Mercury (toy Manufacturer)
Mercury was an Italian manufacturing company of die-cast toy, die-cast scale model model car, cars. Based in Turin, Mercury was active from 1932 until 1980. Along with Dinky Toys in England, Mercury was a pioneer in 1:43 scale diecast toys made in Europe. Today, Mercury models are rather rare and not easy to find. The company logo was the word Mercury within a rectangle with a round toothed gear behind the company name. History As with many toy car makers, Turin-based Mercury started as a diecaster of small parts. It produced metal parts mainly for auto companies. Later an importer for German Märklin, the company was started in 1932, by Attilio Clemente and Antonio Cravero, but its first toy was a gun produced about 1939. The company first began making toy cars just after World War II, so is one of the earliest diecast model makers preceding Corgi and many others and it was the earliest producer in Italy. In Italy there was little competition for Mercury through most of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is mainly on the western bank of the Po (river), Po River, below its Susa Valley, and is surrounded by the western Alps, Alpine arch and Superga Hill. The population of the city proper is 847,287 (31 January 2022) while the population of the urban area is estimated by Larger Urban Zones, Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD to have a population of 2.2 million. The city used to be a major European political centre. From 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the House of Savoy, and the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 to 1865. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Studebaker Commander
The Studebaker Commander is the model name of several automobiles produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (United States) and Studebaker of Canada Ltd of Walkerville and, later, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). Studebaker began using the Commander name in 1927 and continued to use it until 1964, with the exception of 1936 and 1959-63. The name was applied to various products in the company's line-up from year to year. The Commander was the company's mainstream product, the Studebaker Champion was the junior model, and other models were short lived or renamed as market conditions required. History 1920s Until the appearance of the 8-cylinder President in January 1928, all Studebaker cars of the 1920s were sixes. There were three basic models — the Light Six, the Special Six and the Big Six, developing , , and respectively at 2000 rpm. The first Commander, in 1927, was a continuation of the mid-range Special Six, with a engine. Their inbuilt durabilit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roll Cage
A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured or killed in an accident, particularly in the event of a rollover. Designs There are many different roll cage designs depending on the application, hence different racing organizations have differing specifications and regulations, although most of these organizations harmonize their regulations with those of the FIA. Roll cages help to stiffen the chassis, which is desirable in racing applications. Racing cages are typically either bolt-in or welded-in, with the former being easier and cheaper to fit while the latter is stronger. A roll bar is a single bar behind the driver that provides moderate rollover protection. Due to the lack of a protective top, some modern convertibles utilize a strong windscreen frame acting as a roll bar. Also, a roll hoop may be p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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V-8 Engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder (engine), cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V engine, V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette_(manufacturer)#Private_engine-building_venture, Antoinette company in 1904, developed and used in cars and speedboats but primarily aircraft; while the American 1914–1935 ''Cadillac L-Head'' engine is considered the first road going V8 engine to be mass produced in significant quantities. The popularity of V8 engines in cars was greatly increased following the 1932 introduction of the Ford flathead V8 engine, ''Ford Flathead V8''. In the early 21st century, use of V8 engines in passenger vehicles declined as automobile manufacturers opted for more Fuel efficiency, fuel efficient, lower capacity engines, or Hybrid vehicle, hybrid and Electric vehicle, electric drivetrains. Design V-angle The majority of V8 engines use a V-angle (the angl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have since licensed Hot Wheels to make scale models of their cars, allowing the use of original design blueprints and detailing. Although Hot Wheels were originally intended to be for children and young adults, they have become popular with adult collectors, for whom limited edition models are now made available. History 1968 The original Hot Wheels were made by Elliot Handler. Handler discovered his son Kenneth playing with Matchbox cars and decided to create a line to compete with Matchbox. Hot Wheels were originally conceived by Handler to be more like " hot rod" (i.e. customized/modified or even caricaturized or fantasy cars,often with big rear tires, Superchargers, flame paint-jobs, outlandish proportions, hood blowers, etc.) cars, as c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gull-wing Doors
In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door, also known as a falcon-wing door or an up-door, is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, first as a race car in 1952 ( W194), and then as a production sports car in 1954. Opening upwards, the doors evoke the image of a seagull's wings. In French, they are (butterfly doors). The papillon door was designed by Jean Bugatti for the 1939 Type 64, 14 years before Mercedes-Benz produced its similar, famous 300 SL gullwing door. The papillon door is a precursor to the gullwing door, and is slightly different in its architecture, but is often overlooked when discussing gull-wing design. Conventional car doors are typically hinged at the front-facing edge of the door, with the door swinging outward horizontally. Apart from the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL of the mid-1950s, Mercedes-Benz SLS and the experimental Mercedes-Benz C111 of the early 1970s, the best-known examples of road-cars ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ferrari 330P
The Ferrari P was a series of Italian sports prototype racing cars produced by Ferrari during the 1960s and early 1970s. Although Enzo Ferrari resisted the move even with Cooper dominating F1, Ferrari began producing mid-engined racing cars in the early 1960s with the Dino-V6-engine Formula One Ferrari 246 P and the sport prototype SP-series. The V12 sports car racers followed in 1963. Although these cars shared their numerical designations (based on engine displacement) with road models, they were almost entirely different. The first Ferrari mid-engine road car did not arrive until the 1967 Dino 206 GT, and it was 1971 before a Ferrari 12-cylinder engine was placed behind a road-going driver in the 365 GT4 BB. 250 P Ferrari produced the 250 P in 1963 in response to the FIA introducing a prototype class for the upcoming season of the World Sportscar Championship. This was a new design, with a chassis unrelated to existing 250-series Grand Touring cars. Designed by Mauro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Agip
Agip (''Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli'', en, General Italian Oil Company) is an Italian automotive gasoline, diesel, LPG, lubricants, fuel oil, and bitumen retailer established in 1926. It has been a subsidiary of the multinational petroleum company Eni since 2003, when Eni acquired Agip Petroli S.p.A., creating the Refining and Marketing Division (R&M). History In 1924, Sinclair Oil, a U.S. oil company, and the Italian Ministry of National Economy created a fifty-year joint venture agreement to explore for oil in Emilia-Romagna and Sicily, over an area of 40,000 km². 40% of the capital was held by the ministry, all expenditure was incurred by Sinclair Oil and 25% of profits went to the Italian ministry. The political opposition, headed by Giacomo Matteotti and Don Sturzo, alleged that the joint venture was damaging to the nation and started a controversy which led to suspicions of corruption; Matteotti indeed was killed two days before he was due to give a speech o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "Anonima" means "anonymous", which was a legal form of company at the time ( Società anonima). In the initial set-up phase, in order to have a building to produce cars, the company bought the Portello factory building of Darracq in Milan, which was closing up and selling all its assets. The brand is known for sport-oriented vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911. Alfa Romeo was owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the company that was responsible for the production of Alfa Romeo cars until its operations were fully merged with those of the PSA Group to form Stellantis on 16 January 2021. The first car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Giuseppe Merosi. A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing, with driv ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fiat 2300
The Fiat 2300 is a six-cylinder executive car which was produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat between 1961 and 1969. The 2300 was made as saloon (styled by Dante Giacosa), estate car and coupé. The 2300 saloon is noteworthy as in 1966 it became the first Fiat model to be available with an automatic transmission. 2300 Coupé Alongside saloon and estate models the 2300 range included Ghia-designed grand tourers, the Fiat 2300 Coupé and 2300S Coupé—the latter fitted with a more powerful engine with double twin-choke carburettors. The shape of the car was first seen in public when Ghia presented it as a prototype sports coupé at the 1960 Turin Motor Show. A production version, based on the newly launched Fiat 2300 saloon was presented in 1961 and went on general sale in 1962. Having developed the coupé body, Ghia lacked the production capacity needed for the volumes envisaged, and were obliged to subcontract its production to OSI. The coupé body was welded to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mebetoys
Meccanica Bessana Toys (mostly known for its acronym and tradename Mebetoys), was an Italian toy manufacturer that produced die-cast scale model cars during the 1960s and 1970s. The company was purchased by Mattel in 1969, which continued commercialising Mebetoy as one of its brands. Mebetoy's main competition in Italy was the earlier trailblazer Mercury, Polistil and the rarer Ediltoys. History Mebetoys was started by Ugo and Martino Besana in 1959 in Oleggio Castello, Italy. Their brother Mario Besana joined the company in 1967, one year after the company started. A diecast car line was started that same year, rather late compared to the entry of many other companies in the early-to-mid-1950s. In detail and proportion, Mebetoys joined superior model producers of French Solido and fellow Italian Polistil, in many ways these became the triumvirate of diecast models on the European continent, though Danish Tekno and Italian Rio Models also were important. Models were exa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |