Ter

N.Van man’s idea precursor fo VW design

THE Volkswagen
invented by a North
Vancouver resident?

Not quite, bur that can't
be blamed on Terry Hare, the
North Vancouver service sta-
fon manager turned cnirepre-
neur, whose attempts to con-
vert the Detroit giants to
using his rear engine suspen-
sion system were courageous
but unsuccessiul.

Terry Hare became propri-
ctor of Terry Motors, a service
station at 15th and Lonsdale,
in 1934.

Bu: he had bigger dreams
than , those that
could be satisfied
here.

His restless,
creative mind led
him to conceive
an improved sys-
tem of rear engine
suspension. In
September of
1935 the ‘TG.
Hare Company
was incorporated
to develop
patents for this invention. A
Board of Directors was
formed with Hare as
President, Dr. Carson Graham
as Vice-President, and W.C.
Laberton as Secretary. Shares
were sold to raise working
capital.

In late October of 1935
Terry set out for Detroit,
patent in hand, convinced that
fame and fortune were within
his grasp.

Lengthy interviews with
executives from Chrysler and
General Motors, as well as
contacts with Gar Wood
industries, builders of buses,
were initially encouraging.
Even Henry Ford granted him
a fifteen minute interview.
Success seemed at hand.

But soft talk of possible
future wealth from comsnis-
sions on his inventions use was
hard to translate into up-front

f his autumn,

- ork gives you one more

| epecial reason to fall for Victoria.
Stay ia four-diamand eplewdlor,

B dine with posteard views of

} Victoria's Inner Hachour, relax in
oar indoor pool @ hull-service
spa, and (ake in downtown
attractions and shopping just
steps away!
“Re wiht Vabd Sun Thin odes be anarbahabts

Net ealad thse ies odbet Lewure taudeh
Taner # cratts outta. (Nice soled aot Ot 2b, bee

“ Even
Henry
Ford grant-
ed him a
15-minute

interview.

ha.d cash, On June 3, 19362
letter from the Directors
requested his immediate
return, as funding tor his stay
in Deron, net to mention
supperting his wife and child
back on North Vancouver, was
straining their imuted
resources.

Detron in the 1930s had
more people with patents than
Lonsdale Quay has gulls: in
summer, and Hare's rear
engine suspension was only
one of a number looking fora
patron. The odds were stacked
heavily against him. But Hare
refused to return, convinced
that success was just around
the next inter:
view. Funds still
tickled sporadi-
cally from the
Board ot
Directors, if in-
sufficiently — for
Hare’s peace of
mind. He wrote
on July 21, 1936
that he was
“entirely out of
funds,” and on
October 22 that
his wife back in) North
Vancouver was*out of oil and
{has} no heat in the house.”
On May 9 of the next vear he
waskicked out of is hotel and
moved in with his brether in
Windsor.

As the months became
vears, and the perfect” deal
remained elusive, if became
evident that: Hare's creation
woukd not bring wealth to
anyone. In August of 1940
the company was struck off
the register of companies for
failure to file required returns
(none had been filed from
1936 to 1939). The last letter
on record from Terry Hare is
fram Ypsilanti, Michigan,
dated May 15, 1941. He was
now employed as a salaried

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hay COLONY

HOME FURNISHINGS

1075 Roosevelt Crescent
North Vancouver

{2 blocks behind Avalon Hotel}

Open Daity Fri. 9-9; Sun 12-4

from records of the T.G. Hare
company donated to the
Archives in 1980 by Gladys A.
Graham.

had failed. He never appeared
to have moved back to the
Vancouver area. The above
information was assembled

ly there. Mavbe after the war
there might be possibilities...
but underneath ran a p2intul
recognition thar his dream

worker in the auto industry,
and spoke of moving his ranu-

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