1920 Texan
Recently I shot my mouth off in the comments about designing what would essentially be an open-source car.
What did I mean by this?
For those who aren’t aware (and most of you will be), open source is a term for designs that are released, in their entirety, for anyone to produce or modify with no or minimal restrictions depending on the type of license. This is widespread among software, and increasingly so for electronic hardware.
But… a car? Seems like it’d be impractical and almost impossible to do economically – until you realize its been done before, and certain legal loopholes have left that window cracked. I want to share my thoughts with you, both as audience and critics. Let’s first back at the history of the industry.
There’s an era in the automotive industry that isn’t talked about much, even by enthusiasts. The beginnings of the industry, from the first car, the Patent-Motorwagen by Karl Benz (which, incidentally, would fit into a modern loophole which we’ll talk about later) up to Henry Ford’s assembly line are pretty well covered. There’s a time after that but before the Great Depression that I think represents a blueprint for a brighter, more autonomous future. It’s a time I like to call the Assembled Era, spanning roughly from 1910-1925.
It was something of a tech boom. According to G.N. Georgano, 1,640 automobile companies were started in the United States and Canada alone, and the vast majority in this span of 15 years. These weren’t just garage-built one-offs either. Part of Georgano’s criteria for inclusion in his Encyclopedia of American Automobiles is that at least one car was made and they were intended for mass production. Compared to the ever-dwindling number of auto companies today, the industry had almost mind boggling choices for the consumer. So, what characterized this time period, and, more importantly, how did it happen, and why do I think that we’re poised to see another like it?*
The human capital was there; the skills required for non-powertrain components were widespread. Bodies were built of mostly flat or curved steel built around wooden frames. The sheet metal industry had cropped up thanks to ceiling tiles a few decades before. The skills for upholstery and woodworking were also relatively common, with wagonwright, carpentry, saddlery, and furniture-making being well-established throughout the country.
But what about the really difficult parts? Engines, differentials, transmissions, springs, and others? This is where the relative maturity of the industry by 1910 as opposed to, say, 1896 (the year the Duryea brothers produced the first American car) comes into play.
What really set this explosive growth off was the establishment of companies that built these components for anyone to purchase. Unhampered by regulatory bodies like CARB or the EPA, many foundries tried their hand at the heavy items, concentrated around the Great Lakes. You might recognize the name Continental (or Lycoming). This maker of aircraft engines was one of the longest lived independent automobile engine manufacturers to exist. Other names, now associated with big automakers, were originally independent component manufacturers. Even mighty Duesenberg, the crown jewel of the U.S. auto industry, sold its engines to other manufacturers.
For a period, it was possible to start a car company by simply assembling parts sourced from a dozen suppliers. One of the most famous was the Jordan Automobile Company, famous for its pioneering ad campaign (“Somewhere West of Laramie”). According to the company’s founder, Ned Jordan, “We never were automobile manufacturers. We were pioneers of a new technique in assembly production, custom style sales and advertising. We had one air compressor to power the assembly line, bought only the finest component parts from the most experienced quality parts makers, designed a chassis for those parts that possessed the most ideal weight distribution yet attained. Then we ‘dolled them up’ just as every good car is dressed today.”
Even with the higher parts prices from subcontracting, it was a winning formula. In 1916, a full quarter of new U.S. automobiles were assembled cars. Jordan, for their part, lasted until 1931.
Does any of this ring a bell? If you lived through the 80’s and 90’s and were into computers, it might. It is strongly reminiscent of the story of the IBM PC and its cloning**. Heck, it even had its own ill-advised legal battles†. Like Karl Benz’s Patent-Motorwagen, the IBM PC nailed down just what a computer was supposed to look like, and entrepreneurs started to circle. Like Olds and Ford, once Compaq proved the formula could be copied and made cheaply and effectively, the industry and all of its associated industries took off.
All good things did eventually have to come to an end. Since this is a libertarian website, you might expect government to come in at this point and screw things up. As far as I can tell this wasn’t the case. What appears to have happened, to draw this era to a close, included the following:
Technology improved quickly and the smaller players had a hard time keeping up. Mass production techniques increased the productivity of individual workers to the point that those who couldn’t afford to invest in the newest machinery simply couldn’t eke out a profit with the old methods.
Too many fly-by-nights. People naturally wanted their vehicles to be supported for at least a little while. Too many companies flared up and died leaving their owners adrift, leading many people to focus on bigger players that were a little more stable, in case something needed to be replaced or repaired
And, lastly, the recession of 1921 and of course, the Great Depression. Oh hell, I was wrong. Government did do something crappy.
Is there anything this guy couldn’t ruin?
The thirties saw the last holdouts fail. Most of these weren’t assembled cars at any rate – many of the component suppliers had been snapped up and made in-house, although Continental pulled a flipmode, took over DeVaux and started building cars under its own name until 1934. By the end of World War II, only eleven automobile companies were left by my count††.
So, both government and the capital investment required to build the newer better cars of the thirties and forties killed of the Assembled Era finally by 1928 or so. After the war, a new technology and a new fad would come about that would lead to another, much smaller surge of independent builders.
Next time I’ll tell you all about spaghetti & fiberglass.
* For a limited time only…if the Feds get involved.
** Compaq opened the floodgates with its Deskpro.
† George Selden claimed his patent covered all automobiles. Ford refused to pay, and the Selden patent died.
†† I counted Ford, GM, Chrysler, Nash, Hudson, Kaiser, Studebaker, Willys, Packard, International, and Crosley. Although I’m not sure Kaiser counts, they technically started after the war.
Recently I shot my mouth off in the comments about designing what would essentially be an open-source car.
Year of the Linux
desktopcar.Should’ve checked it more often, catching a lot of stylistic things that I would’ve changed in the text. Oh well, next time.
I’d like to thank Tonio and the rest of the Glibs for publishing what is basically daydreaming on my part as well as just stuff I find interesting. I’ve never written an article for anyone before and I’m honored that y’all would let me stretch my writing hand here.
I don’t think it is an honor to be published on a site full of fringe wrongthinkers. Stuff like this will never get you into the very best cocktsil parties. But good job for what it’s worth, welcome to the club.
It gets you on some government lists.
And not on one of the good lists, those for flying first class to orgies with 16 year olds
I wanna be high in the Cathar ranks when the king comes by. I’m sure he’ll be impressed.
Pour vous
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjsU4mqSdhU
I ended up listening to the whole thing. I’m not a huge fan of chansons but that one I liked.
“combattit les albigeois” was all I remembered without research.
It’s good stuff, keep at it. Thanks for contributing.
I’ll second that.
This is really interesting. Thanks for writing!
The pattern you described reminds me also of eCommerce. First you had PayPal etc. making it easy for people to sell online. There was an explosion of independent commerce sites (store fronts). Then the big guys perfected the process and killed off the competition. And today it’s just a few major players.
I hadn’t thought of that, it’s pretty analogous. There’s a keystone technology put in place (or maybe a keystone impediment removed), the existing order collapses, green shoots spring up everywhere, and then there’s a consolidation into a new order.
All of this, of course, absent of intervention.
See my unfinished history of American beer series.
Lots of small breweries, key technology: refrigeration. There was a consolidation to just a few major players, then the next round happened, with another round of green shoots in the form of craft beer (Carter deregulation of homebrewing removed an impediment), and now there is some consolidation going on, but still lots of new players.
The power law was broken and is now being restored. The consolidation is filling in the middle-large size breweries that was missing. Still room for lots of small guys to finish out the power law.
And this is a note to write the next chapter.
Please do!
The interesting thing (to me at least), is that you’ve recently had quite a few niche payment processors coming into being. Most of which then started expanding. Look at Toasttab, Square, Shopify, etc.
Square was unique at the time because it provided a credit card reader that could be plugged into your phone’s jack.
Since new phones don’t have a jack, I don’t know what they do now.
Square has expanded into all sorts of small business niches. They do appointment scheduling, inventory, payment processing, and others. The girlfriend has been raving about it for weeks now.
They built a Bluetooth reader which links to your phone. It can also do tap-to-pay, which is nice.
Fish guy at my local farmer’s market uses one.
1896 (the year the Duryea brothers produced the first American car)
Nit: I thought it was 1893? I looked through my pictures of the Springfield Museum. They have a reproduction of the Duryea Brothers’ first car. The reproduction was made in 1993. The plaque says the first car was made in 1893. I poked around the Intertubes. Wiki confirms, and also says the first US car race was in 1896.
Also found while I was poking around. The museum still had the car when I was there in 2015, but it was marked as being part of a private collection.
Anyways, I like the write-up. Are kit cars still around? I thought they were exempt from many Fed regulations.
Are kit cars still around?
No turbo boost.
Yep, you are right. I believe the 1896 number may have been the first car they built for sale as a company. Mea culpa. I’ll do a little more research. Very cool link.
Yes, kit cars are around! Factory Five is one of the biggest, and their 818 spyder is incredibly tempting. It’s their example that got my noggin jogging about this series actually.
A future article will go over some of the legal differences about kit cars. Unfortunately, a lot of the regs are in flux. IIRC Florida and Vermont are the friendliest towards registering a kit.
I may check this out, especially as an option instead of buying a car with all the required’safety’ (read: tracking) features.
Made for a subie flat four, too, so fun engine.
Nope, I was just wrong. *shrug* Thanks DEG.
I have a friend who bought a Factory Five kit over 10 years ago. It is about 75% complete. Swears he will finish it….some day.
That 818 looks nice.
A future article will go over some of the legal differences about kit cars. Unfortunately, a lot of the regs are in flux. IIRC Florida and Vermont are the friendliest towards registering a kit.
I look forward to that future article.
My gut tells me NH won’t be that friendly.
Thanks!
I assume that the 350 small block would be the ideal 8 cylinder drop-in for most truck/SUV situations.
But what would be the best 4 and 6 cylinder aftermarket engines for a commuter car?
You’ve found one of my central problems. The LS series V8 is ubiquitous, has insanely high parts support, etc. For four cylinders, I’m actually very partial to the Chevrolet Ecotec 4cyl. The parts are reasonably cheap (many of which are common between the LS and the Ecotec), and mine at least has been very reliable and easy to work on (187k miles so far). One of the main issues with that though is that there’s a dearth of Front-engine/rear-drive transmissions, which would make compact trucks very difficult to do.
I found a potential workaround for that second part, but we’ll get to that in a future article.
That 4 cylinder GM motor was in the Polaris Slingshot, which although not open source, is a good example of an modern assembled vehicle.
I didn’t realize that’s what they used. That’s actually the “loophole” I was talking about with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. The slingshot has 3 wheels, so in the eyes of the law, it’s not a car; it’s a motorcycle. A lot less regulatory overhead on motorcycles.
Yes, just this past year they moved from that engine (and other assorted GM parts) to in-house engine and brakes, etc…
I think that ecotec was used in the Atom and a few other low volume applications.
Yes, Honda engines as well.
For a commuter car, why not something like a BMW Isetta powered by a Harbor Freight engine? If you are only going a few mile, not on a highway…
Have you checked out Robot Cantina on youtube? He put one of the Predator two cylinders into a Prius and did some tests. It hit 60mph. AFAICT it’s actually less efficient through the powerband – it’s probably tuned for a limited rpm range.
I’ve been watching that!
All that potential and you still cannot get close to Europe or Asia in car quality. Sad.
Ah yes, the grand old days of the Yugo.
Those cars would be perfect for a night at the opera wearing Paul Poiret
https://images.app.goo.gl/1fFXjVKdn2Z4byv4A
Is that a bath robe?
YES! That’s a beautiful piece of clothing.
Great article! I think the idea of the open source car is just a few less regulations away. If states really pushed low speed vehicles as an alternative to an expensive car, you’d see all kinds of vehicles pop up. Electric or not. Florida for example. All kinds of oddball stuff on the streets in cities. To me that is where you will see growth in the open-source car movement. Full scale cars are so over-regulated they may never escape.
So many ebikes and golf carts….
And even more interesting stuff. Right now all that industry is in China. Changli, for example and it’s millions of variants.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/385076323481?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=yrajvhbmr36&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=p2HrH_XlQsm&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
https://electrek.co/2021/10/25/i-actually-bought-a-cheap-electric-pickup-truck-from-alibaba-heres-what-showed-up/
Even the ChangLi’s are regulated.
To a much, much lesser level.
Also talk to Torchinsky at Autopian about his experience- It started while he was still held hostage on Jalopnik and his ownership continues.
I will say if the government really actually cared about pushing alternative transportation to save the earth (which they don’t, this is all a cash grab) the government would remove all the onerous regulations from LSV’s. State by state it’s a different story on what you can drive on the road.
Agreed – which imho is why any attempt at a full-size highway capable OS vehicle would have to be a kit car, which exist in a legal loophole.
I see these Slingshots (or similar vehicles) in Orlando all the time.
In Panama City Beach I see those hilarious electric three wheeled Hello Kitty cars putting around with sorority girls in them. What gives with those? Seems like an awesome “you lost a bet” car to drive.
The novel I’m currently reading (accurately) depicts the Cripple Commie FDR as a totalitarian piece of shit.
The more I learn about him, the more I hate him. Him and his entire circle of hangers-on.
Malice’s most recent pod is a must listen.
David Pietrusza
Awesome. I needed to put something on while cleaning my mess of an office. Thanks Big T
Man, I’m looking forward to Correia returning to the Grimnoir setting. I really enjoyed those and his writing has gotten significantly better since then.
That whole series is great.
Great post Seguin! Cars and history, whats not to love🤙🍻
Thanks Yusef!
Will you at some point get to 3d printing your own car?
Also if the 1910s kept at it, would we have flying cars by now?
Oh boy, you’re gonna like….article 4? After the history stuff I’m going to go into the technologies that will make such a thing a possibility.
‘certain legal loopholes have left that window cracked’
I have to imagine they’re not accidental, in the sense I normally think of as loopholes. Just like you don’t need a permit to do most basic work on your own house, which is entirely intentional.
But I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to… Looking forward to the next article.
Kit cars. Self assembled cars are still legal in most states. And the definition of self-assembled are often pretty flexible (as in, you can hire someone to do it).
Fun read thanks. In some ways with Tier 1 and Tier 2 auto suppliers things are back this way again.
Part of the reason Tesla has such tight integration and vertical supply chain is that it was cut out of the boy’s club of automotive suppliers.
(pardon my OT):
ROBC, if you’re still here: Consult a PI attorney?
???
If this is wrt my nephew, he has an attorney. I have no idea what PI stands for.
ah…Personal Injury. Yeah, already done.
Personal Injury, I presume.
Fantastic article.
The same thing happened in Great Britain. Coventry alone had dozens of manufacturers.
I saw this beauty at a museum in Scotland.
Here’s the story.
Such a cool time in automotive history!
Iowahawk has a thing every weekend where he identifies old cars from family photos. There was actually a Playboy recently!
Looking forward to the next installment!
They held onto theirs quite a bit longer too – Morgan, Bristol, and some newer ones like TVR. Gordon Murray just started building cars there too.
I think the best option for a relatively modern open source car would have to be a 1980-90’s high volume platform made over 15 years that could be easily adopted to new motors and accessories.
Midsized front wheel drive GM platforms like the celebrity or Pontiac grand am, olds etc. Ford has several rear wheel drive cars like the thunderbird and cougar as well as the crown Vic.
The issue to solve is the bloat in cars due to regs. Get a car made that is modern enough and in volumes high enough to have NOS and junkyard parts. Modernize or simplify the drivetrain and add new stereo and nav if you want. Lots of potential options.
I’ll looking for a 80’s Monte Carlo or Cougar to resto mod.
Ford has several rear wheel drive cars like the thunderbird and cougar as well as the crown Vic.
🙂
I liked my Crown Vics.
I held on to my ’95 Olds Cutlass Supreme, partly thinking I’d refurb it one day. KInda wish I still had it, but it would likely have rusted away before I ever got around to it.
That car had a long and very high reliability life by the 1990’s. 3.5L had good power and they looked pretty good.
The biggest issues with 80-90’s cars was the shitty plastics and crappy transmissions.
The 3.5 was a good motor. If I ever do get a chance to get another one and fix it up, I’d look at putting a 3.8 in it. I never understood why Olds didn’t make a sportier version with that 3.8 in it.
My typo you are right the 3.8 was what I was intending. The 2.5L wasn’t a bad one either. We had a Buick Regal get 300K miles or more with no issues other than replacing O2 sensors and plugs.
The Gen 3 with the supercharger was great as well.
And I was thinking 3.1. To my knowledge and dismay, Olds never put the 3.8 into a Cutlass, just the 3.1 (and I think maybe even a doggy 4 cylinder) Which wasn’t terrible, but the extra snap from the 3.8 would have really spiced them up.
Isn’t that why the Mitsubishi Lancer hung around so long? Basic car that could be modified easily.
If I was looking for a good 6, the Nissan V6 they use in everything from Altimas to Z’s in different tunes is spectacular.
The 4 cylinder in those is bulletproof. And it’s been in production for a while, and is compatible with a lot of their transmissions. It’s a good motor. And definitely the Nissan V6 is an excellent choice, although it’s pricy nowadays to both buy and build.
So, I generally like the idea (in fact, I have a ’66 Olds I’ll be restomodding, maybe I’ll post a build thread in the forum). I have one quibble, and it may not be a factor in your region. In my experience, plastics like those used for the interior and A/C and heater ducting from that area can’t stand up to the combination of age and heat. Every time I’ve worked on a car from that era (and admittedly, the last one I worked on is a Maserati, so it could just be that one sticking in my mind), the plastic, which I assume is ABS, crumbles in my hands every time I touch it. The A/C box is literally falling apart in there. It’s aggravating, because unlike most Italian cars, there’s almost no rust on mine.
Thanks Sequin. I’ve always found it fascinating how the auto industry sorted itself out. In my old book collection I’ve got a copy of the Proceedings for the SAE for 1918 (I think). The attendees had last names like Ford, Nash, Chrysler and Budd. One of the big issues was the tire/wheel interface spec for trucks. At the time truck tires were solid rubber press fit onto the steel rim. They weren’t working well. Some said the manufacturers weren’t following the spec others said the specs sucked. Things we take for granted weren’t always simple.
That sounds like an awesome book!
Regarding kit cars, I remembered some shit down in Texas where the state was pulling titles.
Article here.
Anyone know how/if it was resolved?
I’m honestly not sure. I heard about that. I do vaguely recall some legislation getting passed to stop something like that from happening, but I might be thinking of something earlier. Several years ago Texas DPS and the EPA tag-teamed several of my favorite vintage car junkyards leading to some very rare and exotic vehicles being crushed for either lack of title or bogues environmental concerns.
Nice job, proud of you for getting an article published!
Also, hi everybody! Going back to work now.
LZ!
Nice to see you again!
You too! Just think of me as that bad friend who only calls once a year.
Just think of me as that bad friend who only calls once a year.
So that’s not just me?
Welcome back!
Thanks honey bunny!
Cool stuff! Looking forward to the future installments.
Great article! This has the makings of a very interesting series. I can’t wait for the rest.
Have you checked out Robot Cantina on youtube? He put one of the Predator two cylinders into a Prius and did some tests. It hit 60mph. AFAICT it’s actually less efficient through the powerband – it’s probably tuned for a limited rpm range.
I think the snowmobile clutch/cvt was the real impediment to performance on that project. Looking at some of his data logging, it looked to me like there was a lot of slip. Ofr course that could just have been keeping it from completely bogging down.
Truth be told, I’m tempted to try sticking one of those little blowers on the Honda Civic.
You’re right, it looked like an awkward setup. I actually have something similar in one of my lathes, and the damn thing just looks hinky.
The early days at Lotus were pretty much an exercise in assembled cars.
Yes! There’s even an openish source car called the Locost which is based off of the Lotus 7 as you might guess.
https://www.locostusa.com/
I think the best option for a relatively modern open source car would have to be a 1980-90’s high volume platform made over 15 years that could be easily adopted to new motors and accessories.
Somebody was doing hot rod bodies which could be plopped on top of an S-10 frame and running gear. I don’t know if they’re still around.
I was on the phone with the insurance lady getting coverage for the Element when this dropped.
*pouts*
So, blown and tubbed Element?
Chick magnet for The Villages.
Street Beasts possibly? Not sure if they’re still around. Can’t find anything in a quick Brave search.
I’m interested. Register a Willys or Chevy as an S-10.
So, blown and tubbed Element?
Probably not. But lowering it is a possibility.
Alright an Element that has been bagged so you can slam it would be amusing.
I’ve seen worse
The Element SC trim was basically this.
OT, but I completely blanked on asking my Dad if we had any assembled Speeduinos to spare, sorry. I’ll ask him next time.
Great article and even gets in a dig at a statist POS – FDR.
10/10 for Glibs.
Ozy, did you see robc’s question at the end of the dead thread?
Thanks man! I know how to play to a crowd, 🙂
I thought throwing that ’92 Explorer body on a lowered two wheel drive frame would be entertaining. Somebody on Bring a Trailer had a full size Jeep Wagoneer they did that to. It was actually pretty bitchin’.
Sounds like a GMC Typhoon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_Typhoon
I was a fan of the Grand Prix throughout the 1988-2008 time period. The RWD older cars were great looking as well up until the mid 70’s to mid 80’s.
When we got married, Mrs. Animal still had her first car – a 1970 Grand Prix SJ with the 455 HO motor. Fast as hell as long as you were going in a straight line; thing cornered like a bathtub.
Fun car. We eventually sold it to a collector, since we hardly ever took it out.
I still see the Grand Prix GTPs every once in a while. I know the 3800 got a bad rap as unsophisticated, but they sure do seem durable.
I be doing brakes on friend’s GTP this coming Satdee.
I never care much for Ponticraps, but he likes them.
Fascinating article.
Wonder if I could open-source a 1-1/2 ton Diesel pickup? I’d prefer to use the old International Harvester 7-liter turbo Diesel Ford was using up to 2003.
Eh. Probably easier to just buy a truck.
I would prefer something like this. Good luck finding body parts however. They made so few.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgOj6GewzSU
You need to summon Ron.
You may very well, actually. Easier yes, but with each passing year it’s going to be harder and harder to afford vehicles that are simple, easy to maintain, and not loaded with spyware/remote control. One of the reasons I started thinking down this road.
Actually, you just reminded me…I’ll mention it next article. The Powell Sport Wagon. The Powell brothers of California made something like 1000 pickups based off of prewar Plymouths (Returning GIs flush with cash jumped at the chance to sell their worn out prewar vehicles, leaving thousands of older vehicles in the boneyards) using simple curved sheetmetal. Pretty close to what you’re talking about.
Ok, it’s not a 1 1/2 ton, but it’s in the right direction.
Want:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/329982392656686
I’ve seen worse
I like it!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/comments/xejwa6/wcgw_using_a_potato_as_a_suppressor/
Yeah. Don’t do that.
Never go full potato.
ROFL! The poor dude’s face!
My Uncle owned a 1923 Jordan Playboy for a number of years. It had previously belonged to Ray Kroc of McDonald’s fame.
Beautiful car, but missing some parts that were unobtainable… 3D printing could probably save that now.
Now THAT’s a coincidence. Yeah, 3D scanning have really changed the equation on what’s restorable now – I once replicated a set of spotlight posts for a 1939 Mercury that way for a customer.
Good article but neglected one car company. Checker Cabs were available to the general public. A great car, lots of room. My personal experience was limited but I did manage to ride in one on a rare occasion. Fourscores were more into walking or driving what are now antiques. Checkers were ubiquitous in the Twin Cities in the ’40s/’50s.