Stick to radios.

For whatever reason, people, mainly men, seem to not stop when things are going well, or OK even. They just press on and push. The result can sometimes be brilliant, like going to the moon. Or tragically over the top, like the atom bomb. Other men build things like this. The 1949 Crosley Hotshot. Right off the bat, you should be thinking trouble.

Powell Crosley Jr. was kinda famous for his radios. So why the heck build cars? That's another story. But what we have here is what he called a "sports car". Good heavens no. It was sports like in style. It had cut away doors, sat two people and had pod headlights a la MG's. Early models sold for about 850 bucks. Crosley had made a variety of utility type vehicles and power plants for miltary purposes so cost, ease of assembly and simplicity were paramount. But that was during war time. No need for that with the buying public.

Performance was ugly. The power plant was a ghastly 25 odd horsepower thing made out of brazed tin and steel sheet metal (!) and copper. Only later models got a cast iron block. If the welds didn't go during its less than jack rabbit starts, the corrosion from the combination of metals under pressure and heat would eat holes in the cylinder walls the size of pennies. To his credit, the engine was very innovative. It sported overhead cams, high rev capability (over 5000 rpm) and very light weight, just 60 pounds. Due no doubt to fact the engine was made out of sheet metal.

This car was small. It was 145 inches long and weighed a scanty 1100 pounds. No doors, no trunk. It had an interesting feature that was a hold over from the war years- four wheel disc brakes based on aircraft braking sytems. This was totally ahead of its time but suffered from constant problems because the brakes weren't sealed and were prone to corrosion.

A homely little thing with the fit and finish of a whellbarrow, it actually could go past 70mph, carry two people and cost under $1000.