The Dark Secret Of The Only Car To Appear On American Paper Money

The government would love to keep you from knowing any of this. If they had it their way, Jalopnik would be shut down and I'd be thrown into one of the secret gulags the Department of  the Treasury operates inside Roosevelt's nostrils on Mt.Rushmore. But I won't keep quiet anymore. I'm gonna blow the lid off this thing once and for all, and tell you all the dark, disgusting, and filthy secrets behind the only car ever to appear on US money. It's on the back of the ten-dollar bill. 

In fact, the Shadow Government of the US wants this information hidden so badly that the current version of the ten-dollar bill, released in 2006, gets rid of the cars entirely. I know, right? What are they hiding? Those four (that's right, four) cars have been on there since 1928.

So, in case something happens to me, I want to get this information out there so the black helicopters can't surpress it any more. Let's get started.

First of all, let's talk about the bill that these only cars ever to be on greenbacks reside in. The ten is one of only two bills to have a non-president on them (Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury, and the other non-presidential freeloader is Franklin), the absolutely only bill to have the offspring of a prostitute on it, and that offspring is the only person on US paper money not to be born on the continental US landmass (Alexander Hamilton was born on the Island of Nevis to a whore, you see). It's an unusual bill, comprising only 6% of total bills (2009 numbers).

And, of course, it was the first and only bill to have a car on it. Sure, since very recently we've had, say, Indiana's state quarter with an Indy car on it, but let's face it, those state quarters are one step away from having Arby's ads on them. When it comes to cars on paper money in America, these old 1928-2006 tens are it.

There's a lot of misinformation about the cars. Let's focus on the most visible of the cars. Wikipedia says it's a 1926 Hupmobile. Other sources claim it's a Model T, and Papermoneyguide says of the cars

There are four cars represented on the reverse of the ten-dollar bill. None of these automobiles are of any specific year, make, or model, but rather a composite representation of the style of automobiles manufactured in the early 1920s.

These are all lies. Filthy, filthy lies. That main car is based on a specific model, but the government has intimidated everyone to not come out and identify it. But that ends today:

The largest car represented on the 1928-2006 ten-dollar bill reverse is based directly on a 1927 (1928 model year)-1931 four-door Ford Model A. 

There. I said it. Look at this picture for proof. 

Look at the pattern of the windows on the side, the visor over the windshield, the twin-bar bumper, the arched headlight support bar, the sidelights below the windshield, the curve of the fenders, and yes, most tellingly, the trademark 'widow's peak' pattern of the radiator shell. There's no doubt about it. This is a Model A.

So why would the government go to such lengths to surpress this misinformation? My theory is that that particular car was owned by the real  assassin of William McKinley, and he was by chance passing by the treasury when the engraver quickly knocked out the engraving. The Shadow Government didn't realize what had happened until they happened to see the driver of the car under a microscope, still wearing the McKinley blood-stained jacket that he kept as a souvenir from all those years ago.

Unable to change the bill and unwilling to draw attention by recalling it, they started their decades-long campaign of misinformation. A campaign that ends today.

So, dear readers, if you don't hear from me, you'll know what happened. I GOT TOO CLOSE.

]]>
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Is it any wonder Britain is falling out of love with the car?

THE doctor's been in and given his diagnosis. Britain is Castrol R deficient. As a nation, we are falling out of love with the car.

That's the finding of a new report, which concludes that we - and particularly my own group of petrolheads, the male twentysomethings - are driving in fewer numbers over smaller distances. Perhaps these days we can't be bothered getting in the car and driving to a mate's place, because it's easier to Facebook them instead.

I'd agree with the numbers - since the days when the Spice Girls were still topping the charts and the most sophisticated bit of handheld tech most kids had was a dead Tamagotchi, the number of young blokes in the North West with a driving licence has dropped by 18% - but not the logic. It's not that we don't still love our cars. We just can't afford them any more.

Motoring as a movement, no puns intended, is still being passed down to the next generation, if the number of lads younger than I am at classic car shows is anything to go by. Gigs like the Footman James show at the NEC, these days at least, are just as likely to draw fans of the original Fiesta XR2 as they are the Morris Minor or the Hillman Imp. I still shuddered when I saw an entire stand dedicated to the Vauxhall Nova!

Nope, the problem is the numbers; upwards of £1.30 a litre for petrol, anything in the region of £1,500 for insurance and the sort of obsession with miles per gallon which would have made a Rover Vitesse owner wince. Not that these aren't things we all have to deal with - remember, these days we're all in this together - and they're costs which most car nuts will still put up with, especially if they're clever and buy a pre ‘73 car with no road tax and classic car insurance. But I can see why most of my mates, even the ones vaguely interested in cars, give the idea an apathetic shrug before whipping out their iPhone.

I like the idea of motoring being a scene, a culture that gets passed down from my dad's generation to mine, which is why I love getting in these beautifully crafted machines, meeting up with likeminded folk and going on a drive to enjoy them. I just worry that in thirty years' time, the generation that follows me won't be able to afford it.

So the car, at least as an entity in modern day Britain, is a bit sick. Then again, I'd still take a Vauxhall Nova over public transport.

It's official. Car insurance is a rip off

AN MP and Life On Cars reader described excessive industry charges for car insurance as ‘dispicable and absolutely criminal'.

Southport MP John Pugh said he was calling for residents who'd been hit hard by excessively quotes and premiums to get in touch with him after he was shocked by the findings of a survey by the Office of Fair Trading found that insurers and garages were working to drive up prices and that the cost of getting cover had gone up in some cases by as much as 40%.

Mr Pugh said this week: “This sort of behaviour is despicable at the best of times, but in a recession when people are struggling to make ends meet, it’s absolutely criminal. "I've heard tales of courtesy cars being provided for a man who broke both legs in an accident and people who have been out of the country on holiday because it pays insurers to do a deal on with hire firms. There is clearly something rotten in the state of the car insurance market. The ordinary motorist is picking up the tab and it is about time action was taken.

"I would therefore like to ask Southport residents to send me their car insurance ”horror stories“ to submit as evidence to the Competition Commission. This is a great opportunity to clean up the car insurance market, and the more damning the weight of evidence the better."

Mr Pugh also cited the example of one of his constituents being charged £26,000 to insure a secondhand Citroen Saxo, despite the car itself being worth £1,000. The commission, led by Merseyside MP Louise Ellman, said that following the results of the OFT investigation that she was now looking forward to the Competition Commission working to reform the car insurance industry, and said evidence suggested that insurers, claims management firms, solicitors were exploiting motorists and inflating premiums.

"We found evidence to support the view that various features of the private motor insurance market prevent, restrict or distort adequate competition in ways that do not deliver a fair deal to motorists. The OFT’s provisional decision to refer the highly dysfunctional UK market in private motor insurance and related goods or services to the Competition Commission for full investigation is a major step forward.

"Like the OFT, we found evidence to support the view that various features of the private motor insurance market prevent, restrict or distort adequate competition in ways that do not deliver a fair deal to motorists. I will propose to the Transport Committee that we participate in the consultation announced today to make the strongest possible case for the referral. I now expect car insurers and the other firms involved to co-operate fully with all stages of this process."

If you live in the Southport area, MP John Pugh would like to hear your car insurance horror stories. Share them with us by sending an email to david.simister@champnews.com or leave a comment below, and we'll pass on any correspondence to John Pugh MP. Please include your contact details.

A FEW tips on how to avoid getting stung by excessive car insurance quotes:

 • Shop around and don't go for the first quote you find. With plenty of price comparision websites offering quotes from a wide variety of insurers, you can avoid paying over the odds.

 • Sharpen up your skills. Motoring organisations like the Institute of Advanced Motorists often offer their own insurance schemes for those who pass safer driving courses, meaning you'll not only be less likely to have an accident but quids in too.

 • Swallow your pride and avoid sporty, high-powered cars if you're keen to save on insurance costs. In the 1980s there was a long-running joke that GTI stood for Guaranteed Theft Item, but it had its basis in truth. Lots of people like hot hatches, sports cars and off-roaders... including car thieves.

 • Consider whether you really need to claim. If your car's only lightly damaged, there's a chance the rise in your premium if you claim will actually be more than the cost of getting it repaired at your expense.

 • Tell your insurer too much rather than too little - they're often able to offer you discounts on things by offering you specialised policies, such as if you own more than one car. Oh, and don't lie - insurers will often refuse to stump up if they find any discrepancies.

 • If you're smitten with an older model consider a classic car policy, which have more stringent limits on mileage but can save you money compared to more conventional insurance.

 • Don't insure it in your sister's or your girlfriend's name. Not only is this technically fraud but the savings women have been getting over men are set to outlawed later this year anyway, after an EU judge argued that female quotes being cheaper than male ones was a form of gender discrimination.

 • Don't pay monthly unless you have to. It might seem more manageable but in most cases it'll actually cost you more, so you might as well stump up and pay it off it one go.

 • Be alarmed - not with the cost of car insurance, but in terms of how secure your motor is. Fitting a device like a Tracker or beefing up your car security might be pricey, but often insurers will offer you cheaper insurance as a result.

 • Don't be a journalist. Reporters, and other professions like estate agents, sales reps, and entertainers are all considered more likely to claim, and have to pay more as a result.