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How World War 1 Changed Cars
Well, I hope everybody took a pause to “remember them” over the past weekend – ANZAC weekend. It’s been 100 years since the disastrous landings in Gallipoli, and it’s this sort of anniversary that gets people in a thoughtful mood.
Renault taxis take French troops to Marne.
It’s interesting to speculate on how cars would have been different if World War 1 had never happened. Cars had indeed been invented prior to the outbreak of war – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was riding in an open-top car when he was assassinated, triggering the whole stupid mess. But the war stimulated development of the automobile and accelerated progress. Heaps of car manufacturers managed to get off the ground because of their involvement in producing cars (and tanks and motorbikes and aeroplanes) for their respective sides. Renault started churning out war transport units, especially after heaps of Renault taxis were commandeered to take French troops to the battle lines after Germany invaded. BMW and Citroen got started with serious auto production, although they turned to making cars after the war was over, as they had invested heavily in R&D and in manufacturing plants.
A few other ways that World War 1 changed cars around the world include the following:
- Mass production. The wartime demand for lots of identically made gear churned out really quickly opened people’s eyes to the efficiency of assembly lines. According to one historian, WWI was a “war of production” where the side who could crank out the most tanks, machine guns, aeroplanes, etc. had the edge. Ford had begun pioneering assembly lines and time-and-motion efficiency measures before the US was dragged into the war; however, other car manufacturers quickly cottoned onto the idea. This meant that once the war was over, the technology was there and the factory lines were there, so they were used for making cars. And they still are.
Rosie the Riveter and friends making Tin Lizzies on the Ford production line.
- Social change led to more demand for cars. The war took heaps of guys off the farms and out of the factories and sent them around the world, giving them glimpses of the exotic. At the same time, it became respectable for middle-class women to stop sitting around being decorative and to work (who do you think was working on the assembly line when the men were fighting?). The new outlook on life and the desire to travel led to demand for cars (helped, no doubt, by advertising by the car manufacturers). Bicycles and the train, which had been the norm prior to the war, just didn’t cut it any longer. The old class system was dead and cars weren’t just a luxury for the aristocracy and the wealthy.
- Petrol and diesel became the fuels of choice. Prior to WW1, fossil fuels weren’t the only way to go. Manufacturers were playing around with things like steam and electricity. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, electric cars were actually pretty popular because they were quiet. However, the advantages of gasoline over these other fuels became apparent during the war. The fact that the Allied forces (who had the new automotive technologies) had also managed to bag large chunks of the oil-rich Middle East that had been part of the Ottoman Empire might also have had something to do with this.
- Petrol stations. As cars became more affordable (thanks to mass production) and more desirable (thanks to social change), fuelling stations had to be provided. All across the world, bowsers sprang up. Before that, people had to carry their own gas or imitate Bertha Benz and pick up a container or so of fuel from any shop that sold it.
- Paying in instalments. Car manufacturers wanted to sell cars. People wanted to buy them. However, not everyone had the ready cash straight away to purchase a car outright. So car dealers started allowing people to pay in instalments. This was a way for makers of medium-priced cars to compete with the really cheap players like Ford (and later Volkswagen).
- Sealed roads. Cars wore roads down more than bicycles and carriages did (trains, obviously, stayed off the roads). This meant that as the car grew in popularity, more roads needed to be tarsealed to keep them in good condition. The history of roads would probably make another good post in itself, so I’ll probably have to save that for another time.
Safe and happy driving,
Megan
The President and The Beast
“The Beast” is the nickname of the customized limo of the President of the US of A – a sort of land-based equivalent of Air Force 1. While the name might make certain groups of conspiracy theorists-cum-Biblical fundamentalists have all sorts of conniptions, The Beast is certainly quite an impressive vehicle. It’s almost worth becoming President for – or at least becoming the Presidential chauffeur. That’s if you pass the driving test as well as the safety check – the driver has to be able to do advanced level police-style manoeuvres for evasion if needed.
Although the official marque of The Beast is (no, not 666) Cadillac, the current Beast is actually based on a Chevrolet Kodiak, which means that although it looks like a limousine, it’s a ute at heart. Looks-wise, it’s got many of the classic Cadillac hallmarks, such as the lights and the overall styling. What you might not know is that the outside of The Beast that you can see isn’t actually metal but removable fibreglass panels that look swish while covering the titanium, aluminium, steel and ceramic panelling underneath.
The full list of specs for The Beast is classified information, but they’ve let us know a few little bits and pieces about it, either to deter us from attempting to assassinate anybody, to reassure us that assassinations are unlikely or to make us very, very envious. Or not.
There is not just one Beast but there are 12 identical ones, all tucked away in a very secure underground garage somewhere so they can be trotted out in rotation while the others get fixed.
The Specs of The Beast:
Seating: Seven: two front seats, a rear-facing middle row and two in the very back (this is where the President plus his (or, in the future, her) significant other or sidekick sits). A glass partition separates front and rear, and the rear seats can do the lot when it comes to reclining and adjustment. There’s also a table that can fold up and down in between the middle and rear row.
In-car communications: A highly sophisticated communications console is included somewhere in The Beast. For obvious security reasons, the full details are not available, but it’s pretty safe to say that it’s probably a lot better than what you’ve got in your car. One detail that is available to ordinary Muggles like you and me is that there’s a link that talks to everything else in the accompanying motorcade. There’s also a satellite phone with a hotline to the Pentagon and the Vice President. The car has night vision cameras. Five antennae can be counted coming off the trunk, so there are probably way more communications networks talking to The Beast. Conspiracy theorists are free to speculate as to whether The Beast is in touch with alien craft.
Safety and security: The Beast can withstand biochemical attacks, bullets, grenades and fire, with 8-inch thick doors and some very serious armour plating, including underneath the car. The bulletproof glass is 5 inches thick and is sealed against biochemical attack. Other passive safety features (i.e. those that kick in after or during an accident) include a chauffeur who is a Secret Service member trained in CPR (although he’s not permanently fitted to the car), a blood bank well stocked with the President’s blood type, and a bodyguard in the front seat. Only the driver’s window opens: to a mere 3 inches down. There are rumours that The Beast is fitted with tear gas cannons. Rumours also abound about grenade launchers but we can’t confirm this.
Fuel economy: The engine (reportedly a V8) manages 29 L/100 km, so they’d better have a good source of fuel handy (no, we won’t get into the possible politics of this). Diesel is the fuel of choice, as it’s less volatile than petrol and thus less likely to explode if attacked. The fuel tank is surrounded by foam armour so The Beast won’t become a fireball if the tank scores a direct hit. (Poking around on a few other websites for info suggests that it’s actually run on petrol – so who really knows?)
Tyres: Kelvar-reinforced run-flats made by Goodyear. The steel wheels can keep going even if the tyre blows out completely rather than merely getting flat.
Weight: that’s classified information but it’s pretty darn hefty thanks to all that armour, so it’s a lot. Smart cookies might be able to work out the weight from a combination of the fuel economy and the 0–60 mph time.
Length: 18 feet long
Performance: The 0–60 mph time is 15 seconds, which makes underpowered LPG vans looks speedy. Top speed is reportedly 60 mph.
Ground clearance: Could be better, as demonstrated by one incident in Dublin.
Actually, I think that I like my own Volvo better. It might not have the armour plating and the communications but it’s got better fuel economy, better acceleration and much better ground clearance. And it’s less of a hassle for the local mechanic.
Safe and happy driving,
Megan
Thoughts On Night Driving
Daylight Savings has come to an end in New South Wales and all the other states crazy enough to fiddle around with clocks for no real reason. This means that a lot of us are going to end up doing a bit more night-time driving.
It’s hard to say whether driving at night or driving during the day is better. During the daytime, you don’t have the issue about out-driving how far you can see (you know – the situation where your stopping distance is, say, 100 metres and you can only see 90 metres: not good). However, during the night, you are less distracted by billboards and other things on the side of the road that compete for your attention when you really ought to have your eyes on the road ahead.
Driving when it’s dark has other advantages. Because most other drivers have their headlights on, you can spot them more easily at a distance. It’s particularly good when you’re coming up to an intersection: you can see the lights of an oncoming car approaching from the side even if there is a whacking big fence that would normally block your view of the other road. Similarly, you also get a hint that something’s coming up the other side of the hill or around the corner, especially if there’s a wee bit of a haze in the air.
However, headlights have their hazards. For one thing, it can be a bit tricky to estimate the distance of an oncoming car when all you have to go by is a bright light and next to no parallax for your binocular vision to work on. If you’re a more cautious driver, like me, you tend to think that things are much closer than they really are so you don’t overtake and end up waiting for ages and thinking that you could have nipped past that slowpoke with the caravan anyway. If you’re over-confident, then you end up having some very close calls when you realise that what you thought was an oncoming vehicle so far off that the two lights looked like one was actually a motorbike.
You also have the problem with being dazzled. Modern headlights are beautifully bright and don’t use an awful lot of power to produce plenty of lumens (that’s the official unit of how much light something gives; candelas and lux are other options but that’s beside the point). That’s great if you happen to be the driver of a vehicle with said modern headlights. If you are the driver of the car facing the other way, you’re left blinking and dazzled. And that’s even if the headlights have been dipped in some cases. If they haven’t been dipped, you’ll be seeing nothing but the headlights and then the greenish after-images for some time afterwards. Not good if you’re keeping an eye out for your turn-off.
We all know that we’re supposed to dip our headlights but there is a bit of confusion about exactly when to dip them. Ok, the official rules say that you have to dip them when you’re 200 metres behind the vehicle in front or if you’re 200 metres away from an oncoming car. But how do you tell 200 metres in the middle of nowhere when you’ve got nothing much to estimate distance by? It’s not exactly time to start counting the white lines in the middle of the road and using these as a rough estimate. It’s probably best to dip them sooner rather than later out of courtesy – the chances that there’s a roo or a pedestrian on the road in that little gap between where your lights reach and where the other driver’s lights reach are pretty low.
Even 200 metres behind may be too close in the case of some drivers. I remember vividly the time that a large 4×4 came up behind the Ford Fairmont I had at the time and kept the lights on full beam even though he/she was much closer than 200 metres. Even fiddling around with the rear vision mirror didn’t stop me getting dazzled – grrr!
What do you do if you’re dazzled? Ideally, you’re supposed to pull over until your eyes clear (here’s hoping there isn’t a car or a signpost between you and the kerb or the shoulder of the road that you can’t see thanks to being dazzled). You can also avoid being dazzled by an oncoming car if you look to the side of them (i.e. to the left lane ahead of you). This is easier said than done, seeing as the human eye naturally locks onto light, especially in the darkness.
Of course, the real problem with Daylight Savings changeovers and with night driving in general is the problem with fatigue. If you feel yourself getting light headed while your eyelids get heavy and the corners of your mind fill with red fog, don’t be a stupid berk. Pull over and have a catnap.
Safe and happy driving,
Megan
How To Eat While Driving
Note bad choice of food – and not just from a health perspective!
This is an article that you would never find written in French. Or, if you did, it would consist of only one word: Don’t. There is a reason why French cars such as Citroens don’t come with cup holders. According to French thinking, food is to be savoured and given one’s full attention rather than wolfed down on the go while driving. Well, there’s a lot to say for that point of view. However, if you’ve got a busy schedule, you could very easily find yourself eating on the run behind the wheel. In fact, if you’re doing a long drive or if you do a lot of running around, eating behind the wheel could actually make you a safer driver. I know that when the old blood sugar is running a bit low, I tend to feel cranky and irritable, get clumsy and not think straight (no, I do not have Type 1 diabetes). So having a bit of a nibble while doing the Mum’s Taxi thing is a real sanity saver, if not a life saver.
There is an art to eating while driving. You want to be able to do it safely so you main focus of attention goes on the road. You also want to be able to do it cleanly, without getting bits of sandwich filling all over the car. Ideally, you also want to do it healthily. So how?
Clever snack planning is the key. You need to look out for something that doesn’t involve too much unwrapping or peeling, and something that can be stored on your lap or within easy reach so you can put it down between bites or whenever you need to use both hands (bench seats are great for this!). You also want to avoid things that drip, spill, squish or come to bits. Lastly, in at least a token gesture towards the French attitude towards food, it’s best to have something that’s not so special that it really deserves your full attention.
So what snacks are suitable for munching behind the wheel? Here’s a small selection:
- Shelled nuts in a packet (my go-to favourite driving snack)
- Dried fruit
- Fresh fruit that can be just bitten into and isn’t too drippy. Apples are good.
- Chocolate bar
- Beef jerky
- Fresh vegetables such as cherry tomatoes or carrot sticks
- Crackers and biscuits
- Unwrapped sweets such as marshmallows (if you have to!)
Things to avoid include:
- Meat pies – hot gravy spilling onto fingers and laps make for a major distraction
- Very full sandwiches with lots of filling
- Sushi (although if it’s well made so it doesn’t fall to bits and you have the carton handy on your lap you can get away with it – and I think sushi merits your full attention)
- Anything that requires a fork, spoon or chopsticks
- Burgers
- Anything you’re allergic to
- Individually wrapped sweets
The technique for eating in the car while driving is as follows:
Step 1: Put self in driver’s seat, put on seat belt and place snack on lap or bench seat, or arrange it in a paper cup in the cupholder. Open packets or pick plastic stickers off as needed.
Step 2: Take first mouthful and start ignition. Put snack back. Back out drive, etc.
Step 3: During quiet moment of driving (low traffic, straight road, waiting at the lights), grab another bite and put snack down on lap.
Step 4: Put hands back on wheel and/or gear lever and continue driving while chewing mouthful thoroughly. If you have to do anything more complicated than drive in a straight line, keep both hands on the wheel and off the snack (carrot sticks may be left in the mouth like a healthy cigar equivalent during hairy manoeuvres).
Step 5: Repeat Steps 3 and 4 as needed.
Don’t forget to remove apple cores, apricot pips and empty packets from the car at the end of your drive!
Safe and happy driving,
Megan
Level 2, 9 Help Street