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((short description|American journalist))

((more citations needed|date=November 2014))

'''Thomas Jay McCahill III''' (1907–1975) was an automotive journalist, born the grandson of a wealthy attorney<ref name="tmorb">((cite web|author=|publisher=Daytonia Beach Journal|date=May 10, 1975|title='Famed Automobile Writer, Tom MaCahill, Dead At 68|accessdate=2013-02-05|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aEwfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=etEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6353,3573490&dq=tom+mccahill&hl=en))</ref> in Larchmont, [[New York (state)|New York]]. McCahill graduated from [[Yale University]] with a degree in [[fine art]]s. (McCahill's father had been a football all-American at Yale). He is credited with, amongst other things, the creation of  the "0 to 60" acceleration measurement now universally accepted in automotive testing.<ref>((Cite news|url=http://www.motortrend.com/news/c12-0603-icons-uncle-tom-mccahill/|title=Uncle Tom McCahill - Icons - Motor Trend Classic|date=2006-07-14|work=Motor Trend|access-date=2018-04-25|language=en-US))</ref> He became a salesman for [[Marmon Motor Car Company|Marmon]] and in the mid-1930s operated dealerships in [[Manhattan]] and [[Palm Springs, Florida|Palm Springs]], featuring [[Rolls-Royce car|Rolls-Royce]], [[Jaguar (car)|Jaguar]] and other high-line luxury cars. The depression and his father's [[alcoholism]] wiped out his family's fortune.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

==Journalist and Automobile Critic==

After graduating from Yale, McCahill managed and later owned Murray's Garage in [[New York City]].((Citation needed|date=November 2014))  During the war he wrote articles on a variety of subjects for magazines such as ''[[Popular Science]]'', ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' and ''[[Mechanix Illustrated]]'' Magazine ("M.I.").  Hitting on the idea that an auto-starved post-wartime public might be interested in articles on new cars, he sold the concept to M.I. in February 1946,<ref name="tmorb"/> first reporting on his own [[1946 Ford]]. His opinions were fearless and this endeared him to some in the automotive world but created enemies too. Ever the sportsman—at six foot two and 250 pounds—he once fought off goons hired by (as was believed at the time) [[General Motors]]. It is alleged that he sent two to the hospital and the third running.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

McCahill was a personal friend of [[Walter P. Chrysler]]((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) and appreciated the handling and performance characteristics of [[Chrysler|Chrysler Corporation]] cars in the late 1950s and 1960s, which included many advanced engineering features such as front [[Torsion beam suspension|torsion-bar]] suspensions (combined with rear multi-leaf springs) for flatter cornering, powerful [[V8 engine]] options across the board and positive-shifting three-speed [[TorqueFlite]] [[automatic transmission]]s. In a 1959 road test of the Plymouth Sport Fury (which he referred to as the "Sports Fury"), he claimed that the torsion bar suspensions were the finest in America. Few European sedans, said McCahill, could match the handling performance of the Plymouth.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

On the other hand, many of McCahill's opinions about vehicles were far less favorable. For example, he reported in a 1949 road test that the new [[Dodge]], with its [[semi-automatic transmission]], was a "dog."  He considered early 1950s [[Chevrolet]]s mundane and utilitarian.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

==On the road==

On many of his earlier road tests, his wife Cynthia would accompany him as his photographer and almost always his black [[Labrador Retriever]], "Boji".((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) His later assistant was professional driver and photographer Jim McMichael who was photographed sitting—or lying—in the trunk of so many test cars McCahill eventually began calling him the " official trunk tester".<ref name="softs">((cite web|author=Neil Pooser|publisher=Daytonia Beach Sunday News-Journal|date=March 22, 1964|title='Uncle Tom's Work: Torturing New Cars|accessdate=2013-02-06|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o_knAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QcoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2201,4194830&dq=tom+mccahill&hl=en
))</ref>

==His prose==

McCahill frequently used extreme [[metaphor]]s and [[simile]]s in his prose. For example, in M.I. he described the [[AC Cobra]] as ''"hairier than a [[Borneo]] [[gorilla]] in a [[raccoon]] suit"''.((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) He proclaimed the ride of a 1957 Pontiac to be as "smooth as a prom queen's thighs".((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) The 1957 Ford "cornered as flat as a mailman's feet" and the 1954 De Soto is "as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar and just as fast." He described one model of Studebaker's gray-painted hubcaps as a feature "only an engineer could love."

==Racing==

In 1952 McCahill entered his own [[Jaguar Mark VII]] sedan in the [[Daytona Beach]] [[NASCAR]] speed trials and won in the Sedan class. Each year he attended and reported on world-renowned speed events, especially the [[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans 24 Hour]] in France. He purchased the first [[Ford Thunderbird|Thunderbird]] built and raced it successfully in the 1955 Daytona speed trials. The [[Tom McCahill trophy]] was named for him. As director of the yearly speed trials at Daytona beach,<ref name="softs"/> he was responsible for overseeing the rules as well as the safety of the drivers and spectators. He was a personal friend of [[Briggs Cunningham]] and drove the fastest cars in the world.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

==Effect==

McCahill reported in detail on every car imported to the U.S. during the early 1950s, all the while ridiculing the U.S. automakers for their excesses, including soft suspensions<ref name="softs"/> ("Jello suspensions" as he referred to them) and poor [[handling qualities]]. An example is provided by one of the first road tests of the 1958 [[Edsel]] in the September 1957 issue of M.I.: McCahill criticized the standard suspension as being too "horsey-back" and strongly recommended that Edsel buyers "pony up" a few extra bucks for the optional, heavy-duty (i.e. export) suspension package, which included heavier springs and shocks. He went so far as to tell his readers that "I wouldn't own one except with the export kit; without stiffer suspension, a car with so much performance (his test car had the 345-horsepower, 410 cubic-inch V8) could prove similar to opening a Christmas basket full of King Cobras in a small room with the lights out".

McCahill was in favour of lifting the Automobile Manufacturer's Association ban on factory backed [[stock car racing]];((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) although the ban was agreed upon by GM, Ford and Chrysler in June 1957, manufacturers continued under-the-table efforts to provide performance parts and engines to racing teams or performance-car enthusiasts. McCahill chose to live in Florida as its climate permitted owning such cars as his Jaguar sedan, as corrosion problems inherent with this type of car would have been compounded by the Eastern climate.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

==On the Chevrolet Corvair==

McCahill conducted and reported on the first road test of the [[Chevrolet Corvair]] in 1959. In the presence of [[Zora Arkus-Duntov]], [[chief technology officer|chief engineer]] of the Corvair project, McCahill ran the car at speed on the G.M. testing grounds. McCahill reported that he was pleased with the handling characteristics and that the Corvair handled better than the 1959 [[Porsche]]. This conflicts with the assertions by [[Ralph Nader]] in his book ''[[Unsafe at Any Speed]]'' criticizing the Corvair's handling. At the time Nader wrote ''Unsafe at Any Speed'', it is to be remembered he had neither an automotive engineering degree nor a driver's license.<ref>((cite book |last=Whiteside |first=Thomas |date=1972 |title=The Investigation of Ralph Nader: General Motors Vs. One Determined Man |url=https://archive.org/details/investigationofr0000whit/page/234 |location=Westminster, Maryland |publisher=Arbor House |page=[https://archive.org/details/investigationofr0000whit/page/234 234] |isbn=978-0-87795-034-9 |url-access=registration ))</ref> In response to Nader's book, McCahill tried to get a 1963 Corvair to flip, at one point sliding sideways into a street curb, but could not turn over the vehicle.<ref>((cite magazine |last=McCahill |first=Tom |date=March 1967 |title=Is the Corvair Really Unsafe? |magazine=Mechanix Illustrated |location=Greenwich, Connecticut |publisher=Modern Mechanix |pages=23–28 ))</ref>

==Favorite vehicles==

In the 600 road tests he performed and reported on,((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) his favorite cars were the 1953 [[Bentley R Type|Bentley Continental]] and the 1957-62 [[Imperial (automobile)|Imperial]], each [[model year]] of which he owned as his personal vehicles.((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) In 1950 he purchased a new Ford and proceeded to acquire the assistance of [[Andy Granatelli]] in "hopping it up" by switching to high-performance heads and manifolding. He then tested the car extensively and noticed a 90-mile an hour cruising speed. The car became known as the "M.I. Ford" as it was frequently featured in the Magazine. The wise and considerate McCahill de-tuned the car before selling it with 32.000 miles. The fear of mechanical failure at speed concerned McCahill with the safety of any future owner.((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) He purchased a new 1952 [[Cadillac Series 62]] sedan which he eventually raced in [[NASCAR]] speed week events. He also purchased new and reported on the '54 [[Jeep CJ]]3A, stating that while his [[Lincoln (automobile)|Lincoln]] was the finest road car available at the time, in the end, the Jeep was the best idea that mankind had ever made. He claimed a Jeep would outrun a contemporary [[MG (car)|M.G.]] McCahill purchased the first Ford Thunderbird built in 1954 and proceeded to race the car at Daytona Beach.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

==Sounding Off==
((unreferenced section|date=November 2014))
In a 1958 M.I. article McCahill accused the U.S. [[Automaker|Auto Industry]] of causing the recession and poor auto sales of 1958 by standardizing styling and eliminating factory- or factory-sanctioned racing. He focused on [[American Motors|AMC]]'s [[George W. Romney|George Romney]], who claimed that the [[Rambler (automobile)|Rambler]] handled better than U.S. full-size makes. McCahill performed tests to prove him wrong. He was at odds with [[Walter Reuther]] of the [[United Auto Workers|U.A.W.]] over the issue of poor quality in U.S. cars and the fact that European imports - at the time [[Saab Automobile|SAAB]] and [[Volvo]] in particular - were of high quality, outstanding performers and no more costly than a good [[Pre-owned vehicle|used car]] for those who could not afford a new domestic car. McCahill railed against unfair trade with Canada and Europe. He demanded that the U.S. stop accepting imports and, in lieu of [[war reparations]], force England, Canada and France (where one could purchase an English or German car, but no U.S. makes) to accept the forced sale of hundreds of thousands of used U.S. cars, a plan which he claimed would increase the sale of new vehicles by more than six million annually over the following five years, thus significantly accelerating the [[Economy of the United States|U.S. economy]]. McCahill had become Mechanix Illustrated public face, and the industry quickly realized that his review could make or break a product instantly. When he tested the 1948 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 powered by a flat-head eight-cylinder engine of prewar design, he claimed that depressing the accelerator was like "Stepping on a wet sponge". General Motors was incensed over his review of the '48 Olds and scores of angry letters from the corporation, as well as from Olds dealers and owners, came into MI's 'office demanding his firing.  However, it was widely known that McCahill's report motivated GM into development of Oldsmobile's new overhead-valve, high-compression "Rocket V8" engine, which made its début the following year in the 1949 "98." The format of the engine was filtered down to the smaller and lighter body/chassis used for Oldsmobile's lowest-price "76" series (powered by six-cylinder engines) and to create the Olds "Rocket 88." The Rocket V8 performed even better than in the bigger and heavier 98, thereby creating a whole new image for Olds and set the stage for similar designed V8 engines throughout Detroit over the next few years.

==Personal details==

McCahill was married a number of times but died without issue.<ref name="tmwed">((cite web|author=|publisher=Daytonia Beach Morning Journal|date=September 22, 1962|title='Jeanne de Candoya, Writer Tom MaCahill, Wed in Brunswick'|accessdate=2013-02-05|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dmgpAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WMoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1230,4126742&dq=tom+mccahill&hl=en))</ref> In a 1956 interview with [[Playboy|''Playboy'' magazine]] McCahill stated that he had "more cash than hair". The statement was in response to a question as to how he had been photographed in two separate issues of ''Mechanix Illustrated'' with two different wives. McCahill had homes in Florida and New York, where he would receive cars to test. He traveled all over the United States and Europe to facilitate testing. His stepson with his fourth wife, Brooks Brender, served as McCahill's assistant in his later years. McCahill was a personal friend of band leader [[Paul Whiteman]], with whom he shared his love of hunting and fishing. Every year, McCahill would make a ten-day boating trip from his home in New York to his home in Florida aboard his thirty-foot Egg Harbor Cruiser the "Rooster" (McCahill was forced to sell the Rooster in 1967 to pay off back taxes to the IRS).((Citation needed|date=November 2014)) McCahill was an avid fisherman, hunter and deep-sea diver.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

At age 68, McCahill died at the Daytona Community Hospital on May 10, 1975.<ref name="tmorb"/>''Mechanix Illustrated'' never publicly acknowledged his death, because his name was synonymous with it. He "amounted to the franchise" and management never wanted to admit he was gone. For a while, they ran a column called "McCahill Reports", which was [[ghostwriter|ghostwritten]] by Brender.  At the time of his death, he was believed to be the only living descendant of the Scottish highwayman [[Robert Roy MacGregor|Rob Roy]]. According to Canadian automotive historian Bill Vance, McCahill had lost a leg that became [[Gangrene|gangrenous]] after a thorn penetrated it during a duck hunt, forcing its amputation. His widow died in Daytona Beach, Florida.((Citation needed|date=November 2014))

==Books==
*Tom McCahill, ''The Modern Sports Car'', Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1954
*Tom McCahill, ''Tom McCahill's Car Owner Handbook'', Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1956.
*Tom McCahill, ''Today's Sports and Competition Cars'', Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1959.
*Tom McCahill, ''What You Should Know About Cars'', Fawcett Crest Books, Circa 1963.<ref>Open Library website under Fawcett Crest Titles.</ref>

==References==
((reflist))

((authority control))

((DEFAULTSORT:McCahill, Tom))
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:Motoring journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]

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