It sure was nice to see such a grand display of vehicles in Granby during the recent car show. There were spotless originals, sheep-skin car seats, skulls and crossbones, Betty Boop, VW rabbits and buses, motorcycles, snow machines, you name it and you could find it among participants at this years show.
Unfortunately there were also some muddy spots and some vendors who picked up early and went home; such a shame as Sunday turned out to be a nice day except for a short-lived downpour of raindrops. Mother Nature plays a big part in the success of an event of this magnitude.
We ran into familiar faces, and also noticed new exhibits, cars, and products in the flea market area. It is always nice to see the entire site from atop the hill – that is when you realize just how big this show really is.
Then there are the volunteers, who work so hard to make sure everything is just right, and try their hardest to make sure if it’s not right, to find a solution and get if fixed as soon as possible.
It’s also nice to be walking around and listen to the visitors on the site who are admiring the antique beauties and comment on how they knew someone who owned such a vehicle, or explaining to their children that this was a real car.
When you compare today’s automobile to yesterday’s you can see the difference in the workmanship as well as the thickness or weight of the metals used in the construction. The doors were heavier back then, the hoods were heavier back then, and you did not get the gas mileage you do today back then.
Yes the automobile has evolved as everything has in today’s world, and we are now looking at alternatives to gasoline-powered automobiles. Maybe our ancestors were not so very far off with their steam-powered automobiles. Yes, they were noisy, but heck, to run on water today would be great with the gas prices we face at the pump every time the gauge on the dash say E – I believe that E stands for expensive as opposed to empty.
Maybe, Sherbrooke’s very own, George Foote Foss was paving the way to the future back some 100 plus years ago with his invention of the first horseless carriage in 1897. Mind you it did not obtain very high speeds, only 12 miles per hour, but did obtain about 50 miles to the gallon, and it could successfully climb the city’s steepest hills.
Or maybe even Stanstead’s very own Henry Seth Taylor also had a crystal ball and saw what the future had waiting in the wings as he set forth and invented a steam buggy of his own. He began construction back in 1865 in a shed off of Stanstead’s Maple Street. He constructed his own cylinders, transmission arms and more. Parts that needed to be forged were done by Joseph Mosher.
In the Stanstead Journal of 1867, this is what was said of Taylor’s invention:
“This mechanical curiosity is the neatest thing of the kind yet invented the whole carriage, engine and boiler only weighing 500 lbs. The boiler made of steel, 16 inches in diameter, and 30 inches high, contains 207 5/8 flues nine inches long. The engine is two brass cylinders 3 ½ in. bore by 10 stroke, working direct to the wheels by cranks in the simplest manner.”
Then came the first gas-powered car to see the light of day in 1886, an invention of Karl Benz.
Maybe it’s time to look at our environment, and take the history lessons left behind by our ancestors and invent a sleek looking – steam buggy of today. I’m sure that in today’s world, there are enough engineers and developers that somebody could come up with a very cute, yet efficient vehicle that would not cost a fortune to run and keep the oil millionaires out of our pocketbooks.
We may never see it, but who knows, maybe our offspring will be volunteering at the Granby car show in generations to come, and see an entire new kind of vehicle, that is more efficient, and less costly to purchase and run than today’s “tacots”.
Engineering departments around the world, to the drawing pad, or make that the computer, and let’s see what you can come up with for the next generation of automobile.
