Saturday, June 28, 2014

Automobile History, Fun Facts & Trivia

The first automobile is generally considered to have been invented in 1886, making it just over 125 years old. And yet, even though they haven't been around that long historically, cars are among our most primal obsessions.  Today, learning to drive is a profound rite of passage. Many see sliding behind the wheel for the first time symbolic of freedom. Not surprisingly, the last 125 years have provided us with a great deal of awesome automobile trivia.

File:Reading, PA, where Duryea first proved automobiles could consistently climb mountains.jpg

How About Putting Automobiles In Prospective!

1782 -- James Watt builds the first engine crank.

1792 -- The first U.S. toll roads opened in PA and CT.

1860 -- Jean Lenoir invents the spark plug.

1887 -- The Benz became the first car offered for sale.

1893 -- Vehicle licence plates were first implemented in 1893 in France and were called "number plates".

1895 -- The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, established in 1895 in Springfield, Massachusetts, was the first American firm to build gasoline automobiles.

Founded by Charles Duryea and his brother Frank, they built the Duryea Motor Wagon, a one-cylinder "Ladies Phaeton", first demonstrated on September 21, 1893 in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Taylor Street in Metro Center.

It is considered the first successful gas-engine vehicle built in the U.S.

1896 -- In May of that year, while driving his Duryea Motor Wagon through Manhattan, Henry Wells hits a bicycle ridden by Evylyn Thomas sending the woman flying in what is purported to be the first documented auto accident. Thomas spent the next few days in the hospital nursing a fractured leg. Wells spent the night in jail.

It is unknown what happened to the bicycle or the Duryea Motor Wagon, but at that point it had to be clear to at least some, that this type of incident, although it maybe the first, would certainly not be the last.

1897 -- The first auto insurance policy is purchased in Westfield, MA.

1898 -- The first cars did not have steering wheels. Drivers steered with a lever. The New York City Police Department used bicycles to pursue speeding motorists in 1898.

1899 -- DeDion Bouton built a small, but high-speed one cylinder engine.

1900 -- Oldsmobile was the first car to be produced in high volume.

1900 -- The first Guide Michelin published mostly containing a list of gas stations in France.

1901 -- The first Grand Prix race was won with an average speed of 46 mph.

1901 -- The first American car manufactured in any quantity was the "Curved Dash" Oldsmobile, which was offered for $650.

1901 -- License plates attached to the front and back of your vehicle were first implemented on April 25th, 1901.

The state of New York became the first in the US to implement license plates. According to the traffic laws of New York, the vehicle owner was required to pay one dollar as a registration fee and the Secretary of State was required to maintain the record of owners in alphabetical order to easily identify the vehicle with the particular owner.

Separate initials of the owner’s name were to be placed on the back of the vehicle where the letters must have a height of at least three inches.

1901 -- The state of Connecticut passes the first automotive speed law limiting automobiles to 12 mph in the city and 15 mph on country roads.

The law also required drivers of motor vehicle to slow or even stop when approaching a horse drawn conveyance so as not to scare the horse. This led to a sporadic, and inconsistent application of motor vehicle laws.

1902 -- Léon Levavasseur took out a patent on a light but quite powerful gasoline injected V8 engine.

1902 -- Seat belts first fitted to a motor vehicle was in a Baker Electric streamliner racer which crashed at 100 mph. on Staten Island.

1903 -- The Charles Miller Automobile Supply Company publishes its 5th catalog of auto parts and accessories. 

Among the items in this edition is the “World’s Best Buffalo Robe” for $10, a must for driving an open touring car in cold weather. Other items include driving goggles for $3, leather automobile coats for $8, leather pants for $6, gauntlet driving gloves for $2 and leather driving cap, also $2.

Unlike similar catalogs of 50 years later, there was no mention of fiberglass auto body repair kits, touch-up paint, "suicide" knobs, Continental kits, or fuzzy dice.

1904 - The world's first speeding ticket was issued in Dayton, Ohio.

Dayton, Ohio, police ticketed Harry Myers for going 12 mph on West Third Street.

1904 -- The car first referred to itself as a convertible was the 1904 Thomas Flyer, which had a removable hard top.

1907 -- The U.S. production car that had the largest 4 cylinder engine was the 1907 Thomas sported a 571 cu. in. (9.2 liter) engine.

1908 -- The "Model-T" was the first car to be mass-produced. Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in December of 1908, and as a result he was not only able to mass-produce the Model-T, but was able to offer it to his customers at a much lower price than the competition.

1909 -- Bugati, which was founded in Molsheim in 1909, started out German, yet became French after World War I. It became French when Alsace returned to French rule.

1909 -- The first official White House car was a 1909 White Steamer, ordered by President Taft.

1910 -- Magician Harry Houdini was the first solo pilot to fly a plane in Australia. He taught himself to drive an automobile just so he could drive out to the airfield – and he never drove again.

1910 -- Ford produced the first "Panel Truck".

A panel truck is a windowless cargo van built on a truck chassis. A panel truck is similar in function to its smaller cousin the sedan delivery, a station wagon with no backseat and no side windows aft of the front doors. Both types of vehicles are frequently used as delivery vehicles.
1910 Ford Model T panel truck
1911 -- The first US produced 4wd prelude to the truck was built in 1911 by Zachow and Bosserdich Four Wheel Drive Auto Company.

1911 -- Chevrolet Motor Car changed to Chevrolet Motor Company when it was incorporated in 1911 by William C. Durant.

1911 -- The first rear-view mirror was used by car-racer Ray Harroun.

He didn’t have room in the car for a mechanic (part of whose job would be to look for cars coming from behind) so he found the way to mount a mirror.

1913 -- The first car station was a Gulf service station which opened up the first station in Pittsburgh in 1913.

1914 -- Cadillac produced the first American V8 engine, the 1914 L-Head. It was a complicated hand-built unit with cast iron paired closed-head cylinders bolted to an aluminium crankcase, and it used a flat-plane crankshaft. It was a 90° design with an L-head (sidevalve) configuration and was water-cooled. Bore was 3.125 inches and stroke was 5.125 inches, for a total of 314 cubic inches of displacement. Output was 70 hp.

1914 Cadillac 
Peerless followed, introducing a V8 licensed from amusement park manufacturer, Herschell-Spillman.

1914 -- The Chevrolet bow-tie emblem first appears.

1914 -- The first electric traffic light was installed in Cleveland.

1914 -- Cleveland, Ohio, was the first city in the United States to get a traffic light.

1915 -- The first car to have the horn button in the center of the steering wheel was the 1915 Scripps-Booth Model C. The car also was the first with electric door latches.

1915 -- The first production V12, as well as the first production car with aluminum pistons was Packard's Twin-Six. Used during WWI in Italy, these motors inspired Enzi Ferrari to adopt the V12 himself in 1948.

1916 -- Ford produces 55% of the cars in the world were Model T Fords, a record that has never been beaten.

1917 -- Chevrolet produced an overhead valve V8 in 1917, in which the valve gear was completely exposed.

It only lasted through 1918 and Chevrolet would not produce another V8 until the introduction of the small block in 1955.

1921 -- The first drive-in restaurant in the United States was Royce Hailey’s Pig Stand which opened in Dallas in 1921.

1922 -- The first gas gauge appeared in cars. Prior to that, most cars ran until they were out of gas.

1922 -- Essex introduced the first affordable enclosed automobile (sedan), which shifted the auto industry away from open vehicles to meet consumer demand for enclosed automobiles

1923 --  Star (a division of Durant Motors) was the first car company to offer a factory-built station wagon.

1923 -- A total of 173 new inventions by women for cars had been reported. Among these inventions were a carburetor and an electric engine starter.

1923 -- Powered windshield wipers became standard equipment on many cars.

1923 -- A radio was first offered as an accessory.

1924 -- The first car fitted with a replaceable cartridge oil filter was the 1924 Chrysler

1925 -- The lowest priced mass produced American car was the 1925 Ford Model T Runabout.

It cost $260, which was $5 less than it cost in 1924.

1925 -- While the first "panel truck" was in 1910, the first factory-assembled pickup truck was based on the Ford Model T car, with a modified rear body.

It debuted in 1925 and sold for $281. Henry Ford billed it as the "Ford Model T Runabout with Pickup Body."

The 34,000 trucks built that year featured a cargo box, adjustable tailgate, four stake pockets and heavy-duty rear springs.

1927 -- By that year Ford had sold more than 15 million Model-Ts

1927 -- Chevrolet became the number one selling car company in the United States.

In 1929 and 1930 Ford won the sales race but Chevrolet countered from 1931-1934 as the leader. In 1935 Ford regained the lead in total cars sold, but not for long. Chevrolet got the crown back in 1936.
With the exception of 1957, Chevrolet was number one from 1936 to 1976 and several years beyond that.

1928 -- In 1928, the Model A replaced the Model T, introducing the first closed-cab pickup.

It sported innovations like a safety glass windshield, roll-up side windows and three-speed transmission. It was powered by a four-cylinder L-head engine capable of 40 horsepower

1930 -- Twelve states still had not imposed a speed limit on their roads.

1930 -- The first person to win the Indianapolis 500 at a speed of over 100 MPH without a relief driver was Billy Arnold who won in 1930 with an average speed of 100.448 MPH.

1930 -- Charles Creighton and James Hargis spent 42 days on a round trip from New York to Los Angeles using only reverse gear. The two men drove in a Ford roadster, which was left running the entire time.

1930 -- The first successful series-production hydraulic valve lifters were used in the 1930 Cadillac 452, the first production V16

1930 -- In January, Cadillac debuted it’s V16 in a car named for a theatrical version of a 1920′s film seen by Harley Earl while designing the body. The care was called the "Madam X", and was a custom coach designed by Earl and built by Fleetwood. The sedan featured a retractable landau top above the rear seat.

Cadillac's gasoline-fueled V16 engine models were used in the Cadillac V-16 automobile, the first from 1930 until 1937, and the second between 1938 and 1940. The company has twice attempted to build a new V16 engine, once in the 1980s and again in 2003, but none have been put into production.

Cadillac also built a V12 engine from 1930 through 1937. It retained the 45° vee-angle and displaced 368 cubic inches from a 3.125 inch bore and 4 inch stroke. Output was rated at 135 hp with two carburetors. All of engine wiring and hoses were hidden from view.

1932 -- Ford was the first company to use V8s en masse.

Instead of going to an inline six like its competitors when something larger than an inline four was needed, Ford designed a modern V8, the Flathead.

1932 -- In 1932, the 65 horsepower (48 kW) Ford flathead V8 engine was offered as an option in their trucks.

1933 -- The first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, N.

1933 --  Rolls Royce changed their "Double-R" badge from red to black.

1933 -- Swallow Sidecars (aka SS) manufactures the first Jaguar

1934 -- The two-door 1934 Chevrolet Master coach outsold every other 1934 Chevy model.

1934 -- The last car the criminals Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrows drove was a 1934 Ford Model 730 Deluxe Sedan like the one below.

A few months before being shot to death in their 1934 Ford Model 730 Deluxe Sedan, believe it or not, Clyde Barrows wrote Henry Ford a letter of endorsement stating:

"I have drove fords exclusively when I could get away with one. It has got every other car skinned, and even if my business hasn’t been strictly legal it don’t hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8″.

1935 -- The first parking meters started use in Oklahoma City, on July 16, 1935.

1936 -- By 1936, Ford had already produced 3 million trucks and led the industry in sales

1936 -- Volkswagon won millions of buyers worldwide using the concept of a small car and simple design. It had a dependable air cooled engine and its simplicity made it easy to fix.

1938 -- Buick introduced the first electric turn signals.

1939 -- Buick introduces turn signals as standard equipment.

1939 -- Chrysler starts building tanks for the U.S. Army.

1941 -- During World War II, many car manufacturers retooled for the War-effort all knowing that American manufacturing would win the war and ultimately kick Hitler's Nazi ass.

Car dealers took a hard hit in the WWII years. Civilians couldn't buy new care, the dealers who survived bought and sold used cars, and of course did repairs. Used cars actually got a pretty good price then and right after the war, until they caught up with the new '46 line.

Because of the shortage of metal during the war, cars were sold with wooden bumpers. While Ford built Jeeps and other war equipment, Chrysler produced Sherman and Pershing tanks, half-tracks, and trucks by the thousands.

Chevrolet converted its manufacturing capabilities to meet the needs of the war. Civilian production of automobiles ended on January 30, 1942. Instead of cars, over 8 million shells were produced in Chevrolet factories.

In addition to over 500,000 trucks and cars for use by our militarises, Chevrolet produced a variety of war products from 1942-1945, including Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines totallying 60,000, wing and fuselage components to by used by Grumman Aircraft Company.

Perhaps the most remarkable numbers are in ammunition related products: 2,000 90mm guns, 200 million pounds of aluminum forgings, 5.7 million pounds of magnesium castings, and two billion pounds of grey iron castings. Other items included: armored cars, 75mm shells, and aluminum castings.

Chevrolet placed ads in several magazines like the one shown below to promote it's efforts in the war.

1942 -- Along with Chevy's wartime production,  many civil production Chevy Fleetmasters were commissioned by the Army (retaining the all the chrome) while at the same time orders were placed with Chevrolet for the military version as described in TM10-1133.

1945 -- Originally known as Swallow Sidecars (aka SS), Jaguar, which was an SS model first in 1935, ultimately became the whole company by 1945

1946 -- The first power windows were introduced.

1947 -- The first production cars to use power operated seats was when they were first used on the 1947 Packard line.

1948 -- Harley Earl introduces the tail fin on the Cadillac. Fins don't go away for over a decade.

1949 -- The Oldsmobile Rocket was the first mass-produced OHV V8 

1949 --  The first to use a standardized production key-start system was in the 1949 Chryslers.

1951 -- Chrysler makes their first (automotive) engine with hemispherical combustion chambers.

Chrysler's first OHV V8, made in 1951, was a hemi. It was 331 cu in, and produced 180 HP.

1951 -- The compact 100-inch (2,540 mm) wheelbase Nash Rambler line included a two-door station wagon design whose production continued through 1955.

The 1955–1957 Chevrolet Nomad and sibling Pontiac Safari were two-door station wagons. Mercury produced a two-door hardtop (no "B-pillar") station wagon from 1957 to 1960, named the Commuter. Chevrolet produced the 1964–1965 Chevelle 300 series two-door station wagon.

1953 -- Chevrolet introduces its Harley Earl-designed Corvette.

The first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the production line on June 30, 1953, at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan. Only 300 Corvettes were built that year -- each of them by hand -- making this the rarest Corvette. Each fiberglass-bodied two-seater was white with a red interior and a black canvas top.

The 1953 Corvette featured a Powerglide automatic transmission and a "Blue Flame" six cylinder 235ci 150 hp engine with three carburetors and dual exhaust.

1953 -- General Motors issued three specialty convertibles: the Buick Skylark, the Oldsmobile Fiesta, and the Cadillac Eldorado. Of the three, the Buick Skylark was the most successful with a production run of 1,642 units

1954 -- American Motors Corporation (AMC) was an American automobile company formed with merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history

1954 -- Padded dashboards introduced for safety.

1955 -- The Chrysler 300, introduced in 1955, was the most powerful production car in the US.

1955 -- The first Chevy small block V8 entered production in 1955, and had a displacement of 265 cubes.

1955 -- Pontiac's 287 cubic inch "Strato Streak" V8 was introduced.

1956 -- Electric door locks introduced on several luxury models.

1957 -- The Ford Ranchero was produced first, then came the Chevrolet El Camino.

The first Rancheros were built in 1957 and the first El Caminos came two years later, in 1959.

1957 -- Pontiac's Tri-Power (3-2 bbl carbs) become available.

1957 -- The Peanuts characters were first animated in 1957 for a Ford Fairlaine automobile commercial.

1958 -- The first remote adjusted side view mirror.

1958 -- Ford introduces the first electric trunk release.

1958 -- Chrysler introduces the day-night rear view mirror.

1959 -- Pontiac start using the split grille and the arrowhead emblem.

1960 -- All-weather anti-freeze plus coolant introduced.

1960 -- The first car fitted with an alternator, rather than a direct current dynamo generator, was the 1960 Plymouth Valiant.

1962 -- The car with having the distinction of being the U.S. Production car with the quickest 0-60 mph time was the 1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 409. It did it in 4.0 seconds.

1963 -- Seat belts first offered as standard equipment.

1963 -- Chevy's first 427 was called the Z11 (a stroked 409), advertised at 430 HP & 435 ft-lb torque (some were as high as 650HP). With 13.5:1 compression and dual 4 barrels, yet only 50 were built and those were sold to a select few big names.

1964 -- Even though Chrysler make engines with hemi heads in the 50s, it wasn't until 1964 when they revived the hemi head design and officially used the "Hemi" name

1964 -- The Ford Mustang is generally considered the first "pony car", a new class of automobile first introduced in 1964 and designed to be more compact and more affordable than the larger muscle cars that inspired them.

First introduced at the New York World's Fair on April 17, 1964, the Mustang captured the imagination of the American public and guaranteed the success of the pony car. In fact, the Mustang was perhaps the most successful product launch in automotive history.

Racking up over 22,000 sales in its first day and one million sales in its first two years, the Mustang inspired a wave of imitators including the Pontiac Firebird, Mercury Cougar and Chevrolet Camaro, but none could match the success enjoyed by the Mustang.

Originally named for the P-51 Mustang, a World War II fighter plane, Ford's new car quickly became associated with the horse of the same name and this became the basis for the now-famous Mustang emblem.

Ford’s answer to the Chevy Corvette, and other legal street racers of the 1960′s, was Carroll Shelby’s Mustang GT350.

1965 -- The Chevrolet Impala sold more than one million units in North America, setting a record that still stands today.

Originally introduced in 1958, the Impala was the best-selling automobile in the United States during the 1960s. Early Impala models sported six taillights, a unique feature which, for a time, became the Impala trademark. The Impala was named after an African antelope.

1965 -- Rear seat belts became standard on most cars.

1966 -- The last year for Pontiac tri-power engine.

1966 -- The car with the honor and the distinction of being GM’s 100 millionth car built in the U.S. was a Olds Tornado which rolled out of Lansing, Michigan, on March 16, 1966

1966 -- The first car to include anti-lock brakes was the 1966 Jensen FF which came equipped with the Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock braking system (originally developed for use on aircraft).

Although sometimes unreliable, the Jensen FF's anti-skid system was a huge technological breakthrough at the time.

Three years later, in 1969, the Lincoln Continental Mark III improved on the idea, placing sensors on the rear wheels that modulated pressure on the rear brakes when they began to lock up.

1967 -- All US cars are mandated by the Federal Government to come equipped with dual master cylinder brake systems.

1968 -- The only year the "California Special" edition of the Ford Mustang was available.

1969 -- The first model car to have it’s radio antenna embedded in the windshield was the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix.

1969 -- Cadillac introduce the first electric sunroof

1970 --  The 1970 Gremlin, (AMC), was reportedly designed on the back of a Northwest Airlines air sickness bag and released on April Fool’s Day, 1970 

1970 -- Ford's Bunkie Knudsen ordered the design of a larger Mustang for 1971 in order to fit Ford's beefy 429 ci Cobra Jet V8 under the hood.

By the time the '71 was introduced in September of 1970, the muscle car market had collapsed due to increasing insurance rates and increasing emission regulations. Very few '71s were ordered with the 429 engine.  

1972 -- Cars traveled along LA freeways at an average speed of 60 mph. In 1982 the average was only 17 mph!

1974 -- National 55 mph speed limit enacted after oil shortages.

1974 -- The average American family spent 33 percent of their yearly income for a new car. In 1995 the average was 50 percent.

1975 -- The television series Starsky and Hutch debuted and would run until 1979, featuring two streetwise cops and their red and white 1975 Ford Gran Torino.

1980 -- The world’s longest traffic jam was between Paris and Lyon on the French Autoroute. It was about 110 miles long.

1982 -- November of that year, the first Japanese car manufactured in the United States was the Honda Accord.

1984 -- Chrysler introduces the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager mini-vans.

1987 -- The most expensive car ever sold was the 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale "Kellner" Sports Coupe  which sold for $9,760,000 at a Christie's auction in London in November 1987.

1995 -- The Big Three sold a whopping 97,000 cars in Japan.

1996 -- New Jeep Wrangler got coil springs.

1997 -- Thrust SSC broke the sound barrier and raised the World Land Speed Record to
1221kph (763mph, Mach 1.02).

1998 -- The fastest internal-combustion American production car was the 1998 Dodge Viper GETS-R, tested by Motor Trend magazine at 192.6 mph.

1998 --Bentley bought by VW.

1998 -- BMW bought the Rolls Royce name.

1998 -- Bugatti name bought by VW.

1998 -- Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz  merged to form Daimler-Chrysler.

1998 -- Volvo cars sold to Ford.

1999 -- Ford bought LandRover, and Phoenix took over MGRoverfrom BMW.

1999 -- The two-door Honda Insight became the first commercially available hybrid gasoline-electric car in the United States.

The Insight won numerous awards including International Engine of the Year, and earned EPA mileage ratings of 61 mpg in the city and 70 mpg on the highway, making it the world's most fuel-efficient car.  The Honda Insight originally sold for just under $20,000.

1999 -- The average 1999 model year automobile cost $5,674 per year to own and operate.

1999 -- Scrap rate levels out. In the 1970's cars were scrapped almost twice as often as small trucks, but over the years cars have become more durable and in 1999 the scrappage rate was almost equal.

2001 -- Women spend more than $65 million on new cars and trucks, influence 80 percent of all new car purchases, and will buy 60 percent of new cars in 2001.

2002 -- 30% of the cars sold were SUVs.

2007 -- UK car accessories producers launched a “spray-on mud” product for SUV owners who rarely leave the city. Each bottle of spray consists of filthy water and can be applied to the car to create the illusion that you just drove from the countryside.

2010 -- The largest number of people ever to fit into a Smart Car is 19: they were Pakistani female students.

2010 -- The longest-lasting traffic jam happened in Beijing, China that year. Drivers were trapped in 62-mile line for over 12 days!

Random Facts

• ﻿The first Ford cars had Dodge engines.

• One American luxury automaker began by making cages for birds and squirrels -- It was the George N. Pierce Co. Of Buffalo, who made the Pierce Arrow, also made iceboxes.

• The Olds designation 4-4-2 stood for 4 barrel carburetor, 4 speed transmission, and dual exhaust.

• The official name for Buick Port Holes was Cruise Air Venta Ports.

• The "Boss", as in the Boss 302 and Boss 429 Mustangs, Bunkie Knudsen.  Larry Shinoda chose the name "Boss" as a homage to his boss, Bunkie Knudsen, the former head of Pontiac.
• The infamous criminal John Dillinger's favourite cars to steal were Fords.

• Buick Nailhead says "Wildcat 445". The 445 refers to torque in ft-lbs.

• Most American car horns beep in the key of F.

• The "Spirit of Ecstasy" is the official name of the mascot of Rolls Royce, she is the lady on top of their radiators.

• The automobile is the most recycled consumer product in the world today.

• In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes!

• The 1st automobile racetrack in the US was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway which consists of 3 million cobblestones.

• In its 1st year the VW Beetle sold only 330 cars in the United States.

• 135 million cars travel the American roads and interstates each day.

• One seventh of the new auto/truck sales in the US are in Southern California.

• The city with the most Rolls Royce's per capita is Hong Kong.

• Windshield wipers were invented by a woman.

• The brake light in the rear windows was put there after a suggestion by Elizabeth Dole, Senator Bob Dole's wife.

• The first product Motorola started to develop was a record player for automobiles. At the time, the most known player on the market was the Victrola, so they called themselves Motorola.

• The most crowded roads in Europe can be found in the country of Luxembourg with 570 cars per 1000 people.

• Ferrari only builds 14 cars each day.

• An airbag takes only 40 milliseconds to inflate after an accident.
• Worldwide, the most produced car is the Toyota Corolla compact.

• Red cars are prohibited in Shanghai, China.

• 53% of car owners wash their cars once a month; 16% never do it.

• The average American spends approximately 2 weeks of his/her life waiting at red lights.

• The United States has the greatest amount of cars per capita.

• Cha Sa-soon, a 68-year-old South Korean woman, took the written drivers test 950 times before she passed. She spent 4 years trying and $4,200 on application fees.

• The leftside ignition key in Porsches isn’t a design feature intended for left-handed drivers, it’s due to tradition: in the early days of the famous Le Mans race, drivers would run to their cars, jump in, turn the key with their left hand, push the clutch in with their foot, and put the car in gear all at the same time, thus resulting in a faster start

• The Chevy 409 is the bigger version of the 348 cu in engine


So where did the term "Pickup" come from?

Ford, who made the first pick-up trucks, shipped them to dealers in crates that the new owners had to assemble using the crates as the beds of the trucks. The new owners had to go to the dealers to get them, thus they had to "pick-up" the trucks.

According to sales figures, 70% of all pickup trucks today are not used for industrial, commercial, or agricultural use.

Texas is sometimes called the "land of pickup trucks", even charging lower taxes on pickup truck registration (agricultural use only) than on other types of vehicle registration.

Indeed, Texans have 14% of the pickups in the U.S., and automakers sometimes offer special editions of their pickup trucks, with names like "TEXAS EDITION" and "LONE STAR EDITION."

In 2002, Dodge was the first brand to unveil a Texas Edition pickup, though they were called "Lone Star Edition"; other brands followed suit, more commonly known as the "Big Horn" in other states.

President George W. Bush's Pickup

President George W. Bush was seen cruising around his Crawford, Texas ranch in a white Ford F-250 while vacationing, sometimes with foreign heads of state riding shotgun, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On December 14th, 2012, President Bush donated his pickup truck for charity auction. His Ford F-150 King Ranch 4x4 SuperCrew pickup was auctioned on January 19, 2013 for $300,000. The pickup was auctioned to the highest bidder for $300,000 to benefit the Fisher House Foundation, which provides no-charge temporary housing for the families of military members being treated for injuries.

The former President's intense involvement with America's wounded warriors make this no surprise. Fisher House also has scholarship programs available to children and spouses of fallen or disabled veterans.

In 2011, Barrett-Jackson sold a New Holland tractor owned by Jay Leno and signed by George W. Bush for $535,000, with proceeds also going to the Fisher House Foundation. My admiration for President George W. Bush is only that much higher since my finding out how much work he does to make a difference for America's military veterans.

Semi-Trucks & Trailers

The trucking companies, warehouses and private sector in the U.S. employs an estimated 8.9 million people employed in trucking-related jobs; nearly 3.5 million were truck drivers. Of this figure UPS employs 60,000 workers and 9% are owner operators. LTL shippers account for around 13.6 percent of America's trucking sector.

There are about 5.6 million semi-trailers registered in the U.S., about 3 times the number of registered semi-trucks.

Semi-trailers are usually about 53 feet long.

There are 3.2 million truck drivers in the U.S., who operate a total of 1.9 million semi trucks, a third of which are registered in California, Florida and Texas.

90 percent of trucking companies and owner-operators have fewer than six trucks.

The maximum weight permitted for a truck with a full trailer is 80,000 pounds.

The engine itself can weigh around 3,000 pounds.

About 190,000 new semi-trucks are sold every year, one third of which are manufactured by Freightliner, the most popular semi-truck manufacturer.

Semi-trucks collectively log 140 billion miles every year in the U.S., and individually average about 45,000 miles, though long distance trucks can reach up to 100,000 miles a year.

While only 15 percent of commercial trucks are semi-trucks, semi-trucks travel 42 of the miles logged by commercial trucks every year.

Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for trucks, as they get an average of only 6.5 miles to the gallon.

This can drop to less than 3 miles to the gallon if a truck is going up a steep hill, or it can increase to more than 23 miles per gallon going down a hill.

New fuel economy standards will require semi-trucks with sleeper cabs to get 7.2 miles per gallon or more.

Hawaii's Claim To Highway Fame

On the island of Oahu, Highway designated H-3 is the most expensive Interstate Highway ever built, on a cost per mile basis. Its final cost was $1.3 billion, or approximately $80 million per mile.


On October 19th, 1960, the United States issued a trade embargo against Cuba. One of the embargo’s many effects was that new cars stopped rolling into the island nation.

The Cuban government also cracked down on the purchase of cars; only those that were already on the island at the time of the embargo could be freely traded and sold amongst its citizens. All others who wished to buy a car had to secure special permission.

Beginning in early 2014, the Cuban government lifted the sanctions, allowing people to freely buy cars if they wished. While the United States continues to ban automobile exports to Cuba, manufacturers in other countries, such as France’s Peugeot, have no such restrictions.

Unfortunately, the Cuban government has instituted staggering markups on the prices of these vehicles, to the point where a new car ranges from US $91,000 to $262,000. Since the average Cuban in Communist Cuba earns only about $240 a year, putting such expenditure so far out of reach has to be unimaginable.

While there are some beautifully maintained 1957 Chevys rolling down the streets of Havana, the truth is that keeping almost 60-year-old cars in running order is a full time job. Most of Cuba’s vintage cars are dangerous, oil-belching monstrosities held together with duct tape and prayers -- which is illegal under a Communist government as Cuba.

The 9/11 Attack  

The Muslim Attack on 9/11 had far-reaching social, political, and financial implications that are still being felt today.  The four horrifying plane crashes stops air travel for weeks, then Americans were leery of it after it resumed.  

Those who did fly experiences the presence of National Guardsmen clutching automatic weapons at airports.   So instead, many more people chose to drive.   At the time, the average price per gallon of gasoline in the United States was $1.50.

While supposedly flying is the safest way to travel. When a plane crashes, the loss of life is catastrophic. While that my be true, millions of flights go off without a hitch every day around the world. MIT once reported that the risk of dying on a flight in the United States was one in 45 million.

In other words, statistically speaking, you can fly every day for 123,000 years -- if you lived that long -- before encountering a crash.

In contrast, driving is far more deadly. Your chance of being killed in a car accident in a given year is 1 in 7,000. That makes flying more than 6,000 times safer. 

It has been estimated that the increase in driving in the year following 9/11 resulted in an extra 1,595 traffic fatalities, more than half the death toll of the original 9/11 Muslim attack.

What's In A Name?

Karl Benz -- He is believed by many to be the inventor of the automobile.

David Buick -- A plumbing inventor and manufacturer built his first car in 1900. He was in fact a Scotsman, who merged the failing Buick Manufacturing Company with another to form the Buick Motor Car Company in 1903.

Antoine Cadillac -- Founded the City of Detroit in the 17th century.

Louis Chevrolet -- Swiss race car driver and engineer built his first car in 1911 with financing by William Durant.

Walter Chrysler -- A locomotive mechanic who got into the automobile business in 1912 and publicly displayed his own at the 1924 NY Auto Show and selling an amazing 32,000 car in his first year. He formed the Chrysler Corporation in 1925.

Gottlieb Daimler -- He can be considered as the founder of the automobile industry when he formed Daimler Motor Company in 1890.

John & Horace Dodge -- Founded their own car company in 1914. Their first car came off the assembly line in 1914. Its first logo incorporated the Star of David. Both brothers died within less than a year of each other during the influenza epidemic in 1920.

William Durant -- A businessman, finance man, and salesman who was a self-made millionaire before ever joining the auto business. He was called on by the owners of the failing Buick Motor Company to help. He soon bought Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac and formed General Motors. He almost bought Ford, but didn't come up with enough cash to suit Henry. Durant always kept himself stretched thin with his money in stocks and other businesses. He lost everything in the Depression.

Charles & Frank Duryea -- Built the first successful American automobile and the first to offer a production model for sale to the public.

Harley Earl -- Designed the La Salle in 1927, the beginning of a trend towards lower and wider cars. As head of GM's styling department he invented the tail fin and designed the Corvette.

Enzo Ferrari -- A mechanic, race car driver then race car team owner. His cars dominated racing for many years after WWII.

Harvey Firestone -- His tires went on the first mass-produced Fords.

Henry Ford -- In creating the assembly line for automobiles he also created jobs for thousands and affordable cars for millions. His greatest invention was not the automobile, but the concept of the "assembly line" which had a positive influence on manufacturing around the world.

Tom Gale -- Chrysler designer largely responsible for the current crop of Chrysler's design of cab-forward and curved styling on everything from the minivan to the Viper.

B.F. Goodrich -- The company started in 1896 has many firsts: First synthetic rubber tire; First tubeless tire; First American-made radial tire; First space saver spare; First "run flat" tire.

Charles Goodyear -- Accidentally discovered the rubber vulcanizing process. He patented the process, but couldn't come up with any practical uses for it and died penniless in 1860. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was named after him.

Soichiro Honda -- After WWII with $3,300 he started making motorcycles.

Emile Jellinek -- In 1900, while a Daimler Motor Works board member, Jellinek convinced Gottlieb Daimler to build a race car and name it after Emile's daughter, Mercedes.

Mercedes Jellinek -- She was a daughter of a German diplomat and investor Gottlieb Daimler.

Edward Murphy -- Founded the Pontiac Buggy Company in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1893. At the turn of the century he decided to switch to making "those noisy, smelly, unreliable automobiles."

Ransom Olds -- He founded the Olds Motor Vehicle company in 1897. His highly successful "Curved Dash" runabout put Michigan on the map as a source of motor vehicles. He later left his namesake company to produce the first gasoline lawn mower.

Ferdinand Porsche -- A design engineer who never created a car carrying his name. That was left to his son, Ferry, to accomplish.

Frederick Royce & Charles Rolls -- Engineer Royce and car dealer Rolls introduced their first car in 1904.

Alfred Sloan -- Led GM to become the world's largest corporation. Responsible for the idea of yearly styling changes.

Preston Tucker -- After WWII Tucker designed, built and promoted an innovative car with features, power, and aerodynamic design never before seen and at a very good price. His company folded after building 51 cars.

One last bit of trivia
What was the inspiration for MG’s famed octagon-shaped badge?
The shape is that of founder Cecil Kimber’s dining table. And yes, the MG stands for Morris Garages.

Last But Not Least

What would I like to see come back? For me, it's Wing Windows and Bench Seats!

In these days of almost $4 dollar a gallon for gasoline, many of us are doing things to try to save gas. If we were able to have Wing Windows again, then we would be able to turn off our air conditioners and save all sorts of gas during the summer months.

As for Bench Seats, I miss the days when a passenger could just move over behind the wheel instead of having to get out and walk all the way around the car to take over driving. And yes, it would be nice if cars had frames and fenders, didn't look all alike, and lasted for more than just a couple of years before costing owners an arm and a leg to fix them.

But such is life, and in a world where mechanics are no longer mechanics and instead are now technicians, we are no longer able to do the simplest task like a tune up or changing spark plugs without a computer and diagnostic readouts.

And as for you my readers, well you now known most of the trivia that you may ever want to know about automobiles. And yes, if you're wondering, this has been compiled from all sorts of sources.

As for getting a lot more technical automotive information, please go to my friends at How Cars Work. They have an extensive digital library of learning resources for future mechanics. Their resource material is dealing with the mechanics of the Combustion Engine, Drive Trains, Fuel Systems, Cooling Systems, Running Gear, Brakes, Electrical Systems, and even Body Parts.

If you're thinking that I'm recommending them because they are a sponsor of mine, well they are not a sponsor. But fact is, ever since I've found out about their site, I've found them to be a great source of valuable information when dealing with my cars and trucks.

I hope you've enjoyed the trivia and the information. 

Tom Correa

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Who's Excusing The VA In The VA Scandal?

Ever wonder who's protecting those responsible for the deaths of Veterans?

Ever wonder who's protecting the VA in the VA scandal?

Ever wonder why no one in the VA has been fired or gone to jail yet for the VA Scandal that has cost the lives of Veterans?

Ever wonder why the mainstream Liberal media on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and its surrogate MSNBC has not put the death of Veterans to the front of the line when it comes to News Stories?

Have you ever wondered why those Networks would spend hours on bashing Republicans yet only an average of less than a minute talking about the VA Scandal and what it has cost Veteran's in terms of lives lost?

How has the major broadcast networks helped Obama?

Well, coverage of the Veterans Affairs waiting list scandal has been virtually nonexistent.

Despite the continuously unfolding developments on the scandal, the major news networks of ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN have devoted barely two minutes a week to the VA Scandal.

Altogether the morning and evening shows had a combined 46 hours of air time from
Monday through Friday morning, yet they offered up a mere 2 minutes and 16 seconds of coverage.

And yes, in the first week of June, not a single VA story of more than 30 seconds in length.

Have you wondered why Fox News is the only source to go to for FULL coverage of what is going on with the VA -- and their suspicious treatment of Vets?

Well, it could be because Fox News is hated in Hollywood and the others are Hollywood supporters. And yes, there are other reasons.

What does that have to do with the VA Scandal?

Frankly, it goes against the best interest of the major network to report things like the following:

Vets say VA’s care of veterans impeded by filming of TV Series

The filming of a TV series that took over the entire second floor of a Los Angeles VA center and conferences attended by VA health care providers — which included topics on how to plan a party — which meant putting the needs of Veterans aside to cater to the Liberals from Hollywood.

All of what took place, with the OK from the VA director at the LA facility, contributed to the delay of care for veterans, according to interviews with VA staffers and veterans.

Dr. Roy Marokus, who currently serves in private practice, told the Free Beacon that veterans were denied care because of a mandatory conference he attended last March.

Marokus said veterans’ appointments were cancelled so VA medical providers could attend the two-day conference.

Medical providers at the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where Marokus briefly worked, and providers at all other VA medical centers in the Veterans Integrated Services Network, attended the conference.

A review of the paperwork handed out during the conference showed topics included advice on how to plan a party and asked the medical staff to explore, “What Color is Your Personality?”

Yes, this is how the VA takes Vet Care serious -- by pushing back appointments to film a TV show and attend a conference on party planning.

“Veterans waiting for appointments got pushed back for two days,” Marokus said.

“In human costs, you have all these veterans. Why was that conference needed? … Many veterans had their treatments delayed for two days while their healthcare providers determined ‘what color’ their personalities were.”

So no, I only have one question:


Answer: Government Employee Unions and Liberal Politicians are allowing this to take place by protecting those responsible for this.

And yes, to protect ObamaCare -- which make the VA government run health care look small in comparison.

Government Unions and Liberal Politicians are at the heart of why Veterans are dead.

Besides dead and waiting Veterans, Government Unions and Liberal Politicians are in favor of a gigantic government complex which control all of our lives.

Liberal Politicians are forcing Americans into accepting ObamaCare, and it's the enormous cost of ObamaCare that's responsible for our nation's economy having shrunk the lowest in 58 years.

They want to dismiss the VA Scandal because they know damn well that the VA is just a smaller version of ObamaCare.

And yes, they know that right now the American people are getting a glimpse at the corruption and poor quality care that will come with such a huge system such as ObamaCare.

All of their assurances aren't worth the air they expend to voice them -- because Americans are not as dumb as Liberals think we are.

Americans are taking note of the fact that the major broadcast networks are working for Obama and the Democrat Party, and that Hollywood is able to delay the care of Veterans at a major VA Facility in a heavily populated area like Los Angeles.

And if you ask me why they do it?

That's simple. They feel that there's nothing to stop them because we don't speak out against this!

Yes, that's just how I see it.

Tom Correa

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

9/11 Cross: Court orders Atheists to explain why it's "Offensive"


The World Trade Center Cross

On June 21st, 2014, it was reported that a Federal Appeals Court said that an Atheist group trying to keep the 9/11 Cross out of the National September 11 Memorial Museum must better explain how displaying the artifact is "offensive" and violates members’ constitutional rights.

The 17-foot-tall, steel beam "Cross" was found in the rubble of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York that fell during the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

The 9/11 Cross instantly became a shrine, a place of comfort for first responders who often prayed there and left messages or flowers, a sign of hope.

It was moved away from the debris a few weeks later and became a tourist attraction through several years of reconstruction.

Atheists filed a lawsuit in 2011, which was thrown out last year by a Federal judge in the Southern District of New York.

The appeals court ruling on June 19th, last Thursday, cites an amicus brief filed by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm that specializes in church-state law and protecting the free expression of all religious traditions.

"We're thrilled that the court picked up on this issue," said group lawyer Eric Baxter, whose brief argued that American Atheists had no right to bring a lawsuit in the first place.

"Courts should not allow people to sue just because they claim to get ‘dyspepsia’ over a historical artifact displayed in a museum."

The museum officially opened on May 21.

The judge has now given the plaintiffs until July 14th to file supplemental legal briefs before deciding whether the case will proceed.

Among the questions that must be answered in the new filings is:

Explain how the offensiveness of the cross to them, because the plaintiffs view as a Christian symbol, becomes a "Constitutional injury?"

The other question is:

If the plaintiffs indeed feel displaying the cross "marginalizes them as American citizens' -- then how is that a 'particular and concrete injury" compared to just "the abstract stigmatization of Atheists generally?”

The judge has also asked the plaintiffs to substantiate their claim the museum and Sept. 11 memorial are getting taxpayer dollars when in fact it does not.

"Taking personal offense is not an injury that warrants invoking the power of the courts to shut down everything you disagree with," Baxter also said.

"The Constitution is not a personal tool for censoring everyone’s beliefs but your own."

That is the absolute truth of the Constitution, it should not be used as weapon against others just because you don't like what it allows or doesn't allow.

Example: Because of the 1st Amendment's Freedom of Speech, our children are exposed to more pornography than ever before.

As a Conservative, I would like to see that changed. 
On the other hand, Liberals would like our Freedom of Religion under the 1st Amendment and our Right to Bear Arms under the 2nd done away with.

The balance becomes one of compromise.

For example, though Islam is a recognized religion and those wanting to practice the Muslim faith are free to do so -- yet like Cannon Law for Catholics, Sharia Law for Muslims cannot be practiced in this country because the system of law is against the Constitution.

As for Atheists, they do believe in something -- just not a Christian God. They believe that there is no Supreme Being, a Creator, a God.

Make no mistake, it is their belief system. Their "faith" holds that nothing is there and they are as ardent followers of their faith as any Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, and so on.

Atheists in America fight Christian symbols no differently than the Catholic Church fought against symbols of the devil during the Inquisition.

Look at Atheism for what it is, a religion that worships nothingness all in a hurry to stop any Christian from practicing their faith.

And yes, when something special, spiritual, comforting, like when the 9/11 Cross took place -- they attack it with all of the fervor of those worried and scared that all of their efforts to rid the land of Christianity is failing.

And yes, they will always fail.

I believe that no matter how many Nancy Pelosis, Harry Reids, Barack Obamas, and other Liberal politicians that the Atheist can gather as allies; no matter how many Liberals ridicule, attack, and defame Christians; no matter if the Democrats pass law after law to rid the United States of the Freedom of Religion, or outlawed Christians from practicing our faith; no matter if they get their way and outlaw Christianity all together -- just as what the former Communist Soviet Union found when they outlawed Christianity, all of the Liberals in the world cannot stop a Christian from practicing their faith.

Whether it is in an attic, or a basement, in secret hid away from a Fascist government, Christians will worship -- and yes, that fact makes Atheist more angry than anything thing else in the entire world. 

Though many cannot understand why people who supposedly believe in nothing get so upset over Christians believing in Christ, I believe that it angers Atheist because it goes against their faith -- a faith that says there is nothing to believe in.

Their faith, that of Atheists, says since they believe in nothing, they demand we do to -- and in some cases are backed by the state, the government.

Yes, that's how I see it.

Tom Correa

Monday, June 23, 2014

Mexican Incursions Across the Border

Back on March 9th of 1916, General Francisco "Pancho" Villa ordered 500 to 600 troops of the Mexican Revolutionary Army of to cross the border and attack Columbus, New Mexico.

At 1:00 am, between 500 and 600 Mexican revolutionaries, led by Pancho Villa, crossed the border into the United States.

Immediately Villa divided his troops and attacked Columbus from the southwest at approximately 4:20 am.

In the middle of the night, life in Columbus changed dramatically. This attack caught the entire town, as well as the U.S. Army by surprise.

There are all sorts of speculations as to why Pancho Villa conducted the raid. Most believe, from a military standpoint, that Villa carried out the raid because he needed more military equipment and supplies in order to continue his fight south of the border.

They attacked a detachment of the U.S. Army 13th Cavalry Regiment, burned the town and seized 100 horses and mules, as well as other military supplies. The gunfire and burning buildings forced many Columbus residents to flee into the desert, to seek refuge in their school house, the Hoover Hotel, and take shelter in their homes.

The raiding Mexican Army did not expect the response they received from the U.S. Army. But yes, American soldiers awakened by the commotion quickly set up a Benet-Mercier machine gun in front of the Hoover Hotel and produced a murderous rain of fire on the Mexicans. Another machine gun was set up on East Boundary Street fired north and caught anyone in the intersection of Broadway and East Boundary in a deadly crossfire.

The incursion lasted until dawn, approximately two hours. The death toll totaled 70 to 75 Villistas, and eighteen Americans dead. Mostly it was American civilians who were killed.

In response to Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, President Wilson sent 5,000 men of the U.S. Army under General John Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa. Our troops employed aircraft and trucks for the first time in US Army history, General "Black Jack" Pershing's force chased Villa.

And yes, while American troops were looking for Villa in Mexico, other attacks upon Americans in the United States from Mexican revolutionaries took place:

On May 15th 1916, an attack took place on Glenn Springs, Texas, killing a civilian and wounding three American soldiers.

On June 15th 1916, an attack from across the border killed four American soldiers and wounded 5 others at San Ygnacio, Texas.

On July 31st 1916, another attack from across the border killed one American soldier and a U.S. customs inspector at Fort Hancock Texas. The dead American soldier was from the 8th US Cavalry and the Customs Inspector was Robert Wood.

President Wilson was so afraid of a war with Mexico that he had imposed too many restrictions on General Pershing, this made it impossible for the General to fulfill his mission.

Take for example, the last engagement of the Mexican Expedition which was fought on June 21st when American forces were defeated by Carrancista soldiers at the Battle of Carrizal.

Captain Charles T. Boyd and ten of his men were killed with 10 wounded while 23 soldiers and 1 civilian interpreter were taken prisoner  -- they were later released to the United States.

Although the Mexican commander, General Félix Uresti Gómez was killed in the action, when General Pershing learned of the battle he was furious and asked for permission to attack the Carrancista garrison of Chihuahua.

President Wilson refused because he was worried that it would lead to war. Of course, it somehow never dawned on Wilson that we were already at war. And though some of Villa's senior commanders, Colonel Candelario Cervantes, General Francisco Beltrán, Beltrán's son and Villa's second-in-command Julio Cárdenas, along with a couple of hundred Mexican revolutionaries and bandits were killed during the expedition, because of the political restraints placed on it, all in all the search for Villa was not successful.

The expedition only lasted until February 1917.

Tom Correa

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Horses - Tips for Better Trail Riding

The other day, a few friends and I were sitting around chewing the fat about horses.

I soon found myself laughing at some of the trail rides that I took with my old horse Murphy before I lost him a couple of years ago.

He was indeed a sort of contradiction in many ways. Some things that I was sure would spook him didn't while others which I thought were harmless and nothing to get excited about did.

All in all he was easy to rope from during a branding and what he did well he did very well, and that was moving cattle and trail riding.

He seemed to want to go into the brush and flush a steer out of hiding, bring back calf and mother, go after the split and bring them back to the fold.

He did that very very well, and yes he seemed to find a second wind at that time of the day when tired was passed up by frustration when finding strays.

On a trail ride, he was a fast walker. Yes, even after 16 years together, I did have to slow him down now and again.

Remembering this all started me thinking about the things that I did to improve my trail rides.

So here are a few tips that I'd like to pass along.

Yes, as most of us already know, horses feel safest in a herd and being herd bound is no fun for a rider who wants to set out alone away from everything and everyone.

Lord knows we all need time alone. And for me, there's no place like on a horse to relax and unwind.

Riding alone can have its benefits in that you don't have to worry about the thing that you should be concerned with when riding with others.

For example, when riding with others, some horses may panic if they feel deserted and in that situation it's best to keep all of the riders in line together.

Of course, if you're concerned about your horse getting kicked by some knothead like my new horse Jack, don't tailgate!

It's smart and courteous to maintain a one horse length between horses. And yes, before you trot on down the trail -- it's a matter of courtesy to check with the other riders in your group.

I was once told that in what someone called a "mixed-levels" group ride, that the experienced riders should be in the lead -- but honestly, I don't agree.

In a group, I've found that a leader who knows where the heck everyone is going should be up front -- it only makes sense since he or she supposedly knows where to lead us.

That leader may or may not be the most experienced rider in the group, but as long as he or she knows where they are going -- they don't have to be.

If it's a ride that most of the riders had already been on, then frankly, riders can pretty much take turns riding in the lead.

For me, the rear should be covered by an experienced rider simply to fix a problem that he or she sees as potentially taking place up ahead.

It does no one not one bit of good to have the most experienced rider up front if he's followed by inexperienced riders who may be getting in trouble behind him.

And as for experienced riders making mistakes, that to can happen.

Years ago I went riding with a lady who had a competition streak a mile wide.

She was some hot shot endurance rider who believed in charging up every hill we came up on.  She finally got so far ahead that she just went off by herself. And honestly, I was happy to see her gone.

Experience in her case was a detriment to her horse. I actually felt sorry for the animal. She was relentless for no reason at all.

I was riding my horse Murphy at the time. When I finally found her, her horse was sucking wind, and she asked if I ever ran my horse?

I told her that I did when it was necessary. I also told her that Murphy was used to moving cows all day, sometimes 8 hours of more. Charging up hills for no reason is not the way I want to treat my horse.

On trail rides, besides you not doing it, don't let your horse get in the habit of charging up hills whenever feels like it. All this does is lead to bad habits!

Learned behavior that you'll probably wish you never taught your horse.

This leads us to another aspect of trail riding, as in riding in general, stay in charge. Be the boss, but be smart about it.

Before you even think of hitting the trail, you and your horse should have mastered the basics such as whoa, go, and control.

If your horse isn't used to riding alone, build up his confidence by going out for short rides to build up his confidence before taking him out on a longer ride. The same goes if he's not used to riding with a group.

And yes, your horse's confidence is important.

The old blue tarp that covered a neighbor's boat was always spooking my old horse no matter how many times we passed it.

Because of that, I've worked with my new horse Jack to desensitized him to scary objects such as a tarp in the wind -- the noise and movement can make a situation unsafe.

And as for traffic, since I do ride on the shoulder of the road now and then, I've worked with Jack to gradually introduce him to traffic in a controlled situation.

I've had to work with him to teach him to negotiate crossing roads, and yes wooden and metal bridges as well.

Just as with any sort of terrain, we should always keep aware of what's ahead and approach slippery slick or rocky trail conditions slowly.

It's important to stay calm and keep yourself centered in the saddle so that you don't throw your horse off balance.

If crossing a road in a group, patience is the key.

In a group, crossings as a group can be a little tricky, but so that no horse is left behind on the other side -- especially on busy roadway --remember to give it time and have patience.

As I said before, you are the boss, so whether its on the trail or crossing a road, if your horse tries to hurry -- be calm, stay in charge, and settle him down.

On the trail, I've had horses that I've had to refocus their attention by turning them into circles along the trail until they settle down -- this is especially true when they know we're heading home.

As for pulling straight back on the reins, you might want to try pulling him to the left or right while correcting him forward.

At water stops, wait until all horses are done drinking before leaving the watering place.

And yes, as funny as it sounds, I really believe that some horses won't drink if they are distracted by the fear of being left behind.

There are a couple of more things, no mater if you are trail riding or moving cows all day, keep your tack in good shape.

The last thing you want or need is screwed up a cinch or headstall or reins breaking while out on the trail, or worse with no one around as in the case if you were riding alone.

Your saddle, stirrups, reins, bridle all take a lot of hammering and should be treated almost as good as you do your horse.

And yes, that goes to my last tip for better trail riding, taking care of your horse.

We all must understand what out horses can do and cannot do. We must understand their level of training and their knowledge, just as we must know our own.

We also need to understand the condition that our horse is in. If he hasn't be ridden in a while, it's not fair to treat him as if he's ridden all the time.

Work your horse to the level you want him to be gradually.

And yes, while he is getting there, as owners we must make sure that their hoof care is up to speed as well as his overall conditioning.

Trail riding is fun, relaxing, and gives me a feeling of freedom unmatched by anything else.

While it might seem like a lot to remember, it's not really all that much to think about at first.

Care for your horse and tack, stay in charge, and have patience.

Frankly, that's all there is to it.

All of the things above are not the tough to keep in mind for a better tail ride, after doing them for a while they become second nature -- and yes, you will have a better ride.

At least, that's the way I see it.

Tom Correa

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Horse Cruelty -- Those Who Do It Must Be Caught!

The headline read:
2 Horses Stabbed To Death, 8 Others Slashed In Stable Attacks

It took place on December 7th, 1998, in Barling, Arkansas.

Two horses were stabbed to death and eight others wounded after being befriended in pastures and lured to the front of their stalls with food, police said.

Police had made no arrests though several people were to be interviewed.

"It's very impersonal to drive by and shoot a horse," police spokeswoman Victoria Harris said. "But it's another thing to be nice, befriend the horse and then stab it to death.

"Anyone who can look into the soft, brown eyes of a horse and then stab it has the profile of a serial killer."

The attacks took place early Saturday at three farms in rural Barling in western Arkansas.

"We are all very angry, upset, confused. I just don't understand," owner Ramona Bailey said.

The headline read:
Two horses appear to be stabbed in Sandy Spring

It took place on July 14th, 2001, in Sandy Springs, Maryland.

Two horses were stabbed the night of July 14th in Sandy Spring, resulting in the fatal injury of one and serious injury to another.

Vanessa Swartz boards horses at the two barns she owns on Norwood Road.

Because of problems with flies during daytime hours, Swartz said she usually lets the horses out at night this time of year.

On the morning of July 15 she found a 3-year-old Holstiner with a puncture to its left flank, with its small intestines protruding from the wound.

Swartz said that although she rushed the horse to an equine clinic in Virginia, the horse died on the operating table.

"He was a fabulous animal, to lose him this way is so tragic," she said.

Swartz said she had originally assumed the horse had stepped on a stick or a similar object, causing the puncture, but upon examination realized that another horse, the 30-year-old mother of the 3-year-old, had a similar wound.

Officer Herb Emerson of the Montgomery County Police Department's Animal Control Division confirmed the second horse had a puncture wound on the opposite flank that was about one inch in diameter and about eight inches deep.

Swartz said there is a $4,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest of the person responsible for the incident, $2,500 of which was donated by the United States Humane Society.

Dr. Ellen Buck, director of equine protection for the United States Humane Society, said the organization often offers reward money in cases of deliberate cruelty to animals.

The headline read:
Six horses found stabbed in Zebulon

It took place on December 3rd, 2012, in Zebulon, North Carolina.

Wake County sheriff's investigators tried to figure out who was responsible for stabbing a half-dozen horses over that weekend.

Andrea Hayward, who owns the animals, said that she believes someone jumped fences of two enclosed pastures near N.C. Highway 98 and assaulted the animals sometime Friday night or early Saturday.

She found them with deep stab wounds in their hind quarter legs Saturday morning. Some had been stabbed repeatedly.

Hayward said she believes blankets the horses had been wearing helped prevent the injuries from being worse.

The horses should recover, she said, but she is worried that one, 28-year-old Maggie, might have to be euthanized if her wounds become infected.

The headline read:
Farm owner denies cruelty after 49 dead horses found

It was reported on April 9th, 2014, from Lexington, Kentucky.

In what one investigator called the 'worst case of animal cruelty" he's seen, 49 dead horses and 15 others that appeared emaciated were found on a 70 acre Pendleton County farm.

Some of the horse skeletons on Larry Browning's farm were found still wearing halters. Some were so starved their ribs showed through their skin.

There was very little hay for the horses to eat, some of it in pools of water along with horse carcasses, county animal control officials said.

Browning told them he planned to sell all the horses, either to private owners or to slaughterhouses outside of the country, by May.

"In nine years, this is the worst case of animal cruelty I've seen," said Scott Pracht, the county's equine investigator.

Browning was cited Monday by Kentucky State Police on 49 counts of not disposing of an animal carcass within 48 hours. Browning was also charged with 15 counts of animal cruelty.

The Pendleton County Animal Shelter cannot house horses, so the 15 animals that were rescued were delivered to foster care in Kenton County. About three dozen horses were left on the farm, Pracht said.

At the farm, Browning said he has been buying and selling horses for more than 50 years and claimed that he did not do one thing wrong.

Larry Browning faces 15 counts of animal cruelty after investigators discovered dead and emaciated horses on his Pendleton County property.

Browning said people drive up to the farm and drop off their horses, leaving him to deal with them. He estimated about 100 horses have been dropped off in the last two years.

According to Animals' Angels, a Maryland-based advocacy group, there have been problems at Browning's farm before.

In a report on its website, the group said 10 horses had to be euthanized in 2011 because of their poor condition. The group also visited in 2013 and found what it described as poor conditions.

Pracht said he first started hearing complaints in late February and went to the farm in early March. Browning allowed him to take photos; the investigation lasted about a month.

Slaughterhouses are not allowed in the U.S., so traders such as Browning truck the horses to Canada or Mexico, Pracht added.

He said horse owners probably were getting bare minimum, maybe $100, for the horses they sold to Browning.

"Some people give them away due to the economy and the cost of caring for a horse," Pracht said.

In January 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture amended regulations for transporting livestock — including horses — across state lines.

Each horse must be officially identified and have a certificate indicating that a veterinarian has examined the animal and determined it is disease free.

Browning couldn't produce any paperwork showing prices or transactions, Pracht said.

"I don't think the general public understands about where they are selling their horses — people like Mr. Browning and the condition these horses end up in. He buys them and I assume tries to sell them for a profit and takes them to slaughter if he can't sell them," he said.

Beckey Reiter, director of Boone County Animal Care and Control, said these sorts of cases have occurred since slaughterhouses quit processing horse meat in 2007.

The horses are no longer profitable; the price to feed them is more than what the owner would make by slaughtering them.

"So people are keeping horses now because they are more companion animals than animals that are used for profit like cattle and hogs, chickens, things along that line," Reiter said.

Reiter said to sell a horse for almost any reason, it needs to be of a healthy weight.

But a worker at the Pendleton County Animal Shelter said most of the horses rescued from Browning's farm had a Henneke body score of 1 1/2 to 3. A horse with a body condition score of 1 is considered emaciated, according to the Kentucky Horse Council.

Healthy horses have a body condition score of 4 to 7.

Reiter said she has been in her line of work for 26 years and has seen plenty of animal cruelty cases, but has never seen so many deceased animals.

"I just don't understand it," she said. "I've seen large cruelty cases, but I don't think I've seen any where there has been more than half dead when you're talking about 100 animals."

The ordinance defines equine abuse and outlines consequences. It also cites an increase in equine neglect as the reason for its creation.

"Over the past five years, Pendleton County has addressed several cases where horses have suffered neglect or starvation by their owners," the ordinance states. "Such neglect and starvation has resulted in horses having to endure protracted pain and suffering ... that resulted in the need to humanely euthanize them."

When Pracht went back to the farm off Ky. 177 on Monday, he could see emaciated horses and at least one dead horse from the road.

Several horses were found entangled in barbed wire after trying to go through the fence line.

And really, how does Browning explain that? He can't.

The headline read:
Horses Injected With Gasoline

It took place on June 10th, 2014, in Marion County, Florida.

The report said that one horse is dead and another one is fighting for it's life.

And yes, the Marion County Sheriff's Office is investigating after gasoline was found in both animals.

"She is my baby, so I've had her her entire life," said Leah Greenleaf.

She tends to her six-year-old spotted saddle horse "Kate," after she just had surgery.

It all started when she noticed a strange lump on her horse on Monday night, so she took her to the veterinarian.

"When they did actually open up, the surgeons even smelled the gas, and that's what confirmed it for them," she said.

"The only way you get the smell of gas inside of a horse is if someone put it there."

Greenleaf's horse wasn't the only horse that was hit.

"The amount of gasoline they said they smelled was just unbelievable ," said neighbor John Hoogerhyde of his horse.

“[The person who performed the necropsy] said there’s so much gasoline, it smelled like someone had poured a five-gallon can of gasoline on her,” Hoogerhyde told WESH.

Hoogerhyde said that on Monday night, his horse started acting strange. The vet came out the next day, and by Wednesday the horse had to be put down.

"This person needs to be caught," he said. "Anyone that can hurt an innocent animal, they're nothing, it's just a cold-hearted person."

Both horses were on pastures behind each of their owner's property in Belleview when it occurred.

The owners believe the suspects might have gotten in from the back. They're just hoping deputies get to the bottom of what happened.

"Definitely, they need to be found," said Greenleaf. "I don't want them coming back and hurting one of my horses. I certainly don't want another horse hurt. Anyone who could do something like this is just a terrible person."

Greenleaf also noticed similar symptoms on one of her horses on June 4th.

Her horse had a place on its neck that appeared to be a bug bite, but then began to swell.

A trip to the veterinarian revealed that Greenleaf’s horse also had gasoline injected into its muscles. The animal is undergoing treatment.

Police are attempting to find the person or persons responsible for the poisonings. In the meantime, Hoogerhyde and Greenleaf say they have moved their remaining animals to other properties and set up surveillance.

“If you’re the person that’s doing this to our horses, just come forward. Stop it now,” Hoogerhyde said.

Anyone with information should call the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

-- end articles.


If we didn't already know it, the news articles above proves that the world has sick individuals so mentally deranged that they would have no compunction to stab, starve, or poison a horse for no reason other than some sick sense of gratification.

To knowingly allow animals to starve to death?

And if we give that man Browning the benefit of a doubt, and if he was right in that people were honestly dumping horses onto his property -- then why not do the right thing and notify animal control or the sheriff's office and get the animal to some rescue facility where they won't starve to death?

Why do nothing and let them starve to death? Where is the sense of care that farmers and ranchers all over America demonstrate on a daily basis?

To blame others for dumping horses and letting those animals starve is criminal in my book.

And to lure a horse to you just to stab and slash it? Most likely the slashes on the rear were done as the horse tried running away.  That shows determination on the part of the attacker.

The stabbings, I remembered them from almost 15 years ago, and the story of the gasoline reminded me of the stories about the stabbings.

When I first heard about the stabbings, I really hoped that the person who lured a horse just to stab it had died in some horrible manner befitting his crime -- preferably in a way that lingered.

Then I read that there were other stabbings across the country, and again I hoped that they would get theirs somehow.

To administer gasoline into a horse, inject it into a horse?

I remember reading about someone actually so evil that they would plot and plan and carry out a way to kill an animal -- all for no reason at all.


She also said, "We want the perpetrator caught, because not only are they a threat to animals, there is a significant link that people who inflict violence on animals often inflict violence on people."

Buck said. "It's in our best interest to catch these people."

I believe that anything that we can do to find these people, and at the least put them on our radar to watch their actions is important to all of us for our safety.

And yes, we all know who they are.

Criminal Psychologist tell us that those who are cruel to animals, those who inflict pain and cause death for no reason to helpless animals of all types, they are the same individuals who shoot up movie theaters or go on stabbing sprees in schools.

Like other predators, they are the worse of our society and should be found before they decide that killing a horse is not so much fun anymore and instead now they decide to up the ante to killing people.

That's just how I see it.

Tom Correa