I didn't catch the auction live, but wondered why the beautifully restored 1942
Convertible Sedan went for only $9,700?
I figured it would go for at least double that! Does someone know more details?
Us prewar lovers are dying to know the low-down!

When I was just a small boy living in Hartsdale, New york, I can vividly
remember riding in my grandfather's Huge Chrysler four door sedan. More than one
time when we were in the down town area looking for a place to parallel park,
grandfather would start to commit to what looked like an empty parking space. As
we closed in on this valuable piece of real estate we were only dissapointed by
the fact it was actually occupied by a small car obscured by the larger ones
ahead of and behind it. Grandfather would immediately step on the gas, move on
in search of another porential space, and loudly mutter, "Damn Crosley."
Hence my first exposure and recollection of America's first tiny econo car. :)))

(LaDue News, Thu. Oct 25, 2012.)

Crosley Motors

By Robert Paster, Ladue News

With the recent surge in gas prices, people are looking for smaller, more
fuel-efficient cars. That's why in the automotive world, everything old is new
again. Case in point, the Crosley automobile, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio,
and built in Richmond and Marion, Ind., by Crosley Motors from 1939 to 1952.
Crosley Motors was founded by Powel Crosley Jr., who manufactured Crosley radios
and refrigerators, and also owned the Cincinnati Reds. Believe it or not, a
Crosley could be purchased at selected Macy's stores, along with other Crosley
appliances. Talk about one-stop shopping.

Crosleys were very small, fuel-efficient vehicles that came in a variety of body
styles, including sedan, convertible, pickup and station wagon. They're so
small, they look like a large child's toy. The original 80-inch wheelbase was 15
inches shorter than a VW Beetle's. Overall length was less than 10 feet, and
weight was 900 to 1,000 pounds. The good news was that it returned 50 miles per
gallon -an important figure for those dealing with gas rationing during World
War II. Tales of pranksters picking up Crosleys and depositing them on the
sidewalk were common. Their diminutive size was even more pronounced when
juxtaposed against the 4,000-pound behemoths cruising America's roadways in the
'40s and early '50s. Imagine a car about 15 percent smaller than an old Beetle
next to a '48 Buick - kind of like a Smart Car compared to a Suburban.

Before the War, power was provided by a 580cc, two-cylinder air-cooled engine
with a 3-speed manual transmission. After the War, a 724cc overhead cam
four-cylinder water-cooled engine good for about 26 horsepower was used. In
1949, Crosley introduced the first post-war American sports car, the HotShot, a
little two-seat convertible. The company sold less than 25,000 vehicles in its
short life. (sic)

St. Louisans have the rare opportunity to see a variety of Crosleys on display
at the Kemp Auto Museum through Nov. 3. Cars on exhibit include a '39
convertible, a '47 sedan, a '51 HotShot sports car, a '51 pickup, a '51 super
sport convertible and a '52 station wagon. If you're a fan of antique and/or
unusual automobiles, this exhibit should provide a unique opportunity to view a
variety of special American vehicles that well represent the era from which they
sprang.

(See photos from the exhibit.)

--- In Crosley@yahoogroups.com, bkrsdoz@... wrote:

"I didn't catch the auction live, but wondered why the beautifully restored 1942
Convertible Sedan went for only $9,700?
I figured it would go for at least double that! Does someone know more details?
Us prewar lovers are dying to know the low-down!"
=========
I know, that was crazy, wasn't it, considering the car's history and the factory
modifications? The other Crosleys did well, though.

Sometimes we just have to say "Go figure". Like when I had the only eBay bid on
Powel Crosley's personal intercom from his office in the Crosley Building. The
bidding war I'd braced for never happened.

=Lou=

By LINDA N. WELLER, The Telegraph

ALTON, IL - On a whim in 1952, a co-worker photographed Dorothy Pruitt sitting
in a spiffy, Crosley Hot Shot Super Sport roadster with a Zero candy bar
promoter during his stop in Alton.

As a teenager then, she never imagined 60 years later she still would be fond of
the odd little yellow car, its door emblazoned with the candy bar's silver,
white and blue logo.

She also could not have guessed she would travel to see the roadster, sit
inside, have her photo taken again and relive that fun day in 1952.

That is what happened, though.

"At this time, I love that car," said Dorothy (nee Pruitt) Langley, 76, of
Bowling Green, Mo.

She also admits to liking the Zero candy bar, a caramel, peanut and almond
nougat covered with white fudge, now a Hershey product.

Over the years, several companies manufactured the candy bar, starting in 1920
as Hollywood Brands' (Hollywood Candy Co. of Minneapolis) Double Zero bar, then
shortening it to Zero bar in 1934.

Back to 1952: Langley bantered with the promoter, Max "Zero" Bronstein, who had
stopped during his advertising circuit at the former Thrifty Drug Store on West
Third Street in Downtown Alton, where Langley worked.

"He was a wonderful little man," she said.

A little person, Bronstein was known as the amusing, "Zero, the Little Hollywood
Candyman," with various antics who handed out postcards on his candy bar
promotional trips. He also was on ABC's "Hollywood Junior Circus" program.

For some reason, Langley's mother told her to never throw away the photograph
that showed herself with Bronstein. Langley stuck the photo in a box of pictures
and kept it for six decades.

Several weeks ago, though, Langley saw a Crosley Super Sport on a St. Louis
television show previewing Kemp Auto Museum's Crosley exhibit, "Aisles to
Avenues." The sample exhibit of six Crosleys was at Macy's in Chesterfield Mall.

Just hoping it was the same car, Langley had to check it out.

"We had a wedding to go to in the evening in St. Louis, so I asked my husband
(Virgil), 'Can we do two things in one day?'" she said.

The answer was "no," so the couple opted to forgo the wedding and check out the
car, driving about 70 miles south to Chesterfield.

For nostalgia's sake, Dorothy brought along the old black-and-white photograph.

"When we got to Macy's, it was another car," she said about her deep
disappointment. "I stopped in my tracks and said, 'That's not that car.'"

Macy's staff, though, stepped forward.

"Macy's went all out for us, how the people waited on us," she said.

An employee contacted Kemp personnel, who sent a representative to the mall and
took the Langleys to their museum, less than a mile away.

"When we got to the museum, he took us in the back, and took down the chains
around the car and told me to get in," she said last week, still thrilled.

"She cried when she saw it again," said Jada Jamison, community outreach
coordinator at Kemp.

The man didn't need to tell Dorothy twice. This time she was photographed, again
with a big smile on her face, but sitting next to her husband instead of
Bronstein.

While the Zero logo was painted over during restoration, the museum affixed a
magnetic Zero logo to the side of the small car for near-authenticity.
Bronstein's 3-inch pedal risers were lying on the floor of the car.

"I would do it again if I could," Langley said about her visit.

"It was really cool," said Mike Dyer, assistant curator at the museum.

Dyer said the Zero Crosley was "a lost cultural icon of nostalgia."

MotoeXotica Classic Cars of Fenton, Mo., owns the car.

The exhibit at the museum, 16955 Chesterfield Airport Road, runs through Nov. 4.

Jamison said Crosleys were produced economically and sold cheaply, for several
hundred dollars. They were especially popular during World War II - during
rationing - and subsequent years with high school students because they were so
gasoline-efficient.

The company made small vehicles in Indiana from 1939 to 1952, eventually turning
out convertibles, station wagons, pickup trucks and panel trucks. It
manufactured fewer than 2,000 of the Hot Shots, during 1949 to 1952.

Despite her love for the car, the 1954 graduate of Alton High School said she
never owned a Crosley. The Langleys have six children, numerous grandchildren
and relatives still living in Alton.

lweller@...

By Marc Sonnery

The oldest and most important automotive collection in the Netherlands is the
Louwman Museum, inaugurated July 2, 2010, by Queen Beatrix, no less.

Evert Louwman of the family responsible for importing Dodge and Toyota to
Holland since the 1930s keeps the collection growing, continuing the
accumulation initiated by his father Piet in 1934 with a 1914 Dodge.  Evert
reinvented the museum concept starting with the building's architecture which
emphasizes the cars in different ways. Princeton N.J. architect Michael Graves
styled a woven-pattern brick building to resemble a coach house with a tall
raked slate-tile roof and a main lobby's arched timber ceiling.

But the tour starts in a low, dark, oppressive corridor for the earliest
attempts at mechanized transportation. There's an 1887 De Dion-Bouton et
Trepardoux, the world's second-oldest surviving automobile, and an 1899 Benz 3.5
hp built in England with Benz parts, which is runs in the London-to-Brighton
event.

The German-built 1912 Phänomobil van could be Frankenstein's porta-potty on
three wheels, with an air-cooled 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine atop the single
front wheel and a tiller to steer. Still, it sold thousands.

The rooms soon lighten up with cars from the early years of transport such as a
1912 Auburn Model 30-L Roadster. Then, there's a walkway high above a Dutch
Spyker biplane and Spyker cars. There's also a 1917 Woods Dual-Power hybrid,
both fuel and battery power, parked right next to a Toyota Prius.

The newer, smaller cars such as Beetle, 2CV, DAF, Mini and others flank a 1950
Crosley CD four-seater with its 26-hp four-cylinder engine spawned by American
magnate Powel Crosley Jr.

The Spyker collection is the finest, from racer to limousine. In a separate
octagonal pavilion sits a one-off 1903 60-hp four-wheel-drive race car built for
the '03 Paris-to-Madrid race with the first-ever six-cylinder engine, first
four-wheel-drive and four-wheel brakes, but it was finished too late and didn't
show up until the next year in London.

There's the Fiat 8V Demon Rouge designed by Giovanni Michelotti for Vignale, and
Giorgetto Giugiaro's 1974 Maserati Medici, plus Steve McQueen's 1971 Bud
Ekins-built beach-buggy, Elvis Presley's Cadillac Fleetwood, and Winston
Churchill's 1954 Humber Pullman.

Pebble Beach-type cars include Queen Wilhelmina's 1925 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A
Van Rijswijk Dual-Cowl Phaeton; a Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni et Falaschi; and
several Bugattis, including a 1934 Type 57 roadster Grand Raid by Gangloff.

The automotive art collection may be the world's largest, with silver car
statuettes, mascots, bronzes, paintings and literature, plus race cars such as
the Grant Piston Ring 1952 Johnny Parsons Ferrari 375 Indianapolis, a Le Mans
1957-winning Jaguar D Type; racing Alfas, including the only remaining 1967 Tipo
33 Periscopa; and Group C cars all the way to a Toyota F1. There is something to
please all visiting generations, and the tour ends with a recreated 1930s
neighborhood of brick buildings including a cafe and replica of the first
Louwman Dodge dealership. There's narration in English and two theaters with
rare footage of the earliest days of the automobile.  If you go, plan a full
day. www.louwmanmuseum.nl

Hello all.  I live in southern Illinois & have always been a fan of orphan brand
vehicles (5 studebakers, 1 Kaiser, 1 Hudson, 1 Simplex motorbike....besides a
'26 Model T).  I've also been a closet fan of the crosley.  Although I'm not
agressively looking at the moment, I do sorta have my eyes open for finding a
station wagon at a reasonable price.

I have my own machine shop at home, am a blacksmith, and even have a commercial
sewing machine for upholstery, so I can make just about anything, so
restorations are not too difficult for me (now finding the time.....that's
another story).

I've been interested in learning the crosely mantra ever since I read the story
about Mr. Crosley in that old Life Magazine from years ago (I've still got it
around here somewhere....)
thanks,
Mike Saltsgaver

NOTE: Dates subject to change; call first!
   ============

Sponsor Key:

AACA: Antique Automobile Club of America
ACD: Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Club
ATHS: American Truck Historical Society
BCA: Buick Club of America
BDC: Bentley Drivers’ Club
CCOC: Crosley Car Owners Club
CLC: Cadillac, LaSalle Club
CCCA: Classic Car Club of America
HCCCA: Horseless Carriage Club of America
HCI: Hupmobile Club International
HET: Hudson, Essex, Terraplane Club
HHFC: HH Franklin Club
KFOC: Kaiser Frazer Owners Club
LCOC: Lincoln Continental Owners Club
LOC: Lincoln Owners Club
MAFCA: Model A Ford Club of America
MARC: Model A  Restorers Club
NAHC: Nat’l Automotive History Collection
NCCA: Nash Car Club of America
NCRS: Nat’l Corvette Restorers Society
NWC: Nat’l Woodie Club
PAS: Pierce Arrow Society
PAC: Packard Automobile Classics
POCI; Pontiac Oakland Club Intn’l
RROC: Rolls Royce Owners Club
SDC: Studebakers’ Drivers’ Club
SEMA: Special Equipment Mfgrs. Assn.
VCCCA: Vintage Chevrolet Club of America
VMCCCA: Veteran Motor Car Club of America
WPC: Walter P. Chrysler Club

IL AACA: Illinois Region, Antique Auto Club of America
CCE: Chicagoland Corvair Enthusiasts
GIRCCCA: Greater Illinois Region, Classic Car Club of America
LMR-RROC: Lake Michigan Region-Rolls Royce Owners Club
LOL: Land of Lincoln Region, PKD Club
POC: Packards of Chicagoland (Region of PAC)
VSCDA: Vintage Sports Car Drivers Assn.
WIRCCCA: Wisc. Region, Classic Car Club of America
WOTL: West of the Lake Region, Cadillac LaSalle Club
                          Chicagoland Cruise Nights:

Westchester-Mon nite
Winfield-Mon nite
McHenry-Mon nite (Green St.)
Alsip-Tues nite
Bridgeview-Tues nite
Bartlett-Tues nite
Carpentersville-Tues nite
Grayslake-Tues nite
Huntley-Tues nite
Lake Zurich-Tues nite
Plainfield-Tues nite
Port Barrington-Tues nite
West Chicago-Tues nite
Cary-Wed nite
Elmhurst-Wed nite
Geneva-Wed nite
St. Charles-Wed nite
Lemont (Downtown) Wed nite
Libertyville-3rd Wed of the month
Mundelein-2nd Wed of the month
Addison-Thurs nite
Barrington-Thurs nite
Frankfort-Thurs nite
Westmont-Thurs nite
Woodridge-Thurs nite
Batavia-Fri nite
Geneva-Fri nite
Downers Grove-Fri nite
Long Grove-1st & 3rd Fri of each month
Rolling Meadows-Fri nite
Roselle-Fri nite
South Elgin-Fri nite
Wheaton-Fri nite
Villa Park-Fri-nite
East Dundee-Sat nite
Homer Glen-Sat. nite
Lombard-Sat. nite
Mt. Prospect-Sat. nite
Roselle-Sat. nite
Cary-“Driveable Dreams” Cruise Nite, 1st Sat of the Month (Starts March) 8-11 AM
Mt. Carroll-Sat. July 19th, August 21st & Sept 18th

For more info on Cruise Nites, log onto:
www.chicagoareacruise nights.com .

=CCOC=

Do Americans Finally Love Small Cars? Sales Data Says Yes
  By Antony Ingram

America has never been too fond of small cars. Big spaces and cheap gas has
always encouraged larger vehicles, but a lack of genuinely talented small cars
to choose from has also played a part.

That's all changed in recent years, with most manufacturers now offering
minicars, subcompacts and compact cars that give consumers a real choice without
sacrificing performance, comfort and safety--and it's beginning to show in sales
figures.

An increase in small car sales has contributed to overall sales up 12.8 percent
over September last year, according to The Detroit News.

Chevrolet and Chrysler both posted an increase in sales over last year, and
while Ford's overall sales fell by 0.2 percent from September 2011, the
carmaker's final tally of 24,728 small cars--including the Fiesta, Focus and
C-Max--is the higest since 2002, and 73 percent up on last year's tally.

Chrysler's car sales rose 27 percent, while according to Automotive News, the
group's two smallest offerings--the Fiat 500 and Dodge Dart--rose by 51 percent
and 72 percent respectively.

GM's mini-car, small car and compact car sales rocketed by 97 percent over the
same month a year ago, the Chevy Cruse leading the compact car sector with
25,787 sales in September.

As well as domestic makers showing increased small car sales, foreign automakers
like Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota and Korean twins Hyundai and Kia all posted
double-digit sales increases over September 2011.

Toyota sales increased by 41.5 percent. Japanese rival Nissan struggled, posting
a 1.1 percent fall, its range reflecting similar struggles to that faced by the
Leaf electric car.

Investors put increasing sales down to a market more stable than last year, with
improving housing markets and stable unemployment increasing buyer confidence.

However, the sheer talent of small cars on sale today, with better performance,
safety, comfort and technology, means the "econo-box" image may finally be
diminishing.

Green Cars Of The Past: 1951 Crosley Wagon
  By John Voelcker

Being an antique auto historian and appraiser is the greatest job I've ever had.
I get to drive all sorts of cars that I've admired from afar, but never actually
had a chance to drive before.

I've always gotten a kick out of the little, economical Crosley cars built
between 1939 and 1952.

Cincinnati industrialist Powel Crosley Jr., made his fortune in radios and
appliances. By the late 1930s, he owned both the Crosley Broadcasting Corp. and
the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.

His ambitious plan was to build a small, inexpensive, and economical car here in
the States. In May 1939, the new company showed its first car at the
Indianapolis Speedway: a 4-place convertible that weighed in at less than 1,000
pounds, and sold for $250.

Enlisting the assistance of his brother Lewis, an engineer, Crosley developed
assembly plants in both Richmond and Marion, Indiana. He offered sedans,
convertibles, and a station wagon too. Over 14 years, Crosley sold 24,871 of
these little cars.

Crosleys quickly became the gas mileage champs of their day. In the days before
EPA gas-mileage ratings -- heck, in the days before rotection of the environment
was even a concept -- the Mobilgas Economy Run was the gold standard for
comparing fuel efficiency among cars.

The Mobilgas Run was an on-the-road competition between Los Angeles and the
Grand Canyon that tested the gas mileage of cars under the typical driving
conditions encountered by average motorists -- a far cry from today's EPA tests,
which use a standard test cycle on a "rolling road" dynamometer in a laboratory.

In the 1951 Mobilgas run, Crosley posted fuel economy of 35 to 50 mpg, at least
twice the gas mileage of most other American cars.

I recently got a chance to drive a 1951 Crosley wagon for a client in Wisconsin,
who had found the car for sale at Chequered Flag International in Marina del
Rey, California.

Little is known about the car's history, but it appears to be a fairly original
car that was restored "as needed" over the years. It is very solid original
condition with a nice (but not Concours quality) paint job, a new interior and
sorted mechanicals.

The original blue paint is still there in the interior, under the hood, and
behind the upholstery panels and carpets -- although my memory has the original
cars fitted with more Spartan rubber mats.

Because this wagon is the upmarket Super model, it features a few whimsical
touches. The little car has a luxury-car-sized hood ornament, along with a
little propeller that rides proudly on the bullet-like central grille element.

Sliding behind the wheel, it amazes me how much room this little car has inside.
My only concern was that there was barely enough room between the fully extended
clutch pedal and the steering wheel for my leg. But an owner could remedy that
by moving the seat back a few inches to change the angle of attack.

Turn the key, press the button, and and the little car clatters to life. The
manual choke needs to be pulled out for the first few minutes, until the little
750cc overhead-cam engine warms up and quiets down.

The engine growled like a sports car through its pea-shooter diameter exhaust
pipe. That deluded me into thinking that the little wagon might have a sporting
side. After all, engines built by Crosley were used in sports racing specials
from many European companies, including Bandini, Moretti and Siata.

But no such luck.

The Crosley was virtually no torque -- and a transmission that felt
agricultural, at best. The first-gear ratio was very high, the throw of the
lever went from my hip to the dashboard, and the synchromeshes must have been
the laziest ones on the planet.

After a trip around the block to get acclimated,  I found the sweet spot for
engine RPMs, and was able to shift with a minimum of fishing for the gate or
gear grinding.

I have to say, however, that this is a car that requires complete concentration,
especially in urban traffic, compared to modern small cars with their automatic
transmissions, power steering and disc brakes.

Was it entertaining?  You bet!

The little Crosley wagon is one of those cars that elicits smiles from the
driver, passengers, and bystanders alike. And mastering the quirky controls
produces a great feeling of accomplishment, once less concentration is needed to
drive the car smoothly.

By 1951, a Crosley wagon was becoming a rare car. Sales began to slip in 1949,
and even after adding a Crosley Hotshot roadster and a Jeep-like vehicle called
the Farm-O-Road in 1950, new products weren't able to stop the firm's decline.

In 1952, just 1,522 Crosley vehicles were sold, and production ceased in early
July. The factory was sold to General Tire & Rubber.

A plan to sell the Crosley auto division to Nash failed to materialize when Nash
merged instead with Hudson in 1954. Crosley's clever little engine lived on
until the early 1970s as an industrial and marine powerplant.

The Crosley was a car for the postwar motorhead, but it can also be viewed as
one of the reasons that small cars did not have much appeal to the drivers of
the time.

As Americans were discovering the wonders of automatic transmissions, power
steering, and power brakes, with gas at less than 20 cents a gallon,  the
Crosley was a car that provided prewar motoring in miniature and great gas
mileage.

The package brought smiles then, and it still does today.

But it's much easier to be fuel-efficient today than it was back then.

(Rick Feibusch is an automotive journalist, historian and classic-car appraiser
living in Venice, California and he's been active in the hobby for more than 50
years, writing and editing for websites and magazines, organizing car clubs,
promoting meets and collecting vintage cars.)