Dear Tom and Ray:

I'm enclosing a photo of my Aunt Nell taken in California about 1920. She wrote that this car she's pictured in is a five passenger 1918 "Dort." I've never heard of it. Have you? Marjorie

Tom: No we haven't, Marjorie. But our pal Dave Brownell, the Editor of Hemmings Motor News in Bennington, Vermont has.

Ray: He says the Dort was a low to moderately priced car ($695-$1065) built in Flint, Michigan from 1915 to 1924.

Tom: The early Dorts had four cylinder engines. Later on, they tried to go upscale, adding Rolls Royce-like grills and six cylinder engines, but it wasn't enough to save them, and they went out of business in 1924 after building about 20,000 cars.

Ray: Be careful not to confuse this with the 1938 Dork, Marjorie...that's how we refer to my brother.

It's amazing how many bad driving habits and wacko theories have been passed down from generation to generation! Tom and Ray set the record straight in their booklet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1993 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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