Archive for September, 2009

A dozen or so years ago, at a meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), I helped organize a panel discussion about sleeper cabs. I brought three owner-operators for a dialogue with truck builders’ cab engineers. After hearing how sleepers had been made larger and more comfortable, Dennis Mitchell of Blissfield, Mich., stopped the engineers in their tracks. He asked if any of them knew how long it took for a sleeper cab to burn down to the frame rails. Dennis reported seeing i…

The Navy had been working on the idea of satellite navigating since 1960, advancing a tool developed during World War II. Long-range radio aids were used then to determine a ship’s or airplane’s position quickly and accurately. When the U.S. started exploring space, scientists placed new navigation satellites in orbit, thousands of miles above earth’s surface. Although early systems could determine an object’s location only about once an hour, the concept was proven and…

David Borroughs, one of the show’s founders, came up with the idea of evaluating authenticity. Experts compared each car with its condition when it left the factory. A car could earn Gold Certification by being 95 percent or more original. Authenticity does not equal perfection. Remember, the history of the Corvette spans a time when all American cars had quality problems. But there are few opportunities in life to go back and correct errors, as many customizers do with cars. So Bl…

The Chevrolet Corvette is an American icon. It was a crowd-stopper when the concept car, the Chevrolet EX122, was introduced at the 1953 GM Motorama, General Motors’ travelling show that took new models and concepts to cities all across America. In its 56-year history encompassing six generations of Corvettes, it has developed into one of the most sophisticated and desirable automobiles in the world. As with all collectibles, enthusiasts gather to show their cars. Often, show cars are cu…