PC_Palmetto_Cruisers_Small.jpg (2853 bytes) Palmetto Cruisers Car Club, Florence, SC

PC_QA_Title.gif (5136 bytes)
Previous Installments


PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Which 1965 American Motors production car models were available with three-tone paint schemes?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, two- and even three-tone paint schemes were available on the 1965 AMC Rambler Marlin, AMC's most expensive model for that year.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes):  In which model year did the Lincoln Continental get its own series for the first time and cease being just another Lincoln?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The Lincoln Continental had its own series, the Coupe and the Cabriolet, for the first time in 1941.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Which 1941 American automobile make and model's horsepower-to-weight ratio made it, according to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, "the factory hot rod of the day?"
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The 1941 Buick Century's 320 CID engine with dual carburetors helped boost horsepower of its "Fireball 8" to 165, making its horsepower-to-weight ratios, according to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, "the factory hot rod of the day."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Who was GM's first female passenger-car designer, and in what year did she join the United States' largest automaker?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Assigned to the Cadillac studio, Joan Klatil Creamer joined General Motors in 1967 as GM's first female passenger-car designer.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What 1964 production car did Hot Rod Magazine warn you not to drive on the street?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): From 1963 to 1965, Ford Motor Company, for $3,900 in 1964, offered a (Fairlane) Thunderbolt, which featured fiberglass body pieces, a gutted interior and a 500 bhp 427 CID V8. HOT ROD Magazine said it was "not suitable for driving to and from the strip, let alone on the street in everyday use."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What 1968 American auto maker's under-$2,000 2-door sedan was compared by its manufacture to Volkswagen, noting it was 20 inches longer than the Volkswagen, 10 inches wider, much roomier, with twice the trunk space, turned around in the same space and had 75 more horsepower?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Apparently the image and personality of VW's "Beetle" was too much for AMC's "American" to overcome that year, as the "Beetle" still sold over 400,000 units more than the "American."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What 1950s make and model car, offered by an American manufacturer, only seated three people?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The 1950 Buick Special Jetback coupe, according to James M. Flemming and the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, seated only three. Dodge also offered a Wayfarer 3-Passenger Coupe, and Plymouth a 3-passenger business coupe, the P19 Deluxe.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What Academy Award winning movie features a 390 CID Ford Mustang GT Fastback and a 440 Magnum Dodge Charger R/T?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): "Bullitt" (1968) is the movie starring Steve McQueen as Bullitt, and it features a car chase through the streets of San Francisco with Bullitt, our hero, in a dark "Highland Green" 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 CID Fastback, chasing two bad guys in a "Tuxedo Black" 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What particular make and model car was dealer Reese F. Starr asking for when he wrote to Chrysler Corporation in 1959 saying, "Can't continue fishing without bait. Send more cars."?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Starr wanted more of Dodge's newly introduced and great-selling "Dart", which highlighted the Dodge series in 1960.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What phenomenally successful make and model automobile introduced in spring 1964, scored a record 680,000 sales in its 18 month inaugural model year?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, the 1964 Ford Mustangs were titled as 1965s, but were sometimes called 1964½ models. The Mustang's success helped Ford to produce over 2 million cars for the first time in its history.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): In what year did the assembly of Shelby Mustangs move from Shelby shops to a Ford subcontractor?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Assembly of Shelby Mustangs moved from Shelby shops to a Ford subcontractor in Michigan in 1968. (A convertible Shelby was also added to the lineup that year.)

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What AMC model replaced the Marlin?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The AMC Javelin, a hardtop coupe ponycar with an optional 390 V8, replaced the full-size Marlin in 1968.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What year, make and model was General Motor's 50-millionth car?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): A gold-trimmed Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop rolled off the assembly line on November 23, 1954, the 50-millionth automobile produced by General Motors.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What optional manual transmissions were available in the 1969 Hurst/Olds?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): None; the 1969 Hurst/Olds came only with a Hurst-shifted 3-speed automatic transmission.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What added piece of equipment was the most obvious and significant difference between Ford's 4-cylinder Model A engine and its 4-cylinder Model B engine?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Ford's Model B (1932) four-cylinder engine was a refined version of the Model A's four-cylinder (1927-1931), the most obvious and significant difference being the addition of a fuel pump on the Model B engine, since the gas tank had been relocated from the cowl to the rear of the car and could no longer rely upon a gravity feed.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Why did Ford call its Deuce a Model 18?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Ford called their 1932 V8 models the Model 18, the “1” standing for the “first” year with a V8 and the “8” of course for the "8" in V-8.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What American automobile had all of its instruments packed into a teardrop-shaped, self-contained housing, which sat on top of the steering column for easy viewing?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): In 1949, Nash introduced its "Uniscope" instrument pod. According to Nash, "No need ever to take your eyes off the road . . . all instrument dials are grouped just below eye-level, on your steering post. That's the Uniscope."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Which American automobile manufacturer introduced "square box" styling and in what year?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors at Consumer Guide, in 1949, Ford Motor Company's new "square box" styling was less aerodynamic than previous Fords, but apparently consumers liked it; production was up 28%. Of course, we car buffs know them as "shoebox Fords."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What coming of age movie comedy features a slew of cool '70s muscle cars including a GTO, a Trans Am and a Chevelle SS?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The movie "Dazed and Confused" (1993) features a 1970 Pontiac GTO "The Judge" with soft top and Orbit Orange color scheme driven by Kevin Pickford (Shawn Andrews), a white 1974 Pontiac Trans Am SD-455 Driven by Clint Bruno (Nicky Katt) nicknamed "White Lightning" and a black 1970 Chevelle SS 454 nicknamed "Melba Toast" driven by David Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey).

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What year make and model automobile is considered America's first "hatchback?"
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to Special Interest Autos, the 1949 Kaiser Traveler was America's first "hatchback." It sported a folding rear seat and a huge cargo deck. The trunk was split in two, the top half rising up with the rear window and the bottom half folding down as a tailgate. A deluxe version of the Traveler was called the Vagabond.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): To what upcoming new model was GM Technical Center technical director Dr. Peter Kyropoulos referring when he said, "It will be a completely new car and not a derivative of any previous models"?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle and produced for model years 1960-1969, the Chevy Corvair was Chevy's first compact car and the only American-made, mass-produced passenger car to feature a rear-mounted air-cooled aluminum horizontally-opposed six cylinder engine. The first generation model had a swing axle rear suspension, which offered a comfortable ride, but raised safety concerns associated with the car's handling stability. The swing axle was replaced in 1965 with a fully independent rear suspension similar to the Corvette Sting Ray.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What car was the result of Ford Motor Company's Project T-7?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Built on a Mustang chassis stretched three inches, in 1967, "Mercury unleashes Cougar...untamed elegance!" and Cougar, the "luxury sports car" according to Mercury.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What year and make American automobile was the first in the industry to offer four-way power seats?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, the 1953 Lincoln led the industry with four-way power seats. Power windows were offered, too.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What's the name of this Hemi-powered 1955 Chrysler?
PC_1955_Chrysler.gif (43698 bytes)
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes):
The "Falcon" was Chrysler's 1955 two-seater show car, intended to compete with the Thunderbird and Corvette. It was cute, had a 276 c.i.d. Hemi engine and an external exhaust system, but never saw production, supposedly because of disagreements between the designers and engineers.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): In which movie was this car (pictured below) a featured attraction?
PC_Movie_Car.gif (42734 bytes)
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes):
"Demolition Man."  Oldsmobile modified this 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W30 for the movie with performance options not offered to the public making it one of the fastest Oldsmobiles ever sold by GM.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What did Chrysler president K.T. Keller like that was partly responsible for Chrysler's 1949 products being taller than most others?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Chrysler products in 1949 were "... taller than most, partly due to the fact that company president K.T. Keller liked to wear a hat - and believed there should be room in a car for a man with a hat."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Ford did not begin regular production until 1903, so who produced the 1901 Ford?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, in 1968, Florida based Horseless Carriage Corporation produced a three quarter replica of "the 1901 Ford."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What were the special editions of Chevrolet's line called that were produced because of a 1941 U.S. Government mandate?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): To conserve scarce metals in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in December 1941 the U.S. Government mandated that no cars built after January 1, 1942, could be delivered with exposed stainless or chrome trim. Chevrolet responded by painting the trim on all 1942 models produced in January in contrasting colors, creating what became known as "Blackout" models or "Blackout Specials."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Without lifting the hood, how did you know whether that new 1950 Ford had a six-cylinder or V8 engine?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): A "6" was stamped in the grille's "spinner" if it was a six-cylinder, whereas, the presence of Ford's fabled flathead V8 engine was made known by an "8" in the spinner.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What was Ford Motor Company's "new breed" for 1974?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes):According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, "For 1974, Mercury moved the Cougar to the mid-sized Montego platform, dubbing it a 'new breed.'"

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What was the year, make and model of the U.S. automobile that is regarded by the auto industry as the first ever concept car?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The 1938 Buick "Y-Job" was created by Buick design chief Harley Earl along with his associate, George Snyder. According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, the one-of-a-kind car "has come to be regarded as the auto industry's first concept car."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What 1970s muscle car finally gave in to demands for a name change, and to what name was it changed?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The 1971-1972 Dodge "Demon" was available with a four speed manual transmission and a 340 cid, 275 hp engine. Due to pressures from various religious groups around the U.S., what was the "Demon" in 1971 and '72, became the "Sport" in 1973. The little red devil cartoon figure disappeared, too.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What was the first ever front-wheel-drive car produced in volume in the United States?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, production of the Cord L-29 (A.K.A. "Cord Front Drive") began in June of 1929, and the L-29 would become "the industry's first front-wheel-drive car in volume production." The L-29's 125 bhp straight eight engine was "mounted backward to accomodate the car's novel front-wheel-drive setup." The last Cord was manufactured in 1937.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Chrysler didn't make the engines for its 1978 front-drive subcompacts! Who did?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Chrysler announced in 1976, an agreement to purchased the engines and trans-axles for its 1978 front-drive subcompacts from Volkswagen.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Wow! Tie downs and scoop just scream, "muscle car!" Hey, what kind of scoop is that, anyway?
PC_What_Kind_of_Scoop_Small.gif (44293 bytes)
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to Wikipedia, "A shaker scoop (sometimes, inaccurately, called a shaker hood scoop or a shaker hood) is an automobile term for an air intake for combustion air that is mounted directly on top of the engine's air cleaner and protrudes through a hole in the hood. Since it is fastened directly to the engine, it moves with the engine's movement and vibration on its mountings, thus the 'shaker' name."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What one thing is generally accepted as the reason for Ford outselling Chevrolet in 1954?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Ford replacing its long-lived flathead V8 engine with a new, more powerful overhead-valved V8 engine in 1954 is credited with pushing Ford sales ahead of Chevrolet's that year.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Which American automobile company, in which year, introduced the first vehicle to combine four-wheel-drive with the utility-wagon body style?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, in 1949, "Willys-Overland launched a new four-wheel-drive version of its all-steel wagon -- the first vehicle to combine 4WD and the utility-wagon body style. In fact, this Jeep wagon could be considered the grandfather of today's ubiquitous sport-utility vehicles."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): Which Studebaker model more than doubled the company's sales in the year the model was introduced?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): The compact Lark was introduced in 1959, replacing Studebaker's standard models in the midst of an economic recession and more than doubling its 1958 sales figures.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What American make car was the first to enter the brand-new Pennsylvania Turnpike?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, it was a Dodge.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): America's first subcompact car according the the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide was not built in America. What make and model was it, and in which country was it built?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): While several other makes and models claim to be the first, the 1954 Nash Metropolitan, later the Hudson Metropolitan then the AMC Metropolitan, was singled out by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide as the first American Subcompact.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): PC_Whose_Steering_Wheel.gif (8817 bytes)That's a steering wheel(?) for what year, make and model American automobile?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): That weird-looking wheel was in the equally weird-looking dashboard of the sort of weird-looking 1960 Plymouth Fury.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): What classic 1955 movie made Mercury a car to remember?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): Actor James Dean drove a 1949 Series 9CM 6-passenger Mercury Coupe, now a part of the permanent collection at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, in the 1955 movie, "Rebel Without a Cause."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes): In what year did Chevrolet first use plastic on its dashboards?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, Chevrolet first used plastic on its dashboards in 1940.

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes):  What 1971 make and model American automobile was the first in the industry to offer standard air conditioning?
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes): According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, AMC's 1971 Ambassador "puts on a new face and gains standard air conditioning, an industry first."

PC_QA_QUESTION.gif (1594 bytes):  According to the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide, 1930 Chevrolets were nearly indistinguishable from the 1929s. Name one thing that distinguished the 1930 from the 1929, according to the editors.
    PC_QA_ANSWER.gif (1400 bytes)The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide say there were almost no distinguishable changes, but the 1930's fuel gauge was moved from the tank to the dash, the 19" wheels were new and "safety non-glare" windshields were slightly angled.

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