Part Five: The American Obsession with Driving
Series: VegOil Fuel: the Unsung Alternative
From: Cynthia Shelton
Length: 00:06:06
Interview with Vivian Andrus, 96 years old, who started driving at age 14 in a Model T. Comparison with pioneer VegOil drivers now. Brief historical nuggets about the development of the American driving habit.
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Piece Description
Interview with Vivian Andrus, 96 years old, who started driving at age 14 in a Model T. Comparison with pioneer VegOil drivers now. Brief historical nuggets about the development of the American driving habit.
Broadcast History
KUNM Albuquerque, NM "Evening Report" August 15, 2005
KDVS Davis, CA "Public Affairs" September 8, 2005
Transcript
Cynthia Shelton: Karl Benz kicked off the public use of automobiles 120 years ago with the first patented gas-powered vehicle . It has taken an estimated 100,000 additional patents since then to evolve the automobile into the vehicle we know and use today. Vivian Andrus of Kentucky, known to me as Granny, was a driver for 78 years, and has spent her life in love with cars. She can’t remember much of who was president or what world shaking events were happening during her youth, but she can remember the boys she dated - or married - and the cars she drove. Granny learned how to drive a Model T in 1923 and drove a 35 foot motor home through her 70’s. I stopped in to see her on my road trip and she told me about what those early days of driving were like.
Vivian Andrus: It was really great when the car come along. A girlfriend had taught me how to drive her car. My daddy drove h...
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Timing and Cues
Announcer: In the fifth of a six part series about straight VegOil fuel, freelance writer Cynthia Shelton takes note of the history of the American obsession with driving with the help of her 96 year old car enthusiast Grandmother.
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Phil Corriveau
Posted on October 09, 2005 at 11:56 AM | Permalink
Review of Part Five: The American Obsession with Driving
This is an informative and well-written feature, which is one of a six-part series on VegOil as an alternative fuel. This piece works because of a terrific interview with Vivian Andrus, a 96 year old driver with some great stories about early Model T driving. The feature is marred, however, by poor technical quality and choppy editing. The questions from the interviewer are jarring and sound as if they are written and spoken to someone hard of hearing, which the subject probably is, but on tape it is disquieting. The subject matter is really interesting, and the topic of this piece is engaging, but it suffers from technical problems that detract from the excellent content.