Lex Anteinternet: Aging and ignition.

Lex Anteinternet: Aging and ignition.: 

Aging and ignition.

Recently I was in Denver and had to rent a car.  I rented some sort of newer Toyota SUV.

For the second time in recent months, when I got in the car, I was baffled by how to start it.  Really a sign, I suppose, that I've aged to a point where some new technologies through me.  When I rented the car, they told me that the "keys are in the car."  Indeed, the "key" was in the ignition.  But it wasn't a key at all, it was really a fob that was inserted in a slot.  No key.  It didn't turn. And because it didn't turn, I had a moment where I couldn't figure out how to start the car.

I then noticed the on/off button depicted above, and pushed it.

Nothing happened.

It quickly became apparent, however, that what I needed to do was to push on the brake, and push on.  Once I did that, it started just fine.  I drove into Denver and found a spot in a parking lot. There was a moment of tension when I pushed off, but it turned off just fine.

This is all a little silly of course, but every car I've ever owned took a key.  They all started when you turned the ignition switch clock wise.  They didn't all work exactly the same way, however.

The 1954 Chevrolet Sedan I had actually didn't require a key to start it.  The key only unlocked the ignition.  Once the ignition switch was unlocked, you could remove the key.  I had no idea this was the case until my uncle showed me, and I was frankly stunned that was the case.

My old 1954 Chevrolet Deluxe.

At least one car I had actually had the keyed ignition added.  That was my first Jeep. As the Jeep had been an Army Jeep originally, I know that it originally had switch ignition, but not key.  All the purpose built military vehicles were that way, and I've driven quite a few of those. They varied in how they started, with floor starters being quite common.  Floor starters were common on pickup trucks at one time, although you still needed a key to turn the ignition on.

My 1958 M38A1.  It had a key ignition, but it was aftermarket.

I've never owned a vehicle with a floor starter.  All the vehicles I have owned had keyed ignition.  I'm not in any hurry to replace any of the vehicles I have, but based upon what I've recently been seeing, that's becoming a thing of the past.  Odd to think that something I've just taken as a given that way, is on the way out.  

Of course, even at that, keyed ignition was an innovation.  I don't really know how they started, but very early vehicles, like Model Ts, did not have keyed ignition.  So this change isn't unprecedented, but it is a surprise.

Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, November 27, 1923. Oil Filters.

Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, November 27, 1923. Oklahoma Senate Appro...:

Tuesday, November 27, 1923. Oil Filters

The modern oil filter was patented by George H. Greenhalgh. Prior to this, automobiles simply used a screen, which would partially account for the short engine life early automobiles had.

The Purolator oil filter is essentially what most vehicles use today, and is still in production.

The Purolator original design featured the cardboard filter which was inserted into a fixed housing.  I've worked on vehicles that retained this filter design exactly, and it is essentially the same as a modern filter except now the housing comes with the filter, and you replace the entire thing.  I've also worked on cars that used this sort of filter for their fuel filter.

While a revolutionary design, it did not become immediately widespread.  It wasn't until the 1950s, apparently, when they became universal, although my 1946 CJ2A, which I sold long ago, had one.  A 1954 Chevrolet Sedan I once had also had one.

Modern Ranch Trucks in Use.

If you watch a "modern" Western, to the extent I do so, which is very rarely as they irritate me, chances are you'll find at least some of the ranchers in them driving fairly old trucks.  Maybe Yellowstone, which I haven't watched and will not watch, doesn't do this.

Anyhow, that's only partially been the case in my lifetime. When I was young, and well into my adult years, lots of ranches kept a flat fender style Dodge Power Wagon.  That's no longer the case. They didn't lose their utility, they just became collectors items, and working ranches don't use collectors items of any kind.  They sell them.

Having said that, lots of old trucks remain on ranches for specified uses, some as old as the Power Wagons that went into collectors' hands.  But for daily use, of every type, almost every working ranch has a relatively new flatbed pickup.  Here's a good selection of them from recent brandings.

Every truck depicted here is relatively new, and they're all automatic transmissions as well. Every one.

Indeed, amongst stockmen, I’m the only one I know that drives a manual and lacks an automatic transmission.

All of these trucks are, additionally, diesels. Every single one.  Mine included.