Interstate Road Trip Tournament, Round 1, Heat 6.

[Rain Man]

Nice ride! I've never heard of Oakland cars before.

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Nice ride! I've never heard of Oakland cars before.

Most people have not. It was a major car maker in the 20's and a part of GM. The car lines in GM were price stratified with Chevrolet being the cheapest, then Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and finally Cadillac. By 1926 the prices had spread enough that they decided to start "little brother" marques. For Cadillac this was the LaSalle, Buick had the Marquette, Oldsmobile had the Viking, and the Oakland had the Pontiac. By 1932 the depression was bad enough that they killed the little brothers, except that the Pontiac was outselling the Oakland so the older brother was the one that was killed off.

Our car history is that it was bought early in the model year in late 1923 by the wife of a doctor in Spokane. As already told, she drove the car until around 1940 when the block froze.

One more item of interest (I love this car in case you can't tell!): our car is painted as close the original Dupont color available today. One of the reasons for so much interest in the car in Oakland, Mi is that it is advertised as being completely original but it is a much lighter shade of blue than ours. The suspicion is that it has to do with when in the 1924 model year it was made. That was the year that they went from hand painting cars to being able to spray paint them. The old way meant that they had to paint them and then park them outside to dry. You may have seen pictures of old car plants with a bunch of cars parked in a line. Those are drying! But it is an interesting mystery about a car make that is little known about now days.

[Dartgod]

That's pretty fascinating stuff.

Originally Posted by Hydrae

Most people have not. It was a major car maker in the 20's and a part of GM. The car lines in GM were price stratified with Chevrolet being the cheapest, then Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and finally Cadillac. By 1926 the prices had spread enough that they decided to start "little brother" marques. For Cadillac this was the LaSalle, Buick had the Marquette, Oldsmobile had the Viking, and the Oakland had the Pontiac. By 1932 the depression was bad enough that they killed the little brothers, except that the Pontiac was outselling the Oakland so the older brother was the one that was killed off.

Our car history is that it was bought early in the model year in late 1923 by the wife of a doctor in Spokane. As already told, she drove the car until around 1940 when the block froze.

One more item of interest (I love this car in case you can't tell!): our car is painted as close the original Dupont color available today. One of the reasons for so much interest in the car in Oakland, Mi is that it is advertised as being completely original but it is a much lighter shade of blue than ours. The suspicion is that it has to do with when in the 1924 model year it was made. That was the year that they went from hand painting cars to being able to spray paint them. The old way meant that they had to paint them and then park them outside to dry. You may have seen pictures of old car plants with a bunch of cars parked in a line. Those are drying! But it is an interesting mystery about a car make that is little known about now days.

[Rasputin]

69

[gblowfish]

I live very close to US Highway 24. Kansas City is unique that is has many US Highways that run through it or near it. Actually both Kansas and Missouri have many roads that run a thousand miles or more from one end to the other. The US Highway system was established in 1926 and many of the original roads in that system still exist. Here's a list of US Highway that cross Missouri or Kansas (or both); how long they are and where they begin and end. A couple run from Mexico to Canada!

US 24 Highway: Established 1926, 1,540 miles.
Minturn, CO to Clarkston, MI

US 36 Highway: Established 1926. 1,414 miles.
Rocky Mnt Natl Park, CO to Urichsville, OH

US 40 Highway: Established 1926, 2,286 miles.
Silver Summit, UT to Atlantic City, NJ

US 50 Highway: Established 1926, 3,017 miles.
Sacramento, CA to Ocean City, MD

US 54 Highway: Established 1926, 1,197 miles. El Paso, TX to Griggsville, IL.

US 56 Highway: Established 1957, 640 miles.
Springer, NM to Kansas City, MO

US 59 Highway: Established 1934, 1,911 miles.
Laredo, TX (US Border) to Lancaster, MN (US Border)

US 60 Highway: Established 1926, 2,655 miles.
Brenda, AZ to Virginia Beach, VA

US 61 Highway: Established 1926, 1,407 miles.
New Orleans, LA to Wyoming, MN

US 62 Highway: Established 1930, 2,248 miles.
El Paso, TX (US Border) to Niagra Falls, NY (US Border)

US 63 Highway: Established 1926, 1,286 miles.
Ruston, LA to Moquah, WI

US 65 Highway: Established 1926, 966 miles.
Clayton, LA to Albert Lea, MN

US 66 Highway: Established 1926, 2,448 miles. Santa Monica, CA to Chicago, IL.* *Decommissioned 1985.

US 67 Highway: Established 1926, 1,560 miles.
Presidio, TX (US Border) to Sabula, IA

US 69 Highway: Established 1926, 1,136 miles.
Port Arthur, TX to Albert Lea, MN

US 71 Highway: Established 1926, 1,532 miles.
Krotz Springs, LA to Fort Francis, Ontario (US border)

US 73 Highway: Established 1926, 113 miles. Bonner Springs, KS to Dawson, NE.

US 75 Highway: Established 1926, 1,239 miles.
Dallas, TX to Noyes, MN (US Border)

US 77 Highway: Established 1926, 1,305 miles.
Brownsville, TX (US Border) to Sioux City, IA.

US Route 169 Highway: Established 1930, 966 miles. Tulsa, OK to Virginia, MN