February 28, 1932, this day in automotive history:
The last Ford Model A was produced, ending an era for the Ford Motor Company. The successor to the Model T, the Model A was an attempt to escape the image of bare bones transportation that had driven both the Model T´s success and its ultimate failure in the market.
The vastly improved Model A boasted elegant Lincoln-like styling, a peppy 40 horsepower four-cylinder engine, and, of course, a self-starting mechanism.
The Model A was as affordable as its predecessor, however, and with a base price at $460, five million Model A´s would roll onto American highways between 1927 and 1932.
July 22, 1908 Fisher Body Company Founded: Brothers Frederic and Charles Fisher establish the Fisher Body Company in Detroit. It would later become GM’s body division.
July 16, 1935 First Parking Meter: The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Jan. 13, 1942 Henry Ford granted patent: Henry Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies.
January 14, 1954: Hudson and Nash Corporations merge
January 14, 1958: Ford merges the Edsel Division with Lincoln-Mercury
May 13, 1975 - Inventor of drive-in movie theater dies
In the early 1930s Richard Hollingshead’s mother complained to her son about how uncomfortable it was for her to go to the movie theater, as the seats were not made for her large frame. To ease his mother’s movie going experience Hollingshead nailed bed sheets between two trees on their family property in Camden, New Jersey and aimed a Kodak movie projector at it. He then drove the family car in front of it, giving his mother a spot to sit where she would be less confined, effectively inventing the drive-in theater. Hollingshead received a patent for his idea and in June 1933 he opened a 400 acre drive-in movie theater in Camden that featured a 40 foot by 50 foot screen and six foot speakers, charging $0.25 per automobile plus a quarter per person inside with a max rate of $1. Hollingshead passed away on this day in 1975.
April 1977 . The First organizational meeting of C.A.R.S. Club of the Sun Cities, Inc was held.