HAPPY NEW YEAR 100 YEARS AGO AND 50 YEARS AGO

I am briefly going back 100 years to 1916, frankly it was not that exciting history or car wise!

It is the year Jackie Gleason was born and went on to portray Sheriff Buford T. Justice in my favorite car movie Smokey and the Bandit!

He was Smokey

Kermit Love was also born! Kermit Love was a famous puppeteer who later designed many famous ones from Sesame Street and the Muppets! The spoiler here (I know what you were thinking!) Love met Jim Henson in 1955 and a crazy coincidence is Henson had already created Kermit the Frog  which has nothing to do with Love, LOL!  

Even Kermit was confused by that one

Frankly there is nothing to turn the auto world on its head from 1916 

The largest temperature drop occurred in 1916 when it was recorded over 24 hours in Montana 100 degrees!

44 degrees dropped to -54 degrees THAT WAS MINUS 54 DEGREES!  

Hopefully everyone took a jacket that day?

1966 May seem a little more exciting!! 

Average home price $14,200

Average yearly salary $6,900 

GAS 32 cents per gallon

Average new car $2,650

Cars were very cool in 1966!

Chevy Caprice 427

 AMC Marlin

 Ford Fairlane

 Yes really was factory 426 HEMI Dodge Coronet 4 door

 Yenko Chevrolet Corvair

Dodge Charger 1st year for this name

 We have to  call this the 1966 Batmobile

 INDY 500 Pace Car

 Pontiac GTO

 Front drive big block Oldsmobile Tornado

 Cadillac Eldorado 

 Nova SS

 Richard Petty Plymouth GTX  NASCAR

 Be CALM rows of 1966 426 HEMI's

 Graham Hill won the INDY 500

A rather seldom seen Sox & Martin Barracuda

 Big Daddy was going in some strange direction in this Dodge Dart

 A factory unibody Ford F-100 race truck which I recently saw and spoke to the guy who raced it! 

Chevy Biscayne Police Car

 Oldsmobile Ambulance

 Mack FDNY

Short blog, I know you are all busy with holiday jocularity 

BEST WISHES FROM

CARHUNTER