"USA types, please vote?"

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

I was surprised by the number of people who thought my PS was asking y'all to
vote on which car I should get on the BP Visa card. That is a foregone
conclusion- always did have a thang fer pink - and if I WAS asking for help,
outlander opinions are as good as us'ns. No, I did mean what Maurice Marvi
tacked on; "Don't forget about the other vote. Those who don't vote, get the
government they deserve. But what about the rest of us?". Even if it was a
mid-term election.

Thanks to Michael Williams for bringing up Lartigue in connection with the
Renault; it gave me a pleasant interlude looking through dusty books. There is
a particularly marvelous one where Lartigue was panning at just half the rate
the racer's motion required, so all the spectators and telegraph poles are
leaning left at just the same angle that the racer, departing stage right, is
leaning right. The focal-plane shutter is a wonderful instrument, when eyes
and instincts like his govern. I did find the particular Renault photo,
credited to a collection but not to a photographer; it is page one of William
Body's "The History of Motor racing, one of the 6.3 liter 30 hp cars in the
1903 Paris-Madrid race. (And anyone who isn't familiar with the early days,
like the 1906 French GP which lasted two days, starting at 6am, and the great
city-to-city races, like the 1902 Paris to Vienna across the Alps when an
intervening country had banned it - is missing something - -)

I also was able to verify the identity of the Alfa, although I couldn't find
the particular photo. It is the ex-McClure Halley car, #412014, the one with
the broad polished aluminum brightwork flash down the sides where all of the
other Touring 2900s have narrow parallel stripes. The car was identified in
Alfa's and Touring's construction records as the "2900 America" because of
Halley's particularly demanding requirements for fit and finish, a trifle more
baroque than the usual. When it was done Alfa showed it at the Paris auto
show, where show photos show it with the New York license plate already on.

Even for those like Michael in states where BP doesn't sell gas, this card
isn't a bad deal; you can burn a few years of rebates in One Lap of America.
Those who haven't already been solicited and wish to be, I can give details
off-digest without using others' room. No connection, etc, but the Alfa and
the Renault are both nice.

John H. 

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