Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Since 2007

Recommended reading

Jim Grey
6 comments on Recommended reading
2 minutes

Our tulips are starting to bud — spring must be here! On this spring day, enjoy the blog posts I liked most from around the blogosphere this week.

💻 As we head toward Easter you’re surely seeing Peeps marshmallow candy at the stores. M. B. Henry hates the things, but tells their interesting story very well anyway. Read Peeps Genesis

💻 If you grew up in the ’60s or ’70s, the traditional large American reer-wheel-drive car was a big part of your experience. Long, low, wide; terrible to park and terrible on gas. Paul Niedermeyer has done considerable analysis of sales data and concludes that these years actually marked the big car’s decline, and he knows exactly who to blame. Hint: not OPEC. Read Automotive History: Who Killed the Big American Car?

Cluster III
Canon PowerShot S80, 2019.

💻 Radio in Zambia is …different from what you find in the West. Dr. Alfred Prunesquallor reviews what he’s heard. Read Radio News

💻 Getting ahead in the world requires some talent, but it also requires other people to help you. Dave Lu describes the power of a strong network and gives you tips for building yours. Hint: it’s about what you put into the people you’re connected to, not what you get from them. Read Your Network Determines Success More Than You Realize

📷 Christoph reviews the Petri Computor II, a 35mm rangefinder camera with a built-in meter. He also tells some of the Petri story to put this camera in perspective. Read The Petri Computor II

📷 My review of the Yasica MG-1 is the most popular on this site. Olli Thomson found it recently and realized he had one on the shelf. So he shot a roll through it and reviewed it for Analog Cafe. Read Yashica MG-1

Comments

6 responses to “Recommended reading”

  1. Les Avatar
    Les

    Jim – I did grow up in the 60’s & 70’s and do remember the Classic Cars from that time. According to the book “The End of Detroit” written by Micheline Maynard there were many different factors that spelled the end. Many mistakes were made by the Big 3 Automakers and all contributed to the fall of our Classic Car. For many years the American public loved the big cars, even though they were gas guzzlers. The style of the cars was another draw, but as time went by and the invasion of the Japanese cars that were built better and cheaper, the Big 3 failed to realize what was happening and where the automobile market was heading. Back in the 80’s when Lee Iokoka took over Chrysler he said “If you see a better car than Chrysler . . . then buy it!” The American consumer did just that.

    The “Muscle Cars” of the 60’s were a big hit for a long time. The Teenagers, like me, loved them. However, gas was only 32 cents a gallon back then. After getting out of the US Navy, I bought a 1968 Dodge Charger that had a big MOPAR engine in it. I loved it! It didn’t last long. Gas prices were increasing and I married, thus ending the Muscle Car. Slowly gas prices went up and the Crisis of the 70’s didn’t help at all. Cars such as the Packard that were built in Detroit got way to expensive to buy, even though it was a very good car that was built. The Packard Auto Plant still sit’s rusting away in Detroit to this day. It was one of the biggest Automotive producing Plants in the USA.

    As for me, I am truly sorry that it had to end this way. The American built car with all of it’s style and grace will never return again like it was long ago. There is no other cars that were built as good as they were.

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      Especially GM quality was at its peak in the 1960s. But quality slipped badly at all the domestic automakers in the 70s. It was painful to watch!

      Reply
  2. Christoph Avatar
    Christoph

    Thank you for mentioning my post, Jim!

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      My pleasure!

      Reply
  3. DougD Avatar
    DougD

    Liked that one about radio in Zambia. We had a guy working in Sierra Leone speak in church last week. They want to finish their building and get a better radio transmitter, current range is only 4 miles. We had an additional offering yesterday, I hope we came up with enough money!

    He was also thrilled (THRILLED!) that it had snowed overnight and it was all sticking to the trees very prettily. Being March 24th the rest of us were less than thrilled…

    Reply
    1. Jim Grey Avatar
      Jim Grey

      People who don’t get snow are usually thrilled to see it. Where I work we have an office in Bogotá and when guys from there come to visit in the winter they are just wowed.

      Reply

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