Marque1

MARQUE1 CLOSING, DOMAIN URL FOR SALE

After three years of creating three blogs a week I'm shutting down Marque1 in order to join a friend's site, where I'll be writing once a week but having more fun. My thanks to all of you who remained regular readers.

Consequently the Marque1 domain (URL) is for sale. I'm also selling a domain that I never used (myclassics.ca). A good one for a car enthusiast who wants to build a classic car site.

You can contact me about these domains by writing [email protected] or [email protected]

You can now find me at www.timscartalk.ca

[Photo: My Porsche 356B with a CN railfan train in 1961]

Bye for now --
-- Philip Powell

WHY WE CELEBRATE HENRY FORD'S $5.00 WAGE GAMBLE

100 years ago this month one of the most important events in automotive history occured. Henry Ford offered to pay workers at his Highland Park plant a minimum of $5.00 per day. He didn't do it because he was a nice guy. Mr. Ford rationalised this move on the basis of stability. Prior to 1914 American economic policy was to pay workers at a variety of rates, often as low as possible, which led to absenteeism, an unstable work force, and a deep cut in  profits.

There were other benefits, too. The workday was cut from 9 hours to 8 hours per day and Ford announced that the $5.00 a day salary was sufficient that his employees could then afford to buy their own new Model T. His moving assembly line had been installed the previous year which, together with the $5.00 wage, enabled greater volumes with consistent results.

Thousands of men lined up outside the Highland Park Plant, eager to be hired for a liveable wage. They did, indeed, buy the cars they made, but so did the rest of the rest of the country. This resulted in more money being spread through the financial system, to everyone's benefit. Incidentally, the only reason all the cars were black was that black paint dried faster and with numerous coats applied the bodies could be finished in one-tenth the time. As paint technology changed more colours would be offered.

In his book The Model T, a pictorial chronology of the most famous car in the world, Ford Corporate Historian Robert C. Kreipke tells us: "The Highland Park Plant was catching the attention of the entire world. The Model T was rewriting the laws of manufacturing and assembly. Inside the confines of the company, new opportunities for the future arose on a daily basis."

In writing about automotive history we tend to focus on the car, not the plant nor the manufacturing system nor the labor force that builds it. Henry Ford's revolution, 100 years ago this January, deserves greater praise than any one automobile save, of course, the Model T itself. Today we can all celebrate his accomplishment through mobility, a better lifestyle, and a stable income. Exactly as Henry Ford planned it.

AT LAST! A BENTLEY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!

It is not unusual for a car manufacturer to attach the brand name to other products. Bugatti and watches, for example. So I suppose we shouldn't be surprised to find Bentley linked with furniture. What is unusual is that the luxury car maker isn't just leasing out the logo. It is going the full monte, taking the lead in everything from design to manufacturing to marketing.

I'm not quite certain why Bentley would do this but I suspect it has something to do with China. The brand is becoming a huge hit among Chinese millionaires, of whom there appears to be a dozen new ones every day. "If they love our cars, won't they also love our chairs, couches, and beds? What a nice way to increase profits and have a little fun doing it!"

I've no idea what these Bentley furnishings will cost but you can count on paying a small fortune by average person's standards, if the descriptions are any indication.

Here's an example: "Bentley Motors presents its range of luxury home and executive furniture at the Maison & Objet fair in Paris, designed and manufactured in collaboration with Luxury Living Group, one of Europe’s leading furniture makers. The collection is inspired by the renowned craftsmanship and exquisite materials that characterise the interiors of all Bentley models." The company goes on to tell us "the range has been expanded and developed by the architect Carlo Colombo with Daniele Ceccomori, Bentley’s Head of Product Design."

Got your interest? Okay, read on: "The collection is an exercise in subtlety, incorporating functional performance with comfort and luxurious, sensuous quality. It captures the style of the Bentley driver through items that mirror the impeccable quality and attention to detail of the Crewe-based marque. The colour palette is natural, featuring mocha, cognac, taupe, quartz, grey and ice, flanking variations of purple-red, burgundy, brick red or blue. The combinations exalt the use of tactile leather and sensuous textiles. Hints of male attire, pinstripe or houndstooth, are introduced into sophisticated velvets and the lightest of cashmeres, crafted with three-dimensional patterns."

Still not sold? Better log out now because you'll never resist this poetic pitch: "The Home Collection embodies Bentley’s emergence as a modern high luxury brand. It combines sophisticated materials with contemporary design and the ultimate in bespoke craftsmanship." Or this from Alberto Vignatelli, CEO and chairman of the Luxury Living Group: "We accepted with enthusiasm the challenge of interpreting in furnishings the exclusivity and charm of Bentley. In the Bentley Home collection there exists a passion for details, care of materials and a style that anticipates the trends while remaining true to the codes of elegance and tradition."

While you're calling your banker to transfer the funds I recommend the Butterfly sofa and armchair. "The deep, plush seat is encased in a shell quilted with Bentley’s iconic diamond pattern. The geometry of its side neatly reaches outward, providing a contemporary touch that reflects is cosy yet dynamic form. The sofa is in distinguished ivory leather and the armchair in pinstriped fabric, quilted in fine, grey wool."

Okay, I want them. I'm sending my order in the morning. And when my Butterfly sofa and armchair arrive I'll have them carefully set down on my Rolls-Royce carpet. The car comes later.

A PROUD MOMENT IN HISTORY FOR YOUR MARQUE1 HOST

The photo above is from the ancient history department. I didn't know it existed until a friend e-mailed the image to me a few weeks ago. There's no real excuse to reveal it here except this moment in time was an interesting and fun experience that I'd like to share.

The date was early September, 1961. The location was the St. Eugene race track, located in Ontario on the Quebec border, built on the bones of a former WW2 air base. It was a day of sports car racing operated by a Montreal car club. One of the races was for a mix of unmodified sports cars and sedans. This is the front row of that event. You couldn't have asked for a more eclectic group than the three cars sitting on the starting line.

The first turn curved to the right and so pole position had been taken by, of all things, a slant-six Valiant sedan. I knew the driver and suspected he may have made some mods to the suspension but that didn't bother me although the car was fast in a straight line. Next to him, barely visible in red, was a Fiat Abarth coupe, a hot little car that had been picking up trophies all season long. On the outside was yours truly in a Porsche 356B, stock except for a de-cambered rear suspension. That's Maggie, my ex, smiling nearby.

An MGA is peeking its nose into the photo. Behind us was another Porsche 356, a Speedster, and a gaggle of small-class sports cars and sedans. I recall few of the driver's names except for Bill MacDonald in the Abarth and Jim Muzzin in the other Porsche. I should, but don't, remember the name of the Valiant driver as we were both radio announcers, him in Montreal and me in Toronto. What I do recall, though, was his comment to me when he wandered over prior to the start.

"Whatever you do, don't try to pass me on the first turn. This thing takes a lot of road when it drifts through the corners and there won't be room for both of us!"

The car that worried me, however, was the Abarth, more of a real racer than the 356B and with a very talented driver. Sure enough, he took the lead out of turn one. As for the Valiant, well... a race driver's a race driver. I ignored my friend's advice and passed him through the turn, which put me in second place. For three laps Bill MacDonald pulled away but suddenly, on the fast turn one, he drifted too wide, slid into the grass, and rolled over.

I saw this out of the corner of my eye and thought the race might be stopped but Bill had crawled out unhurt and the car was not a danger to the other drivers so we carried on. For the first time in my brief driving career I was running first overall! Racing a very fast VW in modified sedan events the previous year I'd won a class championship but never had the pleasure of being in front of the pack as at least a half-dozen of the competition had driven bigger, faster cars. So to find myself out in front was a welcome novelty.

The Valiant fell back and was passed by Jim Muzzin's Speedster but I kept pulling away and by the end of the 20-lap race was ahead by the length of the start-finish straight. In those years it was normal for the winning car to stop in the pits and pick up a passenger who'd hold the chequered flag out the window for a slow victory lap. That was almost as much a thrill for Maggie as winning was for me. From such little things come precious memories.

HOW TO BE A RACE INSTRUCTOR... AND SURVIVE

Like other young people of my generation I wanted to be a race driver. One of my heros was a remarkable Italian named Piero Taruffi who had trained as a racing driver and industrial engineer. He was also a writer who had a unique perspective on the art and science of motor racing. Taruffi drove for the works teams of Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, and others, in a career that spanned over 25 years and was crowned by his victory in the 1957 Mille Miglia. His book "The Technique of Motor Racing" has, in the words of Amazon.com, where it is still available, become the standard by which other driving texts are measured.

Before the book was published I'd read some of what Tarrufi had written about the art of drifting through turns. So one Sunday afternoon I found myself drifting a 1934 Buick coupe around an oval dirt track located, appropriately, behind a hospital for the mentally ill. This track was meant for walking, not racing, but it was empty of people and I had a partner willing to be frightened by my antics. The car, by the way, belonged to another friend whose father was head psychiatrist at the hospital.

About three-quarters of the way around our first lap, with the car in a nice 4-wheel drift, a man appeared out of nowhere, strolling onto the track. We were drifting through a left-hand curve so I immediately steered onto the grass on the right. This sudden maneuver plus the switch from hard surface to soft caused the car to flip on its side. We missed the pedestrian, who was actually a patient let out for an afternoon stroll and who kept on walking as though nothing had happened.

Miraculously neither I nor my buddy Ron Gee were hurt. Our first concern was to get the car on its wheels before the police came along, an action amusingly delayed when Ron realised his wallet had fallen out of his pocket and dove back in to retrieve it, legs sticking out the window. Meanwhile several spectators who'd been nearby came over to check on our health and with their help we had the car upright and drove out of there, pronto. That Buick, by the way, had only a pair of minor fender dents. They're right when they say "they don't make them like they used to."

What caused me to recall this incident was the announcement of race instructor Ross Bentley's new book "Brake, Brake, BRAKE: The HPDE Instructor Manifesto." It is downloadable, free, an essential handbook for would-be and current driving instructors everywhere. Beyond helping students cut down on lap times, Bentley also wants to make use of his three decades of experience by making the learning process a safer environment. As he puts it “I hope that by reading and taking in all of this experience from the Manifesto, instructors will be able to shave off years of trial and error learning. I’d like everyone to be safer. We all know that there is a definite risk every time we get in the passenger seat with a student – I want to minimize that risk as much as possible."

Hmmm... Ross Bentley should have been with me in the Buick that day. No doubt his first remark would have been that if I attempted a drift I should be locked up behind the walls of that establishment, not in front.

Bentley (in photo above) wasn't even born then so the first time I saw him race was in the inaugural Vancouver Indy. Some local enthusiasts had raised the money to buy a car and put together a team. The car wasn't fast enough but anyone with a sharp eye could see that Bentley had what it takes to become a winner. Unfortunately he never got the ride he deserved but in subsequent seasons gained the respect of his fellow competitors and eventually turned his talents to teaching the art of race driving.

If you're a driving instructor, or even if you'd like to be, download "Brake, Brake, Brake: the HPDE Instructor Manifesto" by clicking here. For an interesting comparison between then and now, you can still order Piero Taruffi's book "The Technique of Motor Racing" by clicking here. As for my foolish drifting I did eventually become a small-time Canadian champion, road racing in modified sedans. Now, the only drifting I do is in my mind.

BACK IN PRODUCTION, HISTORIC LISTER-JAGUARS TO RACE AGAIN

Anyone familiar with road racing in the 50s will certainly be aware of the success of the D-Type Jaguar. But the powerful 6-cylinder engine and drivetrain also found a place in some cars from a small factory owned by businessman and ex-racer Brian Lister. Lister had built a series of sports-racers beginning in 1954, first using MG power, later by a modified 2-litre Bristol engine. His primary driver was former MG pilot Archie Scott Brown. For the supporting sports car race at the Silverstone Grand Prix in 1954 Scott Brown won the 2-litre class with the Bristol and finished 5th overall.

Lister moved up to a six cylinder motor from a Formula 2 Maserati A6GCS, and then to a newly-designed car built around a Jaguar D-type inline-six. Racing journalist John Bolster tested the new Lister-Jaguar, accelerating from 0-100 mph in just 11.2 seconds. And that was back in 1957! Archie Scott Brown won the British Empire Trophy race but sadly was killed in 1958 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.

The photo above is of an original Lister-Jaguar.

The company developed a pair of Sunbeam Tigers for LeMans, featuring a Ford engine tuned by Carroll Shelby to give 275 bhp instead of the stock 160. Perhaps overstressed by too much power, both cars failed to finish. The company went on to tune Jaguar XJS cars, improving their top speed to over 200 mph, and in 1993 a 7-litre Jaguar-powered sports racer called the Storm. It won the FIA GT Championship in 2000.

In 2013 the property rights of Lister Cars were bought by Warrantywise and the new company, along with its associated components, was rebranded Lister Motor Company Ltd.

And now the magnificent Lister-Jaguar is poised to return as a "continuation car" (not a replica), celebrating the company's 60th anniversary. With the order book already filling for the new car, Lister has produced its first new sales brochure in more than 25 years, with all the options and specification data available to potential customers, as well as providing an insight into Lister’s iconic history. The original model is highly-prized by collectors and historic racing enthusiasts, hence collector values are now approaching $2,000,000 million.

The continuation cars will provide an all-new, factory approved, entry into FIA/HTP Appendix K historic racing, without the risk of buying non-factory recognised replica cars. The Lister Motor company has also announced that it will build the ‘Knobbly’ for both road and race use at prices of £259,000 + tax and £249,000 + tax respectively. Traditional hand-built construction is still being used and each car is tailored to the needs of the individual customer. Obviously production numbers are limited so it is no surprise that the order book is already half full.

It is often said in the world of both autos and aircraft that what looks right is right. That being true, the new Lister-Jaguar is absolutely, beautifully right.

HAGERTY SPRING THAW CLASSIC: FUN AND AFFORDABLE

There are classic car tours in which I'd love to participate as a driver, events taking place in exotic locations on fabulous roads. Such tours are, naturally, designed for people with expensive cars and big pockets, which means that for me they'll remain a fantasy. Ah, but then there are those much humbler tours, close to home and within my means... if only I had a suitable car.

One of these is the Hagerty Spring Thaw Classic, a budget-minded driving adventure through British Columbia for pre-1979 touring and sports cars. This non-scored, non-competitive event takes place entirely within the province of British Columbia and consists of approximately 1200km of driving over three days. It starts on Friday, April 25, 2014 in Squamish, BC and finishes in Hope, BC on Sunday, April 27, 2014.

For those of you unfamiliar with the location, the route is in southwest British Columbia, an area of Canada blessed with fabulous mountain scenery and a spectacular ocean coastline. A second unique feature is the weather, very un-Canadian. Winters near the coast are mild, often snowless, at least in the valleys. The price we pay for this moderate temperature is rain, similar to Seattle although less frequent.

To ensure the Spring Thaw is an "adventure", the route will remain secret until competitors receive their entry packages at registration. Way-finding instructions will be detailed and clear, and will not require any calculations or rally knowledge.  The event consists of 100% paved roads, with some mountainous terrain, and driving is scheduled during daylight hours. Car wash facilities are available at each overnight stop. In plainer words the Hagerty Spring Thaw is simply about having fun with your vintage car in the company of like-minded enthusiasts.

I won't be there. My 2003 Ford Focus doesn't qualify and I'm not about to trade it for a pre-1979 car, although finding one in good condition isn't difficult here on southern Vancouver Island where rust is not a problem and many owners are retirees who emigrated from the east to escape the cold. A secondary reason is that I'm "mechanically challenged," a car guy who loves automobile design and motor racing but couldn't change a spark plug let alone make a serious repair. Still, I think it would be fun to make the run in a 1970s Toyota Celica, Honda Accord, or Datsun 510.

I recommend that you, having none of those inhibitions, should take part in the Hagerty Spring Thaw Classic. Then write a short article about your adventures, take some photos, and I'll publish it. No writer's fee but you'll become famous. Or semi-famous. Or... just click here to enter.

[Photo: Andrew Snuckins]

RETURN OF THE BMW 2002, GOODBYE DREAM

While working on the Ford account in a New York ad agency in 1968 I did some non-automotive moonlighting for a Philadelphia agency. The money I earned from that gig quickly paid off the bank loan that allowed me to buy a 2002. Of the many cars I've owned and driven it remains one of  my favorites.

Mine was one of the first to be sold in the New York area. Having test driven a BMW 2000 sedan during a previous job as editor of Canada Track & Traffic magazine I knew the 2002 would be a great car. The specifications alone assured me and I wasn't disappointed. It epitomised the phrase "fun to drive" and yet was perfectly suited to its task as a family car.

When the ad agency transferred me to London to become creative director of the Ford of Europe account it moved our worldly goods, including the car. No one thought to ask about the make and so that 2002 became our ride in the UK. Now you might be justified in saying it was like taking coals to Newcastle, considering England was home to many fun-driving automobiles, and that shipping a left-hand-drive car to a right-hand-drive country was pretty dumb, but I never regretted it.

We lived near Kings Road in Chelsea which was, at the time, the trendiest street in all of Britain, the place to check the latest fashions, furnishings, and wine bars. Driving the 2002 along Kings Road, and especially parking it, drew all sorts of admiring glances. Okay, it was only a car but that 2002, a rare sight in the UK then, did much for my ego. And it was a ball to drive on those narrow English roads.

I eventually sold the 2002 to compensate for losses suffered in a foolish attempt at operating a rehearsal hall for popular rock bands. I won't bore you with the details but essentially I was forced to close it by two majority partners who hated rock. So goodbye 2002 to the impossible task of soundproofing an old church hall.

Obviously that was a long time ago. Yet sometime in the 1980s, perhaps besot with nostalgia for happier times, I began regretting the loss of the 2002 and declared that if ever BMW were to build a contemporary version, not deliberately retro but lighter and more affordable than the 3-series it was selling as an entry-level car, I'd be first in line to buy one. It's been a long wait, but the rebirth of the 2002 is here. BMW calls it the "2-Series," an appropriate choice of name which I'm sure was deliberate.

Two variations are available. The hot one is the M235i. The "base" coupe, the one most folks will drive, is the 228i. Like the original 2002 it is powered by a 4-cylinder engine. Like the 2002 tii, the engine is turbocharged. Like the one found in the new 328i sedan, it pumps out 240 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, more than double that of my 45-year old BMW. Twice as quick, too, for it can go from 0-60 in 5.4 seconds. It comes standard with an eight-speed sport automatic transmission with paddle shifter. The 228i MSRP in the US is $33,025 whereas I paid a little less than $6000 in 1968 dollars.

In spite of today's amazing technology I suspect my 2002 would still be more fun to drive. Why? Because it gave back to the driver what the driver put into it. Sadly my declaration of owning one when BMW resurrected the 2002 will remain no more than a dream. Never one to be careful with his money I'm back to the same financial status as the day I sold the 2002 to a young Portugese diplomat.

I still have the New York license plate.

THE SHRINKING OF THE PANEL VAN

Have you noticed that as pickup trucks keep getting bigger and bigger, we are starting to see trucks that are noticably smaller? Ford was first to recognise the need for a compact urban van with its Transit Connect, a versatile cargo and people hauler. Now Chrysler is about to introduce something similar, based on one of Fiat's European models. Such vehicles make sense in today's environment but the industry was slow to catch on, unwilling to believe that North American truck buyers would actually accept something small.

Ah, but how small is small? Feast your eyes on what Barrett-Jackson calls a "micro panel van." The photos are misleading. This isn't small, it's what the Scots would describe as a "wee thing."

The extremely rare Mochet CM125Y micro panel truck was manufactured by George Mochet, inventor of the recumbent bicycle, in Puteaux, France, from 1938 to 1956. The engine is (are you ready for this?) a 1-cylinder unit, a Zuzcher 125cc motorcycle engine. It has a 3-speed transmission with reverse.

The Mochet may be small but for certain specialised jobs in areas with narrow streets and alleyways, may have been quite practical. And it's downright pretty with its white exterior and red interior. It has been restored to concours condition and runs and drives like new. No doubt the fuel economy is remarkable and as for service, how much work does it take to tune a 1-cylinder engine?

It is being offered with no reserve. I'm wondering if our Nigel Matthews will be on hand to bid. When he sent me the link it was with the comment "this has my name written all over it." The Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction takes place from Jan 12-19 and the Mochet is lot #771. Move over, Nigel. I love it, too.

MATCHING UNRESTORED AND RESTORED 300 SL COUPES COULD MAKE HISTORY

"You say tomato, I say tomahto... you say potato, I say potahto." At least that's the way the song (Let's Call the Whole Thing Off) goes, and it illustrates how differently people see or say things. This applies to collector cars, as well. For example, in the last few years we've seen a trend to classes for survivor cars at major concours d'elegance, including Pebble Beach.

The proponents argue that cars showing their age are more realistic and consequently more interesting than those that have been restored to perfection, often to the point where they look better than the day they rolled out of the factory. Those folks certainly have a point, especially when you consider the vast amounts of money spent on restorations, making the cars absurdly expensive to buy and therefore totally inaccessable to all but the wealthy.

One unfortunate by-product of survivor classes is the rapidly increasing value of such cars, now beginning to approach that of the restored examples. Which makes the upcoming Gooding auction at Scottsdale on January 17-18 especially interesting. Two black-with-red-leather-interior 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL coupes will go on the block, one an unrestored survivor, the other restored to as-new condition. How much will these cars attract and if the survivor wins, will it upset the status quo in classic car values?

The unrestored 300 SL, chassis number 198.040.6500299, seen in the top photo and above, is rich with patina and in need of attention after years of storage. Inside, the red leather interior shows its age, says Gooding, with seats that are both stained and cracked from use and long-term storage. Some will see it as only needing a sympathetic mechanical refurbishing to be perfect while others look on the car as a candidate for body-off restoration.

The restored black-with-red-leather 1956 300 SL, chassis number 198.040.6500214, is a three-owner car in possession of a single Toronto family from 1957-2006. It was treated to a frame-off restoration in 2007 under the care of its second owner, and reportedly no detail was overlooked in the car's refurbishing.

The car made its show debut at the 2012 San Marino Concours d’Elegance in California, where the 300 SL took Best in Class honors. Driven a mere 150 miles by its second owner and a little more than 1,000 miles by its current owner, it has seen only 57,000 total miles since new.

So which 300 SL will attract the bigger bucks? Gooding anticipates a selling price between $1.1 and $1.4 million for the survivor, $1.37 and $1.7 million for the restored example.

I must confess to having my own prejudices in this matter. Concours d-Elegance began as beauty contests for manufacturers and coachmakers and through the decades have remained much the same. Obviously the automobile manufacturers and designers would have wanted their products to be displayed in the best possible way, which means shined, polished, and tuned to perfection. What we now call a "survivor" would have been considered a "used" car and thus have no place on the lawns of concours d'elegance in earlier eras.

As an enthusiast, I take great delight in seeing these rare automobiles in "as new" condition. Faded paint, dirty engine bays, and torn leather have no appeal to me. Let me see the cars as the designer saw them. What's more, I think the idea of giving awards to survivor cars is absurd and makes a mockery of their very existence. By all means invite them to the shows but in a separate category with no awards.

Mind you, my feelings are influenced by a personal reaction to man-made objects in general. As one with fairly strong design instincts I like to see them new or perfectly preserved. One reason, I guess, why I'd much prefer spending time in the Museum of Modern Art than a museum where antiquity is the objective. But hey... that's just me. As I said in the beginning, we're all different and we all have unique tastes. I'll be curious to see the numbers when the hammer falls in Scottsdale.

Update January 21: Well, now we know. The restored Gullwing sold for $1.4 million and the un-restored for $1.9 million! Go figure... 

Photos of the unrestored car by Brian Henniker, courtesy Gooding & Company
Photos of the restored car by Mathieu Heurtault, courtesy Gooding & Company