The newest addition to the Mullin Museum, the 1938 Hispano-Suiza / Saoutchick Xenia (winner of Goodwood, Amelia, Pebble Beach, Greenwich awards)

2000: Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (Restoration debut) - Most Elegant Closed Car

2001 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance - Best in Show

2001 Meadowbrook - Engineering Excellence Award

2001 Greenwich Concours - Best in Show, Most Outstanding French Car

2005 Pasadena Art Center - Student Choice Award 2008 Rodeo Concours - Best in Show

2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Best in Show

2010 Driving in Style, 1930-1965 - Featured vehicle at High Museum of Art

2011 The Allure of the Automobile – To be featured at Portland Art Museum

The creation of Andre Dubonet, successful race car driver, and WWI fighter pilot.

Early in life, Dubonet developed a passion and took great delight in speed and adventure and desired to perfect the future of road transportation and in particular, the suspension system. As his favorite car was the Hispano-Suiza, he picked the 1932 H-6C chassis, which he had seen previously at the Paris Auto Salon and began sketching designs for a prototype, drawing upon his aviation background and racing experience. Further, this 1938 car was designed to reach 125mph which rivaled any car of the time and had a cutting-edge four-wheel independent suspension. In fact, the innovative suspension technology mounted each front wheel on a single arm that extended forward from the kingpin, while a pair of oil-filled, coil spring cylinders offered resistance and swiveled as each wheel turned, improving rise and handling. This original suspension system was later licensed by General Motors and used on its Chevrolet and Pontiac brands. Dubonnet designed his steel masterpiece at 19ft long and claimed that his Hispano-Suiza hyperflex suspension system would give it the “suppleness of a cat”. He took his designs to French coachbuilder, Jacques Saoutchik who helped him with the framework of the automobile, and then partnered with engineer Antoine-Marie Chedru to develop his patented independent front-suspension system. What followed was a dramatically streamlined build with an emphasis on aerodynamic styling, affectionately named Xenia, after Dubonnet’s first wife. Far ahead of its time, the Xenia resembles the fuselage of an airplane with a slender, tapered shape and pointed tail. A new parallel opening door system was used as part of the aerodynamic design and special attention was given to the undercarriage for clean air movement. The curved glass of the windshield and doors are reminiscent of airplane-styling and the panoramic windscreen and removal top were exceptionally futuristic. It featured an 8 liter overhead-valve inline 6 engine capable of 144bhp in standard form. To protect this revolutionary automobile during World War II, the Xenia was hidden away in 1939 and did not resurface until 1946 in Paris. The Xenia was then purchased by Alain Balleret, President of the French Hispano-Suiza Club who began the vehicles restoration. for more about the Mullin Museum: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/08/mullin-museum-is-finally-open-but-only.html For 3 less artisticaly stunning photos, but one shows the incredible door hinge mechanism: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/08/look-at-beauty-and-art-of-pebble-beach.html When someone is as unusually brilliant and involved with cars as Andre, the story doesn't stop with just one creation... have you seen the Tulip Wood Hispano Suiza? http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/newest-addition-to-mullin-museum-1938.html

The San Diego Firehouse Museum

They pull the trucks out for events that rent the location for a party, and put them back in with tow trucks... but notice this old engine has WOOD rims, and enormous tires. But those wood rims are still solid. Any guess at how old they must be? 80 years old is my guess

For the comparison between this horse drawn model and the front wheel drive model that replaced the horses: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/1913-christie-front-drive-steam-pumper.html and

Notice on the wall is a catch hoop.

Above and below are the same building, but the times are before and after telephone poles. Maybe before and after city electric was run?

Odd looking fire engines, the one to the left in the above image is the 1913 Christie Front Drive Steam Pumper, for a couple of galleries of what they look like when restored, and in color: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/1913-christie-front-drive-steam-pumper.html

and http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/1913-christie-front-drive-steam-pumper.html

I've posted about the passing of the horse drawn fire apparatus before, it's a significant milestone in the change of civilization to motorized vehicles and there are only two photos I've ever seen that herald this change of era's. This one, and the other I posted a couple years ago

A fire bucket, for the bucket brigade... I think the below painting is cool, very civil war era

A bit of Americana history here, these plaques were the soprt of thing that would be mounted on homes and businesses in big cities in the East, like Boston, Philidelphia, etc etc. They signified the fire insurance company that had been paid to reimburse the fire department if they had to extinguish a blaze. If the building on fire didn't have a plaque, maybe the fire department wasn't going to get piad fopr the work, I don't know, just speculation. Anyway, these two plaques are from dozens that have been collected and are displayed at the firehouse museum, they were labeled 1850, Cincinnatti

Among the many collections on display at the museum are patches, pins, hats, helmets, parade attire from the 1800's, black and white photos of the late 1800's and early 1900's, badges, fire plugs, fire hose nozzels, and news clippings... plus the McCurdy models in the next post