Today we heard the incredible story of the Dale car hoax, and its thoroughly abnormal non-birth involving murder, a transsexual, and Bob Barker. It was vaporware, but one of our readers bought in on it.
Reader DavidInSugarLand remembers when the three-wheeled Dale was new and its hype machine hadn't caught on to its hoax-iness.
I was 14 in 1975, in a small town south of Dallas and I loved listening to the radio back in that small town, late when I was supposed to be sleeping. There was one talk show I enjoyed, the host Lou Staples of which often showcased odd guests like Charles Berlitz (of Bermuda Triangle fame), Erich von Daniken ("Chariots of the Gods"), and Madalyn Murray O'Hair. He was always going on about how we needed to buy gold for the future economic meltdown coming REAL SOON.
I remember listening to this Carmichael woman at the time, about her claims for her 3-wheel automobile. I even called into the show once and talked with her about something. She was on the show often for a short while and really talked a good game. I was falling asleep thinking that I would work after school and save up for it, before I became successful and would buy a Ford GT.
The following year, this radio host tried to garner a publicity stunt by duplicating Evil Kinevel's Snake River jump, but this time across a creek in a dirt bike. I begged my dad to take me and man, was it a disappointment. But that's another story. Two years later he was dead by his own hand.
Here at Jalopnik we've seen all kinds of failed supercar companies and ridiculous manufacturer claims. Did you ever believe any of them for those few months, days, hours, or minutes before the truth came out? Did you ever lust after a car that was clearly never going to make it to production?
I remember waiting in anticipation for VW to debut their W12 supercar...
Photo Credit: Volkswagen