Pinup!

Another great Pinup by David Perry at davidperrystudio.com!

On This Day In Automotive History…

May 31, 1904

“Friction-drive” is introduced

Byron J. Carter received a U.S. patent for his “friction-drive” mechanism. The friction-drive replaced the conventional transmission to provide more precise control of a car’s speed. A newspaper at the time of the device’s release explained that the friction-drive mechanism “used friction discs, instead of gears, so arranged as to be instantly changed to any desired speed. The discs also change to forward or backward movement, and can be used as a brake to stop the machine by reversing the lever.” Carter’s friction drive never really caught on, however. Conventional transmissions served their purpose adequately, and the friction discs proved to be susceptible to poor road conditions. Carter’s ingenious design did, however, attract the attention of William Durant, General Motor’s megalomaniac expansionist leader. He bought the Carter-car design thinking it might turn into something big; it never did. The technology involved in the friction-drive is, however, related to today’s disc brakes.

Book Review: Class Of 2009 by Jordan Morningstar

Let me start by saying that if a picture is worth a thousand words then Canadian, Jordan Morningstar is pretty damn chatty eh!

I was lucky to receive an advanced copy of Class Of 2009 autographed by Morningstar and I had the feeling of a kid with the newest issue of X-MEN.  Ya know when you scanned the whole book by pictures then went back and actually read the story.

Morningstar’s depiction of the Manitoba car scene is quite stunning in his first book.  The photography is excellent and has a feel of a true car enthusiast.  Most books that promote car shows or the hobby are usually over processed and rather generic and it’s all about the subject matter and not the scene.  I like the fact that some photos are not about the car at all but what is happening in the background.   It could be a sunset, people or simply other cars.  There is more to see here than shiny chrome and paint.

Morningstar’s wit along with his knowledge of vehicles of every make and model make for an entertaining read.  He pays attention to everyone’s definition of a hotrod or classic.  On one page you see a Mercury Topaz sharing attention with what appears to be a peculiar looking Ferrari F40 that is not what it seems.  Then we see classics, roadsters, bikes and trucks covering many makes and models, as well as genre.

A quote from SundayCruiseFever.com:

That’s the big difference between Class of 2009 and your typical hot rodding books.  The cars featured on the pages of Sunday Cruise Fever’s first book has cars that you can drive, because they are the cars that you drive.  They’re your rat rods, your roadsters, your muscle cars, and even (gasp!) your Honda Civics*.  They’re what you drive to work, drive to school, and drive to cruise nights and car shows in.  They’re the cars that you found in back yards and scrap metal piles, turning them into heavenly (or hellish) machines.

Class of 2009 is a self produced book in conjunction with SundayCruiseFever.com which is also the brainchild of Morningstar.  After seeing this great book you will want to see more of what Jordon Morningstar has to offer and I truly believe his second published work will be even more impressive.

So goto SundayCruiseFever.com to see how you can get your copy of Class of 2009 and tell them Miss-Lou Motor Mafia sent you!

Looks like Jesse James is at it again!

Premiering on Spike May 31st is the return of Jesse James in Jesse James is a Dead Man!  This show looks to be basically a daredevil type show featuring Jesse in all kind of different stunts.  I really don’t know what to make of Jesse James now after seeing him do Celebrity Apprentice.  Maybe this is an attempt to regain is rebel cred.  I don’t know but I guess I will check it out.  Check out the video for a quick preview.

Custom Promotional Vehicles

I was always fascinated by the custom promotional vehicles I would see as a kid growing up.  I can remember seeing the Weiner Mobile at a grocery store and getting the treasured Weiner Whistle.  Here is a small gallery of vehicles from the past to the present.  Like they say…It’s all in the presentation!

I know I’m missing some so I plan to revisit this post later on.  Feel free to submit any that you know.

It’s Official…Miss-Lou Motor Mafia is Now 1 Year Old!

On this date back in 2008 the very first post was written for Miss-Lou Motor Mafia.  The most popular post that still receives hits till this day is Farrah Fawcett’s Foxy Vette and the most popular Feature seems to be Pinup! and On This Day In Automotive History.

So join me and Chevy Girl in wishing Miss-Lou Motor Mafia a Happy Birthday!

A big Thanks to all the readers of this Blog and I look forward to another year with some changes that I hope all of you will like.

M3’s Traditional Holiday Pinup!

This is for all of our guys that are currently serving in the Armed Forces.  Got to love a woman in uniform!

For Those that Answered the Call and Gave the Ultimate Sacrifice…

Recruiting Ad from 1917

For those that answered the call and gave the ultimate sacrifice, we here at Miss-Lou Motor Mafia Thank You on this Memorial Day.

A Look Back at a True Summer Blockbuster…

I know this is not car related but….with all of the hype with summer blockbuster movies I would like to reflect back to a movie that totally became my world growing up.  I can remember like it was yesterday, me at 7 years old sitting in a dark theater waiting for the most anticipated movie of the 70s.  To me no other movie has really ever lived up to it’s hype like this one.

I love the fact that my son loves this movie as much as I do and has the  same excitement as I did at his age.

On May 25, 1977 the world was treated to an adventure like no other…

Yeah I can remember $2.50 ($1.75 Matinee) got you in and you could stay there all day long and watch the movie as many times as you wanted.  I also remember Mom buying popcorn and a coke for me and never touching it until we left.  I don’t even think I blinked through the whole movie.  That kind of excitement is unmatched these days.  Great memories of a great time in my childhood.

Here is what else was going on that day…

On Wednesday, May 25, 1977 — the day “Star Wars” opened — a gallon of gas cost about 64 cents, the minimum wage was $2.30 an hour and Elvis Presley, who turned 42 that year, had less than three months to live. Here’s a glance at other highlights of the year: It was the year three pioneer personal computers hit the market. Radio Shack had the TRS-80, Commodore offered the PET (Personal Electronics Transactor) and Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak introduced their Apple II computer, the first to come with a color monitor. The basic unit had 4K expandable RAM. (That’s kilobytes, not megabytes). The popularity of disco music continued in 1977, but a few days before the “Star Wars” premiere Stevie Wonder’s tribute to Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke,” began a three-week run as the nation’s number one song. The biggest hit of the year was Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life,” which remained atop Billboard magazine’s pop music chart for 10 weeks. May 25 also brought a continued slide on the Dow Jones industrial average. It dropped to 903.23 as investors worried about inflation and Mideast tension. (The Dow lost 165 points that year). The average price of a movie ticket in 1977 was about $2.25. Tea became more popular after coffee shot up to $5/pound. Unemployment held at 7 percent.

Pinup!

I’m a big fan of David Perry and you can check out more of his work at davidperrystudio.com