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History & Aerial Photos

To: "Vintage-Race List" <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
Subject: History & Aerial Photos
From: "Bob Schmitt" <bob.schmitt@sainthood.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 09:23:56 -0800
Hi -

Not exactly vintage racing, but 100 years ago today, Roy Chapin was chugging
a curved-dash Oldsmobile down the Erie Canal tow path near the end of the
first Detroit-NY car trip, on his way to the NY Auto Show.  Some have
written this event resulted in many Eastern sales for the Olds and staved
off the Europeans from dominating the US auto industry.  Roy's son, Roy
Chapin Jr., wound up as president of American Motors (now taken over by the
"Europeans" as part of Chrysler!) and passed away just a month or two ago.
Oldsmobile doesn't look like it will survive much longer!

Bob


> No aerial photo available, and it's not a course likely to be remembered
or
> resurrected, but if you want to see what a "REAL" road course looks like,
> take a look at the map of the "Grand Prize of America Automobile Road
Course
> at Savannah and Chatham Co. Georgia" of 1908:
>
> http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1908c4.jpg
>
> Which makes careful note of the fact that no steam railroads, passengers
or
> cars cross the race track, and that all trolley line tracks are bridged
> over.
>
> Jim Hill
> Madison WI
>
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