Cannonball Baker drove an early Crosley from Cincinnati to Los Angeles and
then to Chicago. The car averaged a shade over 50 miles to the gallon for
6,500 miles. As I remember, some ad materials of the day told of the
gasoline bill to the west coast as being under $10!
Crosley's second engine, the COBRA, was introduced after the war and
weighed just 59 pounds without starter and generator. It was capable of
doing 60 mph providing you didn't run out of road.
The third engine, the CIBA (cast iron block assembly), was introduced in
'49 as were four-wheel disc brakes. A first? They were called Hydradisc
by Crosley. I think Goodyear had something to do with their development.
Anyway, there were some rust problems, as I remember, and they soon were
replaced with conventional good old American drums.
A Hot Shot won the Sebring Index of Performance in '51 and did well at Le
Mans. In stock trim it could do about 77 mph. Speed shops soon came up
with some goodies that increased top speed to around 90 mph. The 10 to 1
compression ratio and alcohol/water injection Hot Shot became the Super
Sports. Later versions of the car had doors added.
The Crosley FarmOroad was an experimental utility vehicle intended for use
on farms, hence the name. Actually it wasn't such a bad little car, but
again, not in tune with what Americans wanted. As I remember, it had a
plow option and possibly some other attachments. The idea was to be able
to buy one vehicle to do light farm work and then use it for trips into
town.
Crosley officially closed down operations July 3, 1952.
Dick
|