Re: old design was oilheads-digest V 1 #47

[Steve Makohin <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 1/7/04 12:18 PM, rennsport@xxxxxxxxx rennsport@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

>On Wednesday, Jan 7, 2004, at 11:56 US/Eastern, Steve Makohin wrote:
>>
>> My possibly incorrect understanding is that exceptionally few 
>> horse-drawn
>> coach builders became automobile manufacturers,
>
>They built coaches (or complete auto bodies) for automobiles not the 
>auto itself. Notice the distinction. I m also referring to the time 
>before Henry Ford and "mass production" Companies such as Duesenberg 
>come to mind.

Could you please site some sources whose information would help me adjust 
my (possibly flawed) understanding that "exceptionally few horse-drawn 
coach builders became automobile manufacturers"? Or to be consistent with 
your text above, that "exceptionally few horse-drawn coach builders 
became 'complete auto body' builders for automobile manufacturers". A few 
examples may exist, but they would still fall under the "exceptionally 
few" typification. If you could provide an article that listed the number 
of horse-drawn coach builders and the percentage of them that either 
became automobile builders and/or supplied 'complete auto bodies' to 
automobile builders, versus the number of automobile builders that arose 
but could not be linked to this phenomenon, I'd be much obliged.

Context: Steve's understanding is that the automobile industry, in its 
infancy, was influenced by the horse-drawn carriages that were prevalent 
in that day, and not in any significant way by horse-drawn coach builders 
who became auto manufacturers, or who supplied coaches to auto 
manufacturers. Similarly, motorcycle design in the US (cruiser style) and 
Europe ("sport" inclination) were influenced by the horsemen that 
preceded them in their respective geographies, even though there is no 
evidence to suggest that those horsemen became motorcycle manufacturers.

(Man, this is meandering all over the place).





>> To bring this back into the context of my previous posting about
>> motorcycles, it lends "credence" to the Guggenheim Museum's statements
>> that the differences in motorcycle styles favored in North America 
>> versus
>> Europe were influenced by the riding styles of the horsemen that 
>> preceded
>> them in the respective geographies, even though there is no evidence 
>> that
>> those horsemen actually became motorcycle manufacturers.
>
>I do not doubt that european motorcycles were influenced by the riding 
>styles of horses. I wonder if the same is true for U.S. motorcycles? 
>Unless the bicycle was influenced by western horse riding.

See my previous postings for an explanation of this, including bicycles, 
according to the Guggenheim Museum's statements and a documentary I saw 
on TV regarding the same.

I recommend we take this thread offline for lack of an uproar from list 
members to the contrary. My next response to you will be OFFLINE unless 
list members ask us to keep this on the list. Thanks.

- -Steve

 Oakville, Ontario, Canada
 2000 R1100S/ABS, Mandarin

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