From humble beginnings in the rural farmlands of Ohio to the bustling city that was Indianapolis, Harry Clayton Stutz made his way through a winding career path to found the Ideal Motor Car Company in 1911. Ideal’s first product was the Bearcat, a sporty open-top two-seater that Stutz designed himself in just five weeks. After racing at the inaugural Indianapolis 500, Stutz took his racer and made a couple of minor edits, then put it into passenger car production. However, Stutz was a tinkerer first and foremost, so he began to revise the Bearcat almost immediately.
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An early American car company, Stutz started out as a manufacturer of a race car for the road. However, much like its founder, the brand’s direction changed very quickly. Stutz followed a winding path to its creation and went through a wild ride of death and rebirth over several decades. We begin our story in Ohio in the late 1800s. Everything is probably dark and muddy.
Indianapolis’ electric car-sharing program, BlueIndy, died in May. Failed green initiatives are fairly common these days, but they remain an important exercise in finding out what works and what doesn’t in order for progress to be made. Unfortunately, that doesn’t preclude host cities from having to deal with the aftermath — and Indiana’s capitol now needs to decide what’s to be done with the EVs and their stations.
BlueIndy lasted four years, with the company announcing it was forced to cease operations because it “did not reach the level of activity required to be economically viable.” The plan was to provide an eco-friendly alternative to car ownership, though Indy citizens seemed less eager than their leadership. This has left the city with dozens of small, relatively new EVs waiting to be crushed and roughly 90 charging stations it has no idea what to do with.
Naturally, it’s asking for advice. (Read More…)
For those North Americans seeking to drive the famous 14-mile Nurburgring, a look-alike loop has been plotted just south of Indianapolis, IN. While most replicas are not as big as the original, the “Schweinefiletring™” is more than 12 times the size of the famed German circuit. Utilizing 175 miles of public roads through southern Indiana, its route replicates the Green Hell.
VIR’s Grand Course has frequently been claimed as the USA’s answer to the Nurburging. But, at a paltry 4.2 miles long, it pales in comparison. The only other way to experience the 14-mile challenge for yourself would be on a driving simulator. If you want to see the sights, smell the smells, and feel the g-forces, you can now do so without the need for a track car or fancy sim rig. (Read More…)
BlueIndy, the nation’s first electric car sharing service, launched in Indianapolis on Wednesday, according to Time, but with controversy.
The car service, which uses Bollore Group electric cars, has met initial opposition with the Indianapolis City Council, who’ve taken aim at the mayor who launched the project with Bollore — whose other EV car-sharing cities include Paris and London.
The cars shouldn’t be parked in downtown spots, council members say.
“The mayor needs to understand that even though this is one of his pet projects, he is not above the law,” City council member Zach Adamson, told WXIN. (Read More…)
EV consumers in France and beyond needn’t wait months for a Tesla Model S, thanks to Vincent Bollore’s Autolib service and Bluecar EVs.
So there’s this huge metal stamping plant in Indianapolis. The current owner wants the workers to accept huge pay cuts so that the plant can be sold off to another buyer. The plant is a UAW shop. What does the UAW do? Paint picket signs? Threaten strike? Chant “solidarity forever?” Threaten to bust the rotten deal if the working stiff has to pay for it? Not this time. The plant in question is a GM plant. Through their union’s health fund, the UAW owns a good chunk of GM, and every owner of GM wants that stamping plant deal to close ASAP. There is an IPO in the works. (Read More…)
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