The Houdina Radio Control Company was an American a radio equipment firm of the 1920s, remembered for demonstrating a radio-operated automobile in several cities.
Francis P. Houdina is credited with developing a radio-operated automobile. [lower-alpha 1] A 1926 Chandler was equipped with a transmitting antenna on the tonneau and operated from a second car that followed it with a transmitter. The radio signals operated small electric motors that directed every movement of the car. On July 27, 1925, a public demonstration of the radio-controlled driverless car American Wonder was conducted in New York City streets, traveling up Broadway and down Fifth Avenue through thick traffic. [2] The car reportedly "barely missed trucks, automobiles and a milk wagon, finally crashing into a sedan." [3]
Also in July 1925, illusionist Harry Houdini and his secretary, Oscar Teale, visited the New York City offices of Houdina Radio Control and an argument broke out. [4] [5] Houdini damaged the furniture and an electric chandelier, accusing the company of using his name unlawfully. [lower-alpha 2] Afterwards, Francis P. Houdina said that there had never been any intention on his part to capitalize on the name of Houdini. [6] [7] A summons for disorderly conduct was issued against Houdini, but the charges were dropped because George Young, the Houdina Radio Control manager, failed to appear in court. [4] [8]
A second New York City test drive, this time with an escort of motorcycle police, was conducted on August 1, 1925. [9] In October 1925, the Houdina radio-operated automobile was demonstrated in Boston. [10] In January 1927, after Houdina reportedly left Indianapolis without paying some of his workers, a story was circulated that the "radio control" was actually being done by a person hidden in the car. [11] In February 1927, two youths from Kaukauna, Wisconsin, reportedly took some of the company's equipment after not being paid; the equipment was returned to local police, and police in Chicago were investigating Arthur L. Grayson, "who had gone under other names during his business career", of the Houdina company. [12]
Reports of demonstrations of a "phantom motor car" or "phantom auto" in December 1926 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, [13] and in June 1932 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, do not mention Houdina (the person or the company), although described capabilities of the car were consistent with the Houdina vehicle. [14] [15]
Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the occupants. Until the 1950s, it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-track tape players, cassette players, record players, CD players, DVD players, Blu-ray players, navigation systems, Bluetooth telephone integration and audio streaming, and smartphone controllers like CarPlay and Android Auto. Once controlled from the dashboard with a few buttons, they can be controlled by steering wheel controls and voice commands.
Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 until 1937. From 1937 through 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. As sales of smaller firms declined after 1950 in the wake of the domestic Big Three automakers’ advantages in production, distribution, and revenue, Nash merged with Hudson Motors to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Nash automobile production continued from 1954 through 1957 under AMC.
Marmon Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer founded by Howard Carpenter Marmon and owned by Nordyke Marmon & Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, US. It produced luxury automobiles from 1902 to 1933.
The Maybach 57 and 62 were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since its revival by DaimlerChrysler AG. They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept car presented at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show. The concept car was based on the Mercedes-Benz W140 S-class sedan platform, as were the production models. The Luxury Brand Status Index 2008 placed the Maybach in first place, ahead of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. The models ceased production in February 2013 due to continued financial losses for the brand, with sales at one-fifth the level of the profitable Rolls-Royce models.
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar. The term "pillared hardtop" was used in the 1970s to refer to cars that had a B-pillar but had frameless door glass like a pillarless hardtop.
The Chrysler Imperial, introduced in 1926, was Chrysler's top-of-the-line vehicle for much of its history. Models were produced with the Chrysler name until 1954, after which it became a standalone brand; and again from 1990 to 1993. The company positioned the cars as a prestige marque to rival Cadillac, Continental, Lincoln, Duesenberg, Pierce Arrow, Cord, and Packard. According to Antique Automobile, "The adjective 'imperial' according to Webster's Dictionary means sovereign, supreme, superior or of unusual size or excellence. The word imperial thus justly befits Chrysler's highest priced model."
Crude ideas and designs of automobiles can be traced back to ancient and medieval times. In 1649, Hans Hautsch of Nuremberg built a clockwork-driven carriage. In 1672, a small-scale steam-powered vehicle was created; the first steam-powered automobile capable of human transportation was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1769. Inventors began to branch out at the start of the 19th century, creating the de Rivaz engine, one of the first internal combustion engines, and an early electric motor. Samuel Brown later tested the first industrially applied internal combustion engine in 1826. Only two of these were made.
The AMC Matador is a series of American automobiles that were manufactured and marketed by American Motors Corporation (AMC) across two generations, from 1971 through 1973 (mid-size) and 1974 until 1978 (full-size), in two-door hardtop and coupe versions, as well as in four-door sedan and station wagon body styles.
Abner Doble was an American mechanical engineer who built and sold steam-powered automobiles as Doble Steam Cars. His steam engine design was used in various automobiles from the early 1900s, including a 1969 General Motors prototype and the first successful steam-powered aeroplane.
WARF is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, known as "Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler" and carrying a sports format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WARF serves the Greater Cleveland and Akron metro areas as an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio and VSiN. The station also carries play-by-play of the Cleveland Monsters and Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball, and Spanish broadcasts of Cleveland Guardians home games.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom was Rolls-Royce's replacement for the original Silver Ghost. Introduced as the New Phantom in 1925, the Phantom had a larger engine than the Silver Ghost and used pushrod-operated overhead valves instead of the Silver Ghost's side valves.
The Nash Rambler is a North American automobile that was produced by the Nash Motors division of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation from 1950 until 1954 in sedan, wagon, and fixed-profile convertible body styles.
The Hudson Greater Eight is a luxury car produced by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, during 1931 and 1932.
In the late 1920s, American automotive company General Motors (GM) launched four companion makes to supplement its existing lineup of five-passenger car brands, or makes. The companion makes were LaSalle, introduced for the 1927 model year to supplement Cadillac; Marquette, introduced in 1929 for 1930 to supplement Buick; Pontiac, introduced for 1926 to supplement Oakland; and Viking, introduced for 1929 to supplement Oldsmobile. GM's fifth existing brand, Chevrolet, did not receive a companion make. With the exception of Viking, each of the companion makes were slotted below their "parent make" in GM's pricing hierarchy.
Harry Clayton Stutz was an American automobile manufacturer, entrepreneur, self-taught engineer, and innovator in the automobile industry. Stutz was part of the burgeoning Indianapolis automotive industry of the early 20th century, where he founded the Ideal Motor Car Company, later known as the Stutz Motor Car Company, and the short-lived H. C. S. Motor Car Company.
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people over cargo.
Experiments have been conducted on self-driving cars since 1939; promising trials took place in the 1950s and work has proceeded since then. The first self-sufficient and truly autonomous cars appeared in the 1980s, with Carnegie Mellon University's Navlab and ALV projects in 1984 and Mercedes-Benz and Bundeswehr University Munich's Eureka Prometheus Project in 1987. In 1988, William L Kelley patented the first modern collision Predicting and Avoidance devices for Moving Vehicles. then, numerous major companies and research organizations have developed working autonomous vehicles including Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Continental Automotive Systems, Autoliv Inc., Bosch, Nissan, Toyota, Audi, Volvo, Vislab from University of Parma, Oxford University and Google. In July 2013, Vislab demonstrated BRAiVE, a vehicle that moved autonomously on a mixed traffic route open to public traffic.
From 2014 until 2024, Apple undertook a research and development effort to develop an electric and self-driving car, codenamed "Project Titan". Apple never openly discussed any of its automotive research, but around 5,000 employees were reported to be working on the project as of 2018. In May 2018, Apple reportedly partnered with Volkswagen to produce an autonomous employee shuttle van based on the T6 Transporter commercial vehicle platform. In August 2018, the BBC reported that Apple had 66 road-registered driverless cars, with 111 drivers registered to operate those cars. In 2020, it was believed that Apple was still working on self-driving related hardware, software and service as a potential product, instead of actual Apple-branded cars. In December 2020, Reuters reported that Apple was planning on a possible launch date of 2024, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed it would not be launched before 2025 and might not be launched until 2028 or later.
A robotaxi, also known as robot taxi, robo-taxi, self-driving taxi or driverless taxi, is an autonomous car operated for a ridesharing company.
The Automobile Club of America (ACA) was the first automobile club formed in America in 1899. The club was dissolved in 1932 following the Great Depression and declining membership.