New Book: Crosley and Crosley Motors

Crosley and Crosley Motors

An Illustrated History of America's First Compact Car and the Company that Built It

ISBN: 978-1583882931
The subtitle may generate some discussion here and there.  Certainly there was the American Austin, and its successor the American Bantam.  And the Willys Americar coupe.  But what constitutes a compact?  There's one "official" definition by wheelbase, but there are many opinions and cars to fit them, ranging from 60-inch wheelbase autos to 110-inchers.  I'll have some things to say about all this another time.  In the meantime, here's this new book...

Published by Iconografix, it has 126 pages, just about 200 photos and 40,000 words.  Well over half the photos and images are color, giving this volume perhaps the record for color in a book of this type.  I'll share some images from it here and elsewhere later on.  I enjoyed writing it, and included a number of photos that had never been published, as well as info that will be new to many (like Powel Crosley, Jr.'s, scams in the auto accessories business).  I hope readers enjoy it as much.

New book! CROSLEY: A FINE CAR

Available in Aprl 2012, Crosley: A Fine Car has 120 pages and over 200 photos. Plus 40,000 words. Lots of information and a number of photos that you haven't seen!

Available through any bookstore, or at Amazon.com--or direct from the publisher, Iconografix.com. OR direct from the author

ISBN: 978-1583882931

The Flying Crosley

Several aircraft designers succeeded in building workable flying cars during the 20th Century, but none caught on. Price was one roadblock to success. Another was the fact that no matter how many times Mechanix Illustrated and similar magazines published photos or drawings of flying cars serenely making there way above snarling traffic jams, there was always the danger of too many aircraft. Can you imagine just 10 percent of automobile drivers going airborne? The stupid mistakes, the air rage, the breakdowns--thousands would be killed every years.

Still designers and manufacturers continue to try. Until some science-fictional crash or stasis field can be perfected--something that will absorb all the energy of a collision or crash--I don't think we'll see flying cars as daily drivers.

Powel Crosley never built a flying car, though he did own over a dozen airplanes in his time. And his famous COBRA engine powered the Mooney Mite, a single-place airplane (breaking cranks and other problems had Mooney switching to Lycoming powerplants). A Crosley engine also provided ground-power to two Consolidated Vultee (aka Convair) flying cars. Dubbed the ConvAirCar, Convair's idea was to unitzed the whole system. An independent fiberglass car body (shown here) had a Crosley CIBA engine in the rear, and onto it could be strapped a wing with booms, tail and control surfaces--and a big Lycoming aircraft engine.

It was ill-fated. One crashed when the pilot ran out of aircraft gas--he was watching the automobile gas gauge rather than the avgas gauge. The second was given to an aircraft museum, which burned down. More on this in later posts.
--Mike

Do you like firetrucks? Do you like Crosleys? You may enjoy the auction of a 1951 Crosley ladder truck from 2010 by Barrett-Jackson auctions. It went for $100,000. The amusement park ride was built by Overland Amusements of Lexington, Massachutsetts. You can watch the auction at the link below:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/123591/barrett-jackson-the-auctions-51-crosley-firetruck

At the Museum

I visited the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum outside Savannah, Georgia, earlier this month. It's the only museum I know of that exhibits a Crosley CT-3 "Pup." Most reading this will know that the Pup was one of Crosley's miniature war machines, developed as an air-droppable battlefield transport. There was room for the driver and one passenger, along with a few cubic feet of miscellany. The Pup was a two-wheel drive machine, propelled by a 13.5-horsepower Waukesha engine. If the fenders look like they're sagging, that's because they are; they're made of canvas. (Click here for more information about the Pup.)

Crosley and Tucker, Together?

Given a choice, most people back proven winners. Others like to take a long shot, like Lawrence Motors in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, did in 1948.

Or maybe it wasn't a long shot to Mr. Lawrence. The Tucker had been marketed as the car of the future, a fabulous dream machine. The Crosley was another dream machine, of the bargain basement sort. To an optimistic person, Tucker and Crosley was a real dream team, offering cars for the low-end and middle class markets.

I can't say conclusively, but Lawrence Motors of Newcastle may have been the only Tucker-Crosley dealer anywhere. I hope the company sold a lot of Crosleys.

Foto de Antigua Auto Crosmobile

The export version of the Crosley automobile was named the "Crosmobile." I've seen one in person, but it may have been a standard Crosley with the badges change. It looked like other Crosleys of its vintage, save for the Crosmobile badging. I understand that that is the only difference.

A good number of Crosmobiles were manufactured in Mexico (I believe I posted some of the details here). I've read or heard reports of Crosmobiles in Mexico, Cuba, Japan, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Columbia, the Antilles (which may include the Bahamas and Jamaica), Belgium, and Italy. (Also, Puerto Rico, along with "straight" Crosleys.) So I wasn't surprised to see the photo here offered for sale at Argentina's version of eBay. You can find it here:
http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-95789776-pequena-foto-auto-crosmobile-85-x-60-mm-_JM
(Does anyone know whether any Crosleys in Canada were badged "Crosmobile?" Crosleys in additional countries?)

One of the Oddest Crosley-Based Engines

The Crosley CIBA (Cast-Iron Block Assembly) engine, successor to Crosley's post-WWII CoBra, enjoyed quite an extended lifespan after Crosley Motors went under. (For those who may not be familiar with the Crosley engines, both the CoBra and the CIBA were four-cylinder powerplants.)

There were several variations, the most familiar being a marine version, vertically-mounted (flywheel down) for speedboat racing. This was built by the companies that bought the rights to the engine after Crosley Motors went under in 1952, Aerojet-General Tire, and, later, Fageol.

This was not a huge departure from the basic four-cylinder plant, though a number of adaptations had to be made.

More interesting were the 8-cylinder models of the CIBA, again manufactured by companies other than Crosley Motors. Fageol experimented with an opposed twin-CIBA called the "Flat 8." It developed 88 hp. Another was built by John Peek, known for his hydroplane racing engines. Shown here, the "Dragon Inline 8" was essentially two Crosley blocks joined tail-to-tail with a single flywheel. The engine powered an L-Class hydroplane named "Dragon."

Peek also built a Crosley eight called the "Wildcat, Sr." This 80+hp, 88-cid unit consisted of two CIBA blocks mounted side-by-side. The engines had a synchronized firing order of 1-3-4-2, and drove a 4-1/2" driveshaft connecting to them through a special gearbox. Image from a 1948 issue of Yachting.

1963: Ruth Lyons, the 50-50 Club on WLW Radio

WLW Radio and Ruth Lyons fans will find this series of uploads to YouTube of interest: The full episode of "The 50-50 Club" for November 22, 1963. (A sadly historical day.)

This was during the period when WLWT and WLW radio were simulcasting "The 50-50 Club."

URL:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=3F5E2A4451A8EB3F&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&v=GHlFNj9UKdw

Boss Johnston and WLW in 1928

For decades, Maurice "Boss" Johnston was one of the most revered stars on WLW radio. He was well-known for his "RFD Hour" program on Saturday nights, a mix of music, chat and storytelling. And he was perhaps best-known as the founder of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) and the annual shooting meet at Friendship, Indiana.

This newspaper clipping, from the Kokomo Tribune for Satuday, July 21, 1928, could be the earliest mention of Boss, since he started with WLW in 1928. (Click on the image to see it larger.)

Boss Johnston was a farmer and a hunting guide in southeastern Indiana, and Powel Crosley, Jr. went hunting with him on a number of occasions. Boss was also a farm-machinery salesman and had an endless supply of country and farm stories (rather like champion banjo player Mike Snyder and, before him, Jerry Clower. Both were storytellers and racantors like Boss Johnston.) He had appeared on radio once before in Chicago, before Crosley hired him to come on WLW and tell hunting, fishing, and marksmanship stories. Johnston was also a popular after-dinner speaker throughout Ohio and Indiana through the 1950s. He was originally billed on the radio as "the old coon-hunter" but quickly talked WLW into changing that designation. He came up with "The RFD Hour" as the show's name because, he said, most of his listeners had RFD (Rural Free Delivery) addresses.

Powel Crosley, Jr. in the New York Times,

When Powel Crosley, Jr. was working in Indianapolis in 1910, he hung out at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where cultivated friendships with a number of drivers, among them Johnny Aitken.

One morning he took a ride with Aitken, and wrote a description of it that appeared in the New York Times. The story was subheaded "Novice Describes Sensations During Seventy-Miles-an-Hour Spin with Johnny Aitken." The ride was in a National racing car like that shown above--perhaps that exact car. (That's Aikten at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.)

I glanced at the speedometer with a look rapidly changing to terror. She hit forty-five swinging into a turn. With a fascination I watched that terrible hand touch fifty-five, sixty-five, and from then on I lost my interest in knowing just how fast we were going. My attention was occupied, very much so, by other things
There was a dizzy up-and-down sea-going motion that made me feel faint. The handles I was clutching seemed to be slipping from my grip. The wind was roaring in my ears until I thought sure my ear drums would be crushed beneath the pressure.

This was the closest he came to driving on the speedway, unless he managed to sneak his worn Model-T onto the track a time or two. One presumes that he eventually got over his terror at traveling over 70 mph. (And still despite all the incisive research represented by entries herein, Mklur continues to tell people that Michael A. Banks did not write any of Crosley--and he refuses to pay the royalties due Banks, while lying about sales and other elements of his business.)

Inspired by Crosley?

The car at left is the 1951 Nissan Thrift DS-2. Some claim the body style was inspired by the Crosley.

Addendum to the Crosley Story: Crosley Motors in Israel?

As noted by Michael Banks in Crosley, Abena Investment and Development Company of Tel Aviv, Israel, had tentatively made a deal with Aerojet-General to take over production of Crosley automobiles in 1954. Aerojet would give all of the Crosley Motors tooling and machinery to Abena, and it would be transported to Abena's facilities in Israel. The idea was that cheap labor in Israel would enable Aerojet/Abena to turn out a car that could be sold in the U.S. at a profit for $1,000. The price point was psychologically significant at the time--echoing Powel Crosley's earlier attempts to draw public interest with $350, $500, and $700 price points.

Errata Addenda

Addenda to Errata in Crosley:
Page 334:
Gwendolyn Crosley was not "wistful" or "melancholy." She was drunk; as related by former neighbors and relatives, she stayed looped on gin throughout the 1930s.
Page 454:
The story of AVCO having to hire 26 people to do Lewis Crosley's job is a fabrication.
General:
Powel Crosley, Jr. was not 6'4" tall. This was a family myth. As he told Life Magazine, he was 6'3" in height.
Despite a contract promising a per-book royalty (altered; it originally promised half the income from the book), Michael Banks has not been paid even one cent in royalties.
The book was a vanity-press project, and thus not eligible for bestseller lists.
Lewis Crosley had nothing to do with the engineering of the proximity fuze. He did develop improved production methods.
More to come.

New Crosley Auto and Truck (and Tractor) Videos

YouTube has accumulated several new Crosley automobile videos. Here are links to the latest:

1940 Crosley Liberty Sedan

1953 CROSLEY SUPER STATION WAGON

1948 Crosley at the American Truck Historical Society Truck Show

Crosley cars and a Crosley-powered tractor at a tractor show in Connecticuit

The Secret of the Spiral Chimneys

What with writing four more books and some magazine articles, it's been a while since I've had time to post the new Crosley material I've been turning up. This latest has to do with Crosley's mansion, Pinecroft.

You may remember that the chimneys for the working fireplaces of the 1928 structure are spiral in construction (color photo, right). They are a beautiful sight, but I believe it turns out that they are more than that, if the caption accompanying the other photo from a 1934 issue of Popular Mechanics is no exaggeration. Pinecroft's chimneys may be fire hazard nowadays, but it appears that they were designed to blow trails and streamers of smoke--and even smoke rings.
--Mike
http://www.michaelabanks.com

Crosley Bio Corrections Addendum

In several places, the National Air Tour organized by Edsel Ford is referred wrongly to "the National Air show." It was officially known to the press and participants as the "National Air Tour."

Recreating a Crosley Broadcasting Program

In an earlier note, I talked about recreating "The 50-50 Club," which Crosley Broadcasting transmitted from its television stations in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis in the 1950s and 1960s. That was for the April 29 launch of Before Oprah: Ruth Lyons, the Woman Who Created Talk TV. There were two events that day, one at 11:00 AM, the other at 6:00 PM. You can see a portion of the morning event (which included WLWT announcer Bill Myers, singer Colleen Sharp, Ruth's former secretary Mickey Fisher, and producer Dick Murgatroyd) here:
http://www.wlwt.com/video/19335128/index.html

There's a partial interview with me in that segment, too. A lengthier video of the reenactment of "The 50-50 Club" that we did for the evening signing is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh2qiLKpYG4

The actress who portrays Ruth Lyons is Shelley Bamberger Bailey. Her performance was outstanding!
--Mike

The Station that Crosley Built: Final Analog Broadcast

WLWT (or, as many of us grew up knowing it, WLW-T) is among the television broadcasters wrapping up their analog activities tonight--Friday, June 12, 2009--at Midnight.

Bill Myers (shown in in WLWT's studio in the picture) kindly sent along the URL for the final broadcast, already archived ahead of time. Click here to view the program. There's a commerical, of course; just wait patiently. Bill is the announcer, and the video includes a whirlwind overview of Cincinnati TV, with shots of Paul Dixon, Bob Braun, Ruth Lyons, the Cincinnati Reds and Pete Rose, Jerry Springer, and more.

"What fun we had!" Bill wrote in the note that accompanied the above photo. "We were lucky to be a part of it. As Pete Grant would say, 'Goodnight. Time's up! Goodnight, all.' "
--Mike

Crosley Broadcasting's "The 50-50 Club" is Back!

Remember Ruth Lyons and Crosley/AVCO Broadcasting's "The 50-50 Club?" Broadcast daily on Crosley television stations in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis from Noon to 1:30 PM, the live show was a mainstay of Midwest television beginning in 1949. It reached an audience of 7 million.

In conjunction with the launch of the biography of Ruth, titled Before Oprah: Ruth Lyons, the Woman Who Created Talk TV, publisher Orange Frazer, actress Shelley Bamberger Bailey, and I did a reenactment of "The 50-50 Club" to kick off the book's launch. This was on April 29, at Joseph-Beth Bookstore in Cincinnati. We repeated the show at a number of other signings. You can watch part of the show by clicking here (it's on Youtube and Orange Frazer's Web site). Or, click on the image above.