Coffee With Jim

5 Minutes With Jim, Episode 108

For a brief moment in time, after WWII the eccentric visionary, the innovator and the quick buck artist found a place in the American auto industry. For a few short years, just as in the infancy of the industry, independent manufacturers could challenge the monolithic corporation.  
Preston Tucker was ambitious. Preston Tucker was imaginative. Preston Tucker was a man who cut corners to reach a goal. Hayward and Channing Powell started their business endeavors with the manufacturing of radios in Compton, California during the mid-1920s. In the early 1930s they abandoned radios and began manufacturing scooters and scooter sidecars. 
The story of Tucker and the Powell brothers is a story of independent thinking. 

5 Minutes With Jim, Episode 107

Bicycles. Bicycle touring. Bicycle racing. An international obsession with bicycling. An argument could easily be made that the cornerstone of the auto industry, the modern highway system in America, and even iconic Route 66 is the bicycle. The first successful modern chain-drive bicycle, known at the time as the safety bicycle, was produced under the "Rover" name with pneumatic tires in 1885 by John Kemp Starley. In the blink of an eye hundreds of thousands of ordinary people were enjoying a new kind of fun and experiencing unprecedented mobility. By 1895 more than 300 manufacturers were producing bicycles in the United States, and almost that many were in operation in Europe. There were also countless assembly and repair shops, including one in Dayton, Ohio, operated by Wilbur and Orville Wright. Albert Pope, owner of Pope manufacturing Company had five factories running day and night turning out bicycles at the rate of about one every minute to meet the ever-growing demand. At the dawning of the new century, Pope diversified by adding engines to bicycles and manufacturing motorcycles, and then automobiles.
This program is sponsored in part by the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico, a near perfect blending of the past and present, a living time capsule where the traveler is assured a restful night’s sleep after an adventuresome day on Route 66. 

5 Minutes With Jim, Episode 106

The period between 1890 and 1930 has long been of interest to me. It was an era of amazing transition fueled by visionaries, intellectual giants, and eccentrics. Many are forgotten today but we still benefit from their contributions. 
Charles F. Kettering forever changed the world when he devised the first practical key ignition and electric starter system. It debuted on the 1912 Cadillac. For better or for worse he was also the pioneer behind the creation of leaded gasoline and Freon gas, automotive safety glass and an incubator for premature babies. He also established a cancer research facility, an engineering school, introduced the electric cash register and developed an electric diesel/dynamo that would replace steam as the power for locomotives.
Harold Wills was possessed with an insatiable curiosity and a sharp mind. He had developed an abiding passion for automobiles in the mid-1890s. He apprenticed as a machinist at the Boyer Machine Company in Detroit. In 1899 he began moonlighting, for free, for another visionary genius with a natural mechanical inclination - Henry Ford.
This program is sponsored in part by the amazing Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico and through the magic of crowdfunding on the Patreon platform - www.patreon.com/jimhinckleysamerica

5 Minutes With Jim, Episode 104

On August 21, 1915, Roland Conklin of the Roland Gas Electric Motor Bus Company, his family, a chauffeur, mechanic, maid and cook family departed Huntington, New York for a two-month, 5,000-mile cross-country camping trip. Conklin, one of the wealthiest men in America, had commissioned construction of a 25-foot, 8-ton summer cottage on wheels that he dubbed the “Gypsy Van.”
On today's episode America's storyteller author Jim Hinckley shares the story of Conklin's amazing adventure, a tale about Edsel Ford and Lt. Dwight David Eisenhower's amazing adventure. 
This program is sponsored in part by the magical time capsule that is the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri and through the magic of crowdfunding on the Patreon platform - www.patreon.com/jimhinckleysamerica

5 Minutes With Jim, Episode 103

Welcome to another episode of 5 Minutes with Jim. Before Evel Knievel there was Joie Chitwood, Kitty O’Neil, Cannon Ball Baker and a legion of stunt and endurance drivers that thrilled audiences and set records. They were celebrities to a car obsessed nation and a few overcame tremendous obstacles to serve as an inspiration.
Multi-talented daredevil Kitty O’Neil was a stunt-woman on TV shows like Wonder Woman. Additionally, she performed a variety of driving stunts for shows and broke land speed records, exceeding 512 mph in her 1976 attempt. But this was only a small part of this amazing woman’s story.
On this weeks program it's a high speed adventure. 

5 Minutes With Jim, Episode 102

It's a doozy! Did you know that this phrase is an honorarium for a company that built some of the most astounding automobiles ever produced. It was a car with futuristic features and unparalleled luxury. And it was powerful and fast - tested speeds of 119 mph in 1929. Tested to 94 mph in second gear.  
In the formative years of the American auto industry, speed sold cars. Speed and performance made headlines. Speed, performance and luxury created brand loyalty with the rich and the famous. 
It's another adventure through time with America's storyteller, author Jim Hinckley. This program is made possible in part through the magic of crowdfunding. www.patreon.com/jimhinckleysamerica

5 Minutes With Jim - Episode 102

In 1911, Washington Augustus Roebling II, and his friend Stephen Blackwell, son of the former U.S. Senator Jonathon Blackwell, began making plans to promote the Mercer, a sportscar with an enviable reputation for speed and performance with a European tour.  The young men toured Italy and France with the final stop being Southampton, England, in April of 1912. Passage for their return trip was aboard a newly constructed ship, the Titanic.
Illness, natural and man-made disasters, auto accidents, and sudden death brought an abrupt end to many an endeavor during the formative years of the American auto industry. In each instance we are left with questions of what might have been.  
On this weeks episode of 5 Minutes With Jim, America's storyteller author Jim Hinckley shares a few stories of tragedy that transformed the American auto industry. 
This weeks program is sponsored in part by the Roadrunner Lodge in Tucumcari, New Mexico, a bit of 1960s swank. A time capsule wrapped in modern amenities. It is also made possible by supporters of our crowdfunding initiative on the Patreon platform. www.patreon.com/jimhinckleysamerica

5 Minutes With Jim - Episode 101

Alexander Winton pioneered the race on Sunday sell on Monday marketing strategy. Hudson built a reputation for reliability and performance through racing. In the 1950s the legendary Hudson Hornet was driven to racing records that would stand for decades. 
On this weeks fast paced episode of 5 Minutes With Jim, America's storyteller author Jim Hinckley shares stories about pioneering companies that transformed racing wins into sales. 
This program is made possible in part through the magic of crowdfunding - www.patreon.com/jimhinckleysamerica