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Moon landing anniversary: How Detroit automakers won the space race

America's industrial might — automakers included — determined the outcome of the 20th centuryÂ’s biggest events. The “Arsenal of Democracy” won World War II, and then the Cold War. And our factories flew us to the moon. Apollo was a Cold War program. You can draw a direct line from Nazi V-2 rockets to ICBMs to the Saturn V. The space race was a proxy war — which beats a real war. It was a healthy outlet for technology and testosterone that would otherwise be used for darker purposes. (People protested, and still do, that money for space should go to problems here on Earth, but more likely the military-industrial complex would've just bought more bombs with it.) As long as we and the Soviet Union were launching rockets into space, we were not lobbing them at each other. JFKÂ’s challenge to “go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” put American industry back on a war footing. We were galvanized to beat the Russians, to demonstrate technological dominance. (A lack of similar unifying purpose is why we havenÂ’t been to the moon since, or Mars.) NASA says more than 400,000 Americans, from scientists to seamstresses, toiled on the moon program, working for government or for 20,000 contractors. Antagonism was diverted into something inspirational. The Big Three automakers were some of the biggest companies in the moon program, which might surprise a lot of people today. Note to a new generation who marveled when SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster out into the solar system: Sure, that was neat, but just know that Detroit beat Elon Musk to space by more than half a century. This high point in human history was brought to you by Ford ItÂ’s hard to imagine in this era of Sony-LG-Samsung, but Ford used to make TVs. And other consumer appliances. Or rather Philco, the radio, TV and transistor pioneer that Ford bought in 1961 — the year Gagarin and Alan Shepard flew in space. Ted Ryan, FordÂ’s archives and heritage brand manager, just wrote a Medium article on the central role Philco-Ford played in manned spaceflight. And nothingÂ’s more central than Mission Control in Houston, the famous console-filled room we all know from TV and movies. What we didn't know was, that was Ford. Ford built that. In 1953, Ryan notes, Philco invented a transistor that was key to the development of (what were then regarded as) high-speed computers, so naturally Philco became a contractor for NASA and the military.

How tariffs in China could cause a meltdown in the American South

While BMW is clearly a German company, the crossovers that are exceedingly important to it are actually made in Spartanburg, South Carolina. And more than that, the Spartanburg plant (physically located in the town of Greer) is where the corporate know-how and capability for those vehicles is concentrated. These are the vehicles – specifically, the BMW X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 – that drove record growth for the company in 2018, according to BMW. But whatÂ’s most notable about BMW Group Plant Spartanburg, given current events, is that according to the U.S. Department of Commerce it was the largest automotive exporter by value for the fifth year running in 2018. ThatÂ’s worth emphasizing: largest automotive exporter by value. Not GM. Not Ford. BMW. And where might one assume that more than a few of those X vehicles are shipped to? China. Some 360 miles southwest of Spartanburg is Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc., in in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. It started building vehicles in 1997. Since then, Daimler AG has invested in excess of $5.5 billion in the facility. It manufactures the crossover now known as the GLE, formerly the ML-Class. It also makes the GLE coupe and GLS. Daimler describes the Tuscaloosa facility as “the traditional home of SUV production” for those vehicles. When it reported its global 2018 sales, Daimler noted that on a global basis SUVs account “for more than a third of all Mercedes-Benz sales.” According to the Chinese finance ministry, on December 15th the Chinese government will impose a 25% tariff on automobiles (and a 5% tariff on auto parts) from the U.S. Certainly this is going to have a direct effect on the sales of vehicles that are manufactured in the U.S. and exported to China. BMW and Mercedes are going to take it on the chin for the vehicles that they make in plants that they invested in so heavily in the U.S. Which could potentially mean that people in places like Greer, South Carolina, and Vance, Alabama, are going to find themselves in the crosshairs of the combatants. Soo too could Lincoln, which produces vehicles in places like Louisville, Kentucky (Navigator), Chicago, Illinois (Aviator) and Flat Rock, Michigan (Continental). Although the Tesla Gigafactory 3 is rapidly nearing completion in Shanghai, it is worth noting that vehicles built in Fremont, California, are being sold in China in numbers that donÂ’t make Musk unhappy.

Mustang, Camaro, Challenger gallop onto USPS pony car postage stamp set

Some of America's most iconic cars are about to be immortalized on postage stamps. A new set by the U.S. Postal Service will celebrate the the golden era of pony cars, featuring five classic examples of Detroit iron. Each one is beautifully illustrated in oil-on-canvas style, with subjects in motion and sunlight glinting off the chrome, and would add a nice touch to any first-class letter. The pony car segment was all about (relatively) small, sporty alternatives to the full-size land yachts of the 1960s. They typically came equipped with 6-cylinder engines or small-block V8s. The category was named after the Ford Mustang, hence  the name. Some, though, argue that the Plymouth Barracuda, which was launched a couple of weeks before the Mustang, is the first. Luckily, the Falcon-based Mustang's distinct styling generated a sales sensation, or we might be calling them fish cars. Appropriately, one of the featured cars is a Mustang. But it's not just any Mustang. The 1969 Boss 302, seen here resplendent in Bright Yellow, was created for the hotly-contested SCCA Trans-Am racing series. One of its main rivals would have been the 1969 Chevy Camaro Z/28, also created specifically for the series, and is included in the set in Fathom Green. Representing Auburn Hills in the set is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T in Plum Crazy, while Southfield's American Motors gets a nod with an AMC Javelin in Big Bad Orange. The Mustang's platform cousin, a 1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7, is portrayed in a gorgeous Burgundy Poly that almost looks incomplete without Neko Case on the hood. It's not the first time the USPS has honored America's rich car culture on its stamps. In 2013, it issues a series of muscle car stamps with the help of Richard Petty. That set featured a 1966 Pontiac GTO, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 1970 Chevelle SS, 1970 Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda and, of course, a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. Another set in 2016 featured classic pickup trucks. Going further back, a 2008 release had chroed and finned automobiles of the 1950s and a 2005 release featured sporty American cars of the same era. The pony car stamps will debut on August 25 at the Great American Stamp Show in Sacramento, California in partnership with the American Philatelic Society. The public is free to attend the dedication ceremony, but you must RSVP first. After that, they will be available at local post offices and on line at the USPS store.