
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
18
Walk-Through Inspections
The California Automobile Museum claims to be “Sacramento’s World Class Automobile Museum” and we know
it is. But often, little things, due to carelessness, inattention, the rush to complete a task, the attitude that it is “not
my responsibility”, just not caring or following through on the task, the assumption that someone else will
probably take care of it can quickly create an atmosphere that detracts from, and challenges our claim of “World
Class”.
I am referring to:
•
Areas that require immediate attention because of needless clutter, equipment, tools and materials
not removed ASAP after use;
•
Chains not up at all, or at correct height and chains touching or too close to display vehicles;
•
Lights not on in lighted cases or bulbs out;
•
Tables and chairs left in display areas after use;
•
Empty cans, bottles, cups not in trash;
•
Trash on floor-paper, popcorn, candy wrappers;
•
Areas in need of general cleaning;
•
Oil or water drips under display vehicles;
•
Ceiling lights not on or bulbs out;
•
Signage not in place or incorrectly placed;
•
Debris, litter, items out of place or not needed;
•
Mannequins in need of attention;
•
Display vehicles needing dusting, glass cleaning;
•
Flat tires, dirty whitewalls;
•
Tripping hazards in aisle ways, such as Go-Jacks, car stands, cleaning tools, etc.
A possible solution to the above litany would be frequent and voluntary walk-through inspections by
concerned persons with a critical eye to identify and locate anything that reduces the quality of the Museum
experience and to correct problems.
Obviously, if you can fix the problem without Staff involvement, please do so. If the issue requires a decision or
action by Staff, please complete a Walk-Through Inspection Form and turn it in to the Front Desk. Walk-through
Inspection Forms are available at the Front Desk.
Your help in conducting these walk-through inspections is needed and will be greatly appreciated and of
immeasurable value to the Museum and we thank you.
THE APPEARANCE AND QUALITY OF OUR MUSEUM IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF
EVERYONE CONNECTED WITH IT.
Al Babayco (1923-2005), Docent/Past Exhibits Committee Chair
Docent Newsletter
February-March 2012
19
Walk-Through Inspections Form
IF YOU CAN EASILY CORRECT THE PROBLEM YOURSELF, PLEASE DO SO – AND THANK YOU!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
WHERE IS IT?
INSPECTION BY:__________________________________ DATE:_________________________
PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED FORM TO THE FRONT DESK FOR TRANSMITTAL TO THE MUSEUM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Al Babayco (1923-2005), Docent/Past Exhibits Committee Chair