It was probably a realistic number for the early 1950s and would have been again in the late 1970s. They'd have to at least double it now, but even with a 35 HP VW, people still got into plenty of trouble.
In the mid 70's my uncle took a 61 hp engine from VW bus and put it in a old Beetle and he ran around town with a hot rod, it really is hard to describe how underpowered vehicles were in those days, I remember so often in those older 50's and 60's cars having to come to a stop on the side of a steep hill and letting newer cars with V6's and V8's go by as they didn't have to slow down to a crawl in low gear to get up the hill.
@@chinabluewho Even the 1984 Caprice with a 305 V8 that I had, it probably never got a spark plug change until after I got it. At first and in 2012 or so, it couldn't go past 35 up a steep hill even when the pedal was mashed to the floor. Changing the plugs and plug wires fixed that.
Let's be honest 70% of Americans couldn't control 150 HP without electronic assistance, along with drum brakes no ABS no traction control, no air bags and crumple zones, no seatbelts, I own and drive a 1953 Plymouth. It's a beautiful elegant car with a floating cloud suspension zero road feel. But it also handles like a tugboat going 75 mph. On the interstate, it's maxed out on power with poor brakes. Cars in the 50s are not a Land yachts. They are land ships. It's like driving a piece of industrial equipment at highway speeds. But damn do they look sharp.
Even before I learned to drive, my father rest his soul, would consistently stress that when sitting behind the wheel of a car you're in control of a LETHAL weapon! 😲
There are lots of good safety tips in this clip. One other habit I've picked up in recent years is to roll down a window before backing up; I've never had to react to anything I heard through said window, but if I ever do, it will justify that habit. You just can't tell what might have crawled behind you car, into the blind area, a small kid or maybe an animal, while you were watching to keep your fenders away from the cars on either side.
We tend to blame the car when something bad happens. But that's not true. If we know how to handle the car, and we're responsible enough to drive a car, however many horsepower is under the hood, we can protect those around us, especially those we love.
Diary article @1:58 I remember my mother telling us about that coal truck accident that was big news back then, mothers blocked the street in protest, it happened on Valentine's day 1949 in East Harlem, when the three girls went to buy candy during school lunch hour, one of the sisters and a friend died.
@nashtwin8 Thank you. I saw the movie and was interested in the story further, as the car with all its innovations was a remarkable concept for the time, despite all of the side-drawbacks. Just the shape of it...Thanks again.
@nashtwin8 You mean, Tucker wasn't strong enough when entering the market? Or he didn't have the power (financial, legal, know-how) to sustain his automobile? From what I read, Tucker went down because the Big Three didn't want to upgrade their cars to keep up with the Torpedo, so they shut him down. Fill me in if i'm wrong, I'm interested. Thanks.
It might have been a little of both. Most of the government planning agencies that took control of the economy during the New Deal and WWII were still in place in the early 1950s (Ike got rid of them starting in '53), so getting the steel, aluminum and even the plant itself involved a lot of lobbying, so the Big 3 had an opportunity to stop Tucker at every corner. But I doubt his Torpedo would have been competitive for long; it was expensive to build and catered to sort of a niche market. Just like the Corvair and every rear-engine VW except the Beatle, it would have been at a disadvantage, especially in the USA. VW gave up trying to push larger rear-engine cars fairly early, even in Germany where they couldn't sell enough 411s to make a profit.
@@pcno2832 You got a lot of good point, hard to disagree. No doubt the big 3 have and always had a competitive edge over say Tucker, AMC.. but still a lot of it came from lobbying the government. Think about seatbelts and other safety devices. Sure they cost consumers because the automakers just pass that cost on to them, but not every auto manufacture could brunt the cost of red tape and regulations. It's why AMC eventually merged with Chrysler and Chrysler themselves are not doing too hot these days. Not only are buying cars more expensive for the consumer but it's costly to design and manufacture let alone support the cars they make. To design and produce a new car costs billions, and most small companies couldn't dream of competing. This helped the big 3 for a long time, but I think that has ran it's course. New cars are insanely expensive and that's why most consumers can't afford to buy new cars. But the small production like Tucker had probably made it too expensive and impractical to start with. Still it would be nice to see a major disrupter come in today and shake things up. I just don't see that happening. We got Tesla, but that's far out of reach of most consumers. We need a low cost, decent quality kind. But this is modern America. I just don't see it.
@30:00 nice involuntary stunt-work by little girl- swung if front of the fender by nonhuman stuntwoman, she keeps ahold of her teddy bear- wonder how many takes that took
But 465 Horsepower makes my Mustang GT MUCH more fun!! A difference..... I'm 54 years old. I can enjoy that Rush WHEN IT'S SAFE!! That's the thing about High Performance Vehicles. They have this thing called a *THROTTLE.* You see, when conditions are not ideal, when there's even a CHANCE that a Person - or a CHILD, could pop out of anywhere..... You can actually use LESS of that Throttle!! Fast Cars can do 30mph too. Even 15mph in School Zones! I was a Professional Racecar Driver for many years. To some idiots today, they believe that they can do 150, just because they've done it on a Track! More of us used to be of a mindset that it doesn't matter WHAT you've got under the Hood.... It's the *Loose Nut behind the Wheel* that makes ANY Car Safe or Dangerous!! Some Bird Brain could potentially Kill someone, in a 40hp VW Bug!!!!
@@johnazhderian5734 agreed. Dodge Demon is the the lowest recommended horsepower car that one should get if they are looking to move to Michigan XD LOL
90(!) Horses OMG how did they keep all that power under control?
It was probably a realistic number for the early 1950s and would have been again in the late 1970s. They'd have to at least double it now, but even with a 35 HP VW, people still got into plenty of trouble.
In the mid 70's my uncle took a 61 hp engine from VW bus and put it in a old Beetle and he ran around town with a hot rod,
it really is hard to describe how underpowered vehicles were in those days, I remember so often in those older 50's and 60's cars having to come to a stop on the side of a steep hill and letting newer cars with V6's and V8's go by as they didn't have to slow down to a crawl in low gear to get up the hill.
@@chinabluewho 50s v8 cars made plenty of power
@@chinabluewho Even the 1984 Caprice with a 305 V8 that I had, it probably never got a spark plug change until after I got it. At first and in 2012 or so, it couldn't go past 35 up a steep hill even when the pedal was mashed to the floor. Changing the plugs and plug wires fixed that.
Let's be honest 70% of Americans couldn't control 150 HP without electronic assistance, along with drum brakes no ABS no traction control, no air bags and crumple zones, no seatbelts, I own and drive a 1953 Plymouth.
It's a beautiful elegant car with a floating cloud suspension zero road feel.
But it also handles like a tugboat going 75 mph. On the interstate, it's maxed out on power with poor brakes. Cars in the 50s are not a Land yachts. They are land ships.
It's like driving a piece of industrial equipment at highway speeds.
But damn do they look sharp.
I love looking at all the old cars in these old real to reel's
Amazing .... the sound those big ole cars made when they crashed into each other!!
Heavy metal on heavy metal for sure!!
And the screeching of bias-ply tires
My goodness, 90 horses! It should be against the law! 😲
Even before I learned to drive, my father rest his soul, would consistently stress that when sitting behind the wheel of a car you're in control of a LETHAL weapon! 😲
14:20 Thanks, now I can parallel park.
There are lots of good safety tips in this clip. One other habit I've picked up in recent years is to roll down a window before backing up; I've never had to react to anything I heard through said window, but if I ever do, it will justify that habit. You just can't tell what might have crawled behind you car, into the blind area, a small kid or maybe an animal, while you were watching to keep your fenders away from the cars on either side.
They should've had dashcams! Then we'd know for sure who's fault it was! 👍🏻😉
great video... and in colour! thank you very much for posting it.
We tend to blame the car when something bad happens. But that's not true. If we know how to handle the car, and we're responsible enough to drive a car, however many horsepower is under the hood, we can protect those around us, especially those we love.
I can dig it! I don't need much horsepower to hurt myself!!!!!!!
Been a motorcyclist for many years. I ride like every cage out there wants to run me down. Driving is a privilege, not a right. Drive safe!
What I wouldn't give to have some of those cars in this film!
thanks for posting!
Diary article @1:58 I remember my mother telling us about that coal truck accident that was big news back then, mothers blocked the street in protest, it happened on Valentine's day 1949 in East Harlem, when the three girls went to buy candy during school lunch hour, one of the sisters and a friend died.
@nashtwin8 Thank you. I saw the movie and was interested in the story further, as the car with all its innovations was a remarkable concept for the time, despite all of the side-drawbacks. Just the shape of it...Thanks again.
There wouldn't be so many injured and dead people if they let Tucker make safer cars.
Tucker was unfortunately trying too hard to convince people he was further along than he was.
@nashtwin8 You mean, Tucker wasn't strong enough when entering the market? Or he didn't have the power (financial, legal, know-how) to sustain his automobile? From what I read, Tucker went down because the Big Three didn't want to upgrade their cars to keep up with the Torpedo, so they shut him down. Fill me in if i'm wrong, I'm interested. Thanks.
Might be 10 years here but no your absolutely right and they used the halls of government to help accomplish that.
It might have been a little of both. Most of the government planning agencies that took control of the economy during the New Deal and WWII were still in place in the early 1950s (Ike got rid of them starting in '53), so getting the steel, aluminum and even the plant itself involved a lot of lobbying, so the Big 3 had an opportunity to stop Tucker at every corner. But I doubt his Torpedo would have been competitive for long; it was expensive to build and catered to sort of a niche market. Just like the Corvair and every rear-engine VW except the Beatle, it would have been at a disadvantage, especially in the USA. VW gave up trying to push larger rear-engine cars fairly early, even in Germany where they couldn't sell enough 411s to make a profit.
@@pcno2832 You got a lot of good point, hard to disagree. No doubt the big 3 have and always had a competitive edge over say Tucker, AMC.. but still a lot of it came from lobbying the government. Think about seatbelts and other safety devices. Sure they cost consumers because the automakers just pass that cost on to them, but not every auto manufacture could brunt the cost of red tape and regulations. It's why AMC eventually merged with Chrysler and Chrysler themselves are not doing too hot these days. Not only are buying cars more expensive for the consumer but it's costly to design and manufacture let alone support the cars they make. To design and produce a new car costs billions, and most small companies couldn't dream of competing. This helped the big 3 for a long time, but I think that has ran it's course. New cars are insanely expensive and that's why most consumers can't afford to buy new cars. But the small production like Tucker had probably made it too expensive and impractical to start with. Still it would be nice to see a major disrupter come in today and shake things up. I just don't see that happening. We got Tesla, but that's far out of reach of most consumers. We need a low cost, decent quality kind. But this is modern America. I just don't see it.
@30:00 nice involuntary stunt-work by little girl- swung if front of the fender by nonhuman stuntwoman, she keeps ahold of her teddy bear- wonder how many takes that took
Is it bad that I watch this video while driving over 300 horses
But 465 Horsepower makes my Mustang GT MUCH more fun!!
A difference..... I'm 54 years old. I can enjoy that Rush WHEN IT'S SAFE!! That's the thing about High Performance Vehicles. They have this thing called a *THROTTLE.* You see, when conditions are not ideal, when there's even a CHANCE that a Person - or a CHILD, could pop out of anywhere.....
You can actually use LESS of that Throttle!! Fast Cars can do 30mph too. Even 15mph in School Zones! I was a Professional Racecar Driver for many years. To some idiots today, they believe that they can do 150, just because they've done it on a Track!
More of us used to be of a mindset that it doesn't matter WHAT you've got under the Hood.... It's the *Loose Nut behind the Wheel* that makes ANY Car Safe or Dangerous!!
Some Bird Brain could potentially Kill someone, in a 40hp VW Bug!!!!
I had a V8 w 290 horses standard, and it was like flying a jet! I'm not complaining, of coarse, but a hundred is really all is needed.
@InfiniteMushroom You need at least 797 hp for normal Michigan driving.
@@johnazhderian5734 agreed. Dodge Demon is the the lowest recommended horsepower car that one should get if they are looking to move to Michigan XD LOL
I'm surprised they used the Bell car with the bad driver examples. You'd think they'd want to avoid that. I'm sure nowadays they would
Al observar el vídeo, imagino vivir en aquella época.
17:33. That's even before Button Copy!
Drive as if your life depended on it. It does!
Cool Im Driving 200 Horses
Now 707 HP is the new 90 HP.
Two words...
Fallout narrator