I want to thank former practicing physician David Banner (not his real name) for reaching out to me today with concerns about what is happening in Arizona regarding the damn virus and with some advice.
Five or ten minutes on the Internet does NOT equal four years of medical school. While I rail against the hyper-credentialism that has taken over America, I respect real knowledge. (“Credentials” don’t always mean real knowledge.) The medical knowledge of 99.9% of lay people is basically zero.
I also cannot believe the crap that many people espouse. “Bill Gates has made sure that every vaccine dose has a microchip so he can track you.” Once again, America has become the land of the free, the home of the ignorant. If the vaccines weren’t as effective as they seem to be, then we would never be done with this damn virus given all of the people who, apparently, will never be vaccinated.
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Nigeria is the sixth most populous country in the world with an estimated 214,000,000 inhabitants. Kenya ranks 27th with a population of about 54,000,000. (c.f. Canada’s population is about 38,000,000.) Why am I mentioning these two African countries? Apparently, this blog–Disaffected Musings–has a few people in each country who are reading it on a regular basis. Welcome, I hope you keep reading AND I hope you tell your friends. Thanks. From Wikipedia, maps showing the location of the two countries, Nigeria (top) and Kenya (bottom):
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This Hemmings article may be of interest to very few, even among automobile enthusiasts, but given my obsession with defunct American makes I enjoyed reading it. The post explores Kaiser-Frazer’s efforts to develop a V-8 engine, which were ultimately unsuccessful, and whether or not American Motors “poached” their V-8 design to develop its own.
It is probably true in many industries, but it is definitely true in the automotive world, that good ideas don’t usually stay with their inventors for long. How does that saying go? “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
The Hemmings piece also points out the dissonance (my word) between the modern exterior design of later Kaiser cars and the outdated engine used to power them. From Wikimedia, a picture of a 1953 Kaiser Dragon:
That body shape was the work of legendary automobile designer Howard “Dutch” Darrin. Of course, some of you are familiar with this car, the Kaiser-Darrin:
Picture “courtesy” of a WordPress blog, not mine. Some of you know that when Kaiser stopped producing cars in the US in 1955, Darrin bought about 100 of the Kaiser-Darrin leftovers, installed Cadillac V-8 engines in most of them and then sold them at his Los Angeles showroom. To me, one of these already equipped with a Cadillac or other non-Kaiser engine would be a great restomod candidate.
I haven’t had a chance to hang these signs in our new garage, but some or most of them will be displayed, somehow.
#RespectRealKnowledge
#NigeriaAndKenya
#Kaiser-Frazer
#KaiserDragon
#DutchDarrin
#Kaiser-Darrin
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
Love the collection of old signs! They will look good in your garage.
Interesting tidbit on the Kaiser-Frazer cars. I’ve seen that grill on the convertible model before, I’m sure at a Barrett-Jackson auction, but I can’t remember when.
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Thanks, sir. The signs did look good in our previous garage, but despite moving from a two-car garage to an alleged three-car, we have much less wall space.
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Around 1977-78 I bought a 1950 Kaiser, either Vagabond or Traveler (was never really sure), for the sum of $5. Yes, $5. The car was sitting on a property nearby that had not been lived at for several years after the elderly lady went to a nursing home. After her passing, her children were trying to clean up the property for sale and were selling off several cars that had been sitting for many years. One I would have liked to have gotten was a 57 Nomad but I think a relative got it. Finally the only one left was the Kaiser and they were getting ready to call a junkyard to come haul it off for scrap. My offer of $5 was better than nothing so I towed it home. I knew nothing about Kaisers but it was quite an interesting design. My dad and grandfather filled me in on some details and I proceeded to at least get it running. At the time, with no internet, information was hard to come by and parts were even harder to acquire. I ended up selling it about a year later to someone with far more experience dealing with orphan brands. When I first got the car, I thought the model was a Caribbean Coral, because there was an emblem on each front fender proclaiming that. It turns out, that was the color. One thing that was unique to the model was the way the rear seat folded. The bottom was hinged at the front and folded up against the drivers seat, the back was hinged at the bottom and folded down, creating a “protected” area for cargo.
I’ve attached a link to a Hemmings article that gives a lot more info on the car
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1949-1950-kaiser-traveler-and-vagabond
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Many thanks, DDM, for sharing that story. I don’t know anyone else whose automotive history is so rich and varied.
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Everyone has a weakness, mine is vehicles. I guess it’s cheaper than alcohol or drugs, and it’s much more fun ( I assume). Besides, I can’t drive/ride a hundred dollar bill. 🙂
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Well said, sir.
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