UMTravels

Well — as always, finding more ways to spend money than make money…. interesting Ford Transit Connect van coming to the US in 2010 (yes, that is just around the corner).

Of course, I would want the Tourneo model with glass all around, the passenger trim inside, and yes, that would be in black.

So — while we are on cars, what about this logo from Pancho Villa’s 20’s Dodge Coupe:

So — looking at this I’m wondering, were the Dodge Brothers Jewish? Apparently LOTS of other people have wondered the same thing. Here is a nice discussion on one of the Chrysler fan sites:

The use of the Star of David in the Dodge Brothers logo goes back to 1914 and the first Dodge Brothers car built.  It was last used on the 1938 Dodge.

The Dodge Brothers logo has been extensively discussed in the Dodge Brothers Club newsletter, which notes that in 1938, an export version with a single black triangle was used, and shortly afterwards, the Star-of-David logo disappeared completely. David Zimmerman wrote that he suspected that the Dodge Brothers may have believed that certain export markets would not buy a car with the link to the Jewish symbol.

The Dodge Brothers Club‘s FAQ states that the symbol was not chosen to anger Henry Ford, and goes on to say that “At the time the emblem was selected (most likely 1912-1914) it’s likely that the Dodge brothers were unaware of its use in Judiasm. In fact, at this time, that symbol was not used universally in this context.” It suggests these possibilities, among others:

1. These are two interlocking Greek letter “deltas” or “Ds” for the two Dodge brothers
2. A medieval symbol of mysticism and the joining of mind and body; in this case representing the joining of two brothers, who were very close, in this business venture (allegedly, letters addressed to just one of them would be discarded).
3. An abstraction of the square and compass of the Freemasons (this seems unlikely as well).
4. Nothing more or less than a badge with six pointed star similar to those used for law-enforcement officer’s badges, some outlined with triangles. Sheriff, Marshall, and police badges frequently were and are six pointed stars. The old-west Dodge City badge had six points. Horace Dodge was said to enjoy accompanying local law-enforcement officers on their runs.

The Dodge Brothers Club News editor wrote that “emblem is also a “Solomon’s Seal” sign of interconnected spirits, as the brothers were.” The source for the FAQ information on this topic appears to be Dodge Bros, the men, the motorcars, the legacy, by Charles K. Hyde, Wayne State University Press, 2004. 

So, I think that’s about it for Uncle Markie’s CarTalk Wednesday, and now back to our regularly schedule food and fine living blog….

Tonight’s meal? Peninsula Lamb Shanks. I’ll post the recipe under the “Pages” section to the left of this entry. Add some rice and salad, and you have a meal that I don’t have to go out to the garage to use the oven to cook and more importantly, isn’t a heavily tomato base (cooked tomatoes disagree with me). Jonathan and Helene coming to dinner (as in “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner“)

All the trip postcards going out today, as well as clipping from the trip and the Caravan Evaluation Form.