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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
I'm D.J. Rasmussen, O.K.s friend since junior high, possibly your neighbor & this websites maintainer, whom strives to get each episode's show notes written, the transcript proofed and the audio posted to the internet within a few hours of that days KMMR air time. NOTE: recently been publishing most new releases by 4:30PM.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the time we can spend together.
I want again. Welcome here to The 04:05 Coffee Break. Guys, new week. Get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea, or bottled water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat $5.45 a bushel. 550lb steer calf, hard to believe, $4.71 a pound. A butcher hog in Iowa 59ยข a pound, and a 100lb fat lamb in Billings, $2.44. But, guys, there's more. Much more.
OK Solberg:Yes, sir. It's Jay & Joe's Motor Monday, the day we look at horsepower one Monday at a time. Huh? Guess what? Guess what I did last Friday? I forgot to insert a bible verse into the episode. Yep. I guess I already broke my New Year's resolution. Now the best part of it was that I noticed it myself. So today, 2 bible verses. The 1st one for last week.
OK Solberg:Listen. Finally, all of you be like minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 1st Peter 3:8 That one should have been there for Jonas and Malmfrid, Undheim, and Ovedia Christofferson on Friday's episode. For those characteristics were seen in all three of those people.
OK Solberg:Now for today on Motor Monday, our bible verse will set the stage. Listen. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. Luke 16:10 Ah, yes.
OK Solberg:Trusted with very little. Perfect because today, we have a little car. Now, guys, who in their right mind would drive a Volkswagen Beetle? That is a little car, but who would want one. Right?
OK Solberg:I decided for Motor Monday to highlight one of the most popular cars through the decades, and in my research, I found out the answer to who would drive one. Guys, did you know that Jerry Seinfeld used to drive a Volkswagen Beetle? Yes. He did. A 1977 Bug was his 1st car.
OK Solberg:Listen to this. Tim Allen's first car was a Volkswagen Beetle. What? Tool time, Tim? Yes, sir.
OK Solberg:That's a fact. Everyone, of course, knew Opie from The Andy Griffith Show. Well, Opie, Ron Howard, also had his first car. And you know what it was? A 1970 Volkswagen Beetle, and he bought it when he was 16 years old.
OK Solberg:Now all of us remember Paul Newman, a great movie star, and many of us knew he was a racing enthusiast. But, guys, did you know that Paul Newman also drove a Beetle, a Volkswagen Beetle? He did. And he had it customized. Joe Jay, listen to this. Customized with a V8 put into it.
OK Solberg:I betta that thing could really sing. Did you know in the 1967 movie, The Mechanic. Charles Bronson, tough guy Charles Bronson, was driving a slug bug for safety, no slugs back. Charles Bronson in a vw beetle. It's true.
OK Solberg:It doesn't end there. Jack Nicholson also drove a bug, it was a 1967 beetle, and it was a convertible. So, guys, did you ask yourself, when did the Volkswagen Bug infiltrate America? You know, we had the big three automakers, and then there were some other ones going on out there on the side.
OK Solberg:But Volkswagen entered entered The US market in 1949. Now the report I found stated they imported 1,200 cars that year, 1949. But guess what? Only two were sold that first year. People were saying, oh, yuck.
OK Solberg:Who'd want one of those? But in 1950, there were 328 units sold. 1951, it rose to three sixty seven. By the mid-50s, sales were climbing and there were 32,000 units sold in 1955. In 1960, there were over 11 no, 117,800 units sold.
OK Solberg:And by 1968, it reached its peak. And in 1968, there were 399,674 Volkswagen Beetles sold in The USA, just about 400,000. Then things started tapering off again, and by 1979 no. 1975, there were only 82,000 units sold. But a pretty big market for a very small car.
OK Solberg:So guess what? What kind of engine did it have? Now we all know it was air cooled, and it was in the trunk. Right? But how big was that air cooled engine?
OK Solberg:Have you ever wondered? Well, in 1949, listen, guys, it was 1.1 liters. Well, not even liters. 1.1 liter putting out listen. Sit down, Joe.
OK Solberg:Sit down, Jay. Putting out 25 horsepower, and that's 67 cubic inches for us from the old school. By the time 1975 rolled around, the engine size had been changed for the 4th time, and it grew to 1.6 liter, cranking out 48 horsepower. And that's with 98 raw cubic inches of power. Now, of course, the smallest engine put into American cars most likely is a 1971 Chevy Vega, and it was a 2.3 liter, 140 cubic inch, 78 horsepower with a 2 barrel.
OK Solberg:Now understand that I'm comparing an air cooled engine with a water cooled American engine, and the fact of the matter is you couldn't find many air cooled American made cars. But sit up and pay attention. The Chevrolet Corvair, Joe knew this, from 1960 to 1969 used an air cooled engine. The Corvair is the only widely mass produced American automobile with a factory air cooled engine that went through the 20th century. Now it was introduced for the 1960 model year to compete with imports like VW Beetle and used a boxier style flat 6 that was completely air cooled by fans and ducting.
OK Solberg:Now most of us know that a water cooled engine, which we are familiar with, uses the water that cools the engine to run through a radiator to heat the cabin. Right? So how does an air cooled engine heat the cabin of that automobile? Well, exhaust pipes were enclosed inside sheet metal jackets called heat exchangers. Fresh air was blown or drawn around the hot exhaust pipe.
OK Solberg:This air absorbed heat and was routed forward into the cabin. Well, what about that then? All cars don't have to have big horsepower to be popular.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now. Don't be bitter.