On a cold March morning, too cold and icy to drive our Model As, about 15 or 20 curious club members came to BYU to be Doctor Grant Eckstein’s lab rats. He was interested in our eyes. That is, our eye movements as we studied 12 sets of Model A parts and cars. You may think it was easy, but the general consensus was that the questions and pictures were too hard. Can you imagine that? Model A owners complaining about something? The suggestion was made that fine point judges should be subjected to the experiment.

OK, I confess, I had to consult the Restoration Guidelines and Judging Standards book to verify that the pictures, questions, and answers I chose conformed to the current body of Model A knowledge. But, to my credit, I didn’t go for the hard stuff, like the subtle bumps and labeling of carburetors or the bale anchors on late model distributors.

Almost everyone chinned up to the eye tracker bracket and picked out the answers to the questions. The device measured the movements of the eyes as people studied the photos to find the answers. Nobody was harmed in the process, though some pride may have been bruised.

Afterwards, Grant brought up a summary of the group’s performance, showing where most people looked for answers. There’s a 50/50 chance that one of the ladies will best the rest of the participants as she chose the pretty pictures. Another said that her short-term memory was on the blink, creating a leak in her think tank. That is to say that she forgot the questions by the time the pictures came on screen.

Grant will spend some time analyzing the results. He’ll do a bunch of cabalistic statistical voodoo, and report back to the club later in the year; maybe this fall. Until then, brush up on your Model A acuity

If you were not able to attend, but would like to take a shot at the quiz, you can check it out here!