Spark Of A Champion

Albert Champion (1878-1927), was a French-born bicycle racing champion with major wins in Paris in 1889 and 1904. After retiring from competitive cycling in 1905, he incorporated the Albert Champion Company in Boston, Massachusetts to make porcelain spark plugs and import French electrical parts and components made by the Nieuport aircraft company. Two years later, the Champion name was stamped on the side. He incorporated the Champion Ignition Company in Lansing, Michigan in October 1908. General Motors founder, William Durant, was impressed with the spark plugs and persuaded him to move to Flint and supply his spark plugs for Buick automobiles.

In 1922, he changed the name to AC Spark Plug Company, utilizing his initials, to settle out of court with his original partners in the Albert Champion Company. In May of 1927, Charles Lindbergh flew his Spirit of St. Louis nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris, France, powered by AC Spark Plugs. Champion died in October of that same year while vacationing in Paris. Today, his initials survive as ACDelco (owned by General Motors) and Champion spark plugs sold by the Federal-Mogul Corporation.

Note: In the 1961 advertisement above, a family has just gotten gas for their 1959 Chevrolet when the service station attendant brings out a spark plug. It sounds to him like they need a new one. He will know better once he gets under the hood, but it is best to replace all of them simultaneously. Not happy about the sales pitch, the son throws a 1961 Oldsmobile promotional model at the attendant's head.

Big idea. No Sale.

Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation, Detroit, Michigan, were known for their futurism illustrations. One of their least bazaar concepts was a future commuter train. Its basic design came to reality in 1956 as the experimental Aerotrain, General Motors' two highly styled train sets. Their automotive designs were the inspiration and if one looks closely at Bohn's version, they may spot port holes (or not) that were closely associated with GM's Buick division. GM decided to use their city bus shells as coaches to save weight and cost. The lightweight coaches gave an unsettling ride for high-speed rail travel. Despite testing with major railroads, only the Rock Island Railroad bought them for use only in commuter service.

More on the Aerotrain here.

Locomotive Salesman

Tom Fawell (1929-2019) dazzled a generation with his colorful, rakish artwork depicting Electro-Motive Division diesel locomotives on the move. Indeed, he was EMD's illustrator of choice from the early 1960s to 1980. Many of his paintings were featured as the center spread in Fortune Magazine for 25 years. He wanted to portray the feeling of the dynamic power created by a locomotive. His first submission was literally laughed at by the execs, sighting no wheels and the engine appears to be tipping over. But Chicago-based ad agency, Marsteller, convinced GM to run a test and follow up with a readership poll. The results were so favorable that they were ranked "off the charts."

Fawell attended the Chicago Art Institute and later graduated with honors from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, in 1953. 

Click or poke the image for a large view.

The Quintessential City Bus

 

General Motors' dominating transit bus began life in 1944. Yellow Coach was an early bus builder that was partially owned by General Motors before being purchased in 1943 to form the GM Truck & Coach Division. The GM "old-look" moniker was an unofficial retronym for GM buses after the release of the GM New-Look "Fishbowl" series in 1959. Their most distinctive feature was its inward slanted front windshield to cut glare from on-coming headlights or lighted signs in general. The hooded brow also gave it a determined attitude of strength. Dropping coins into the "token tower" by the driver and hearing the clickity-clunk of the coins being processed might also bring back memories. 

The GM "old-look" bus was somewhat streamlined in appearance that resembled the older PCC streetcar styling. Its friendly shape equated to some as a loaf of sandwich bread on wheels. The specifically designated THD models (T=transit; D=diesel or G for gasoline; H=hydraulic automatic transmission) were available in several lengths ranging from the adorable 25 footers to the more common 35 and 40-foot models. Some smaller models continued to be built until 1969. Approximately 38,000 "old-look" series were built in Pontiac, Michigan's assembly line.