Date: Sun, 8 Jan 1995 01:16:20 -0500 (EST)
From: Chip Old <fold@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us>
Subject: Re: British Cars Digest
On 4 Jan 1995 TUSLER%MP050@ECCSA.Tredydev.Unisys.com wrote:
> re: Crosley HotShots...
> There was an early Crosley roadster powered by an air-cooled opposed twin.
> I don't know if it carried the "HotShot" model name. But I do remember
> that the CoBra, as well as the cast-iron block version, was the engine
> that powered the earliest Crosley sedans as well as the later HotShot
> roadster that I think was based on them.
I don't remember what that was called, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a
Hotshot. When I was a teenager a friend had one sans body, with a tractor
seat and a box bed on back. It was supposed to be a farm utility vehicle,
but he and I used it the way you would use a modern All Terrain Vehicle. It
wasn't very fast, but it was a lot of fun.
Chip Old
Cub Hill, Maryland
------- clip here --------
I'm not sure how we got on this subject, but.....
Crosley began building cars in Marion, Indiana about 1939, as I remember.
The cars were small and prewar models had a two cylinder air cooled 12
horsepower Waukesha engine.
Postwar production began in late '46. The '47 Crosley had a four cylinder
water cooled engine called the "Cobra." (Someone on the list has already
stated this and said it referred to COPPER-BRAZED which I believe is
correct.) The engine was a 44 CID affair developing slightly over 26
horsepower at 5,400 RPM. This was replaced in '49 with a cast iron engine.
In addition to the regular line of cars, about '49 or '50 Crosley
introduced the "Hot Shot" sports roadster. It was a tiny car by any
standards and looked a little like a Jeep in that it had no doors and was
almost square in design. It was definitely no more than a two person
vehicle.
Body styles for the standard line included convertibles, sedans, wagons,
pickups and panel deliverys. Crosley production ended sometime in '52.
My personal opinion is that these cars were a bit too Spartan for the
times. People were into big road hogs with lots of chrome and extras.
Nobody cared much about gas mileage when the stuff was going for $ .20 to $
.35 a gallon. The idea of a small economy car that included few extras and
had little to offer in the way of style and design failed to appeal to the
American public.
The Nash Rambler, the first really successful small car in America up to
that time, came with lots of interior room in spite of its small exterior
and included many extras as standard equipment. The fact that it got up to
35 MPG was simply a plus.
Dick
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