[AMC-List] Countdown

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

>>
I finally got the grill prepared to start masking it up to paint the
silver. I got 3 hours into the masking and have barely made a dent in it
so far. I know when I am done it will look like new. But to tell you the
if I had it to do all over again I don't know if I wouldn't just
paint the headlight doors and the grill pain old flat black and be done
with it. As with every other thing with this car it has went from a
simple grill re-paint of what I thought was an undamaged grill to a
major plastic repair of all the mounting points. I have 11 days to get
this job done for the show on June 4th.
<<

When it seems like the pain will never end, don't dent it, say "Avanti!"

Whether painted silver, gold, rhodium-plated, or covered with moon dust, by the time it's displayed, AMC should be black-and blue, if not totally burnt to a crisp.  It's GRILLE, dammit!  You've made all AMC fans look like idiots.

That's the last I will write about it.  That's the lasting impression AMC people will have of you.  That's why AMC lasts as a low-rated collector nameplate.  That's how to represent American Motors Corporation's "last-of" legacy.

Thanks.  Good luck.  Avanti.  Forward.

'Til it's time to stop trying for AMC.

>>
Take McPherson struts, for instance. There is no control over camber
<<

>>
That's where advertising comes in. Back in the Seventies when struts
were becoming common, many car makers mentioned them in their ads, even
though they they were inferior to the wishbone suspensions they
replaced. Since it was new, a lot of folks probably just assumed it was
better, which is what the ad writers count on...
<<

...'til the ad writers mention that "A-arms" are better than MacPherson (tut, tut, people, I -know- you remember...) struts.  Designer John Najjar remembered.

"I had the instrument panels studio, taking care of designs and about that time --- let's see, that was the '54 Ford instrument panel --- there was a man in charge of engineering who was a fighter pilot in WW I.  Damn, I've forgotten his name, never thought I would --- a Phi Beta Kappa key, a good engineer.  I bring this point up as the personality of the individual --- MacPherson!  Gee whiz, how could I forget?  Earle Steele MacPherson, the father of the strut --- front-wheel suspension.

I had been designing the astro-dial which was a see-through speedometer for the 1954 Ford which was a warmed up Ford and wanted to do something on the instrument panel that would perk it up.  The astro-dial sat vertically above the panel so that you could look through it, almost, if you shrunk down in the seat far enough [toward] the hood.  And the idea there was to give it dramatic back lighting.  And I did an automatic transmission dial that was kind of unique (patented later), and I was getting some trouble from one engineer who was not approving it and who had the right of approval, and they couldn't get his concurrence.  The name Howard Reed sticks with me; I thought I'd never forget it.  Anyhow, Mr. MacPherson came through one day, and Bob Maguire was there and said, 'John, show Mr. MacPherson this instrument panel.'  It had become a subject of controversy, and Earle MacPherson sat down.  I didn't know he had been a fighter pilot.  I didn't know anything about his background, really.  And he said, 'This is great.  This is terrific.  Why don't we do it?'  And so I got the blessing from him.  To a designer, here was somebody reacting to your presentation rather than the pedestrian role of the engineer at the time who had to make things work and couldn't take gambles.  I understand that now, looking back, but here was an engineer who was used to taking gambles and trying it.  So that worked out very fine.  He later became vice-president of engineering, I think."

Good memory.  Such a Ford VP title he did reach.  An auto world would be grateful.  And we will remember his name. 

http://www.vwtrendsweb.com/features/0306vwt_macpherson_strut_suspension/

Over in the Highlands, ad writers touted torsion bars as the best things.

Next up to take a flight-of-fancy or a joyride somewhere west of Laramie?

What else?  Air!  (No one would remember Cadillac, Lincoln, or Mercedes.)

Back in the AMC-Rambler heyday, M-B had both A-arms -and- air suspension.

Complex, costly.  D-B drove on.  GM let the air out after 4 years.  AMC?

http://www.american-motors.de/en/history/50s/

Says something about some car builders.  Sadly says still more about US.

Someday ads might sell us Daf Variomatic, Packard Ultramatic, and Hudson Magic Hand.  They may prove the magic of the written word that's still "Lost" on AMC Island.  Then poof!  Someday, all that we took for granted may simply disappear.  As AMC did.  A self-defeating little car company?  Ah, but that wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

"Nash is eager to take you to those unspoiled secret places of the world, where roads and hills keep lesser cars away.  There's a new kind of engine whose pick-up will match any scared jack-rabbit you meet.  There's even a Convertible Bed!  So that you can sleep near your favorite trout stream."

Yes.

"Out in God's country at twilight.  Nature in Autumn's costume.  An alluring road.  A crescent moon.  A party of your own choosing.  And a Jordan Silhouette."

Yes!

"You stop a moment to enjoy it all.  Then you settle back --- and touch the throttle.  Smoothly, silently, the Silhouette slips away."

-Yes-!

"Through secluded villages and sleeping fields.  There's a new life in the air --- a new tingle in the blood.  No longer the blasé driver of yesterday.  You are the companion of a new kind of car --- answering the call of the open country --- yielding to the whims of the moment --- a royal vagabond traveling the road to Everywhere."

YES!!!

(Apologies to Ms. Meg, Mr. Billy, and Mrs. Carl...)

Forward.  Backward.  We have better places to be.

Q1 - What Jeffery-Jordan history happened 80 years ago as we "speak"?

Q2 - What Najjar-Ford history happened in 1960s-1970s design for AMC?

Q3 - What Najjar-Jordan history happened 'fore a Ford made -history-?

Oh, the fascinating things you could be learning.

>From Ned Jordan (dead), Chuck Jordan (79), or me.

But I don't have time for idiots; even with AMCs.  

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