Auto Q & A
Auto Q & A
By: Dr. Wheels
Topics:
Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 777 times
0 responses 0 comments Dear Q & A: I was recently told a weird tale. It seems that in the wintertime during the Depression, when there was a lot of poverty, drunks used to lie down under cars, open the radiator valve and drink the fluid that came out, which would either kill them or make them deathly ill. What would be the point of that?
— E.J.H.
Dear EJ: During the Depression years, the automotive antifreeze of choice, because it was cheap, was alcohol. Few could afford the newer, better, but more expensive ethylene glycols like Prestone or Xerex. Indigent alcoholics, desperate for a drink, figured out that the coolant they could drain and drink from an automobile radiator petcock, if they had a pair of pliers to open it, was usually a pretty potent cocktail. Trouble was, some cars used denatured alcohol or, worse, the poisonous glycol, with deadly results for those who weren’t discriminating about the vehicles they drank from. Not really a widespread practice, but it happened often enough, tragically, to capture media attention.
Dear Q & A: There have been some rumors that the new Lincoln Zephyr is not really an American car, but if so, I didn’t find out where it’s being imported from. What’s the deal? Is it French? Sounds French.
— George C.
Dear George: Depending on what your definition is of “foreign,” you can think of the Zephyr either way. This Lincoln model is a US make, like the others, but it will be manufactured abroad, in Mexico, to be precise, as some Chevrolets have been for years. The Lincoln plant in Wixom, Michigan, will no longer employ the 3,750 Americans who have built Lincolns and Mustangs there, once manufacturing has been moved completely south of the border in 2007. This is one way, we suppose, for Ford to try to make up for its recent multi-billion-dollar losses. Are a lot of Mexicans going to buy Zephyrs? At an MSRP starting at about $30,000 US (334,500 pesos), not likely.
Dear Q & A: Why is the 14 Freeway between Palmdale and Canyon Country still unfinished? They’ve been working on it for what seems like forever, but it never seems to get any better. For years, three lanes have been going to two and back to three again several times on this stretch of road, causing bottlenecks (and accidents) and interfering with smooth traffic flow in rush hours both mornings and afternoons. What the hang-up?
— A.K.
Dear AK: The concrete hardened long ago on a lot of the widening improvements that are still closed to traffic. Completed sections of three lanes in each direction have been blockaded by concrete dividers for many years, as you complain. Maybe political pressure will help. Calling your state senator or assemblyman or possible even county supervisor could make a difference. Funding to complete such improvements often responds to the “squeaky wheel” principle.
Dear Q & A: I’m a fan of Elmore Leonard, the crime novelist. I just heard a quick mention on a car show that there was a car called the “Elmore” at one time. True?
— Jay
Dear Jay: True. Back in 1907, the daring new Elmore was exhibited at the Madison Square Garden auto show. Daring because it had a valveless two-stroke engine, in which fuel was mixed with the lubricating oil. Two-strokes can crank out lots of power, as seen most recently in victories by Yamaha’s two-stroke triples in motorcycle racing, but they’re terrible polluters, and no longer get EPA’s okay for sale in the US. Complete with acetylene headlights, the 1907 Elmore sold for $1,750.
Send your automotive questions to Auto Q & A, Box 2222, Tehachapi, CA 93581.
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