Once a month,
we will list a question or challenge to test your automotive
knowledge.
If you know the
correct answer or think you know the answer,
send us
an email at: RGVOldCars@aol.com
-
See Rules
Below -
August
, September's Trivia Challenge
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car pictured below.
Correct Answer:
If you know the
correct answer or think you know the answer,
send us
an email at: RGVOldCars@aol.com
June
, July's Trivia Challenge
winner:
Trevor Wray - San Benito, TX
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car pictured below,
and what great
significance it has in automotive history.
Correct Answer:
The vehicle is a
1966 Jensen FF.
The 1966 model Jensen FF was the
first vehicle to be built with anti-lock brakes.
The car was equipped with a Dunlop
Maxaret electro-mechanical anti-lock
braking system which was
originally developed for use on aircraft.
The 1966 Jensen FF was also the
first production sports car
to be outfitted with a traction
control system and 4 wheel drive.
March
, April
, May's Trivia Challenge winner:
Jeff Stork - Santa Monica, CA
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car pictured below.
Correct Answer:
The vehicle is a
1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt.
Yes, Chrysler used the Thunderbolt
name long before the 1960's when Ford
produced their 427 powered
performance car under the same name.
November
, December
, January
,
February's Trivia Challenge winner:
Enrique Nieto - Reynosa, Tamps.; Mexico
Question:
What 1978 model
year US made
production vehicle had the fastest 0-100mph time?
Correct Answer:
In 1972, the EPA placed into
effect new regulations on auto manufacturers on exhaust
emissions and forced such things as catalytic converters and gas
mileage constraints thus forcing an end to the muscle car era
that had been growing with leaps and bounds from the late 60's.
By 1975 the car sales on American made vehicles was dropping so
badly due to the loss of horsepower and performance and little
to no gas mileage benefit, that Dodge marketing division
realized that the sales of trucks had not dropped and was
actually growing as the younger generation found that light
trucks would out perform most other cars and they found that
there was a loophole in the federal regulations that they could
produce trucks with high performance equipment still and not be
bothered by the emissions regulations. In 1976 they
released their first truck in a series they named the Adult Toy
Series. The first vehicle introduced was a custom Dodge
van known as the Street Van True Spirit. They also
produced a pickup named the Warlock that year and was met with
such enthusiasm that they continued work on a newer version for
1978 named the Lil' Red Express. The truck was given the
title "The Last Real American Hot Rod" by most of the press and
media and is still considered by many to be the hottest muscle
truck to ever come out of Detroit. The production vehicle in the
United States for the 1978
model year was the Dodge Lil' Red
Express pick up truck. The truck was powered by
a 850cfm four barrel carbureted 360 ci V8 engine with a special
727 automatic transmission. The motor netted 225
horsepower. The truck was available in only one color,
Medium Canyon Red and was equipped with mag wheels, the
trademark Lil' Red Express logos on the doors, real wood panels
on the bed of the truck, and the twin chrome vertical exhaust
stacks just to the rear of the cab. Due to a loophole in
the emissions regulations that year, the trucks were able to be
produced without a catalytic converter, thus being able to just
outperform the Chevrolet Corvette in 0-100mph time. After
Car and Driver Magazine released their statistics on the
performance of the truck, sales jumped to 2,188 for the 1978
model year. The truck was produced in 1978 and again in
1979, however the 1979 models were forced to have a catalytic
converter on their exhaust system, which robbed a good amount of
horsepower. Dodge produced 5,118 trucks for the 1979 model
year but with the drop of horsepower, so did the sales for this
year drop. Dealers had a difficult time selling them so
much so versus the 1978 model year that Dodge decided to cut
their loses and not produce it anymore.
September
, October's Trivia Challenge winner:
Gabe Rios Jr. - Edinburg, TX
Question:
What year did the
recognized Chevrolet bowtie emblem first appear on a car?
Correct Answer:
William Durant was one of
America's leading pioneers and founders of
the automobile industry. He
was the founder of General Motors who from
early on acquired stock control of
Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Cadillac. He would
later go into a partnership with
Louis Chevrolet to start the Chevrolet Motor
Company in 1911. After a
falling out between the two partners, Durant bought
out Chevrolet's portion of the
company and took over full operation and ownership.
While on a travel around the world
in 1908, he stayed in a hotel in Paris which
had a wallpaper that contained a
pattern with a bowtie type pattern in it. As he
stared at the pattern in his room,
he felt that the pattern would make a great
design for a vehicle badge.
He tore a piece of the wallpaper off and took it with
him as a reference. Years
later he presented the pattern to friends who didn't
show the excitement and enthusiasm
in the idea as he was. He still felt it would
be a good emblem for a car
name badge and in 1913 he
incorporated the bowtie
pattern into the Chevrolet name as
the ID badge on the vehicles. This emblem
has remained a major part of
the Chevrolet vehicle company and is easily
recognizable as representative of
the Chevrolet company and one of the most
successful automotive
companies in this country and the world over.
July
/ August's
Trivia Challenge winner: Petr Lastovicka -
Pecky, Czech Republic
Question:
One vehicle model
sold more than 1 million units in North America
for a single year
model. This sales record still stands today
for a single model
sales count.
What was the year,
make, and model of this car?
Correct Answer:
In 1965,
Chevrolet set an all time
sales record by selling more than one million
Impalas
in North America. The Impala was originally introduced in
1958
and quickly became the best
selling automobile in the United States
throughout the 1960's. The
Impala stood apart from other models in early
years due to subtle but distinct
styling differences including its
trademarked six taillights across
the rear.
April
/ May / June's
Trivia Challenge winner: Ron Gissiner -
Seminole, FL
Question:
The picture below is of a very
significant "first" in automobile history.
What is the
significant "first" that it depicts;
what month, day,
and year was this "first";
what city was this
in;
AND what are the
cross streets shown in this picture?
Correct Answer:
In
Cleveland, Ohio on August 5,
1914 at the intersection pictured above,
of 105th
Street and Euclid Ave, the
first traffic signal using electric lights
was put into operation. The
system was built by the American Traffic Signal Co.
and was the first of what would
become a normal and very well accepted part
of the motoring way of life.
You will notice a small booth building on the sidewalk
on the left of the photo.
This was the control center in which a traffic control
officer would sit and manually
switch the lights from red for STOP to green for
PROCEED as traffic flow needed.
There was no yellow warning light as
there are in today's automated
traffic signal systems.
March's
Trivia Challenge winner: Jeremy Johnson -
Buda, TX
Question:
In 1919, which
automobile manufacturer included a camera
and a compass as
part of its list of standard equipment
and for what
vehicle model was this offered?
Correct Answer:
In 1919, the
Templar Touring Roadster
offered a camera by Kodak
and a compass as part of its
standard equipment sold with the car.
July
/
August
/
September
/
October /
November
/
December
/ January
/ February's Trivia Challenge winner:
Barbara Ann Mills - Las Vegas,
NV
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car pictured below.
Correct Answer:
The car pictured is a
1958 Tatra model 603 4 door
sedan made in Czechoslovakia.
This has been our
longest Trivia Challenge to date. It took a few months
for us to receive
a correct answer on this one. We received several guesses
that were very
close, in fact had a few that had the vehicle correct but
were slightly off
on the year or the model and so on.
May /
June's
Trivia Challenge winner:
Gabe Rios Jr. - Edinburg, TX
Question:
The 1957 Chevrolet
Bel Air has long been considered the classic American car,
how many various
color combinations were there for the exterior paint
from the factory
for the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air and what were they?
Correct Answer:
The lacquer paint came in
seventeen colors, sixteen solid choices
and fifteen two-tone
combinations for a total of 31 variations.
There was a staggering 466
model / color varieties. The convertible
was available only in a solid
color, but one of five colors could
be selected for the top. This
represented the greatest color / model
combinations ever offered by
Chevrolet up to this point.
October
/
November
/
December
/
January
/
February
/
March
/
April's Trivia Challenge
winner:
Lance Roth - Redondo Beach, CA
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, model
of the vehicle that is pictured
below.
Correct Answer:
It is a
1939 Rolls-Royce
Phantom III Labourdette Drophead.
The car was
originally purchased by Louie
Ritter of New York, who was a successful
furrier to the rich and famous.
He had the car sent overseas to France
and contracted Labourdette to
rework the body of the car and restylize it
to be a unique one of a kind
piece. During the war, the car was still not
completed, so it was hidden away
to help keep anything from happening
to it. It was brought back
out to work on in 1945 and was not completed
until 1946. Louie Ritter did
not take possession of the car until 1947.
The car was listed for sale in
2005 for the sum of $1.5 million.
July
/
August /
September's
Trivia Challenge winner:
George Winget - La
Feria, TX
Question:
Correctly answer
the following question AND give the reason WHY
On the surface of
the moon, which weighs more;
four 1917
Rolliens cabriolets or
eleven 1957
BMW Isetta 2 door coupes?
Correct Answer:
Neither,
neither one exists, they
are not real vehicles.
May
/
June's
Trivia Challenge winner: John Mallinak - Carl
Junction, MO
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, model
of the car that is pictured
below.
Correct Answer:
It is a 1919
Brewster Town Car.
( Made in the USA )
March
/
April's
Trivia Challenge winner: Jeremy Johnson -
Corpus Christi, TX
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, model ,and NICKNAME
of the car that is pictured
below.
Correct Answer:
It is a
1939 Chevrolet
Coupe Utility, nicknamed the "Ute",
body was created
and made by Holden.
Holden is today a part of the
Chevrolet family located in Australia.
January
/
February's
Trivia Challenge winner: George Winget - La
Feria, TX
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car
that is pictured
below.
Correct Answer:
It is a
1956
P.
Valle Chantecler
( Made in France )
September
/
October
/
November
/
December's
Trivia Challenge winner:
Gary Petersen - Cresent City,
CA
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car
that the taillight in this picture
belongs to.
We still do not
yet have a winner, so we have
added a picture of
the front headlight now.
Anyone know the
car?
Still need more of
a hint? Here is a shot of the back end of the car.
Still can't get it? Here is a shot of the
front side of the car.
Correct Answer:
It is a
1955 Lincoln Boano
Indy Coupe
August's
Trivia Challenge winner: Amber Rios - Edinburg, TX
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, and model of the car in this picture.
Correct Answer:
It is a
1956 Facel Vega
FV-2 cabriolet
June & July's Trivia Challenge
winner: George Winget - La Feria, TX
Question:
Which American
automotive company found its first home in a three-story,
block-long,
manufacturing plant building which had previously been the
home of the
Corcoran Lamp Co. ?
Hint: The
plant was located at 1145 West Grand Blvd. in Detroit, Michigan
Correct Answer:
Chevrolet
May's Trivia Challenge
winner: Ron Harris - Weslaco, TX
Question:
How many Lincoln
Zephyr Town Sedans were ever produced?
Correct Answer:
47
In 1936, Lincoln Motors released a
fancy, luxury model to its Zephyr line up.
It was called the Town Sedan.
Only 47
Town Sedans were ever
produced. 1936 would be the
only year that the Lincoln Zephyr Town Sedan
would be made. The following
year Lincoln produced a very similar
luxury model Zephyr, however
they renamed it the Town Limousine.
April's
Trivia Challenge winner: Gabe Rios - Edinburg, TX
Question:
Correctly identify
the year and make of this wrecked car?
Correct Answer:
This is a
1948 Nash Series "600".
The story behind this photo is
that the Nash is in this condition
because it was struck and
sandwiched between two
streetcars on a road in Winnipeg
Canada.
This is what it should have looked
like before the accident.
March's
Trivia Challenge winner: Joe Dale - McAllen, TX
Question:
Correctly identify
the year, make, model of the car pictured below.
Correct Answer:
This is a
1950 Muntz Jet convertible
February's Trivia
Challenge winner: George Winget - La Feria, TX
Question:
In the year 1948,
which American automobile manufacturing company
produced more
station wagons than any other manufacturer that year?
Correct Answer:
Crosley Motors Incorporated
Crosley
Motors Incorporated
had its main office and engineering facility
in Cincinnati, Ohio and its assembly plants in Richmond, Indiana
(1939-1942) and Marion, Indiana (1946-1952). The Crosley
automobile was the brain child of Powel Crosley Jr., who had
made his fortune as a radio and appliance manufacturer, owner of
the radio station WLW "The Nation's Station" and the Cincinnati
Reds baseball team. The Crosley auto was built ahead of
its time. It was a small, fuel efficient, less expensive
car that was made during a time of big cars and luxury.
Most people didn't think about economy or saving fuel as this
was years before the big fuel crunch of the 1970's hit.
Crosley was the first to implement many ideas on cars, many of
which are still in use today. Crosley was the first to
produce an American car with disc brakes, and all four wheels
were stopped by disc brakes. Crosley was the first to
introduce slab side styling on cars, a styling method that is
still used on most every car produced still today. Crosley
was the first to build a post-WWII sports car. Crosley was
the first to build a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), which is one
of the most popular body styles sold today. Crosley was
the first to build an all steel station wagon based on a car
chassis, previous station wagon bodies were fashioned out of
wood. Though Crosley for the most part built low
production numbers of his vehicles each year, in
1948 the
Crosley company built and sold more station wagons
than any other manufacturer. A
total of 23,489 Crosley station wagons were built
that year. Crosley was the first to build a full-bed or
fleet side pick-up truck, previous pick-ups used a step-side
styled bed. Crosley saw the step-side style as having
wasted space that could be used inside the bed area.
Crosley was the first to build an engine that utilized an
overhead cam. Crosley was first to build an engine block
out of stacked layers of tin that were COpper BRAzed together.
The engine was known as the COBRA. (Crosley was also first
car company to use the name Cobra as well as Super Sport)
The engine was built this was to cut down on weight and
manufacturing cost. While the engine was incredibly
successful, it did prove to have a major fault when water would
get between the layers of tin and warp the block and the motor
would be shot. Later in the 1970's General Motors even
tried to revive this idea of a tin engine, but eventually
dropped the idea. Crosley was the first for many other
ideas and inventions as well, many of which were not car related
such as first to place shelves on the doors of refrigerators.
Despite the high production numbers of the 1948 Crosley station
wagon, today it is one of the more uncommonly known vehicles and
one of the most difficult cars to find. They have
certainly become rarer and more scarce.
January's Trivia
Challenge winner: Mark Weber - Beeville, TX
Question:
The Checker Motors Corporation,
known best for its production of the
Checker taxicabs was established
in Kalamazoo, Michigan by a
Russian immigrant named Morris
Markin.
What year was the
Checker Motors Corporation founded?
Correct Answer:
1922
The Checker Motors Corporation,
known best for its production of the Checker taxicabs was
founded in 1922 by a Russian immigrant named Morris
Markin. Checker Motors Corp finds its home in Kalamazoo,
Michigan. After coming to the United States, Markin
purchased the Hadley-Knight chassis manufacturing plant and the
Dort body plant which were converted to build the Checker cars.
The first Checker taxicab rolled off the assembly line in June
of 1923. Through the years, Checker produced several other
models other than taxicabs including limousines, station wagons,
the Landau, and ambulances. During World War II, Checker
made products for other companies in their plants, including
trailers for Sears Roebuck, truck cabs for Ford Motor Co. and
several jeep vehicles for the Army. In 1962, Checker
produced what became their most popular model and most
recognizable Checker, the A-12 Marathon. It was available
in a sedan, deluxe sedan, and a wagon version. The
Marathon proved to be a rugged and very popular automobile that
featured extra wide doors and lots of interior room and became
the standard for taxicabs all over the US. Several large
cities in the US had exclusive contracts with Checker to use
these cars as their municipal taxi service vehicles. The
Marathon remained about the same through the years with very few
changes to the original design or idea. It was built
strong and durable and was powered by a larger engine that would
allow it to move in and out of traffic with ease and with
regular maintenance proved to be a dependable car. In the
1970's as oil prices began to rise, people began buying smaller
more fuel efficient vehicles. The Checker cab only
averaged about 10 miles to the gallon and that just wasn't going
to cut it for many cab companies. Despite their pleading
with Checker to build the cars lighter or with a smaller engine,
Checker refused to change and lower their quality standards and
their sales continued to drop off. Checker produced its
last cab on July 12, 1982, however the Checker company is still
going strong even to this day. While you may have not have
been aware, you probably have seen Checker products in front of
you on a daily basis and didn't know that Checker had anything
to do with it. Today, Checker manufactures many car bodies
and body components for several of the larger auto manufactures,
especially for many General Motors vehicles.
December's Trivia Challenge
winner: Belinda Killinger - Mission, TX
Question:
What year did
the state of Texas first implement the
requirement
that all motor vehicles that operated on public
roads be
registered with the counties?
Correct Answer: 1907
In 1907, Texas House Bill #93
required that all motor vehicles that were used on public roads
had to be registered with their county clerk. The vehicle was
issued a number in the order that it was registered in each
county. The number was to be placed on the vehicle and be at
least six inches in height and displayed "in a conspicuous
place" on the vehicle. Neither the state nor the county issued
actual license plates during the first years. Often,
motorists either painted the numbers on the vehicle itself, or
fashioned a number plate by attaching numbers to a piece of wood
or leather and hanging that from their vehicle. Vehicle
registration went into affect on August 10,
1907. The first Texas
license number that was recorded for registry was issued to a
bus that was owned by W.B. Chenoweth of Colorado City, TX.
November's Trivia Challenge
winner: Pat Harris - Weslaco, TX
Question:
The Studebaker manufacturing company
began as a blacksmith
shop which would later produce
horse drawn wagons and
became the world's largest wagon
manufacturer at its time.
When Studebaker first produced an
automobile, it was an
electric car. Their gasoline
powered automobile came a
couple years after their first
production electric car.
From what year
AND
until what
year did the Studebaker
company produce and sell
gasoline powered automobiles?
Correct Answer:
1904 &
1966
The Studebaker Story
The H & C
Studebaker blacksmith shop opened in 1852 at the corner of
Michigan and Jefferson Streets in what is now the heart of
downtown South Bend, Indiana. Henry and Clement Studebaker's
blacksmith shop would turn into the Studebaker Manufacturing
Company in 1868, and would eventually become the largest wagon
manufacturer in the world. Studebaker would also be the only
manufacturer to successfully switch from horse-drawn to gasoline
powered vehicles. John Mohler Studebaker returned from
California in 1858 where he made wheelbarrows for gold miners,
and invested his earnings in the business. At this time, the
brothers were filling wagon orders for the U.S. Army, and would
continue to do so throughout the Civil War. By 1887, sales
would eclipse two million dollars, and by 1885, production would
top 75,000. Studebaker eased their way into the automobile
market after the turn of the century, introducing an electric
car in 1902. Gasoline-powered Studebakers came in
1904, produced by the
Garford Company in Ohio, marketed under the name Studebaker-Garford.
In 1911, Studebaker would join forces with
Everitt-Metzker-Flanders Company of Detroit to form the
Studebaker Corporation. Studebaker sold automobiles under the
EMF and Flanders names until 1913; from thereafter, all new cars
carried the Studebaker name. Studebaker was still producing
wagons, and would do so until 1920, at which time automobile
production was moved from Detroit to South Bend. During this
time, Studebaker built automobiles in the medium-price-field.
In 1927, Studebaker introduced the Erskine; a small car designed
for the European | 
