HAPPY 2014!

A new year is upon us and CARHUNTER wonders what the cars,trucks and buses looked like 100 years ago? Lets imagine its 1914 and this is what we see on the roads!

Gas was .12 cents a gallon and what an outrage the price was raised by Standard oil on March 31 1914 to .22 cents a gallon, damn inflation!

This bought 4 1/2 gallons of gas

Allen Funt is born, smile you're on candid camera!

Charlie Chaplain made his first movie and second one.

Jack LaLanne is born and our first fitness guru only recently passed so he did something right! 

The 1st blood transfusion was done.

Woodrow Wilson was President

Babe Ruth made his debut with the Red Sox

The World War begins, yes this is what it was called, it was the war to end all wars and only after WWII was it called WWI

The Panama Canal opens

Jackie Coogan is born and becomes a child actor in "our gang" Little Rascals later getting the Coogan Act passed to protect assets of underage actors, he was Uncle Fester in the Adams Family TV show 

Stainless Steel Items are being sold to the public for the 1st time 

Henry Ford sells 248,000 vehicles

Country singer Hank Snow is born, no relation to Cledus Snow.

Got to be  a Smokey and the Bandit fan!

Baseball Player Joe Dimaggio is born and most famous for marrying Marilyn Monroe

Bert Parks is born, the Miss America Pageant will never be the same without him!

George Westinghouse dies, yes that Westinghouse

Richard Warren Sears dies, yup that Sears

Some rocket scientist predicted the world would end in 1914, later also said it did and we did not notice. The "Kingdom" had started using 1914 AD, huh, never mind!

                                 1914 INDY 500 winner  Delage  piloted by Rene Thomas of France

The airboat travel debuts in 1914

That is Thomas Edison with a fully functioning Electric vehicle, yes they were quite common and usable back then so why 100 years later are they so proud of the new electric zero emission vehicles and why were they shelved for 100 years? Maybe a fortune in oil would have been lost? Henry Ford's wife drove a Detroit Electric car not a gas powered Ford! That car is in the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn MI.  

Does that say 1000 mile Electric car Endurance run?

100 years later they still can't go that far!

Passenger cars,race cars, limos, sports cars, trucks, buses and concept cars! 

100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MY FIRST BLOG and DODGE

Being a MOPAR guy it's kind of cool that Dodge is about to celebrate its 100th year, so for the 100th Blog we also salute the centennial of DODGE!

While 146 new makes went into production in 1914 the Dodge is still alive today 100 years later! Brothers Horace and John Dodge separated from Henry Ford as his machinists to build the Dodge Brothers car.

Dodge marks the milestone with some special edition 2014 cars.

Subtle Red Pearl paint, some 100th Anniversary  logos and RED highlighted MPH call out on speedometer.

The Dodge Brothers Club is planning a centennial celebration in the Detroit area next June!

1914 DODGE ADVERTS

SAME COLOR AS 2014

Looking forward to the next 50 years of CARHUNTER blogging! The first 100 years are the hardest and it's pretty easy after that! 

HURST OLDS-YES, HURST DODGE NO?

I think everyone knows the almost 20 years on and off of various Hurst Oldsmobiles (talk about them later) and most may know of the 1970 Chrysler 300-H like this one I shot at the Muscle Cars and Corvettes Nationals last month.

Not going to touch on the latest crop of Hurst Modified cars right now.

 Lets fly back to a letter sent to Chrysler officials March 28 1969  promoting 2 Hurst Modified cars.

#1 a 1969 Dodge Dart Swinger 383 Auto with a Hurst floor shifter of course, Sunrise Yellow with bold bumble bee stripes, functional hood scoop with cold air induction opening flap, Cragar SS rims and a few other tricks including special badging.  It was called a Swinger Bee!

#2 was a 1969 Charger R/T 440 auto and many of the same ques from the Dart, but besides that air grabber scoop there was a "Shark Mouth" intake as part of a unique front lower valance! This car was pewter grey with "sunset orange" accent panels which incorporated non functioning exhaust side pods. Both cars had racing mirrors and hood pins and the interior consoles had color  matched inserts. the Charger was called the Merada, huh!

Both ideas rejected by Chrysler!

1970 another attempt by Hurst was the 70 Chrysler 300 was concept #1 and concept #2 was a 1970  Charger, this time with a variation of the Hurst famous Gold striping.

This baby called the Hurst Golden Charger and although the 300 made it to the showrooms the Charger did not! 

Gold wheels, a 440 and unique rear spoiler, an unverified rumor spotted the Golden Charger in a Texas junk yard! 

A 300 convertible reverse scheme Hurst Chrysler?

NOPE ITS A ONE OF NONE!

There were however two reported 1970 Hurst 330-H convertibles built and one carried Miss Golden Shifter herself Linda Vaughn! Research says maybe only the one promo convertible was built and then the rumor that a 426 was installed which was never confirmed!

The Queen of Drag racing! I had told my dad I just met the queen of drag racing so he started to tell people I met my idol the drag queen! I had to explain the big difference in the two.

Still can't accept Jeeps as MOPARS!

We all remember the Hurst 1971 jeepster commando right?

Here is one I never heard of maybe the only existing photos with the BIG SHIFTER. the Hurst Armed Forces Club Jeep!

How about the International Scout SSII Shawnee Hurst prototype, maybe only 3 built!