Here are your Auto Factoids (#AutoFactoids) to finish out March and kick off April 2015.
March 29, 1980 – Audi introduced their all wheel drive
1980 Quattro – Not a bad-looking car at that!!!
Here are some specs for the Quattro:
Engine 2.1 L I5 SOHC 10v
Transmission 5-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 99.4 in
Length 173.4 in
Width 67.8 in
Height 53.0 in
Curb weight 2,844 to 2,976 lb
April 1, 1970 AMC debuts the Gremlin.
1970 Gremlin. Fastback or ‘no back“
I bet AMC never envisioned this:
OH…MAN!!!!
Or this:
BTW..this doesn’t end well for the suspension.
April 1, 1964 Plymouth shows off the Barracuda – There were 23,443 Barracuda produced (called Glassback) and was based on Plymouth’s Valiant platform.
1964 Barracuda – Glassback.
April 1, 1961 the very collectable Amphicar debuted – I saw my first Amphicar when I was about 9 or 10. Grew up on the Great Sacandaga Lake in the Adirondack of upstate New York. The car drove down the beach and right into the water. Coolest thing I’d seen up to then!!
The Quandt Group made only 4000 between ’61-’68
April 2, 1879 Walter P. Chrysler was Born in Kansas.
Walter P with a Chrysler Six
April 2, 1889 Charles Hall patent Aluminum. – It was actually a process made extracting Aluminum less expensive. It involved passing an electric current through a bath of alumina dissolved in cryolite, which results in a puddle of aluminum forming in the bottom of the retort. (Come on…tell me you didn’t want to know that!!!!) Unfortunately a French guy – Paul Héroult was working on the same process. (No way?!!?! Way!!!) so the named the process after both “Hall-Heroult process’.
From a puddle in the bottom of a retort to the Ford F150….that’s progress!!! Thanks Mr. Hall and French guy!!!
Inexpensive method for producing aluminum
Thanks for reading. If you like #AutoFactoids – share them!!
Tim
