Over on the History Channel site, they feature a
"this day in history" page, which allows the user to enter a date (month and say) and one of a variety of subjects (including "automotive", which some of you may be surprised to find, I have a keen interest in).
Using today's day, the 28th day of July, there was a brief article regarding the famous "Bonnie and Clyde" Ford V8, which was sold at auction on this date in 1973. While I was familiar with the letter Clyde Barrow is attributed with writing to Henry Ford:
"Dear Sir, While I still have breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned and even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8."
...I was not aware of a similar letter written by John Dillinger, some time before the Barrow letter, which also touted the speed of Ford's V8:
"Hello Old Pal. You have a wonderful car. It's a treat to drive. Your slogan should be Drive a Ford and Watch The Other Cars Fall Behind You. I can make any other car eat a Ford's dust. Bye-bye."
The official Ford line is they used neither letter to promote the car. Perhaps, then, one of our resident automotive aficionados can tell us how both of these letters came to be public?
