Park a Modern Car Next to a Century-Old Antique, and It’S Hard to See How One Evolved Into the Other

Innovation often The engine soon migrated In a key evolutionary starts with what’s from under the seat to the step after 1910, seats that familiar; Henry’s 1903 Ford was just beginning to front, under a small metal hood to reduce noise. This had been sitting on top of the body were lowered into evolve from the horse buggies that had been around popular innovation made cars longer. As with horse the body. Riders were at least partially protected from for centuries. Many early autos were closer to the size carriages, seats were still perched high up, though the elements, with enclosing walls (originally wood) and and shape of today’s golf carts than today’s cars. drivers no longer needed to see over the tops of horses. a windshield (that folded down when it got too dirty).

Despite the Depression, This 1937 Lincoln appears By the ’30s, the hood had automobile evolution hit a growth to be the missing link between the widened to merge with the rest of spurt that produced the protective exterior shell and old carriage-inspired lineage (right), and the unibody the body, sporting stylishly smooth lines known as the interior cocoon that we associate with modern cars. look that defined autos forever more (left). Fenders, torpedo look. For cargo space, an ordinary traveling Manufacturing innovations opened up new styling headlights and the ‘trunk’ are now integrated into trunk is mounted on a platform in the back – an area possibilities that made car design a true art form. the body, rather than being bolted-on accessories. that will always be known as the trunk. Park a modern car next to a century-old antique, and it’s hard to see how one evolved into the other. So follow along, and watch how exterior body features were gradually absorbed into a unified whole. When the factories In a fashionable variation, Extending the interior to the started back up after WWII, cars the roof was lopped off for back bumper offered extra space And learn why car bodies rapidly were built lower and wider. With running boards no an open riding experience reminiscent of the for trips with kids in the ’50s. At this point in car evolved for 50 years—then stopped. longer needed as a step, that real estate was absorbed firstcars. The V-shaped hood and rounded front history, though, an interesting thing happened. Auto for roomier cabin space. The change also re-imagined fenders were also remnants of earlier autos – soon to bodies, having matured to a classic form that perfectly grilles as horizontal instead of vertical. be fused together as a unified front end(right) . fit a mobile society, essentially stopped evolving. BY TOM TORTORICI

Attempts to combine sedan Along another Since then, cars have become comfort and style with SUV utility evolutionary branch, simply more streamlined for fuel efficiency. led to the minivan, then the crossover. With hood, super sizing the station wagon Styling has sure changed. But today’s sedans still retain windshield and roof merging for an egg-like form concept bred the SUV. This car/truck mix suited the same layout and proportions as sedans from the factor, personal cars have mutated far from the gangly road-warrior suburban families with lots of stuff, mid-1950s. Those shiny chrome bumpers didn’t survive, assembly of parts they started as. No one back then and began to redefine the idea of a family car. however, as they too got swallowed into the body. could foresee how cars would evolve – and neither can we. How Japan shook up “No American wants to drive a boxy Detroit fifty years ago little toy car.” and how they ended up making each other better

BY TOM TORTORICI

In the beginning, Detroit ruled. The Beetle was never really an option of becoming any kind of global force. grappling with emerging concerns, fuel even faster. The cascading prob- of American car buyers. They had for the fast-growing suburban family and new laws, regarding automobile lems were reflected in profit-and-loss developed efficient, economical For the longest time in America, Taking a shot. Sensing opportunity market, who couldn’t picture folding safety and emissions. New pollution statements. approaches to precision manufacturing ‘buying a car’ meant buying domestic. in the growing American car culture, themselves up to squeeze in. control hardware increased car prices methods. With new ‘Quality Circles,’ In the mid-1950s, when only 1% of the though, Japan began attempting without increasing car appeal. And Japan’s second attempt. every worker took ownership of the autos on US roads were imports, Study abroad. In 1950, Ford’s some exports in 1957. But those cars no one thought to budget for all the Meanwhile, much improved Japanese final product. And in just a few years, the Big Three had no reason to feel massive River Rouge plant was visited didn’t sell well; American buyers just safety recalls. Other quality issues imports had been popping up on those automakers helped turn the threatened. by a Japanese gentleman, there to weren’t impressed with their quality. seemed to reflect a ‘good enough’ more US driveways since the mid-60s. phrase Made in Japan from a negative study production methods. He was Most of those ‘foreign cars’ went to The very first offering was meant to complacency. A good selection of higher-end into a positive. inspired by the scale, but obsessed niche and luxury buyers who enjoyed compete with the Beetle, but it was European imports were posting with ideas for improved efficiency. Then in 1973, Middle East oil embargos Let’s make this simple. Japanese the thrill of European sports driving. underpowered, tended to overheat, stronger numbers also. But the Those innovations would come in caused disruptive gas shortages and brands also controlled costs with a and shook when it managed to broader middle-class market gave Meet the Beetles. One import to handy at his family automaking alarming price increases here. The limited set of styles, colors and options. achieve high speeds. Though it did Japanese brands more room to grow. buck that trend was the one that soon business back home; Toyota, like its sudden push for fuel efficiency added Customers could pick their car, sign the include an electrical outlet so the In fact, their small, fuel-efficient cars dha became a common sight on US roads: handful of competitors, was rebuilding to carmakers’ burdens. Distressingly, paperwork, and drive off. Many domes- driver could shave while on the move. caught the eye of European buyers too. the distinctive but dependable after WWII. early antipollution devices, and the tic vehicles were still custom ordered Volkswagen ‘Bug’. This time, Japanese engineers had To keep things affordable for a nation Trouble in Detroit. In the 1960s, growing popularity of air conditioning, with each buyer’s set of preferences shifted up to the quality expectations This stripped-down, never-changing in recovery mode, those companies American car manufacturers were were making their large cars gobble up – an expensive approach that delayed machine with its witty advertising were shifting to small, lightweight tended to appeal to younger drivers ‘Kei cars’. Scaling up just to accom- and academic types rebelling modate local demand, the Japanese against mainstream consumerism. auto industry showed no signs IMPORT DOMESTIC

THEN

NOW Global trade networks began to blur the line between ‘foreign’ and ‘domestic.’

Differences in design and engineering began to fade.

gratification for several months. further dinged Detroit’s reputation. By picked up from US companies that the time US manufacturers managed design and style, not just engineering, In the late ‘70s, another round of long to improve their small car offerings, count when selling automobiles. They gas lines pushed even some hold-outs they had already lost precious ground. came to understand the emotional to sniff around Japanese dealership component of car buying, which they lots. It was clear that a small car with Domestic automakers fought back could leverage in their marketing half the cylinders could get them with Made In America themes in their there just as easy as a big, high- advertising; Buying American was now around the world. powered one. Reliable, affordable, a cause, not just a transaction. They learned about product mix, and gas-sipping Japanese models kept Still, Detroit’s hold continued to erode. how to deliver it on a mass scale. pouring into American ports. By the end of the ‘70s, a third of all car They learned how updated styles and features kept people with perfectly Ironically, it didn’t work both ways. sales were imports, and two-thirds of good cars coming back. For a time, Japan protected its own by those were from Japan alone. On the banning car imports there. global stage, Japan was surpassing the In the end, competition between the US as the world’s biggest automobile two nations forced them to work both “No American wants to drive a manufacturer. harder and smarter, to the benefit of Having been boxy little toy car.” all car buyers. on top for so long, Detroit was in denial Detroit learns some lessons. In at first that its domestic empire could time, American car factories learned The great assimilation. The ever be challenged. Car execs shared from their Japanese counterparts how advent of global supply chain and the hopeful, if dwindling, confidence to make more durable automobiles, assembly networks began to blur that US buyers wouldn’t be interested with an engineering focus on how all the once-clear line between ‘foreign’ in those cheap ‘foreign’ products. the components and systems worked and ‘domestic.’ Differences between together. Detroit had already started producing American and Japanese approaches to some mid-size cars, but the bulk of its Carmakers here also received design and engineering began to fade. trade was still mostly ‘bigger is better’ advanced lessons in manufacturing Before long, the brand emblems were full-size vehicles. With their big, thirsty automation, after doing things the the only way to tell them apart. motors, muscle cars peaked by 1970. same way for decades. They learned how to reduce vehicle mass and If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. With a choice of engine sizes, smaller American car companies began joint pony cars like the popular Mustang weight without sacrificing safety, and to focus on smaller, low-maintenance, ventures with Japanese firms to hung on longer. high-revving engines. produce a number of successful models. Many US car dealers, at first Responding to the threat. The The big changes made Detroit Big Three finally acknowledged the rightly threatened by the growing companies overall stronger than ever, popularity of imports, restored turn in public tastes by developing though their resurgence landed in some compacts to add to dealer lots, profitability by becoming dual a permanently altered competitive dealerships, offering one American and despite lower profit margins. However, landscape. well-publicized and sometimes one Japanese or other import brand. dangerous mechanical defects with The Japanese learn some Just as in global politics, those who were some of those rushed-out product lines lessons too. Japanese manufacturers once adversaries were now allies. What were once luxuries 1914 First Turn Signals are now necessities... By Tom Tortorici Unlike impolite drivers today, people before 1914 had an excuse for not using their turn signals: they didn’t exist. 1929 First Car Heater Tom writes about the That year, silent movie starlet (and automobile enthusiast) social and cultural Florence Lawrence decided that we should know each In the early days of winter motoring, car heating meant aspects of car history. A History of other’s navigational intentions. She developed a mechanism heavy coats, scarves and lap blankets. Since most cars called an Auto Signalling Arm: buttons on the dashboard were open to the elements, the chilling wind still made would lower a single pointer on the back of the car to either for a miserable ride. 1953 First Air Conditioning Automotive the left or the right. She also As more enclosed cars were sold, people started using portable gas lamps and burners for warmth, as invented a “stopping” sign A long ride during a Southern summer used to feel like they had for centuries with horse carriages. But these which automatically swiveled a pizza oven with a steering wheel. People got so were inherently dangerous. Amenities upward when the footbrake overheated and cranky that a smiling couple on their By 1917, engineers realized that exhaust fumes was pressed. honeymoon trip soon found their budding marriage put to could be circulated around the cabin in pipes, to offer It wasn’t until 1938 that a scowling, seething test. Think your commute is tough? Buick introduced the first faint warmth. The first real heaters appeared in the 1929 Try it without the comfortable electric turn signals. But Ford Model A, using heat from the engine. But people An early version of automobile air conditioning had been conveniences that have evolved since it didn’t seem to occur complained that the first tried in the early ’40s. But the noisy units in the old over the years. to some people to turn off the signal after the turn, the 1940 system didn’t’ fully heat up Packards took up half the trunk, and had a price tag that model came with a self-cancelling mechanism. until they were a block was more impressive than their cooling power. Of course, people could always use hand signals to away from their destina- indicate intended turns and stops. Problem was, you tion. The following year, The first air conditioning as we know it was the Airtemp option on the ever- 1912 First Electric Starter couldn’t see that hand at night. Which lead to something GM came out with the called the Illuminated Glove, which in 1918 was a reflective now-standard heating innovative Chrysler Imperial. Not only Starting early automobiles from the crank in front mitt for the left hand. Today, it’s standard equipment for core, with fan-powered was it silently refreshing, but it cleared wasn’t just strenuous. It was dangerous. nocturnal bicyclists. circulation. From then on, we’ve stayed toasty, more or the air from four adults exhaling smoke A Detroit gentleman who stopped to help a less, during winter holiday trips to grandma’s. rings from their Chesterfields. female motorist in 1910 was killed when the crank Except for truck drivers, who waited much longer By 1960, 20% of U.S. cars buyers were violently kicked back. His friend happened to be for effective heating systems to become standard. springing for the extra cost of A.C., which bumped up resale Henry Leland, head of the Cadillac Motor Car Apparently, even Northern trucking companies felt that value. In the hot, dry Southwest though, the figure was Company. Shaken, Leland told engineer Charles 1927 First Car Radio cabin heaters were a frivolous luxury that would only eat 80%, presumably with a more immediate benefit in mind. F. Kettering that if Kettering could develop a into their profits. self-starting device for cars, it would be used in the Even to people rushing home to catch their favorite following year’s Caddys. radio show, the very notion of a radio in the car once 1951 First Power Steering However, a small electric motor with the seemed like a silly and far-fetched idea. First Speedometer required voltage to turn a heavy engine would burn Before power steering, maneuvering a car around city 1901 Oldsmobile Runabout out in minutes. But Kettering developed a motor that But not for long. The earliest mobile radios were home- streets was the equivalent of a stiff workout. But that First Power Windows could put out large bursts of power for just a few brew affairs, crudely adapted from household radios. was nothing compared to tooling around in an eight-ton 1940 Packard 180 seconds. Then in 1927, Philco released its Transitone as an after- armored car during World War II. market item. But the electrical systems in cars created One day, Kettering offered to pick up Thomas J. Engineer Francis Davis at Pierce Arrow actually First Seat Belts static that competed aggressively with the music. Watson, later head of IBM, at the train station. As demonstrated the first hydraulic power steering system 1949 Nash they got in the car, Watson peered at his friend who way back in 1926. Later, as a GM employee, he was In 1930, the Galvin Manufacturing Company introduced apparently had forgot- disappointed when the bean-counters there deemed it First Dashboard Phonograph (!) two things: the first truly practical car radio, and their ten to crank the car up. too expensive to produce. But when Davis signed up 1956 Chrysler new company name, Motorola. Too broke to afford a Then his mouth fell with parts manufacturer Bendix, his design eventually booth at an Atlantic City trade show, Paul Galvin parked open when the engine found its place in wartime battle vehicles. First Intermittent Windshield Wipers his Studebaker outside the hall, came to life at the push Finally ready for prime time, Hydraguide power 1969 Ford Mercury of a button. cranking up the volume so pass- steering was featured on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial. First Antilock Brakes It worked, and ing conventioneers could hear it. Autos of that time were 1978 Mercedes Benz Leland kept his word. His plan worked — he received big, bulky and almost as Suddenly, guys standing enough orders to put his radio weighty as their military into production. First GPS Navigation out in the rain heaving the engine crank seemed cousins, and folks didn’t 1993 Oldsmobile 88 want to work up a visible quite unfashionable, and by 1920, electric push- By 1933, Ford was installing sweat on their way to button starters were the norm. radios at the factory. The idea First Remote Control Key Fob church. had caught on, satisfying the 1993 Chevrolet Corvette But since the design growing hunger for constant entertainment, and forever was based on expired patents, Davis didn’t get a penny. freeing riders from the chore of ongoing conversation However he did get the last laugh, eventually ending up during long trips. back at GM, with a chunk of change for every power- steered car that rolled off the assembly line. Though trac control was a complex problem, authorities realized they had to keep the rules simple and intuitive. The process took some trial and error, to calibrate for the limitations of human cognition and response time. Right-of-way rules evolved, which basically came down to two principles: First, Chaos on every corner. Imagine every every vehicle has a right to a ‘safety zone’ immediately surrounding it. And second, busy intersection as an automotive free-for-all, drivers making a change must yield to those simply proceeding forward. with no agreement – only constant quarrels – over who has the right-of-way. Welcome to the With consistently followed rules, drivers could predict the likely behavior of other early days of motoring. vehicles, and proceed accordingly. This discovery turned out to be key. The rst trac cops only added to the yelling Hey, slow down. Connecticut was the rst state, in 1901, to impose a speed and confusion, pointing and waving in a frantic limit to try to stem the epidemic of road collisions: 12mph on city streets, and ad-hoc eort to keep the trac moving. It 15mph on country roads. Some citizens pushed back, though, as if being told how hadn’t occurred to anyone yet to let the north- fast to drive was somehow an aront to the American spirit. south lanes proceed while holding back the Laws naturally are meaningless unless they’re backed up with the threat of punish- east-west lanes, then switching. ment. Night courts popped up to handle trac infractions, imposing nes that were Stop and go. The alternating method nally paid with simmering resentment. The worst punishment for a driver was not the caught on, along with the idea in 1914 of using electric chair, but even more bitter, the loss of their license. dierent colored electric lights to signal drivers One for the road. The rst drunk driving law was passed in 1910, but included whether to stop or go. However those lights no standard of intoxication. By the ’30s, road patrols were making suspect drivers didn’t cycle by themselves; they had to be blow into a balloon. The new Drunkometer device displayed a color to show their manually switched back and forth all day by a level of inebriation. presumably bored ocer of the law. As more excited new drivers took to the roads, the National Safety Council promoted The tallest ocers were assigned to the trac public awareness that climbing behind the wheel implied a social and legal responsibility. beat in order to see over the tops of cars, trucks and trolleys. When that didn’t work, cops were License and registration, please. As with other regulations, some states stationed in tall trac towers in some cities, were slower to start issuing driver’s licenses than others. In fact, South Dakota didn’t where they could see, and coordinate with, license drivers until 1954. And despite all the clearly incompetent drivers, many adjacent intersections. states didn’t impose the indignity of a driving test. People who actually learned to drive often received their instruction from the salesman who sold them their car. Houston boasted the rst street-corner trac lights with automated switching in 1922. Soon, New York was the rst state to register automobiles, with a fee based on the car’s BY TOM TORTORICI just about every town in America installed at horsepower. They issued no tags, however, expecting the driver to craft their own, least one trac light, whether they needed it or usually using house numbers. When states did start distributing steel tags, they not, as a status symbol of civic progress and came in all shapes and sizes, not standardizing to the current size until 1956. importance. White-gloved ocers, with their Give me a sign. First-time car owners were setting out all over America – and shrill whistles, mostly faded away as the promptly getting lost. The rst directional signs were planted not by local govern- The rst autos didn’t have to standard unit of trac control. ments, but by drivers’ clubs. Eventually, a highway numbering system, used on signs There oughta be a law. For a few decades, and maps, helped motorists navigate long trips with more than just guesswork. follow trac laws, because automobiles and horse carriages shared the The rst stop sign, black-on-white, showed up in 1915 in Detroit. Standard shapes there weren’t any yet. road, with the former nimbly weaving in and for each type of sign were soon set, since people could recognize the octagon out among the latter. There were, after all, no before they were close enough to read the word. But soon, chaotic trac jams, lanes. Drunks and kids had as much right to drive as anyone else. New Yorkers crossing the Park it right here. More cars driving on Main Street meant more cars parking erratic speeders, and mowed- street to the ice cream parlor risked being on Main Street. The rst Park-O-Meters were installed in Oklahoma City in 1935 to down pedestrians made cars added to the Times’ daily tally of run-over discourage all-day parking in front of local stores. Aghast citizens showed up to pedestrians. protest, only after dropping in their nickel, since there was no place else to park. the new urban menace. These were new problems, so no one had Local governments soon became addicted to the revenue from parking meters, Something had to be done, any experience solving them. Early eorts at as well as from nes for all kinds of infractions. Counties with busy through-roads rulemaking resulted in a spotty patchwork hid their black-and-whites at strategic spots. Why? To trap out-of-towners singing but what? of laws that varied from one place to the next. along with the radio who hadn’t noticed the speed limit sign. Signal lights meant dierent things in dierent Policing ourselves. Since there couldn’t be a watchful cop on every corner, a cities, so each approaching driver might think general agreement on street rules had to become psychologically internalized by they had the right of way…just before the crash. drivers. To this day, we’re still conditioned like mice in a lab to stop at red and go on Getting tra c under control. Finally, a green, when nothing is preventing us from doing the opposite – except maybe the sharp New Yorker named William Eno observed, honking wrath of the other mice. and pondered, and published his Rules of the Road as a guide for standard driver behavior. His clever eort eventually became the foundation for the trac laws in many cities. We drive here, we drive there. We take our easy mobility for granted. And forget just how lucky we are.

FRESH PERSPECTIVES ON CAR OWNERSHIP

BY TOM TORTORICI

Peeved that your car doesn’t have enough cup holders? Let’s look back at what people in the past had to endure to get from here to

there. You may be surprised how many still get by without the

self-propelled miracles that our time, place, and means entitle us to. Freedom’s just another word for... Out of about 7.5 billion having your own car. The taming of the beasts. in the there Imagine if a modern SUV suddenly showed up in Humans were riding horses, camels, donkeys and other 4-leggers by 3000 BCE, are only about 1 billion ancient Greece, inviting locals to climb in for a finally giving our feet some relief. We trained the creatures not to throw us off, and owners. speedy, air-conditioned ride home. Could they trained ourselves not to fall off. The wheel had been invented, but was useless until even wrap their heads around the experience? early entrepreneurs devised the axle to connect it to the first animal-powered rolling For the first sixty years of automobile ownership, carts. Rides were bone-shaking though, over rocky, deeply rutted trails. people went for Sunday rides, thrilled with the You’re cruising along in the fast lane, power to simply sail through the countryside. Sorry, the train just left. When’s the last time you backed out of the Great Britain pioneered motorized reclining in comfort, surrounded by music. garage with no destination or mission in mind? transport in the 1800s, with public railroads GPS points the way, as LEDs light up the night. The thing is, once we manage to outrun the and steam-powered buses. San Francisco traffic, our well-worn routes, and ourmental followed with electric streetcars for chatter, driving is actually fun. You’re warm and dry, despite the freezing sleet. commuters. These conveyances reliably Sometimes it takes a curvy two-lane road on a got you there, but only Personal travel has not always been this easy. sunny spring day to appreciate what we possess. if you adapted to their Because in our cozy sealed cocoon and protective routes and schedules. outer shell, there’s no territory we fear to tread. And as far as getting to FOR 200,000 YEARS, WE WALKED and from the station, EVERYWHERE you were on your own. (SLOW & TIRING) FOR JUST 120 YEARS, (THAT LAST TINY SLIVER) WE’VE ZIPPED AROUND The always-ready, go-anywhere machines. Automobile addiction. IN OUR PERSONAL FOR 5,000 YEARS, TRANSPORT PODS In U.S., car ownership gained traction in the 1920s for the lucky, growing Sure, city dwellers all over the WE RODE CARTS AND ANIMALS middle class here. In Europe, though, personal motor vehicles were mainly reserved world today get around perfectly (SLOW & SMELLY) for the elite until the early 1950s, when car ownership fine with public transport and yes, worldwide skyrocketed. A one-car garage was originally walking. But the rest of us get the sufficient, until everyone in the family over 16 demanded heebie-jeebies when stranded for a set of wheels to head out in their own direction. a day with our car in the shop.

THE FIRST 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 HUMANS YEARS AGO YEARS AGO YEARS AGO YEARS AGO TODAY

THE HUMAN TIMELINE Our past is their present. Everybody just pile on.

From the vast deserts of North In plenty of other places, folks Africa to the isolated mountains of take advantage of transportation Let’s walk there. Afrycze China, animals are still the engines technology, but with a motorbike as For almost all of human history, foot power was our only travel option. Before of daily mobility for many. People a perfectly acceptable family car. agriculture, nomadic clans had to walk far over steep terrain to find what they needed here don’t even dare aspire to a new From the primitive to the privileged, to survive. Once they gobbled up an area’s resources, they went back to the slog, Jeep Cherokee, though they might whatever we’re born into, apparently, hauling kids and possessions, shoeless, in the most extreme weather conditions. covet a more modest upgrade... we consider ‘normal.’

B Y T OM T ORTORICI Tom is a marketing writer who’s fascinated by automobile history.

The First American Racer The Drive to Compete: Forgotten Heroes

of Racing History The bustling spectators don’t notice the light snow falling on their shoulders. Riveted with curiosity assistance. An hour later, both cylinders and anticipation, they stare at the six are doing their job, and Frank Duryea Franknoisy, shuddering cars at the starting Duryea and his Umpire are back underway. line. It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1895 in Then, as Duryea later recalled, “after America’s First Lady of Racing Chicago’s Jackson Park, and the rst a stop for gasoline, and a four-minute automobile race in America is about wait for a passing train at a railroad to start. crossing, we continued.” The rst gangly vehicle to gain Under wintery gray clouds, with the momentum—hardly at breakneck chugga-chugga of the engine in his ears, speed—is driven by a hopeful Frank Frank Duryea, his Umpire, and his car at the couldn’t make it in any of them. But from 1895 Chicago race the weary driver winds his way around The sights and sounds of the Duryea of Spring eld Massachusetts. cars racing around the track made the moment I hit the race track, it was horse carts plodding along icy roads. Two years ago, Frank and his brother With all the delays, Duryea quietly an instant impact on Louise Smith. It was exactly what I wanted.” followed by a return trip landed themselves a place in the history worries that other cars have made their the dusty summer of 1943, and it was her Enter Bill France Sr., the owner of a to Chicago. Since there’s never been an books by building the rst gas-powered way ahead of him. But now as the rst time in the stands. local track in South Carolina. He had his car in the U.S. It was actually a second- organized automobile race before, no Louise Smitheye out for a woman driver who might course takes him through a local park’s With her own heart racing in sync one is quite sure what to expect. hand horse carriage they had out tted untouched snow, it dawns on Duryea with the whining engines, she decided attract more females to his racing events. After a smooth start through the with a recently-invented internal that his competitors must be behind Someone told him about Louise Smith, park’s unpacked snow, trouble begins she couldn’t simply sit there. combustion engine, and a bicycle-like him after all! Probably, he imagines, Louise Smith, in her favorite seat who had already developed a bit of a for Frank Duryea when he hits the So on the spot, she climbed down chain drive. suering mechanical woes of their own. reputation as a fearless racer. France rst bumpy, rutted city streets. His wagon- and signed up for the next race, driving The machine that Duryea is steering A grueling ten hours after he used Smith as a novelty act, but she again wheeled auto starts shaking alarmingly the car she had arrived in. anything about a checkered ag.” through the park today is an improved, started, Duryea is thrilled to be the rst showed she could be a real competitor. from side to side. Jolted by of one of As she sped around the dirt track, Someone nally gured it out, and relatively souped-up model that to cross the nish line, cheered by the the more cavernous ruts, Duryea is Louise experienced the same thrill she threw out the red ag. But by that time, So when Bill France Sr. developed doubles the number of cylinders from few remaining fans. Average speed? A distraught when the steering arm he had felt when outrunning the cops in her Smith was smitten with racing fever. the NASCAR racing series, Louise helped one to two. A race Umpire sits beside big seven miles an hour —but enough uses for turning suddenly breaks o in hometown of Barnesville, Georgia. Turns Some time later, she asked her to promote it as its rst woman driver— him to keep things on the up and up. to give pioneering automakers Frank his hand. out she was in good company: a lot of husband to borrow his new maroon Ford even though “We didn’t think [NASCAR] Already behind Duryea are the other and Charles Duryea bragging rights for With no way to maneuver, the driver the other drivers were sons of Southern for a little vacation. She neglected to was going anywhere.” entrants, three gas-powered Benz the fastest car in America. must head out on foot to nd a local bootleggers, who had also honed their mention that her destination was Being the lone female wasn’t easy. machines from Germany, and two Along with making headlines across electric cars. Early carmakers see today’s blacksmith. Then he watches impatiently racing skills being pursued by cherry- Daytona Beach, Florida, where she “Them men were not liking it to start the country, they also win the race’s popular event as a exciting chance to while the iron steering arm is carefully topped black-and-whites. entered the car in another race. This time, with, and they wouldn’t give you an inch.” $2,000 prize , about $50,000 in today’s showcase their vehicles and prove their re-forged and re-threaded...all while the The Georgia girl proved she could she wasn’t as lucky; half way through, she Yet throughout her career, Smith money. Not bad for a couple of innova- endurance. However the overnight ‘race’ remains in progress. compete with the good ol’ boys by went on to win 38 times in Midgets, tive bicycle mechanics—the profession, managed to wreck the car in a pile-up. snow has created rough conditions. In fact, one of the Benz cars has coming in third in that race. Problem was, On the bus ride home, she made up Modi eds and Sportsman cars. incidentally, of another pair of brothers She retired from racing in 1956. In The race course has been charted taken advantage of the situation to chug who are about to take to the skies. she didn’t know that a checkered ag a lie about the car breaking down in into the lead. 1999, Louise Smith became the rst along 27 miles of coastal parkland and Hours later, in darkness, one of the signalled the end of the race, so she just Augusta. But when she tried it on her public streets to Evanston, Illinois, Chilled but determined, Duryea woman to be inducted into the Interna- Benz automobiles nally nudges its own kept running around the oval. husband Noah, he pulled out a local manages to regain that lead at the race’s tional Motorsports Hall of Fame. way across the nish line. Except it’s “They told me if I saw a red ag to newspaper that showed her wreck on the half-way point. He also regains his “I won a lot, crashed a lot, and broke just being driven by the Umpire, with the stop,” she said later. “They didn’t say front page. Busted. con dence...until disaster strikes again. about every bone in my body,” she said, original driver slumped in the passenger “I was just born to be wild,” Smith Now one of the two cylinders “but I gave it everything I had.” seat, collapsed of exhaustion. told an interviewer years later. “I tried to • stubbornly refuses to re. Again, the • be a nurse, a pilot and a beautician and racer somehow manages to nd willing c1875 Horse-Drawn c1880 Chicago Horse- Hook & Ladder Drawn Police Wagon Trudging uphill with just The windy city’s finest, 3 horsepower, firemen patiently waiting for the had to get out and run invention of motorized alongside – then were patrol cars. too exhausted to actually fight the fire.

AN IRONIC LOOK BACK AT THE WORLD’S AN IRONIC LOOK BACK AT THE WORLD’S Police Cars Fire Trucks For every law that’s been made throughout In the early days, a knocked-over kerosene 1912 Ford Model T Paddy Wagon history, some dang fool, somewhere, has lantern could set an entire neighborhood of broken it. Here are some of the novel ways Dedicated lawmen rounding up all the c1903 Steam-Powered Pumper citizens they caught having fun on Sunday. wooden buildings ablaze. When the primitive law officers have taken to the road to fire rigs finally arrived, they squirted a little Pausing to take a picture before track down the morally water as a token gesture, rushing to the orphanage fire. 1924 Los Angeles challenged. then waited for the Holding Cell Sidecar c1953 Italian Perhaps the inferno to burn Fire Supply Rig c1962 German punishment for itself out. Made to squeeze through Isetta State moving violations narrow, crowded city Police Car was 30 days in a streets, these tiny Would love to moving jail. 1937 Seagrave Safety Sedan Limousine 3-wheelers have seen this little one-cylinder bubble car While some firefighters clung to the backs of toted gear and try to catch a Porsche 911 on the Autobahn. swerving trucks, Detroit crews–and their hoses– water– hopefully preferred to arrive in comfort and style. to a small fire.

c 1960 Scottish Pedal-Powered (!) Police Car A CLASSIC: 1963 Ford Galaxie A CLASSIC: 1955 Maxim Reserve Tanker This motorless wonder probably struggled 500 Police Interceptor c1960 Japanese Some fire departments apparently decided a to apprehend a fast-walking jaywalker. Hard to sneak up on speeders All-Terrain Water convertible would be nice for and other hoodlums Tanker riding to fires when they learned If cars didn’t get on pleasant to spot a ‘cherry top’ out of the way, spring days. light from a mile away. well, it could always just roll over them. BY TOM TORTORICI Tom writes about the fascinating social history of motor vehicles. MORE > c1885 Canadian Horse-Drawn Ambulance Why was it painted black like a hearse? Plainly, after a long, slow ride, things could go either way.

AN IRONIC LOOK BACK AT THE WORLD’S

1914 City Ambulance Ambulances This crew looks like it was sent out for a typhoid epidemic, but is These days, you always pull over to let a afraid to get out of the ambulance. speeding ambulance go by. But in times past, you might be sitting at the curb for a while, waiting for some of these old rigs to plod past on their way to the infirmary.

c1939 City Ambulance Who knows whether it was fast or reliable, because in the art deco era, c1928 French Motorcycle of course, it Sidecar Ambulance was all about With no suspension and cobble- elegant design. stone streets, patients arrived sicker than when they left. 1917 WWI Army Bicycle Ambulance A CLASSIC: 1964 Cadillac Hope the wounded S&S Ambulance soldier isn’t in too The only icon of mid-century much of a hurry, and vehicle design that no one the field hospital necessarily isn’t on a hill. wanted to ride in.

By Tom Tortorici Tom is a car history buff who, by day, develops strategic marketing communications. For European Oddities a free copy of “Selling to Stingy Buyers in a Stinky Economy” email Never imported. Probably best. [email protected].

Over the years, European automakers have produced an impressive array of stylish, sporty, sophisticated vehicles. And they’ve also coughed up these curiosities.

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s my ride to the bierfest. Let’s just let the engineers do the styling. If a car and a motorcycle had a baby together... Radio? Airbags? Cupholders? Ha! The classic light, light, light delivery vehicle. Seating for 4, 6, or heck, maybe 12. 1955 Messerschmitt KR200 1949 Citroën 2CV 1999 BMW C1 1953 Iso Isetta 1953 Peugeot Trimoteur 1956 Fiat 600 Multipla German French German Italian French Italian

Now this would impress a parking valet. Would any self-respecting American teenager Whoa, if I spotted this riding in the next lane, This little blob of transportation engineering As a kid, I had a bicycle with a basket in the Is that the front? Or is that the back? Perhaps Let’s see: clear canopy over cockpit seating, pick up his girlfriend in a car like that? Yeah, I I’d wreck for sure. Looks like they chopped looks like a family car for people with no front. I guess this was the next step up. But just step on the gas, and see which way narrow ‘fuselage,’ and front fenders that jut don’t think so. If the aim was to make an ug- the sides off a Smart Car just for fun. I’ll bet a family. Not a four-door. Not a two-door. But a if you’re delivering a heavy load of potatoes it goes. Anyway, I thought the Plymouth out like clipped wings. It doesn’t really fly, lier version of the VW bug, this was a success. lot of people were surprised when this thing one-door car that opens in the front like a to the village market, you don’t want to take Voyager was the first family minivan. But this does it? By the way, is that what it competed with? went from concept to production. refrigerator. Gee, why do you think that clever those turns too fast, do you? must have been its granddaddy, right? arrangement never caught on? Only if it’s rear-ended by a truck. This 3-wheel Well, in rural France in the 1950s, it origi- Shocked, I’d say. In the press kit, it was branded With a 15 mph max speed, I don’t think that Sure looks likes it. But if you were to stand 2-seat enclosed scooter is little, low to the nally competed with the horse and wagon, as the Urban Personal Commuter—a name Hard to say. The original manufacturer, Iso SpA, was much of a problem. But they certainly next to one, you’d be surprised to see it’s ground, and so light that a buzzing 10hp one- which is how folks there were still getting that only a committee could come up with. tried their hand at carmaking after years of were clumsy little beasts to drive. Other than actually the size of a subcompact car. cylinder engine pushes it to 60 mph. After around. Soon generally popular enough to BMW was hoping that Europeans who drove building—guess what—refrigerators. After that, these business bikes actually were quite Enjoyed as urban taxis as well as family cars WWII, Messerschmitt could no longer make have a three-year waiting list, the 2CV almost a motorcycle to work might want to cruise in WWII, Europeans needed cheap, basic suited for light delivery on narrow, crowded until the late ‘70s, the rear-engine Multipla planes for the Nazis, so they made cars...that single-handedly motorized the better part just a little more comfort, but not too much transportation, and by delivering up to 70 city streets. Americans don’t realize that in came in a number of seating arrangements, looked like planes. The surprising popularity of a country. But don’t let its homely design more. The product without a category did mpg, the bubble-like Isetta was apparently many parts of the world, motorcycles and but quite often squeezed in a lot more of this evolutionary dead-end seemed due to or hammock-like seats fool you; at the time, benefit from solid BMW quality, boasting an worth parking one’s pride at the curb. scooters have been widely used as primary Italians than its official capacity. To keep its classification as a motorcycle, which meant this baby was technically advanced, versatile, interior reading light, heated seat and grips, Licensed by BMW in Germany, the two-seater personal vehicles. Commercial vehicles prices affordable, Fiat designed the 600 precious cost savings on tax and insurance. reliable and innovative in its simplicity. Plus and a sound system whose volume adjusted was fondly known there as the Sargwagen; too, apparently. In fact, the release of the with an absolute minimum of sheet metal. Plus no driver’s license was needed, making it cost half as much as its German cousin. In with the speed. But the core focus of the this was roughly translated as “coffin on Trimoteur was exciting news for small-time Safety, shmafety, right? So for just 24 install- this the perfect pick for elderly old dears addition to being a farm family’s Sunday-drive C1 was safety, with a roll cage for a car-like wheels,” alluding to the fate of any riders vendors who were understandably tired ment payments, a big Roman family could who could no longer pass the driving test, as car, it had a removable top for piling on farm safety cell, plus a crumple zone for front-end unfortunate enough to partake in a head-on of trying to balance, say, 200 lbs. of lettuce own their first new auto, and escape all the well as citizens who had lost their license for products to take to market. Plus the production collisions. Of course, if you were broadsided, collision. The length of the Isetta was about on a bicycle. Plus the French, for some other Multipla traffic for a spicy picnic in the driving around drunk. You’d think that the specs called for an extremely loose suspension all bets were off. BMW claimed that with all the same as the width of American Buicks at inexplicable reason, have always had a countryside. An impressive 3 million of these prospect of being seen in public in one of that would allow it to carry fresh eggs over a the protective features, a helmet was unnec- the time, which means we could have almost fondness for all kinds of three-wheeled distinctive little buggies were produced over these carnival rides would be motivation plowed field without breaking. Can your car essary. But stick-in-the-mud British officials carried one in the trunk as a spare, um, car. vehicles, or triporteurs, both gasoline and the years, and sold in places as far away as enough to obey the law. And sure, pedestrians do that? Funny thing is, in the early 1970s, the didn’t buy that story, thereby eliminating a Eventually, as both families and income grew, foot-powered. In the wide-open U.S., of Argentina. They were considered fun to drive, were more likely to get knocked down by a iconic 2CV once again became highly popular, major selling point. Plus the C1 was awkward folks in Europe would trade up to something course, we tended to graduate from tricycles but I’m guessing only by people who had blurry-eyed Messerschmitt driver. But at least this time as a hip youth-culture status symbol. at slow speeds. So in the end, BMW’s quirky much more roomy and practical—like a at about age 4, and it’s never occurred to us never been behind the wheel of a Ferrari. they could get back up. Go figure. experiment rode the fast lane to nowhere. Mini Cooper. to look back. More...

Might be safer to just walk in the street. Oh, no, here comes a speed bump, aaahhh! Hey, with just 3 wheels, I’ll save money on tires. 1952 Felber Autoroller 2007 Piaggio Ape Calessino 1970 Bond Bug Austrian Italian British

I think these would go over well in Texas. You I see it, but I’m not sure what I’m seeing. Is that A wedge of cheese with wheels and headlights. could herd cattle with it, then dash to the mall. a motorcycle under there pushing this thing? At least it has the right number of headlights.

Yep, Texans could hold their head high driving Pretty much. The modernized, limited edition Don’t laugh —with a top speed of 78 mph, a Felber. Designed by a maker of motorcycle Ape (pronounced Ah-peh) pays homage this fiberglass-bodied automotive insect sidecars, it looks like they couldn’t quite com- to the open taxis that swept stylish tourists compared favorably with English 4-wheeled plete the transition to actual automobile. In around southern Italy coastal resort towns sports cars of the time. It was only available an unusual arrangement, this three-wheeler’s in the 1950s and ‘60s. However these in Tangerine Orange, perhaps based on some three seats were diagonally staggered. Plus Autorickshaws have always been far more questionable market research. The market, the bodies were all painted a nice shade of popular in India as well as throughout by the way, was 17-25 year olds, presumably industrial green, since that common paint Southeast Asia. Many busy streets bustle with color blind, who could drive it with only a was the cheapest. Inexplicably, when import a colorful variety of both the personal and motorcycle license. At the product launch, restrictions were finally removed, Austrians taxi versions, known as Tuk Tuks. But with one proud company executive claimed that ditched their domestic Autorollers in favor several passengers and a motorcycle engine, the Bug would “appeal to a much wider of “real” cars. And Felber went on to try their trying to make it up a hill only provides section of the market than we originally hand at washing machines. amusement for onlookers. envisioned.” Hmm, good luck with that.

A vision of the car of the future. Well, maybe not. We need you to deliver 6 refrigerators right away. Can I give you a lift in my...space ship? 1922 Rumpler Tropfenwagen 1948 Piaggio Cross Country 1934 Tatra 77 Austrian Italian Czechoslovakian

Is it an automobile shaped like a cigar? Or a Cross country? I think this little tricycle truck Isn’t that the ‘34 Cadillac Fleetwood? No, I’m cigar shaped like an automobile? Just not sure. should win a prize if it makes it cross-town. mistaken; the Caddy didn’t have a dorsal fin.

The Tropfenwagen foretold the future in one Developed by the inventor of the Vespa Designed by a zeppelin aerodynamic sense: it was the very first streamlined car. In (note front fender), these nubby little delivery engineer, the large, luxurious Tatra took the fact, curious testing engineers just recently vehicles were tougher than they looked — car streamlining craze to an obsessive new were astonished at its low drag coefficient. even if their drivers didn’t look so tough. One- level. Innovative, fast, and nearly silent, it made In lieu of fenders, its four distinct wings were seaters steered with handlebars, they were extensive use of light magnesium alloys. The designed to protect the body from splashed-up designed to slowly nose their way through 77 looked so futuristic that a popular sci fi mud without creating forward resistance. busy urban streetscapes. After WWII, the need movie director ordered several for his upcoming The driver sat alone up front, like a no-nonsense for cheap transport included the commercial film. Fourteen years later, many of the Tatra’s pilot. The Rumpler originally caused a market. Six decades later, the CC’s modern, unique features were borrowed by Preston sensation at the 1921 Berlin Motor Show, squared-off descendents still roam Italian and Tucker for his own innovative machine. but alas, it was just too advanced for the Greek cities. Though I imagine Athens delivery- Fun fact: the steering wheel was placed in the emerging carbuying market, which collectively men daydreaming about nice big red Ford middle of the front seat, perfect I suppose, for looked at it, shook its head, and walked away. pickups as they toot around in their Piaggios. cruisin’ with a pair of hot Czech babes. The engine must be here somewhere started quarrelling over who got credit for what, and soon let their differences get the best of them. Still, the In the earliest cars, the motor was generally mounted under and modest run of 13 hand-built cars nonetheless marked the behind the driver’s seat, near the real wheels that it powered. establishment of the American automobile manufacturing During the first decade of the 1900s, some car makers experi- industry. mented with engines in the front, under a metal hood, a stylish modification that soon won popularity. Problem was, other manufacturers still hadn’t figured out how to drive the rear Women’s Right of Way wheels from a front-mounted engine. For example, the 1905 In the earliest days of the twentieth century, motoring was a man’s by Tom Tortorici Yale Model E still kept its engine hidden low in the back, but to world. Throughout the late teens and the twenties, though, the attract fashion-conscious buyers, it featured a fake hood in the lady of the house increasingly found that ‘a woman’s place’ was front that held...nothing (except for maybe the water and oil behind a steering wheel. Three developments helped move this tanks). Eventually, all automobile companies employed the trend along. First, the option of an electric ignition freed the fairer engine-forward configuration, which allowed the entire car to sex from having to crank up the car from the handle in the front, sit lower to the ground. After all, unlike the carriages they had a difficult and often dangerous procedure even for men. Second, evolved from, cars no longer had to be built to allow the driver to cars became more reliable, which made it less likely for a young ThinkThink youyou knowknow see over the tops of horses. wife to be stranded on the road. And third, hardtop models began to outsell convertibles, protecting ladies and their children from Two dollars regular, please questionable neighborhoods and unpredictable weather. The sense of freedom and empowerment that females gained by their The first gasoline providers for early cars were existing establish- new mobility surely was a factor in the growing women’s rights ments like hardware stores. However since the pumps were movement at the time. simply placed in front of the store at the curb, cars that were aa lotlot aboutabout cars?cars? gassing up tended to block the road. In busy areas, that lead to continual traffic back-ups, driver rage, and more than a few And we have a winner Here are some highlights (and lowlights) of accidents. When pumps were finally set back as part of proper At the turn of the twentieth century, electric cars, steam-driven early automobile history that may surprise you. ‘service stations,’ the accompanying structures initially tended to be cars, and gasoline-powered cars all competed for market share, cheap wood or corrugated metal sheds, creating dilapidated and it was far from certain at that point which would prevail. eyesores all along the road. This soon became a serious social, Electric cars, like even today’s models, were limited in range, and political and aesthetic issue. Then things swung the other way, with apparently that was a deal-killer for new owners who might want Drive back where you came from ‘vis-a-vis’ or face-to-face arrangement. Finally realizing that the stations trying to outdo each other to gain architectural respect- to jump in and drive to the horizon. Steam cars were powerful driver’s ability to see the road trumped conversational courtesy, ability. One gasoline company built their service stations to look A horse-drawn world in 1900 surely must have welcomed the enough to cover longer distances, but waiting up to a half hour to passengers soon got moved back to the back, but at least now they like quaint English cottages, and another offered buildings that zippy new age of the automobile, right? Apparently not everyone get enough steam up was ultimately too tiresome for on-the-go could see where they were going instead of where they’d been. looked like Greek monuments, complete with classical columns. was quite so enthusiastic. Well-to-do families in the early years drivers. Early internal combustion engines may have made for a smoky, noisy, vibrating ride, but ultimately they won the new- would set out on weekend car trips into the countryside, only to Traveling to exciting new counties find rocks and bricks hurled at them by the locals! Cars in those Meet your car’s great-granddaddy ly-mobile hearts of car buyers by default. The fact that they start Once back-country Americans got past their early, somewhat right up and ride forever made gasoline-fueled cars the driver’s days were loud, oily-smelling beasts that kicked up clouds of dust America’s first gas-powered vehicle may have been a remarkable violent resentment, and as they noticed car prices dropping, they exclusive choice for the next hundred years. from the dry dirt roads. Apparently these intrusions of progress technological leap in 1895. But it looked like what it was: a humble started to pick up on the possibilities. Now, with one of these jarred the traditional sensibilities of rural folk. Worst of all, the 2-seater horse buggy. It had been purchased, used, by the entre- newfangled contraptions, carrying their crops to market every odd, jerking machines scared the horses, who would sometimes preneurial Duryea brothers in Springfield, Mass. Peeking under Obstacles to Progress week took half an hour instead of half a day. They could visit careen off the road, carrying their carts and riders on an this particular buggy, though, would reveal a one-cylinder internal Beginning in the 1880s, France and Germany made great, rapid relatives in other towns who they otherwise might never see again. unexpectedly wild ride. combustion engine, bolted on and hooked up to propel two strides in developing and popularizing the self-propelled vehicle. And, significantly, they had access for the first time to big-town bicycle-like chain drives. At the first street test, curious onlookers England? Not so much. Steam carriages were actually quite suc- medical care, education, libraries, media, sports and culture, as well gathered. After an initial human-powered push, the chugging 4HP cessful as public buses in the later part of the nineteenth century. Look at me while you’re driving as retailers hawking the latest consumer conveniences. In this way, motor sputtered to life and nudged the buggy along for 200 feet. But their competitors, the railroad and horse-carriage industries, The front seat/back seat arrangement seems to make perfect sense the automobile probably had more overall impact on At that point, a large bump in the road proved enough to entirely had better lobbyists; Parliament was persuaded to levy a tax on for cars, but in the early days, it appears to have taken a while to the lives of farm people than anyone else. thwart its momentum. Still, Charles and Frank Duryea scored it as the steamers so burdensome it put them out of business. A few arrive at that configuration. The French 1890 Panhard-Levassor had Plus Henry Ford made sure that his a win. Tweaks and tests continued, yielding an upgraded, slightly years later, British officials were so fearful of the response to a back seat all right, but it faced backward. In a presumable response Model T’s engine could be adapted to run more purpose-built 2-cylinder model for the fledgling Duryea Motor personal gas-driven vehicles on public streets, they ruled that every to the difficulties of group conversation, cars like the 1896 Peugeot farm machinery. Not a big selling point today, Wagon Company to put into production. But even adventurous automobile must be preceded by a man on foot, waving a red flag had its back passenger seat placed in front of the driver’s seat, in a but it certainly was at the time. buyers were put off by the $1000+ sticker price. Then the brothers to warn villagers of the 4-wheeled monster coming down the road. COOLER

1955 Chrysler Ghia Streamline X With a gas turbine and an aerodynamic QUIRKIER body that countered crosswind resis- What a tance, this Italian-designed vision could have zoomed you to the mall at 160mph. 1933 Dymaxion Legacy Features: Light aluminum body Prolific inventor/designer Buckminster Fuller panels; advanced streamlining. imagined an all-in-one vehicle that could drive, float, and fly when– the technology became Concept! available. With its rear-wheel steering and 1958 Ford Nucleon whale-like form, though, it was a clumsy beast These quirky/cool old In an audacious plan, this concept on the road. Legacy Features: Fuel-efficiency car would have been powered by technology; human-centric design. concept cars never got to a small on-board nuclear reactor. 5000 miles without refueling! cruise down Main Street. Legacy Features: Torque converter; adjustable modes for sports or But they did leave a legacy of economy driving. innovations that pointed the way forward to today’s production cars. Plus the visionaries who conjured up 1969 Toyota EX-II This 3-wheel, 2-seat these prototypes got to have electric runabout was some creative fun. designed for cheap commuting. Just lift the bubble canopy from the front and climb on in. Legacy Features: 100% electric powered; BY TOM TORTORICI 1958 GM Firebird III 1955 Lincoln Futura single-curve profile. Images: Michael Furman, Silodrome, Henry Ford Museum No relation to Pontiac’s pony car, this one was jet-powered, Swimming sharks offering a jet-pilot experience. inspired its design. 1932 Stout Scarab Its wings inspired Cadillac’s A decade later, it Apparently an early fins. Legacy Features: Anti- was customized to ancestor of the lock brakes; cruise control; morph into TV’s minivan. At the time, keyless remote door opener; original Batmobile people couldn’t collision-avoidance system. – with a rear ‘rocket decide if it was an art booster’ made from deco masterpiece, or 1939 Phantom Corsair a 5-gallon paint can. Legacy Features: just plain ugly. This sleek beauty was created by Rust Center console; Legacy Features: Heinz, who preferred designing cars door-ajar warning. Unibody construction; to helping out at his family ketchup independent suspen- business. Legacy Features: Hydraulic sion; reconfigurable impact bumpers; interior crash padding; seating. climate control system.