Author: VAE

The Rover Whizzard was a turbine-engine car, and was first unveiled at Silverstone Airport, in England, in 1950. That such a conservative automaker as Rover would come out with a turbine car was a sign of the times, and in a sense, the car was a product of the transportation industry as a whole.

The question of motive power – not only for cars, but for airplanes and railroad trains – was much debated at the time. With aircraft, the advent of the turbine-jet engine promised a bright future, as jet aircraft attained previously unattainable speeds.

The automotive industry was facing a need for ever more efficient power plants that would deliver good performance even in lower-priced cars (thanks to the improvements in highways, and a post-war milieu that emphasized power and speed).

If steam pistons could be replaced with turbine blades in a locomotive, why not in an automobile engine? It would be wonderful for sales, too, directly borrowing the then-tremendous glamour of the jet aircraft as well.

Thus the impetus was supplied for Rover to design and realize a turbine engine for their Whizzard. This car represented a few modifications on the basic Rover shape of the time. The Whizzard, aka “Jet 1”, could achieve 93 mph but was gas-hungry, getting only five miles to the gallon.

Once Rover was awarded the DeWar Trophy for their engineering daring, the company went ahead with another turbine project, the “Jet 2” which featured a somewhat upgraded turbine in a sedan body that was the focus of much publicity.

In 1961 Rover brought out the T4 which seem to have borrowed much of its styling from the Citroen… Rover claimed they had almost solved the turbine problems with this car and to prove their point, ran one at Le Mans.

The T4 was the last domestic turbine car that Rover attempted… the cost of development was too high and the car’s performance did not justify its heavy fuel consumption.

State of the club message for 2003 and the first 50 years of action since the club’s founding in 1953. Presented to the Board of Directors, January 5, 2004.

First let me thank and congratulate all those members that have helped establish the VAE over our history and especially in our golden year 2003. It has been a good term and I feel, a great year. Praise goes to our outgoing officers and an eager welcome to those incoming folks who will keep our banners flying.

Special thanks to Sandy Lambert, who with a little help from Ellen Emerson, has done a great job as Secretary. This is one of the more difficult jobs in an organization such as ours and her work is appreciated. She and Dan also gave us a great Christmas party. Thank you!

Conception Conti, Tom McHugh and Fred Cook gave us a great 50th Book along with an active committee with kudos to Jim Sears (the roster guy), Jim and Nancy Willett and Francine and Graham Gould. VP Ray Tomlinson was also there and helped with special products and running commentary.

Taking just the year 2003, my nomination for “Enthusiast of our Golden Year”, is Ellen Emerson. Responsible for Wheel Tracks and our web site, Ellen has also done much more… enthusiastically. She has taken a lot of the Shelburne Show weight (notice her last years work there), has filled in for Sandy, has made all kinds of meetings, has volunteered to host a monthly meet in 2004, etc. Ellen is always upbeat, fun and really likes cars. The club salutes you… Ellen.

Our two major car shows continue to be big and successful events. Stowe maintains its place as the premier Northern New England old car event. Tom Maclay and Dick Currier continue to be the primary force behind this event… with the help of many, many members. There are some concerns about Stowe, however. The club will be facing some decisions about our relationship with the Stowe Area Association… this needs work. Also there is always discussion about growth, location, events, and judging. Member input is welcomed. The Stowe Show committee meets a lot throughout the year. Those with interest should contact one of the co-chairs: Tom Maclay or Dick Currier.

Shelburne is new enough to continue to be a “work in process”. This show is unique in location and presentation and holds a big future for the VAE. Our relationship with the Shelburne Museum alone is noteworthy. Our future as a club interested in transportation is only enhanced by our friendship and co-operation with a transportation oriented museum like Shelburne. More about this in a moment… first thanks to our Shelburne founding co-chairs Bill Erskine and Avery Hall, who, claiming semi-retirement, are still providing the organization and leadership to mount this big project. There is exciting potential in the Shelburne Show… and now with an extended time and hub-tours bringing in new participants. I feel that Shelburne is just beginning what will make it a “Mecca” event for old car people.

The “little sister” event in our show calendar is Thunder Road. Under the enthusiastic leadership of Gene and Lucille Napoliello this event will become in 2004 an event beyond a monthly VAE meet. With help from Fred Cook and VAE founding member, Thunder Road owner/operator Ken Squire, this meet fills a need in the clubs activities. It is here that we can host cars and owners that haven’t historically been active parts of our club. Later cars, younger owners and a contemporary venue indicate our general automobile enthusiasm and the fund raising aspect is more than a worthy cause. I recommend that we all support Thunder Road and welcome the results.

Monthly meetings are the glue that holds our club together. I wish more members would get out more often as we have a lot of fun… and most of us get to drive some favored rig. But not having a car ready is no excuse for not coming. Show up “modern” and chances are there will be all kinds of places to ride in style with another proud member. Our roster lists over 400 families. Our average monthly meeting attendance is just under 50 people. If you talk the talk… you should try the walk… oops… the ride. Please come.

There are several additional concerns… Les Skinner, esteemed VAE Treasurer, is having a difficult round with the IRS. Non-profit organizations like ours are often subject to review. We do handle a lot of money due to our major shows and Les’ job is not easy. He will keep us posted as to the outcome.

As President through the past year I have heard a lot of comment and conversation about judging at VAE events. It appears impossible to please all – especially those having judging experience in other car clubs – and feelings run quite high. If you are unhappy with the results don’t go away mad. I thank those that have taken the time to write or call me about judging and I continue to feel at a loss as to just what to do about it. I am impressed with the work Gene Napoliello has done on a “judging manual” for general judging by novices. It explains just what the criteria are for any event that the manual is used for. Do we need to judge more? Less? “Owner-class” judge? I don’t know. I do know that those attending and asking to be judged expect to be judged, like to win and basically attend with this in mind. We need to have some major discussions on this topic – the sooner the better.

There has been some discussion this past year about the future of the VAE… direction, projects, membership, etc. Our Futures Committee has met and one large thing they have brought forward is the desire to think about and possibly plan for some kind of permanent clubhouse facility for our group. Talk has stretched this thinking over anything from a library room for auto related literature, VAE memorabilia, etc. to something much larger to possibly include available work space, car display area and general museum. Good thinking – all.

The Officers and Board have not yet officially heard from the Audit Committee. Long time members Dave Otis, Lou Young and Chair, Leo LaFerriere make up this group and have the task of making sure that our records are understandable and that our financial house and its reported status are in order. This year, in addition to being reactive to our records, Leo has raised some questions about fiscal policy and made some initial suggestions that may find their way into a formal report. Thanks, Leo and committee for the extra time and effort contributed to our club.

The Bylaws Committee (Fred Cook and long-time bylaw people Adrian West and Mary Jane Dexter) have made some suggested changes to our bylaws (published in the December Wheel Tracks) and after some discussion at the annual meeting are refining them for presentation to the membership early this year. It is important that we keep our governing documents current to the clubs needs and direction.

Before his unfortunate death, long time member Joe Bettis spoke to me about how good it felt to be remembered by the club with calls, cards, and letters…and from our Sunshine chair, Julie Greenia. Julie has done an excellent job reminding those with burdens that we old-car people are interested, friendly and concerned. It makes us a better organization. Thanks Julie.

As incoming Board Chairman, my interest in the future only increases. 2004 is my 50th anniversary with our club and I feel a strong personal investment in what has been and what I owe to the future. The following are my personal feelings and are offered to maintain ongoing thinking and conversation about what we might do in the time to come.

The largest looming question is membership. Although our 400 families appear to show interest and support for our club and hobby, we are aging. “Families” doesn’t seem to include our “kids” as much as we would like and we are not planning well for new torchbearers. People… we need to take this seriously. Old cars are great and another generation will discover them ONLY if we make it a guided discovery. Young people are hands on… we need to let them get their hands on… touch, ride, drive, listen, understand and want an older car.

A related topic might be the thinking coming from the Futures Committee. Jan Sander and company have generated a lot of interest in the clubhouse idea. If we build a clubhouse without new younger members to use and support it, it could look like a mausoleum fairly soon. The positive idea of making a large commitment to a major project is interesting and challenging. This mental exercise has started me thinking about how best we might plan in this direction.

First, I believe that there is probably some money available to fund a well-planned project. Gifts, grants, subscriptions, etc might actually produce quite a lot. The larger problem would be support and maintenance of any facility. We aren’t big enough or rich enough to do this. Here at the beginning of this thinking I would suggest the following… find a partner group or organization that could provide what we can’t. Fund the lion’s share of the upfront cost and rely on the partner’s resources to keep it going. For starters, if we were looking for just library and meeting room space, it could be a chamber of commerce, a corporation with automotive or historical interest, etc. If we wanted more… to include an automotive display area for example, if could be a fairground, theme park or museum. I haven’t turned the “available work space” corner yet, but there are probably possibilities out there as well. My early on interest favors the alliance with a museum… and you can probably guess which one.

2004 President Ray Tomlinson is very interested in a clubhouse project and has investigated several possible sites for our use. If you have thoughts or interest in this, contact Ray or Jan Sander. Ray may well continue with a Futures Committee and your contributions would be valuable.

To sum, I believe that the VAE is presently healthy, mostly happy and adequately wise. I salute our founding members, commend our present officers, and thank our active members. It has been fun to help steer in our 50th year, and as a board member I look for more in 2004.

Excerpts from the book by Keith Marvin © 1961

The Wasp was unique in several ways. For one thing, it was designed for those who wanted something, which would transcend or surpass even the most personal examples of other makes. Custom coachwork could be had for a price, and purchasers of such high priced automobiles as Packard, Pierce-Arrow and the American built Rolls Royce were able to pay to satisfy their desire for custom-tailored, one of a kind coachwork, including such features as built in bars, special brocade or silk upholstery.

If a client couldn’t obtain exactly what he or she desired through the custom tailored approach on a given chassis, another make might be chosen in its place as a second choice. Such was not the case with the Wasp. There would be NO second choice. If the buyer wished for exclusiveness with no ifs, ands or buts, and the Wasp appealed, that was it. As such, it was perhaps the only American car of its time without a rival in this field.

A spin-off to this desire for exclusiveness sometimes entailed having a car built which looked like something else or nothing in particular. Such was the case with a noted financier who liked the appearance of the Mercedes, but in the period immediately following WWI did not want to own a German-made car. There was a simple solution: he had a special radiator made, directly copying that of the Mercedes, and attached it to his Packard Twin Six.

A second point that set the Wasp apart was its appearance, combining individuality in concept and an originality in every aspect of its design, a rather startling beauty without sacrificing utility and at the same time, avoiding eccentricity.

Third, the car was only advertised selectively as its builder had early in his business career come to the conviction that if such promotion was to be employed, it should be without cost. In point of fact, it should be free. Therefore, he successfully arranged for coverage with illustrations and text in the automotive press as well as in the prestigious magazines Vanity Fair and Vogue.

An exclusive design feature of the Wasp was its unique placement of the St. Christopher Medal on the dashboard of every car sold. There were two good reasons for this. First, Karl Martin had designed and struck a bronze St. Christopher Medal for Army and Navy personnel in WWI and had a number of these left over. Secondly, a religious man in his own right and a communicant of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Bennington, he always carried such a medal in his personal cars and he wished Wasp owners to do likewise. It was said (but never proven) that he would have refused sale of a Wasp to any purchaser who objected to the presence of the medal.

The 2nd meeting of the Shelburne Planning Committee happened Tuesday November 18th and was attended by, Hugh Bargiel, Andy Barnett, Ellen Emerson, Avery Hall, Bryce Howells, Joe Rigg, and Jim Sears. Hugh hosted the event at his gorgeous establishment, The Strong House Inn in Vergennes.

Working from “the list” of responsibilities our group began to put names to items that need attention. Avery was pleased to announce that Julie Greenia will be continuing with Steve Skinner’s Registration Committee to take care of pre-registration tasks (Thank You Julie!). A quick phone also confirmed Ray Tomlinson to head up the Car Corral and Tom McHugh will run the Flea Market. (Thank you both!)

The committee also discussed how to best contact other car clubs to be invited and decided that we should compile a list of clubs and their contacts so that we can get in touch with them about the Shelburne Show. If possible we’d like to get a copy of their mailing list, to directly invite individual members. If that’s not an option we’ll simply ask that they place some information in their newsletters. If you are a member of another car club (I know a lot of us are) and you would like them to be invited, please contact me (Ellen) with the name and address.

Hugh mentioned that in addition to the 5 tours put on last year we will be adding an additional tour that will include a ferry trip over to Plattsburg. We’d like to put together a brochure for the tours alone that includes pictures, a list of all tours and who to contact. This could be a full size brochure or a smaller page that could be used as an insert.

Other items for discussion were the standardization of plaque sizes. We currently have 3 different sizes, which could be reduced to one size, which should save money on the wood for the backing. The committee will look into how we can best save money on awards without reducing the significance of a First Place versus a Third.

Awards will feature last year’s “Best of Show” winner, which is standard operating procedure. Dash plaques will use a picture from the museum, including the Ticonderoga, which is easily recognizable as part of the museum and which falls into the transportation category.

The committee will also look into purchasing something that can be given to all entrants who go through the parade but who do not place in their class. It was suggested that a blue ribbon imprinted with “Thank You For Participating” might be appropriate. Another suggestion was a small bottle of maple syrup since it’s representative of Vermont to many people, especially those outside the state.

The next meeting date has been set for Tuesday, January 13, 2004 where we’ll discuss the budget and hopefully add some more volunteer names to “the list”. If you’d like to volunteer please contact me (Ellen) and I will put you in touch with the proper person!

1900 – Delco invents the first electrical distributor for automobile engines.

1901 – Olds begins production of the famous Oldsmobile Curved Dash runabout. Speedometers used for the first time. Ettore Bugatti designed his first car.

1902 – Henry Leland replaces Henry Ford as chief engineer at the Detroit Automobile Company, which is renamed the Cadillac Automobile Co.

1903 – Bathtub maker David Dunbar Buick starts a Buick plant in Flint, Michigan, and sells it to William Durant the next year. Glass windshields are used on autos for the first time. First cross country trip by automobile. Henry Ford founds the company bearing his name.

1904 – Studebaker introduces a gasoline auto. Cadillac is among the first to use a steering wheel instead of a tiller. First production Maxwells roll off the line in NY. Rolls-Royce Limited founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce in Britain.

1905 – First transcontinental auto race sponsored by Oldsmobile.
Cars could be purchased on an installment plan.

1906 – Ford uses vanadium on the Model N-a heat-treated steel that is lighter and stronger than conventional steel.

1907 – A four-cylinder engine with sliding transmission introduced by Buick.

1908 – Steering wheels moved to the left-hand side on most autos. First grooved automobile tire appears. Buick owner William C. Durant forms General Motors. Ford Model T goes on sale for $850: with 20 horsepower, top speed of 45 mph, & 30 mpg. It sold 10,600 units the first year.

1909 – Automobile storage battery invented by Thomas A. Edison.

The Corsair, based on a Cord automobile chassis, was more an out-right failure of styling than of design. The Cord Company had been responsible for some very good-looking automobiles. This was party because Cord chassis, with their high-performance engines and exotic front-wheel-drive configuration, were naturals for any designer with a yen for sleekness and and exclusivity. Among the designers Cord cooperated with were Gordon Buehrig and Carl Van Ranst, who turned out notable designs for the L-29, the 810 and 812 Berline.

There were, however, those designers who had dreams of beauty and elegance but were unable to realize them – either through their own love of idiosyncrasy, or through lack of talent. Perhaps the worst designs were those perpetrated by the designer with zeal but unclear purpose

The design was supposed to be a sleek, futurist bombshell of a car, powered by a high-performance Lycoming straight-eight engine. In a way it was ahead of its time with completely faired-in fenders, and a low silhouette. Its proportions, however, were all wrong, and the fender sides dropped straight down from the windows like the sand guards on British Crusader tanks of the period – an effect that was only emphasized by the full skirts on the front and rear wheels.

The headlights were like cat’s eyes, vertical slit units set in sockets that were molded bulbs of metal. They strongly resembled the eyes of a semi-submerged hippopotamus and evoked a sense of bemused loneliness. As a whole the car looked fat and behind the strange front end, the sides ran back in unbroken plainness, without even door handles in the seamless panels.

A limited production run was planned but never realized. This may be due to the car’s reception in its big chance at a public-relations coup… the car was featured in the 1938 Selznick International Films motion picture “Young at Heart” staring Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Janet Gaynor. The Corsair emerged from this venture with a new, popular moniker – “The Flying Wombat”.

Vermont Life Magazine is partnering with the VAE to raise money for the Vermont Technical College Scholarship Fund. Vermont Life is offering VAE members a discounted price for a one-year subscription, just $13.95. That’s $2.00 off the regular $15.95 subscription price.

And with every new paid subscription, renewal or gift subscription from this offer received by January 1, 2004 – Vermont Life Magazine will donate $5.00 to the VAE’S Vermont Technical College Scholarship Fund!

Call 1-800-284-3243 by January 1, 2004 and give the operator code “VAE03” to subscribe, renew or to give gift subscriptions. Gift donors will receive gift announcement cards.

For each address outside the US, please add $6.00. Vermont Life Magazine accepts VISA, MasterCard, and Discover Card or if you prefer, you may request to be billed.