Cruisin’ – THE Classic Car Blog

My phone greeted me with this notification, of all things, this morning, and while it told me that a local gas station was doing special deals on these tasty pastries, it gave me yet another idea.

Now, I’m not talking about glazed, cake-like nibbles that, if done right, melt in your mouth the way a perfectly cooked piece of steak does.

No, I’m talking about the other kind of doughnut–you know, the ones that your parents tell you not to do, but then they go out and do in their cars in the first empty parking lot they see–“a do as I say” situation, I suppose. Rebellious and rambunctious, those of us who enjoy the art of “doing doughnuts” may all be as twisted as this blog post anyway. But hey, who knew cranking the steering wheel into a locked position and going ’round and ’round could be so much fun anyway?

And all the maneuver takes is some damp, empty pavement. Actually, it doesn’t even have to be. Gravel roads work perfectly too! So do icy surfaces. (Note: this blog post does not condone reckless or dangerous driving; I’m just here to play historian for a bit and have fun while I’m doing it.)

The Basics: What does it mean to “do doughnuts”?

For those of you who might not know–in which case, I’m not sure why you’re reading a car blog, but welcome anyway!–“doing doughnuts,” otherwise known as “spinning sedys,” “making cookies,” or even, ahem, excuse my French, “whipping sh*tties,” involves “riding around in tight circles in a car.” The move often ends up with tread marks on the pavement, circular patterns resembling doughnuts. Sometimes, the action gets a little too wild, and the tires start smoking as a result from a little too much friction.

When did the doughnut become a tradition in racing?

There’s actually a bit of contention here. Some articles say that Dale Earnhardt made it popular, having cut up the turf into his signature number three after his first and only win at Daytona.

While that may be true, Earnhardt most likely only brought the tradition to NASCAR. The true innovator for “victory donuts,” as the move has come to be known in racing circuits, is most likely Alex Zanardi, who celebrated his victory in a CART race in the late 1990s. You can read more about his exploits as a driver here, but let’s discuss that pivotal day in his career back in ’97.

Zanardi, who came from Formula One, started out in the pole position each of his first two races in his second year in CART but finished out of the top three in both. In the third race, on a street course in Long Beach, Calif., Zanardi started second but passed Jimmy Vasser with 12 laps left and held on to win.

After the victory, he took his car to Turn 1 and whipped his car around in a donut.

“It was basically a fantastic way to start the season, and I was so happy,” Zanardi said in a recent interview, adding: “People made a big thing out of it, like, ‘Wow, yeah, he’s spinning donuts!’ So they encouraged me to do it again.

“It wasn’t long before fans would call me Mr. Donut, Donut King, and so on. People would start to show up with a case of doughnuts.”

“How the Donut Became Auto Racing’s Favorite Celebration” by Dave Caldwell

Since Zanardi started the tradition, the victory donut is now ubiquitous in all forms of racing. Some might prove more difficult than others, but it’s now a staple of any race. You nab the championship flag and head over, right in front of the grandstand, and you let all the fans whoop and holler as you, the victor, twirl around and around over and over again, tearing up the asphalt, wrecking the turf, and smoking those tires.

It sure is a sight to see, that’s for sure! While a victory doughnut probably isn’t in the works of a regular drive, we invite you to keep on cruisin‘, classic fans. (I guess you could call it a circular cruise. Kind of like messing with your passengers by going through a roundabout a few too many times, just without the roundabout, right?)

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Industries constantly change to suit customer demand, and the automotive empire is no different. What was once a fuel-hogging juggernaut of a brand is now nothing more than a memory, faded and rusting like the Saxon out front of our building. That’s not to say that vehicle isn’t still beautiful, but here are five other car makes whose tires went flat a little sooner than their creators had hoped. Also, to make it a bit easier to visualize these brands, I chose the top five from our Collection, even highlighting some specific cars you can find behind our barriers.

1. Mercury: 1938-2011

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Originally created as a middle option between a Ford and Lincoln, Mercury began as a rather popular product. The name was actually chosen from over 100 possible marque monikers, and continued to be used until the brand was named defunct in 2011.

However, in those last few years of operation, Mercury made a few wrong turns in their marketing ventures. Sales continued to fall, especially in the early 2000s, and one attempt to fix the problem came in the form of an ad campaign that attempted to attract women to the Mercury line, stating that the car was suitable for them, exclusively. Starring Jill Wagner, these Ford ads did not accomplish their objective; rather, they narrowed the market and made sales fall further, which ultimately led to the end of Mercury production.

As the Mercury Vehicles web page says, “The road to Mercury vehicles is closed,” leading prospective customers in new directions to Ford or Lincoln.

2. American Motors Corporation (AMC): 1954-1988

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American Motors Corporation–not a lot of people know just how big this company actually was in its heyday. In fact, AMC kept up well as a contender against the Big Three: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.

The company was originally formed from a merger between Hudson and Nash and sold numerous models, but it faced multiple dilemmas that eventually led to absorption into Chrysler in 1987. You can see a celebration of the AMC legacy in our museum through the “Steakmaker/Pete’s Patriot” display.

3. Edsel: 1957-1960

Marketed to automotive shoppers as “the car of the future,” the Edsel had a very short life. The very name has become synonymous with the definition for failure, and for many reasons. It was expensive, experimental, and edgy, and it was the “wrong car for the wrong time.” Multiple theories exist as to why Edsel flopped, including style, poor marketing, unreliability (which could be due to manufacturers putting in the wrong parts via intentional vandalism), design problems, and company politics.

4. Studebaker: 1852-1967

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Boasting over a century-old legacy, Studebaker was once a force to be reckoned with. They gained their success primarily from building wagons for the Civil War and moved into manufacturing automobiles soon after, including an electric line. However, demand made them turn back to traditional combustion engines–they didn’t mind, as they had already been in the business. However, the good times couldn’t last forever. In an attempt to save money and bolster production, they joined with Packard, but that didn’t pan out well either. In 1963, the company had to call it quits, soon after declaring bankruptcy.

5. DeLorean: 1981-83

DMC, which only ever produced one model, is probably one of the most popular brands featured in the Classic Car Collection. Of course, that may be due to Marty McFly, but they’re still pretty sweet rides (even if the doors do occasionally stick on our particular auto). One of the most futuristic-looking vehicles ever made, DeLoreans gained fame for gull-wind doors and stainless steel exteriors. However, it also became known for poor performance and a high price tag, which became even higher when costs started exceeding sales: that is, the price to buy a DMC-12 nearly doubled in 1982. Although the company fell and John DeLorean with it, one man, named Stephen Wynne (now the CEO of the company), saw an opportunity. For years, he started working to revamp the brand that had risen so quickly, only to fall even faster.

See, the Ireland manufacturing plant still contains an immense supply of inventory, having originally been stocked to sell around 30,000 vehicles. So Wynne bought it. All of it. Along with the marketing files, specs, and anything else he might need to start a potential empire. Of course, he’s been unable to spark that engine just yet–he’s currently not allowed to sell the car in America, which is “horrible.” So for now, he waits. As do the rest of us.

If we can learn anything from Wynne, it’s that dead marques don’t always stay dead. Perhaps the DMC will make a comeback, perhaps it won’t. Although we can’t travel back in time to fix any problems with John DeLorean’s initial venture, we can certainly cruise toward the future and see what may be.

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Classic cars boast a lot of features you don’t see in contemporary models, but did you know that at one point those features even included–well, were going to include–illuminated tires?

The idea started floating around in the 50s, but nothing really came of it until Goodyear started mulling it over in the early 1960s. Dubbed as one of the “most dramatic tire developments in the history of the industry,” these tires were made of a synthetic rubber known as Neothane. Goodyear used the translucent material, dying it various colors–bright green, yellow, blue, and red, just to name a few. Then, the company put 18 small light bulbs, which were essentially dash lights, inside the tires, giving them the glowing effect seen in the photo below.

While the synthetic Neothane was durable and quite simple to make, as it combined plastic and rubber characteristics, there were several detractors that made the fad fade a bit more quickly than Goodyear may have wanted. For one, the material was too expensive for tire production. The tires also performed poorly in wet conditions and tended to melt when drivers braked too heavily–talk about safety hazards! There were also reports, such as the quote below, that the peculiar glowing tires fascinated passers-by and other drivers, even causing them to keep on driving…right through red lights.

Street tests were causing some confusion. “Other motorists have been so enthralled by the pretty colors that they have gone through red lights or just stopped to stare,” [. . .] Traffic halted in the streets. Pedestrians gaped in awe [. . .]

Mark J. Price, Akron Beacon Journal

Due to those serious issues with the Neothane–and a seemingly passionate team of engineers–Goodyear worked for a decade on trying to fix the shortcomings, but to no avail. Eventually they were forced to scrap the project.

While the technology of the time might not have been able to implement illuminated tires, perhaps a contemporary designer may bring the notion into discussion for today’s audience. After all, who wouldn’t want light-up wheels for all those late-evening cruises?

You can see the tires in action for yourself in the video below, which focuses on the recently recovered Golden Sahara. Perhaps we’ll do a blog post about this car sometime in the future, considering it went for over $300,000 at the Mecum Auction last year, and it is honestly one of the oddest, coolest looking cars we’ve ever come across.

External Links:

• “Goodyear’s Illuminated Tires Promised a Whole New Frontier in Car Fashion”
• “The Mystery Of The Illuminated Goodyears”
• “Ah yes, the short-lived 1950s fad of illuminated tires”

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Introducing a brand-new, monthly event, right here at Classic Car Collection: Cruise ‘N Coffee. It’s a stellar way to meet some fellow car enthusiasts and talk your favorite subject: all things automobile. So mark your calendars for April 14th, 2019!

Cruise ‘N Coffee will be an outdoor* evening event taking place every second Friday of the month from 7:00-9:00pm.

Need more incentive besides a cup o’ joe and classic cars? How about this: you bring your specialty, vintage automobile and you get FREE admission to our display of over 200 automobiles. What’s better than FREE admission to the best automotive display between Chicago and Denver?

Otherwise, all admission will be 50% for the evening. That’s still a pretty slick deal for those of you who don’t have a vintage auto of your own.

So, come on out. Let’s discuss the classics we love, those that shaped our modern automotive landscape.

• What: Cruise ‘N Coffee
• When: April 14th, 4:00pm-6:00pm
• Where: Classic Car Collection | 3600 East Hwy. 30, Ste. B, Kearney, NE 68847
• Why: To enjoy some classics, some coffee, and some conversation with fellow automotive enthusiasts.

Don’t forget to tell your friends! And, of course, keep on cruisin‘, classic fans.

*weather permitting

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