Autos of te century must incl

OVER tke next few
weeks, columnists cov-
ering every subject
under the sun will be
giving us their version
of “highlights of the
century” so perhaps
itv’s time for me to get
in my automotive 16

cents worth.
Since the 20th century
has featured countless auto-
mative landmarks, [ll split
my choices into nvo
ns. Th k, Pi
cover the half century
between 1900 and 1950 and
wrap things up in a second
column.
I should point our that
my choices are completely
subjective and are not the
result of painstaking
research. .
Vehicles making the cut
are simply products that
stand out for me after 20
years or so of writing about
automobiles and automotive
history.
At the start of this centu-
ry, the auto industry was in
its infancy and manufactur-
ers were not far from the
stage of adding a crude
gasoline engine to a horse-
drawn vehicle. .
Even so, some of today’s
famiiiar brand names were
well on their way to becom-
ing established.
No list of great cars can
even get started without
mention of the Model T
Ford which first rolled off
the line in October of 1908.
- ‘The legendary “Tir
Lizzie?” was cheap and
durable for its tiine and peo-
ple loved it.
’ It turned Henry Ford,

who had failed twice with

-- auto manufacturing énter-

~ prises, into onc of the
world’s richest industrialists.

The car endured in vaci-

.ous forms until 1927 and
when production wound up,
more than 15 million Model
Ts had been buik —- some
of them in Canada.

_ Among luxury automo-
biles of the period, few rivals
could match the magnificent

“Rolls-Royce Siiver Ghost,
introduced in 1906.

. Even teday, there are
:* motoring historians who say

that ne better luxury car has
. ever bees produced.
“Incidentally, the original
Silver Ghost. really was silver

— or at least silver-plated.
Charies Rolls and Henry
Royce began an upscale car
tradition that endures to this
day, though the company
now has German owners.
.., By-the late 1920s, cars
had Become quite sophisti-
‘cated technically and the
great ones were certainly
- impressive to look at. The
"Mercedes-Benz SSK of that
era still ranks as the most
desirable sportsier of its
time and the few remaining
examples fetch astronomical
prices when they show up
on the collector market —
‘which isn’t very often. With
its cycle-type fenders, spare
wheel bolted co the (rear)
gas tank and rakish lines, the
SSK rermains the epitome of
the pre-war roadster.

In 1934, Citroen intro-

duced a car that was to

influence vehicle design for
decades
Avant, as its name implies,
used front wheel drive and
lingered on until 1955 in
some form or another. More
than 756,000 owners loved
its stability, roominess and
comfort, and it saved the

The Traction

et ANSE Mama AES ME Eo a HA TER, TE NAL SORT tb A

ANN A EA APM TR NMA A FO ROA RE LITER Nac mt re MALS tm

French automaker from
almost certais, demise.

The fare 30s saw the
development of an even
more significant automotive
fandma the VW Beetle.
Millions of the little cars
were produced and it
became almost a cult in
North America, thanks to
clever advertising aad leg-
endary durability.
has a successor in tl
Beetle, but the achievement
of the original mode! (still in
production in some markets)
Will never be eclipsed.

World War Two was an
understandably barren peri-
od for automotive innova-
tion, bur the lace 1940s saw
some of the old excitement
creeping back — especially
in North Am .

The 1948 Hudson Super
Six typified the industry's

optimism in those carly
post-war years with its snap-
py performance, low stance
and fastback stvling.
Pioncering unit body design
with a floor plan suspended
from the chassis frame gave
the Super Six a ground-hug-
ging look and made it the
safest car of its day. It also
dominated stock car racing
ia the carly 50s. Sad to say,
it did not change the for-
tunes of Hudson, which
merged with Nash in 1954
and disappeared for good in
1957.

The original Land Rover
also rolled off the line in
1948 (most were destined
for farmers), but the British
manufacturer couldn’t passi-
bly have foreseen the boom
market for sport utility vehi-
cles that would close out the
century.

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-opene

ude the Modei T

THE legendary “Tin Lizzie,” first manufactured ‘in
1908, was cheag and durable for its time. :

Tony Whitney’s column Automobile Dealers?
appears courtesy of the B.C. Association (BCADA).

K:
4220 Woolridgs St. Conuitiam
26-7225

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