SAHJournal ISSUE 291 MARCH / APRIL 2018 SAH Journal No. 291 • March / April 2018 $5.00 US1 Contents 3 PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE SAHJournal 4 CENTURY OF AUSTRALIAN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURE ENDS ISSUE 291 • MARCH/APRIL 2018 A HISTORICAL REVIEW AND PERSPECTIVE 8 SAH IN PARIS XXIII THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIANS, INC. 9 RÉTROMOBILE 43 An Affiliate of the American Historical Association 11 BOOK REVIEWS Billboard Officers Louis F. Fourie President SAH Board Nominations: related to Rolls-Royce of America, Inc. This Edward Garten Vice President Robert Casey Secretary The SAH Nominating Committee is includes promotional images of Rolls-Royce Rubén L. Verdés Treasurer seeking nominations for positions on the automobiles photographed by John Adams board through 2021. Please address all Davis. Other automotive history subjects Board of Directors nominations to the chair, Andrew Beckman are sought too. Only digital images are Andrew Beckman (ex-officio) ∆ Robert G. Barr ∆ at [email protected]. needed. Accordingly, if you would like your H. Donald Capps # antique automotive documents and photos Donald J. Keefe ∆ Wanted: Contributors! The SAH digitized for free, just contact the editor at Kevin Kirbitz # Journal invites contributors for articles and [email protected] to confirm the assign- Carla R. Lesh † book reviews. (A book reviewer that can read ment. Then mail your material, and it will be John A. Marino # Robert Merlis † Japanese is currently needed.) Please contact mailed back to you with the digital media. Matthew Short ∆ the editor directly. Thank you! Vince Wright † Your Billboard: What are you Terms through October (†) 2018, (∆) 2019, and (#) 2020 Correction: The masthead of issues working on?... or looking for? Do you need Editor 289 and 290 featured the new board mem- help? Don't suffer in silence; put the word Rubén L. Verdés bers, and there was a typo in the surname out to your fellow members. To place a 7491 N. Federal Hwy., Ste C5337 of new board member Robert Merlis. With Billboard announcement, simply contact Boca Raton, FL 33487-1625 USA apologies to Mr. Merlis—accuracy is a pri- the editor: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] mary goal of this publication, and correcting tel: +1.561.866.5010 errors is an ardent part of that process. Publications Committee Free Digitizing Service: The Thomas S. Jakups, Chair Patricia E. Chappell editor is seeking documents and photos Louis F. Fourie Christopher G. Foster Front cover: This is the tailfin of a 1962 Chrysler Royal. The cover selection was inspired by and Donald J. Keefe used in our feature article on Australian automotive manufacturing. This photo and the others in Rubén L. Verdés the article came from the SAH's image archive, which is accessible to members on the SAH website Steve Wilson (via secure password login). Here's a direct link to that page: SAH Journal (ISSN 1057–1973) http://autohistory.org/members-information-library-index/photos-and-images If you don't have a password, go to the home page and click on the box that says "SAH Members Log is published six times a year by The In" and then click on the text that says: "Forgot your user name or password?" Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Subscription is by membership in the Society. Back cover: This Chrysler Royal ad appeared in the December 1957 edition of The Reader's Digest. Membership dues are $50 per year ($60 Note that while this car was not sold in the United States, as a Chrysler it had some features related to its American kin, e.g., the "Forward Look" and "pushbutton control." (From the editor's collection.) per year outside North America & Mexico); digital membership dues are $20. Dues and changes of address go to: Submission Deadlines: Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. Deadline: 12/1 2/1 4/1 6/1 8/1 10/1 c/o Cornerstone Registration Ltd. Issue: Jan/Feb Mar/Apr May/Jun Jul/Aug Sep/Oct Nov/Dec P.O. Box 1715 Mailed: 1/31 3/31 5/31 7/31 9/30 11/30 Maple Grove, MN 55311-6715 USA Note: the SAH Journal is a bimonthly publication (printed 6 times a year) and there is ©2018 a two-month horizon for submitted material before it is mailed (e.g., material sub- The Society of Automotive Historians, Inc. mitted by February 1st appears in the Mar/Apr issue and is mailed on or before 3/31.) www.autohistory.org All letters, manuscripts, and advertisement submissions and inquiries go to the editor. Join, renew and more right on-line! 2 SAH Journal No. 291 • March / April 2018 PPresident’sresident’s I fi nally visited Rétromobile in Paris this past February, as well as using the op- PPerspectiveerspective portunity to see the Schlumpf Collection and the nearby Peugeot Museum owned by the manufacturer along with new SAH t has fi nally dawned on me that I had bet- Director Bob Merlis. All these venues were Iter start getting through my bucket list be- most impressive. Included was the Paris fore my compression expires, the lights fade, Dinner where I asked Kit Foster to continue the suspension groans, rust tries to take hold, his eminent role of presenting the Nicolas- the electronics module short circuits itself or Joseph Cugnot Awards to Anders Clausager the catalytic converter decides to plug the for Wolseley: A Very British Car and Manuel system up. Accordingly, I have been invading Lage for Los proyectos desconocidos de CETA the frequent fl yer points and spreading my y PEGASO. A hearty thank you is extended wings in search of car museums and events to Kit, Laurent Friry, Peter Moss and Thomas to visit. And you know what, the battery is Ulrich for organizing this dinner. now fully charged and the “check engine” On my return trip I stopped off in the dare not show itself! UK and drove out to Oxford to meet my Last year members of Automotive counterpart, Barry Blight, Chairman of the Historians Australia gathered in Adelaide newly independent Society of Automotive on the occasion of the closure of Holden Historians in Britain. Barry was the consum- production at the nearby Elizabeth plant mate host and we benefi ted from open dialog and the end of all Australian automobile and sharing thoughts about the future of our manufacture. It was the ideal opportunity two Societies. to take in one of the last plant tours and Looking ahead, a second European participate in a conference at Adelaide and unique models. An unexpected treat was Conference is planned for March 29 – 31, University. Also included was a gathering fi nding a collection of many Eastern Block 2019 at the Louman Museum, Den Haag, of over 1,500 collector cars on the Bay to cars. The Netherlands. Just across the border Birchwood Classic Run. Australians love their cars and it would in Essen Germany is the Techno-Classica A most appealing Holden Commodore appear that a larger proportion of younger scheduled for April 10 – 14, 2019. This is SV6 Black Edition treated me to 4,800 people seem to be enjoying the hobby than the German equivalent of Rétromobile. kilometers (3,000 miles) of rewarding driv- we have in North America. Is it a case that Hopefully by the time you read this the ing and wonderful scenery together with many youngsters have developed an appre- “members only” section of the SAH website carefully planned museum visits. The Aus- ciation of machinery on farming holidays will have close to 5,000 images that refl ect sie independence was very obvious in GM, with relatives or been under the guidance the many museums recently visited. Ford, Chrysler and BMC/Leyland variations of someone who has had such rural roots? —Louis F. Fourie NEW MEMBERS Roger White (4423) Ken & Marsha Freese (4430) Peter & Debbie Stephens (4478) Severna Park, MD Diamond Springs, CA Dublin, OH [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] John Nikas (4424) Chris Montgomery (4468) Kathleen Bergeron (4481) Huntington Beach, CA Bethesda, MD Salisbury, NC [email protected] Princeton University Library (4471) [email protected] Dave Peterson (4425) Princeton, NJ Len Holland (4482) Dublin, CA Gregory A. Cagle (4472) La Jolla, CA [email protected] Cary, NC [email protected] Wim Van Roy (4426) [email protected] Tim Ludbrook (4483) Mechelen, Belgium Larry Printz (4473) London, United Kingdom [email protected] Boynton Beach, FL [email protected] Edward Tilley (4427) [email protected] Keith & Dana Bisson (4485) Cary, NC Darryl Holter (4474) Palo, IA [email protected] Los Angeles, CA [email protected] George K Newberry (4428) [email protected] John Koller (4487) Wall Twp, NJ Carly Starr (4475) Dousman, WI [email protected] Sacramento, CA [email protected] Jeff Mahl (4429) [email protected] Jean-Pierre Record (4488) St. James City, FL Jeffrey S. McVey (4476) Tarbes, France [email protected] Boise, ID [email protected] [email protected] SAH Journal No. 291 • March / April 2018 3 nized the opportunity. Being progressive and to keep unit costs down, he also sought the business of other Dodge Brothers franchise holders in other states. To cater to these needs he agreed to establish plants in other states, starting in 1919 with a Melbourne plant in the state of Victoria and expanding to Sydney, New South Wales, in 1920 and in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1923. This progressive approach to diversifi ed regional plants convinced franchise holders of other makes to become clients of Holden. On November 1, 1926, General Mo- tors acquired distribution rights from the previous franchise holders and established assembly plants in or close to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.