Dan's Papers - August 8, 2008

Everyone knows the famous line, "I see dead people," muttered by the young costar of M. Night Shyamalan's hit movie The Sixth Sense, but it seems in my life, dead people see me. Recently, I was at a car show with an excellent selection of early American automobiles. While I was admiring the details of a beautifully restored Model T Ford Roadster, two older gents joined me. As is quite common when strangers share a mutual interest, we all started conversing with one another about antique cars and, in this case, Ford's automobiles. I thought I knew about cars, but one of these guys was a real Ford man. In the world of automobiles, especially vintage cars, there are Ford guys, Chevy guys, Porsche guys and Ferrari guys.

This older Ford guy at the show knew more about early Fords than anyone I had ever met. He rattled off facts that I had never heard. Did you know that Henry Ford left his farm home at 16 and went right to Detroit because he wanted to be an engineer? He literally job-hopped for years and even worked with Thomas Edison as an assistant. On June 16, 1906 he founded the Ford Motor Company with the help of 12 backers who put up $28,000. This guy told me Ford had a helluva time getting that money together. I also never heard that Henry Ford tried to hire Dr. Ferdinand Porsche to be his head of engineering in the thirties. Whew, this guy knew his Ford history.

Halfway through our conversation, we all introduced ourselves to one another. One fellow was named Hank and the other told me he liked to be called Al by his friends. I asked them if they had ever read my column in Dan's Papers and they said they did when in the Hamptons but don't get the paper where they live. They said they were neighbors in Ft. Myers, Florida. Nice guys, real gentlemen, but by their dress, it looked like they hadn't bought a new outfit in years. They were real retro-looking, older, colorful guys, and even though they came from Florida, it dawned on me that they were awfully pale and could have used a little suntan.

I asked Al what he did for a living and he said he used to be some sort of electrician, but was very vague. He soon changed the subject back to automobiles. Hank butted in and said, "American cars are going to hell in a hand basket," an expression that really dated him. "Why do you say that, Hank?" I asked. "Well, for the last decade the big three, including Ford, have been busy designing more and better cup holders while the damn foreigners have been building new-fangled small engines and designing hybrid electric cars." He continued, "Why, in 1904, we Americans invented the automatic transmission, in 1920 we were the first to have four wheel brakes, in 1929 American automobiles were the first to use synchromesh transmissions. We also invented windshield wipers in 1916 and were the first to have air-conditioning, plus many of the luxury accessories now seen virtually in every car today. We used to be the world leader of innovation. What this country has to do now is hold their horses on the fancy stuff and get back to the basics of innovative thinking. There's a reason lots of folks say they don't build 'em like they used to."

It was at this point that Al butted into the conversation. He was more softly spoken than the very opinionated Hank. Al said, "Don't forget all the electrical advances that we Americans have given the world. Our guys invented the world's first automatic ignition advance in 1900, that was then used on the expensive Packard of the day." Looking at Hank and smiling, he remarked, "Stubborn Henry Ford took decades to put that convenience on his cars." There was a little braggadocio in Al, though, when he mentioned the in-car radio. Al continued, "What about Tesla and Marconi's radio? Their work was based upon many ideas first conceived by Edison." Al spoke as if he knew them. "Of course, it was American ingenuity that put the first radios in automobiles and developed the first automotive high-fidelity systems. Bob, do you remember that car record player under the dashboard that Chrysler sold as an option in the fifties?" I said, "Yes, but it was a failure, because every time the car would go over a big bump, the needle would skip." I did wonder why Al looked hurt by my comment.

We all talked for a quite a while, and then went our separate ways. I found these two guys very interesting, but at the same time, disturbing, because I thought I had met them before but couldn't remember where or when. That night a light bulb literally went on over my head. I knew that I had seen them somewhere. After searching the Internet, I knew that I had been speaking with Thomas Alva Edison and Henry Ford. They had been great friends and actually have summer homes next door to each other in Ft. Myers, Florida. Both homes are now museums. If only they were alive today.

Bob Gelber, an automotive journalist, appears regularly on television as an automotive expert. You can email him at bobgelber@aol.com