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An Ode to “Car Talk”

Back in the early aughts, I lived in the Washington, D.C. area for about nine years. Since my parents live in Pennsylvania, this necessitated many three-and-a-half-hour drives (as little as three, if I was lucky) back home for holidays or just a regular visit. At the...

Testing Battery State of Charge – ASE Practice Question (VIDEO)

Description Technician A and Technician B are discussing battery testing. Technician A says that an open circuit voltage of less than 10.5 volts indicates a bad battery. Technician B says that a reading of 12.5 volts indicates an 80% state of charge. Who is correct?A)...

PSA: Be Safe With Carburetor Cleaner, Too

Recently, I wrote about how brake cleaner can be hazardous if not used correctly, and how you should take safety precautions when using it. One of our readers had an insightful comment on the piece.Now, I think it’s debatable that carburetor cleaner is more hazardous...

The Real Meanings Behind OBD-II Diagnostic Trouble Codes (VIDEO)

Description When the check engine light (CEL) pops up and your OBD-II scan tool displays a code, that’s only the start of the diagnostic process. By breaking down the structures used to create DTCs, you can learn how to “decode” beyond the simple descriptions...

What’s Torque-to-Angle All About?

Torque-to-angle, also known as angle-torque or torque-plus-angle, is a fastening method that combines an initial torque application with a subsequent angular rotation to achieve precise bolt or fastener tension. This technique ensures consistent clamping force,...

Hybrid A/C Compressor Oil-ASE Practice Question (VIDEO)

Description Technician A is working on a hybrid vehicle’s air conditioning system that utilizes a high voltage electrical compressor. Technician B says that only the oil specified by the vehicle manufacturer should be used in the compressor. Technician A says PAG oil...

Troubleshooting a “No A/C Compressor Engagement” Fault

As the weather warms, more and more of your customers will be switching over their HVAC control settings to “max A/C”. If the system doesn’t respond by blowing that refreshing cool air into their faces, they will show up at your door to find out why. When faced with...

The Shop Press Automotive Paragon series: a recap

by | Aug 15, 2024

If you read Shop Press regularly you’ve noticed we’ve been running a series for the past couple of years. It’s called “Automotive Paragons,” and it’s a series where we look at automotive entrepreneurs, designers, and engineers who were exceptional, ahead of their time, or otherwise had a major impact on the way cars were later sold, fabricated, or constructed. Here’s a recap of paragons we’ve featured to date.

Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy was not just an automotive designer, but also a graphic and industrial designer. Loewy designed cars for Studebaker, Lincoln, and the Hupp Motor Car Company, as well as the interior of the Boeing 307, the Sears Coldspot refrigerator, the Sunbeam electric toaster, and logos for Shell, Nabisco, Exxon, and USPS. For his contributions to the look of early- to mid-20th century America, he’s arguably the Frank Lloyd Wright of the automotive and industrial world. In this piece, I take a look at all the disciplines in which he excelled.

Brooks Stevens

Brooks Stevens

Brooks Stevens was also an automotive, graphic, and industrial designer and a contemporary and rival of Raymond Loewy. He’s most known for popularizing the term “planned obsolescence,” but in this piece I argue that he didn’t mean it as an excuse for building crummy cars. Rather, he meant that new cars should be so attractive that customers want to buy them, even if their current car is still functional. I also talk about his work and how it reinforced his definition of the controversial term “planned obsolescence.”

Preston Tucker

Preston Tucker

Preston Tucker planned to manufacture a car called the Tucker 48 that featured many engineering and safety features that were later adopted by other car manufacturers. However, he was also accused of fraud and was the target of an SEC trial that bankrupted his company and led to only 50 complete Tucker 48s being produced. In this piece, I contend that he was a visionary, not a villain as the SEC and contemporary media attempted to portray him.

Frederic Ball

Frederic J. Ball

For this piece, I spoke to my friend Jack Ball about his great-grandfather, Frederic J. Ball, and his invention of the first American-built car that had a reverse gear. Although Frederic Ball’s impact on the automotive world wasn’t as profound as the others on the list, his story is still an important piece of lost automotive history. Originally designed for boats, Ball applied his reverse gear to his Ball Tonneau Touring Car. I detail this history of this invention, as well as his legal fights with Ford and Buick. It’s a fascinating, dramatic, and somewhat tragic story.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the Automotive Paragons pieces as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. Stay tuned to Shop Press for more stories in this series!

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