Few words

["Mahoney, John" <jmahoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"I didn't want to be the guy who draws the fenders, or something --- I enjoy
getting involved in marketing, in manufacturing, in engineering and what's
going on in the world, and everything else."

- John Delorean, on his reluctance (in 1956) to leave Packard for GM

Three years after he became Chevrolet General Manager (at age 44), the
division sold over three million vehicles.  That model year, Chevrolet held
a larger market share than all of GM does now.  The year was 1972.  Then
Chevy built 3,446,162 '73 units.  You tell us how many AMC sold.  And tell
us what turns 35 tomorrow and how many million it sold.

I'd like to wrap body styles today, but doubt there's time, so I'll talk
about Tatra and Tucker instead.  Quick wits may have thought, "But wait,
Tremulis' torpedo-type Tucker sedan wasn't a V-8 - if Ledwinka's aero-bodied
Tatras ('34 Type 77 and '37 Type 87 had 3.4L and 2.96L air-cooled V-8s)
were."  Indeed, the way from flat-six Franklin-Bell air to car was
liquid-cooled, but the Briggs body trait highlighted was "rear" and rare.

(They shared foresight  

http://auta5p.car.cz/katalog/tatra/t77a_01a.jpg

http://www.uwm.edu/People/abraunel/1948%20tucker%20torpedo.gif

and power-from-the-rear)

http://auta5p.car.cz/katalog/tatra/t77a_01.jpg

http://www.motorboys.org/messe/pix/PIC00044.jpg

Before I forget it, another detail.  After James Cunningham Son & Co. of
Rochester built its last 6.0L V-8 for the likes of William Randolph Hearst,
Marshall Field, Harold Lloyd and Miss P. around 1933, they still built
hearses and ambulances on their own chassis and built bodies on others'
(including Ford's!), so Miss C's Model A Town Car was by Cunningham, not by
Brewster.  No history, no photos.  No famous heart-shaped grille.

http://www.1motormart.com/gallery/36ford02.jpg

And finally, the Zephyr, sometimes called the most successful American
streamliner, was what could happen when one designer  (John Tjaarda) working
"without [the] knowledge of upper [Briggs] management" and one auto
executive (Edsel Ford) working "without the knowledge of upper [Henry]
management" worked TOGETHER on something for which they shared a passion.
Exactly what could [have] happen[ed] with American Motors as a collector
hobby.  But hasn't.