The Dale and Lady Liz Carmichael is a fantastic story of literally pulling the wool over the public's eyes on many fronts. Recently turned into an HBO Documentary we covered this story for The Best of California some time back.
Chief Historian Leslie Kendall tells us how the Petersen Automotive Museum acquired one of it's most bizarre cars. The gas crisis miracle car -The Dale and all that surrounds it is a story of true crime, fraud and false identities. The Best of California is hosted by Pat Pattison gives us all the strange twists and turns and a surprise ending.
“The Best of California with Pat Pattison” is a fast-paced half hour show that explores the natural wonder, people, history and mysteries of the California Lifestyle. California native and TV Host Pat Pattison explores the state’s nooks and crannies from the historic backlots of Hollywood, famous California Cuisine all the way to the mansions of the Gold Rush and Silicon Valley. The world’s seventh largest economy and almost a country unto itself “The Best of California with Pat Pattison” offers us a compelling window into the future, past and present of one of the world’s most dynamic places.
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Hi, I'm Pat Patterson with the Best of Los Angeles Awards, and I'm here at the Peterson Automotive Museum
with Chief Historian Leslie Kendall and the Dale.
Well, I've known about the Dale since the mid-70s when it first came out, as a teenager in high school.
And this was especially interesting because it was supposed to only have three wheels, two cylinders, two seats.
I just thought it was an absolutely fantastic kind of vehicle if they could pull it off.
And the person that promoted it was unusually captivating.
The museum acquired the Dale by very fortunate means.
We happened to be at an auction in Santa Paula, the Jimmy Brucker Cars of the Stars auction.
And it happened to be one of the cars for sale.
I remember thinking, like, we have to have this.
And I had permission to go to $7,500 on it.
And I looked at my boss, I said, do you mind?
I said, can we just do $76,000? I know my limit's $75,000.
He goes, okay, do $76,000.
So we did the $76,000, and everybody bowed out.
The hammer came down, and Peterson Automotive Museum had its Dale.
Wow.
This car is the embodiment of just about everything that's Los Angeles.
It's a quirky car. It's an interesting design.
It's advanced.
And the individual behind it was really, really something.
That's for sure.
Now let's look at the many secrets and bizarre twists of the Dale.
This is the Peterson Automotive Museum, one of my favorites in LA.
It has one of the greatest collections in the world.
It celebrates everything automotive.
But I've always wanted to explore the vault.
It's a separate special tour, and I strongly recommend you take it.
It was buried there that I thought I might find something, you know, a little bit different.
Maybe a little bit scandalous.
And sure enough, historian Leslie Kendall showed us a mysterious car from the 70s that had it all.
I'm California native Pat Patterson, and even though I've lived here all my life,
I keep uncovering new secrets, myths, legends, scandals, and mysteries of the Golden State.
Stick with us as we go uncovering California.
Here in the vault were some incredible finds,
like the Chavarrans Bugatti, Grease Lightning from the movie Grease,
Steve McQueen's Jaguar, Ed Big Daddy Roth's Outlaw,
and even one of Elton John's outlandish rides.
And in the midst of all this fame, right here in plain sight, the Dale.
Now imagine a futuristic, lightweight, three-wheel car boasting 70 miles to a gallon.
The 70s sexy equivalent of the Tesla that was going to sell for $2,000.
The Dale was the brainchild of Southern California design engineer Dale Cliff.
But like a lot of inventors, Cliff needed somebody with business savvy to bring his vision to market.
That someone was 37-year-old Liz Carmichael.
At over six feet, the charismatic, self-promoting Liz vowed to bring the gas-guzzling,
male-dominated Detroit Giants to their knees.
Her timing was perfect to do just that.
It was the middle of the gas crisis of the early 70s.
The press, investors, and potential customers were fascinated with Liz Carmichael and the Dale.
Interested dealers and customers with pre-orders threw money Liz's way.
She quickly raised the equivalent of $16 million in today's money.
It was even shown on the Price is Right TV game show.
Well, maybe the Price is Right, but something was terribly wrong.
No one had really looked under the hood of this car,
because when they did, they found a weird putt-putt engine,
and the wheels were nailed onto 4x4s.
The Dale was a total fraud.
And once Liz's little scheme was exposed by the Los Angeles District Attorney's office,
she packed up and fled with the millions.
But it turned out that Dale wasn't the only thing that had a secret under the hood,
because Liz Carmichael was actually a man.
Jerry Dean Michael, to be exact.
A fugitive wanted on alleged counterfeiting charges.
And now, presto, Jerry was gone.
Well, eventually, Jerry got arrested in Dale, Texas, of all places.
He was still living as a woman.
Jerry passed away in 2004.
But what a legacy.
Join us next time for more myths, legends, scandals, and mysteries of the Golden State
on Uncovering California.
Like us on Facebook, and in the meantime, we'll keep digging.
