Doing A Lot With What Little You Have

That sentence in the title line - "Doing a lot with what little you have" - I read that about a year ago in an article about Chrysler's 426 Hemi engine. That incredible motor celebrated its 50th anniversary in April 2014. It got me to thinking about numerous aspects of the automotive industry - everything from advertising to racing - both then and now.

There's been a great deal of Internet gab on both the Hellcat Challenger and Charger. How is it that the Chrysler Corporation can pull off a 700+ horsepower super-car that can actually hold more than two passengers, and rings in at under $67,000 dollars, when neither Ford nor Chevy can accomplish the same thing? And it's not just this one incident belonging to Dodge. History has proven that other manufacturers (and sometimes individuals) can pull off the same type of concept with either less funds, less development time, or less experience. The secret lies in applying the lessons one learns a little better.

It reminds me of the time I ventured into my local Home Depot and asked an employee at the service desk if the store still carried books on a particular subject. He told me the store no longer stocked them, but one could be ordered. He went on to say, that many customers routinely order books on-line through various outlets anyway. It just didn't make sense to stock them anymore where they will just collect dust. He then told me to go on You Tube. "If you want to learn something, chances are you can find some sort of tutorial on You Tube. That's how I learned everything I know about plumbing, wiring, and carpentry." It kind of blew my mind, but he was right. That's one of the rare beauties of competition - it breeds creative innovation. Let's look at some other examples from several timetables:

 - I was skimming an article this morning from Jalopnik.com where a guy named Adam had owned a 1968 Camaro for years and the car was looking rather long in the tooth. He didn't have the funds to pay someone to restore it and he didn't have the skills to do it himself. He ended up enrolling in a auto restoration course at a local college. In that class, he learned that if he had the willingness, the patience, basic hand tools, and the space of a 2-car garage, anything was possible. Aside from good 'ole trial and error, he was also told You Tube was a valuable asset.

 - Another great example is the late Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins and his Chevy Nova from the 1966 drag racing season. With almost zero factory support from Chevrolet, he managed to be one of the most feared and competitive racers in quarter mile action that season. How? Creative thinking and innovation. Applying everything he learned ranging from suspensions, to serious weight savings, to finding every loophole in the NHRA rule book, Jenkins may have been an underdog in his realm, but was a true thinking mans racer. Throughout his career, he was known to try anything at least once - from making his own crude traction bars to literally cutting carburetors in half and riveting them back together in a different configuration.

 - Remember NASCAR before big sponsors and factory support? Maybe not, but I'm talking about the earliest of years from the late 40's through the early 50's. Talk about creative innovation - you can thank the illegal profession of bootlegging for some of the sports best drivers like Junior Johnson. It wasn't rocket science - take a bunch of young guys living in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia who had no other choice to survive (you need money to live on and survive, remember?), except by running moonshine. They became very skilled drivers because they were always running from the law. When they weren't doing that, these guys would race each other on the highways and back roads. Someone, somewhere, got the bright idea to cut a crude circle track in some cow pasture, and the rest they say is history.

 - Let's quickly look at advertising from the golden era of muscle cars. It's been said that Plymouth had more to gain than many other manufacturers. It's possible that stemmed from not being a sales leader like Chevy, Ford, or even it's sibling Dodge. However, it also may be the reason why Plymouth went almost bat-shit crazy with it's marketing campaigns from 1968-70. While many enthusiasts call some of their ads psychedelic or off-the-wall, it captured the true spirit of not only the muscle car phenomenon, but the times as well. In this case, competition truly bred innovation. LSD not required!

 - Lastly, if you still need a glaring example, look to the hot-rodder himself or herself. The rat rod movement is also a prime example of innovation. For almost 70 years, enthusiasts have been cutting, swapping, shaping, and dreaming up automobiles, in the pursuit of going faster, being different, or in many cases, saving money and just using what you have. Glance through any issue of Hot Rod, Car Craft, or street rod publication, especially from the 50's and 60's, and you'll find engine and drive-train combinations in vehicles that were never meant to all be together.

Dare to be different, people. Be creative and innovative. It's like a muscle... use it or lose it.
Until next time, peace out,
Dave