green living, smart spending
Automotive History: How Mercedes Got its Name 125 years ago, the name of an eleven-year-old girl became the epitome of cars and the first luxury car brand in the world. On April 2, 1900, Gottlieb Daimler named the vehicles produced by his Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (Daimler Motor Company) as Mercédès, after the daughter of Daimler’s biggest customer,
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Sesame Place Philadelphia is the first theme park in North America to launch the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program, launching in time for Autism Acceptance Month in April. Also known as the Sunflower, it is a global initiative designed to support children and adults with non-visible disabilities and conditions, including children with autism and military veterans
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Bertha Benz was the first documented woman driver, of the first documented road trip, and the first woman we would describe today as an automotive marketing pro or influencer. Her pioneering 65 mile drive on August 5, 1888 between home and her mother’s house became a media sensation and helped drive sales of her husband’s
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It was a day that would change the world by setting it in motion. Happy 137th birthday to the automobile, born January 29, 1886, when German engineer Dr. Carl Benz applied for a patent on his “gas-powered vehicle”. Later the same year and independently of Benz, German engineer and tinkerer Gottlieb Daimler built his motorized
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Amelia Earhart’s 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton is being added to a select group of vehicles on the National Historic Vehicle Register. The pioneering aviator’s vehicle is only the 33rd vintage vehicle to be inducted into the only federally recognized program to document the historical and cultural significance of the automobile. That compares with more than
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Pierce Arrow. Studebaker. Packard. Hudson. Tucker. AMC. Pontiac. DeSoto. These and other automakers of the past no longer in business are showcased in wonderful new exhibit at the Hershey Auto Museum in Pennsylvania. 100 years ago, even 50 years ago, there were dozens of small companies making cars in the USA. Some survived, like Ford.
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Cunard has named a female ship captain for its newest luxury liner, the Queen Anne. How appropriate this announcement is made during Women’s History Month in March! Congratulations to Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge, who is one of the very few female ship captains in the cruise ship business, and the first female captain at Cunard.
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Travel Technology: The world’s first certified aircraft powered by electricity has flown into the history books in Switzerland. The two-seater Pipistrel Velis Electro is used mainly for basic pilot training. It completed its maiden flight over a village near Fribourg, in western Switzerland. The cruising speed reportedly is 90 knots (166 km/h) and maximum autonomy
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Erik Lindbergh keeps aviation pioneering in the family. That’s the headline of my article on green aviation and the future of flight supported by the grandson of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh. Erik Lindbergh supports electric-powered and solar-powered flight and space tourism. He’s an interesting man, and I enjoyed interviewing him in 2013 for an article
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