[FWDLK] Cruising speeds

[Rog & Jan van Hoy <vanhilla@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm glad you asked that...  [Always makes my wife groan when
I say that.]

In the talk about the horsepower race in the 1950's, most of
what I've read focuses on the competitive aspect.  However,
there was also a big change in the highways culminating in
the interstate freeway system.  More horsepower was needed
for sustained high speed cruising.

In our area, the Pacific NW, travel in the mid-to-late
fifties was pretty much through every city and town and on
two lane blacktop between towns.  Even the major US highways
were two lane in the country.  There were some stretches of
four lane "super highway," either undivided or with a cable
barrier or metal guardrail in the center, and four lane or
one-way streets in cities.  Typical country speed limits
were 55-60 mph, though traffic often kept the speed well
down from that, and 25-30 mph through cities and towns.
Passing on two lane roads was a challenge.  That's where the
extra horsepower came in handy.

One thing for sure, the trip was a lot more interesting than
a decade later, when the interstate freeways were pretty
much done here and cars travelled at a legal limit of 70 mph
and often faster, with businesses limited to the occasional
freeway exits.

So, to answer your question, in 1958 the average cruising
speed in the western US was probably about 55 mph, but
sustained speeds were not possible due to the roads and
traffic.  Maybe in the east, where they had turnpikes,
higher sustained speeds happened earlier than in the wild
west.

Driving our '58 DeSoto on today's freeways, designed in the
1950's and built in the 1960's, we have no trouble cruising
at 65+ mph all day and night.  I would conclude that at
least by 1958 the cars were overbuilt for the then-existing
highways.

--Roger van Hoy, '55 DeSoto, '58 DeSoto, '42 DeSoto, '41
Dodge, '66 Plymouth, '81 Imperial, Washougal, WA


----- Original Message -----
From: "Vincent Van Humbeeck"
<vincent.vanhumbeeck@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 11:07 AM
Subject: [FWDLK] Cruising speeds


| Hi all,
|
| As I never rode in the '58 Plymouth I'm restoring, or any
american car of
| that era for that matter, I have no idea what their normal
cruising speed
| are, nor their top speed ...
|
| So, here it is : what's the average cruising speed of a
318 and Torqueflite
| '58 Plymouth ? What's its top speed ?
|
| Vincent Van Humbeeck (France, 120 miles north of Paris)
| '58 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe

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