The 405 Aired July 13th, 2026

It's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday, O.K. begins with Happy Birthday to brother Marv! Then some origin stories of the modern SUV. Starting back in 1896 with the 1st speeding ticket at 8 MPH, then on to cars with giant tail fins, finally finishing with the blind engineer whom invented cruise control.

What is The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg?

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.

OK Solberg: 00:00

I wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, how's your air conditioner working? Boy, what about yesterday, 107F. Get your cup of coffee, tall, cool glass of lemonade, find a shady spot. Let's see what's happening out there.

OK Solberg: 00:15

Spring wheat $5.92 a bushel. 550lb steer calves not moving much now, so I'll quote you a canner cows at PAYS last week, 14 head averaging 1,419lbs per head. $1.835 equates to $2,603 for a canner cow. Are you kidding me? No. I'm not. And a 100lb fat lamb in Billing stand right about where they have been $3.32 a pound. But, guys, there's more, much more.

OK Solberg: 00:52

July 13th, it's my taller little brother's birthday. Happy birthday, Marv. Yes, sir. It was 66 years ago today that my little brother was born in the Malta Hospital, Malta, Montana. And if you remember, we as a family lived over there in a rented house on 9th Street, the house that Joe and Jill Hould live in right now. 1960.

OK Solberg: 01:21

And yes, it's true. There was a candy bar on the nightstand in the room that little 3 year old Orvin slept in. So my question to you is, what kind of candy bar was it? I'll tell you in a moment.

OK Solberg: 01:35

But 1st, our bible verse from Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Proverbs 12 verse 19. Now now I shared that verse because a liar can't remember what he told you before.

OK Solberg: 01:53

So if it was a lie, what I told you about the candy bar on the nightstand, I might forget as the years go by. Was it a Butterfinger? Was it a Hershey bar? A Heath? Of course not. It was a Milky Way bar.

OK Solberg: 02:09

And I have a new Milky Way bar as a gift from Jill Hould that was sitting on the dash of my vehicle one day when I walked out. It's a treasure. You can come and see it, but it's not for sale.

OK Solberg: 02:22

Anyway, all that to say happy birthday to my brother. If you looked at the calendar, you know it's not only July 13, but it's Monday, July 13, and you know what that means. It's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday, the day we look at horsepower one Monday at a time.

OK Solberg: 02:42

So what's it gonna be? What's it gonna be today, boys? Listen up. I took 4 factual automobile observations and combined them into one coherent story. You know, it's funny how quickly our expectations change.

OK Solberg: 03:01

Today, if the car in front of us is only going 45 miles an hour in a 55 zone, we begin wondering if perhaps they should pull over and let the rest of civilization continue. What are you going so slow for?

OK Solberg: 03:17

But there was a day when 8 MPH was considered downright reckless. It's true, guys. In fact, the world's 1st recorded speeding ticket was issued on 01/28/1896 in England. Walter Arnold was driving one of the very 1st Benz motorcars. The legal speed limit for these new horseless carriages was just 2 MPH through town.

OK Solberg: 03:51

Mister Arnold was clock doing, are you ready? 8 MPH (miles an hour). A police officer chased him down, not in another automobile, but on a bicycle. After a 5 mile pursuit, Arnold was fined 1 shilling plus court costs. Imagine explaining that at the coffee shop. I got a speeding ticket. Oh, no. How fast were you going?

OK Solberg: 04:20

8 miles per hour. Fast forward a few decades and America had become obsessed with speed, with speed, style, and chrome. One of the most recognizable styling features ever placed on an automobile wasn't designed to make cars faster at all. You know what it was? It was the tail fin.

OK Solberg: 04:43

General Motors design chief reportedly found his inspiration after seeing the twin tail design of the Lockheed P38 during World War II. Beginning with the 1948 Cadillac, little fins appeared on the rear fenders. By the late 1950's those little fins had become enormous.

OK Solberg: 05:10

Some Cadillacs looks less like automobiles and more like rockets waiting for permission from mission control. The fins were dramatic. They were futuristic, and they were beautiful, and they did almost nothing.

OK Solberg: 05:25

By 1965, Detroit had largely clipped the fins proving once again that what is fashionable today often becomes tomorrow's museum piece. Then came another automotive 1st that quietly changed driving forever. Ironically, and that means opposite, ironically, it came from a man who never drove.

OK Solberg: 05:52

Ralph Teeter lost his eyesight completely by the age of 6 after a childhood accident. Yet blindness never stopped his remarkable mechanical mind. He became one of America's 1st blind mechanical engineers, earned his engineering degree from the University of Pennsylvania and eventually became president of Perfect Circle Corporation, one of the nation's leading automotive suppliers.

OK Solberg: 06:22

The idea for cruise control reportedly came while riding with his attorney who had an irritating habit of speeding up while talking and slowing down while listening. Hey, guys. We all know a person like that. I'm one of them.

OK Solberg: 06:44

Teeter finally thought there has to be a better way. His invention originally called the Speedostat, received its patent in 1950 and 1st appeared on the 1958 Chrysler Imperial under the name Autopilot. Before long, Cadillac adopted the more familiar name we still use today, cruise control. Yep.

OK Solberg: 07:10

Think about that. The man who couldn't see the road invented one of the greatest driving conveniences ever placed in a car. Not bad huh?. Now here's another interesting twist in automotive history. Today, nearly everyone seems to drive an SUV.

OK Solberg: 07:28

But the very 1st vehicle we recognize as a modern SUV wasn't built yesterday or last year. Many historians point to the 1963 Jeep Wagoneer as a 1st truly luxury sport utility vehicle. A combined 4 wheel drive, passenger car comfort, available automatic transmission, and family practicality years before SUVs became America's favorite vehicles.

OK Solberg: 08:00

Now others argue that the Chevrolet Suburban deserves the title because it has been carrying family since 1935 and has remained in continuous production longer than any other automobile name plate. Either way, those early pioneers created a market that eventually transformed the American driveway.

OK Solberg: 08:23

Today, SUVs out sell traditional passenger cars by 2 to 1. So think about the journey. We began with a speeding ticket at 8 MPH. We decorated our cars with giant tail fins borrowed from a fighter airplane, a blind engineer invented cruise control to keep us from changing speed without realizing it. And now many of us drive SUVs with adaptive cruise control that can steer, brake, and maintain following distance almost by themselves.

OK Solberg: 09:00

Makes you wonder what Walter Arnold would think if he climbed into one of those today. Although, knowing his history, he'd probably still find a way to get a speeding ticket. Yep. Both him and me.

OK Solberg: 09:16

So until next time. As you go out there, remember now. Don't be bitter.