Archive for July, 2011

Cummins debuts American automotive diesel 80 years ago

Monday, July 25th, 2011

Though his products never made it all the way to the family automobile, Clessie L. Cummins debuted diesel power on the American highway in 1930.  He started his journey of achievements when he served on the pit crew of the first winner of the Indianapolis 500 mile race in 1911.  Ten years later, he had incorporated the Cummins Engine Company in Columbus and received two patents for fuel injection on diesel engines. 


1935 Cummins-Auburn


Clessie in the Cummins-Auburn

Copyright © 1935 Cummins Engine Company

Cummins introduced the automotive diesel to the United States in January 1930 with a 792-mile trip from Indianapolis to the New York Automobile Show in a Cummins powered Packard seven-passenger limousine.  The trip required 30 gallons of fuel at a total cost of $1.38 with fuel consumption of 26.4 miles per gallon.  In August 1930, a Cummins diesel-powered truck set a coast-to-coast record of 97 hours and 20 minutes on $11.22 in fuel. Later in the year, the Cummins truck set a non-stop record around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 13,535 miles. 

In 1931, the number 8 Cummins Diesel started the Indianapolis 500 in the sixth row and finished the race nonstop.  The diesel-powered car finished 13th with an average speed of 86.17 miles per hour, while averaging more than 16 miles per gallon.

Cummins demonstrated the cast-aluminum Model A diesel engine exclusively designed for automobiles in June 1935.  This engine powered a sleek, rust-red colored Auburn convertible with a fawn top. On a tour from Manhattan to White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., the car used fuel at a total cost of $1.12 with a fuel consumption of 40.2 miles per gallon.  If the planned 1936 Auburn-Cummins vehicles would have been produced in quantity, they would have been the first American diesel-powered passenger cars.   

In 1955, he launched Cummins Enterprises Company to develop his new ideas.  He immediately patented the diesel engine brake, a popular feature on today’s highway truck diesels.  He also introduced new fuel injection metering pumps in the late 50’s.  Today, Cummins Engine Company is a major force in the world-wide diesel engine market. 

Clessie Cummins worked on his mechanical dreams throughout his life.  In a career spanning more than 56 years, his inventive genius garnered 33 U. S. patents and numerous honors for his pioneering achievements.  It all started over 80 years ago with Cummins innovative work on the automotive diesel.

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Car culture in northern Indiana

Sunday, July 17th, 2011

Occasionally someone asks about my recommendations for auto museums in Indiana. Northern Indiana has some great car culture destinations.

Auburn Indiana probably has the best concentration of auto museums of anywhere outside of Michigan. The best known and one of the best car museums in the country is the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum. The ACDAM is the only auto museum occupying an original factory showroom and administration building. The art-deco structure was built in 1930 for the Auburn Automobile Company and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum dedicates a large portion to Indiana-built automobiles from the 1890s through 1960s. Other highlights are the Cadillac, Packard, Rolls Royce and race cars among this 100-plus automobile collection.

Immediately behind the ACDAM are the buildings now housing the National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States. This site once contained the production of the L-29 Cord as well as the service facility for the Auburn Automobile Company. NATMUS features trucks and other vehicles from 1907 to the present.

Just off the I-69 Auburn exit is the Kruse Foundation complex. Two buildings at this site are of interest to auto aficionados. The Kruse Automotive and Carriage Museum and the Early Ford V8 Foundation Museum. The KACM features a collection of classic cars, television and movie cars, hot rods, and antique carriages. The Early Ford V8 Museum focuses on Fords from 1932 to 1953, as well as other vehicles powered by Ford flathead V8 engines.

North of Auburn on I-69 and west on US 20 in Shipshewana is Hostetler’s Hudson Auto Museum. Over 25 years ago, what started with a single vehicle, has grown to include the largest collection of Hudson automobiles and trucks in the world. Today, the collection includes the Hudson, Essex, Terraplane, Railton, and Dover brands.

Further west on US 20 in South Bend is the Studebaker National Museum. The SNM covers 114 years of its namesake’s history. “Studebaker is the only company to span the time from settlers’ wagons to high performance automobiles,” according to museum material. The museum has the Studebaker family’s own Conestoga wagon, used to move them to South Bend, and an Avanti, the last car made in South Bend. The carriage that Abraham Lincoln rode to Ford Theater on the night of his assassination is also on display.

Finally, travel west on IN 2 to LaPorte to see the LaPorte County Museum. The museum houses the Dr. Peter C. Kesling Automobile Collection, numbering over 30 vehicles. The collection includes vehicles built by Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Baker Electric, Ford, Tucker, and Dodge. In 2003, Dr. and Mrs. Kesling drove the collection’s Winton from California to New York City, retracing the path of the first coast to coast auto journey by Dr. Horatio Jackson in 1903 in a similar Winton touring car.

I believe northern Indiana is your best bet for an auto enthusiast’s total immersion into car culture. Where else in about 120 miles can you see seven auto museums? Do it in one trip or break-up the enjoyment in to multiple adventures. Be sure to call any of these sites before you finalize a visit. Check out my Indiana Museums page @ http://www.cruise-in.com/resource/cimuseum.htm

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Sharing our automotive heritage with future generations

Monday, July 11th, 2011

It is amazing how car club events provide ideas for blog posts. Yesterday, while riding along on a club tour of southern Indiana country side, the discussion turned to the need to get younger people involved in the old car hobby.

Car shows and tours are great ways to nurture this involvement because:
• they are an affordable form of entertainment;
• they are a great way to share our interest in the old car hobby; and
• they foster an appreciation for the practice and enjoyment of technical skills in working on cars.

When talking about looking for affordable forms of entertainment, car shows and tours are winners. Many car shows and tours feature low cost or free admission for adults and free admission for children. In fact, the only cost for our club tours is lunch and fuel for our beloved steeds. What a great way to spend part of a day cruising on local two-lane roads taking in the passing scenery! Everyone involved feels this is relaxing. No computers or game consoles involved. Just you and Mother Nature.

Car shows and tours are also a great venue for sharing of our car culture. One item I particularly enjoy about some of our club activities is the sharing of various aspects of the car restoration process by our multi-generation members. Yesterday, one of our members discussed the wood-working techniques he was using to restore a 1916 Buick roadster. It was looking back in time to the skills and crafts of another era.

For our group, this discussion evolved to how car shows and tours can foster an appreciation for the value of the practice and enjoyment of the technical skills in working on cars for younger people. Many individuals derive satisfaction and compensation from the manual arts.

I believe it is time to pass on some of this appreciation to youth and get them involved in our great hobby. So, the next time you are heading out to car show or tour, take a child or a grandchild with you to continue sharing our automotive heritage with future generations.

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Higher gas prices prompt consumers to travel less and choose fuel efficient vehicles.

Monday, July 4th, 2011

Why is it that it takes higher gas prices to provide incentives for consumers to travel less and to choose fuel efficient vehicles? I observed this phenomenon recently when the gas price spiked to over $4 per gallon, and I decided to drive less to keep my weekly gas purchases in line. Plus, one of my co-workers decided to park his full-size pickup and use a more economical smaller car.

We have to do a better job using our fuel resources to reduce the impact of oil prices in the future. Since enacting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations in 1975, the country is only saving about 14 percent of today’s crude oil consumption versus pre-1975 rates.

Here are two examples of how consumerism hurts us in the long run.

• In the 1980’s Chrysler developed the idea of marketing the minivan as a station wagon alternative, while certifying it in the separate truck category to allow compliance with less-strict CAFE standards. Later on, automakers used this same idea to promote SUVs and crossover vehicles. Another example of how ridiculous this all is the Chrysler PT Cruiser being defined as a truck for fuel economy purposes. I don’t understand. It isn’t made with any truck parts. What a gimmick.
• At the start of this century, automakers produced about 30 models rated at better than 30 mpg that were poor sellers. It wasn’t until 2007, that the fuel efficient 55 mpg Toyota Prius outsold the top-selling Ford Explorer SUV rated at 17 mpg. It seems that it’s only during gas spikes that smaller cars sales exceed SUV sales.

I believe it is time to purchase fuel efficient vehicles, thus encouraging automakers to build them. The customers will come. This will also lower our dependence on foreign oil and the resulting disruptions and pain of price spikes. Let us, the customers, lead the way with our pocketbook and not another CAFE regulation or other ill-conceived incentive.

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