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.

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.

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.

RESTLESS SOUL SAYS NO TO THE ROMANCE OF THE OPEN ROAD

Camping in the great outdoors has seldom appealed to me although I've enjoyed the experience in the few times I tried it, all of which happened when I was much younger and willing to put up with the inconveniences. Yet I've always been a restless soul, having resided in 113 homes or apartments during my lifetime. So it was no surprise when a few years ago a well-meaning associate suggested I should buy a mobile home and live in it, moving on whenever I was bored or the weather turned nasty.

For a brief time I actually gave the concept some semi-serious thought. As a Canadian I could live in the United States for just under six months a year, which would allow me to spend the winter in California, perhaps moving over to Arizona, New Mexico or Florida for a change of scene. Money wouldn't be a problem: As an active writer and automobile journalist "Have Computer, Will Travel" would be my motto. I'd attend all the great concours and classic car auctions and never worry about renting a room or the cost of eating out.

But I never made the commitment. Why? There were several reasons. For starters, I didn't fancy driving a vehicle the size of a large truck or bus. I could take a few lessons, of course, and as an experienced car guy could probably make the adjustments but a mobile home would not be suited to quick trips to the beach or the grocery store and the cost of fuel might be a deterrent. Nor did I fancy pulling a car, trailer-fashion, in order to have local transport wherever I settled. Motorcycle? Admire them, but no thanks.

How about a VW camper? Now that was more to my taste, having driven the fabled VW minibus many times in my Volkswagen days. Trouble is, the camper, especially the Westfalia, though brilliantly designed to include almost every convenience, lacked one that's very important to me. It doesn't have a 3-piece, or even 2-piece, washroom. And I'm a guy who dislikes public washrooms because of their lack of privacy. So after considering the idea I decided to stay put. Indeed, if I was to dwell in some sort of moveable home it was more likely to be a powerboat. (I did buy a 22' SeaRay, but it was too small for anything more than a weekend cruise.)

All the above came to mind when I received an e-mail attachment from Marque1 correspondent and good buddy, Nigel Matthews. By the time you read this he'll be in Arizona for the very first and long-overdue Arizona Biltmore Concours d'Elegance, where Nigel is chief judge for the Rolls-Royce and Bentley class, a pleasant assignment to say the least. When not at the Concours he'll be attending the various auctions on behalf of Hagerty Canada: Nigel is national director of sales and marketing.

The PPS file Nigel sent was a visual presentation of campers, trailers, mobile homes, and other extraordinary vehicles since the early days of the automobile. There being too many for one blog site I've included just a few to give you a taste, and maybe even a laugh. It is truly amazing how many ways man or woman has found to make life on the road possible, if not always comfortable. Seeing these vehicles almost, though not quite, made me wish I'd made that move.

Just a reminder: Marque1 offers three new blogs every week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Bookmark our home page and visit us regularly for the cars, the history, and the fun stuff.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER SKIING ACCIDENT

UPDATE JAN 01, 2014:

Michael Schumacher’s condition was stable but still critical overnight as he remained unconscious following a brain injury suffered in a skiing accident, his manager said Wednesday.

Sabine Kehm told reporters that his condition has not changed since doctors said he showed small signs of improvement on Tuesday, following his second operation.

DEC 30, 2013:

I've interrupted this morning's planned blog after hearing of Michael Schumaker's dreadful accident. The seven-times World Driving Champion remains in critical condition in hospital following a skiing accident in the French Alps.

The 44-year-old German was understood to have hit his head after falling during a family skiing trip at the Meribel resort on Sunday morning. A statement issued by the hospital in which Schumacher is being treated said he had suffered "a severe head injury with coma on arrival, which required neurosurgical intervention immediately." An accomplished skier, he was wearing a helmet but had hit his head on a rock after falling.

Early reports that day had said Schumaker was hurt but didn't indicate the severity of his condition. I learned that sad news while sitting in a Tim Horton's shop, of all places, staring at a TV screen. And I knew that when I came home it had to be priority on today's Marque1.

I've had the privilege of watching Michael Schumaker live and in every televised F1 event since he moved up to the top level of auto racing. And like so many fans I tired of Ferrari's and Schumaker's domination in race after race. But I also knew this was the most successful car/driver team in the history of the sport and this extraordinary athlete would join Ayrton Senna, Juan Manuel Fangio, and Tazio Nuvolari in any list of all-time greats. Perhaps at the very top. My only regret was that he tried making a comeback after retiring.

It is not unusual for race drivers to participate in other forms of speed sport after they've stopped competing. They enjoy going fast. They love the challenge. So we've seen them racing powerboats, riding motorcycles, flying airplanes and, like Michael Schumaker, skiing. Sadly, these activities have sometimes resulted in tragic accidents. Speed, in any form, is potentially dangerous.

Millions of race fans all over the world will be watching the daily reports, hoping for signs of recovery. I'm writing this on Sunday evening and perhaps, when you read these words, the hospital will be issuing some positive news. Michael Schumaker is still young and healthy, and deserves to be with us for many more years.

[Photo credit: fanpop.com]

THE INTERURBAN: TRAVELS TO CHRISTMAS PAST

This being December 25th, I decided to take the day off, and instead re-run an article that first appeared last April. Those among you who, like me, love trains, should enjoy it, especially as it features a type of train that's long gone but retains a strong emotional attachment.

Most of our viewers, taking a quick glance at the photo above, might easily mistake it for a trio of vintage streetcars. But they'd be wrong. It's actually an "electric interurban" train. Once popular throughout North America, interurbans, as the name suggests, connected small towns and suburbs with big cities. Sometimes they'd share tracks with the railways but more often than not the interurbans had their own right-of-way.

Our modern equivalent is commonly known as a commuter train, whose journeys may be quicker but are no more interesting than the name suggests. Bring a newspaper, folks, because there's nothing to see outside those windows. Interurban routes, on the other hand, were the railroad equivalent of a car guy's back country road. They wandered through forests, past farms, across bridges that traversed creeks and rivers, alongside highways, and sometimes cruised slowly along a small town's main street. Even if you rode the interurban twice daily it would be difficult not to notice the moving panorama and appreciate its scenic moments.

The trains weren't slow – most could achieve 80 mph and accelerate much faster than a steam or diesel locomotive – but it was the nature of the route and the requirement for frequent stops that kept average speeds down. On the other hand, as electrics, they were both clean-running and quiet.

I'm probably guilty of unwarranted nostalgia here, for I've only ridden on a interurban twice in my life, both times as a teenager. And yet those trips remain large in my memory, even after traveling thousands of miles, usually with my father, on conventional railroad trains. I did admire the fast-moving expresses of the day and yet those interurbans contributed to a romantic vew of travel that, decades later, still hasn't faded

Incidentally, just before the interurban era ended, Milwaukee introduced streamlined three-car trains in which the middle unit contained a bar. Now that's a civilised way to wend one's way home from the office (although some waiting wives may have disagreed)!

My motivation for this blog came from an online sales pitch by Classic Trains magazine, in which it offers an expanded 40-page issue on the interurbans. Of course I'm not here to sell products but it seems to me that this is something anyone who loves vintage transportation (not just cars) would enjoy. It includes a look back at the North Shore Line, the fastest interurban and the one with the bar; a ride on the Pacific Electric line; the 10-best interurban car designs; and a gallery of rare photos. You can buy it on the newsstand for an extra two bucks but the annual subscription is a bargain at $24.95 for four quarterly issues.

The age of the interurbans may be long gone but it still lives in the guise of the East Troy Electric Railroad, a museum that operates heritage passenger excursions on a 7-mile stretch of track from East Troy, Wisconsin to Mukwonago, Wisconsin. There are several cars in the fleet but the railroad's pride is car no. 21, a single-truck open bench replica from the turn of the last century. Worth the trip if you're anywhere near and, oh... next to the museum you can still order traditional ice cream sodas.

[Photos: Top, Classic Trains/ Lower, East Troy Electric Railroad]

THE UNBEATABLE MISS SUPERTEST III

The following story is not about classic cars but the boat it honours is certainly a classic. And the race was a great moment in Canadian motorsport history. I think you'll enjoy it.

They were crowded onto the jetty, 50 people, maybe 60, the ladies dressed for a garden party, the men in suits, shirts, ties. Cheering, laughing, excited. At one end a video director was peering into the camera. Everyone was looking to their left, watching a massive race boat approach at well over 100 mph. Watching it head directly for the place where they were standing. Because of the way his camera magnified the image, the video director wondered if the boat was about to smash into the dock: should he run or keep shooting?

For a moment the crowd – politicians, dignitaries, race judges, invited guests – stopped smiling as they, too, became apprehensive. And then the driver flicked the steering wheel just enough to miss the jetty, spraying everyone with the boat's rooster tail, a huge arc of water trailing the stern for at least 200 feet. Sprayed? Drenched would be more like it. But no one complained, regardless of the effect on their fashionable wardrobes, because the speeding boat, Miss Supertest III, had just won the world's most prestigious powerboat racing trophy for the third straight year.

That remarkable event happened in the Long Reach section of the Bay of Quinte, near Picton Ontario, in 1961. The prize was the Harmsworth Trophy. Miss Supertest was a Canadian boat with a Canadian driver, Bob Hayward (which explains the enthusiasm of the onlookers). All the other contestants over the three years were American. As a result of the resounding three-in-a-row victory – she was the first non-US winner in 39 years – the Harmsworth was retired and not contested for a quarter century.

Those were the fastest race boats in the world, with wide hydroplane hulls (imagine a stingray fish seen from above) that had them running on just three points: the outer tips of the sponsons and the propeller. Unlike a conventional boat they skipped across the surface of the water, much like a flat pebble if you throw it properly. The race course consisted of two long straights joined at the ends by turns that required a reduced speed. Enter too late and a competitor could slip inside, just as in an automobile race. Too slow and he'd pass on the outside. Too fast and air could get under the hull, causing the bow to lift and in some cases turn the boat upside down in mid-air. Hydroplane races could be dangerous, as we will see.

Power was supplied by surplus WW2 aircraft engines, the kind used in high performance aircraft. Miss Supertest got her speed from a 2000 hp Rolls-Royce Griffon, a supercharged V-12 used in a Spitfire. She has been described as a 3-ton rocket.

Officially, the Harmsworth Trophy was a contest between nations, not boats, with rules requiring that they be built entirely by residents of the country represented, using materials from within that country. The first race, in 1903, was won by England's Dorothy Levitt in a Napier-powered boat at a scintillating 19.53 mph. France won in 1904, the United States in 1905, but from then through 1920 Harmsworth victories were traded exclusively between England and the US. Until 1933 the Americans had a monopoly on the trophy, the legendary Gar Wood taking the win eight times as a driver, nine times as an owner. Apparently Wood's success had a discouraging effect on other countries, there being no further attempts until 1949. The Americans won that one, too, along with the 1950 and 1956 races.

The Canadian effort dates back to 1950 when Colonel Jim Thompson, together with his father, J. Gordon Thompson, bought a hydroplane named Miss Canada IV. She was too slow to win major races so the team modified the boat as Miss Supertest, using the name as a promotion for the chain of Ontario and Quebec service stations owned by the family. When Miss Supertest also proved to be less than super they decided to build a new boat. In 1954 that craft, Miss Supertest II, took to the water, winning three minor races. During one of the events, in Picton, the boat set a new world straightaway record of 184.494 mph. Her record would be short-lived however; just 28 days later it was eclipsed by Jack Regas in Hawaii Kai III at 195.329 mph.

Now aware that they were capable of designing a potential winner the Canadian team decided to challenge for the Harmsworth Trophy, using an entirely new boat, Miss Supertest III. The United States had, for decades, promoted its national championship through the famed Gold Cup Races, thus its designers and drivers had more experience with unlimited powerboats and no one expected Miss Supertest III to be a serious contender. But the pundits were wrong. Beginning with the 1959 Detroit Memorial Regatta, her only non-Harmsworth appearance, Miss Supertest III started in ten heats over three years, finishing first in eight of them and second twice. In the 1960 Harmsworth race, attended by Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and with hockey star Bobby Hull as grand marshal, she set a world lap record of 126.226 mph on the 5-mile course.

Though stunned by these defeats the American teams were not about to give up and so they returned to Picton in 1961, but with only a single boat, Miss Detroit. The big hydroplane failed to finish the first heat on Saturday when an oil fitting came loose. Engine trouble struck again on the fifth lap of Sunday's 15-lap race, leaving Miss Supertest nearly two laps ahead in the 45-mile heat. In the deciding race Hayward opened up his big Rolls-Royce Griffon on the backstretch and pulled 200 yards ahead after just one lap. She was 500 yards ahead at the end of five miles and increasing her lead.

Although Miss Supertest III was designed solely for the Harmsworth and Miss Supertest II had been retired, his jubilant team encouraged Thompson to race the latter again, perhaps assuming they could add some performance tweaks learned from the newer boat's success. Competing in Detroit's Silver Cup races just one month after the Picton win, Bob Hayward slipped between two boats during a high speed turn. The media wrote that he was attempting "to take a turn faster than any driver in the history of speedboating (estimated at 140 mph)." No one could understand why it happened but fellow racer Bill Muncie thought "he must have been into the turn before he realized he was there."

A sponson dipped into the water, twisting the boat into a flip. Driver Don Wilson, at the wheel of George Simon's Miss U.S. I, said "I thought I was going to be killed. Supertest's sponson went right over my head." Amazingly she landed right side up but Hayward was dead, his body lying on the rear deck.

The Harmsworth Trophy would be resurrected in 1971 and raced most years in craft far different from the Supertest boats. But the risks remained the same. Stefano Casiraghi, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, won the Harmsworth in 1989. He was killed a year later when his boat hit a wave in the Mediterranean and somersaulted. Powerboat racing remains a dangerous sport.

In honor of Miss Supertest and Bob Hayward, a ticker tape parade up Bay St. in Toronto after the Harmsworth win attracted thousands and the stretch of water near Picton was renamed Hayward Long Reach. Miss Supertest III spent several years at both the Science Center in Toronto and the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame but she's now stored in a private property near London, Ontario. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in August 2011 featuring the boat, driver Bob Hayward and owner Jim Thompson.

As for that video director who was tempted to run when Miss Supertest appeared to be heading straight for the jetty? He put his faith in the driver and stayed put, wet but happy. His name is Philip Powell.

BY SEA, BY AIR, BY PACKARD, IT'S A CLIPPER

It's fascinating to note how automotive brand names change with the times. Nameplates that were perfectly acceptable in the 20s and 30s would have little or no meaning to today's car buyers, who react to a totally different vocabulary. Take the word "Clipper" for example. It first became popular with a breed of merchant ships in the late 1800s, fast sailing craft designed to serve the tea and spice trade between England and the Far East.

The most notable of these was the Cutty Sark, which became famous for its speed, fast enough to beat the steam-powered ships that were beginning to bring the centuries-long era of sail to an end. Together with similar vessels the Cutty Sark made "Clipper" synonomous with speed and elegance. So when Pan American World Airways launched its flying boat service from San Francisco across the Pacific, the company called them "Clippers."

Extending over three generations, these glamorous, streamlined aircraft would be identified by names like Philippine Clipper, China Clipper and Dixie Clipper. It was inevitable, then, that a car would be named Clipper. And that it would be a luxury automobile.

In the late 1930s Packard was in financial difficulties, in part because of the depression, followed by a drop in industry sales. Packard president Max M. Gilman needed something radically new and needed it in a hurry. His engineers and designers (the latter all outside consultants) gave him a stunning design, a break from the company's handsome, though traditional styling. The car also embodied a major change in construction techniques. With it came an all-new name: Packard Clipper. The timing could hardly have been worse, though management was not to blame. The 1941 Packard Clipper was introduced just eight months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not long after the war began, civilian car production was stopped.

Though the design still looked sleek and streamlined when Packard's first postwar cars began rolling off the lines in late 1945, four years of war had diminished its impact. Packard management, battling both Cadillac and Lincoln for luxury car leadership, rashly tried to keep up by dropping the Clipper styling and introducing the "bathtub" or "pregnant elephant" 1948–50 Packards.

Until then, Packard styling had always been distinguished by a slim, upright grille with an ox-yoke radiator shape that harked back to the famed Model L of 1904. The cars featured a pelican mascot, red hexagon hubs, and an arrowhead side-spear. Packards were as handsome and recogniseable as a Mercedes-Benz or a Deusenberg. Unfortunately that design format couldn't successfully transition into modern envelope bodies. By the mid-50s Packard was in trouble again.

Then President James J. Nance believed that salvation would come with a unique brand of lower-priced cars in which the existing 200 and 250 would be consolidated into a new line of Clippers for 1953. It was to be a stand-alone marque but the dealers balked at losing their best-selling junior models to Clippers. Thus the new cars quickly became Packard Clippers, great cars that might have saved the company. The new 275 bhp V-8 was the most powerful engine in its price range. A self-levelling front and rear torsion bar suspension gave the Clipper oustanding ride and handling, superior to both Cadillac and Lincoln. And the styling, though no longer as elegant as the original Clipper, had been sculpted into a contemporary form that, if you looked closely, had some of that ox-yoke radiator shape.

Those 1953 Clippers were new cars built in an all-new factory but both had teething problems. Quality suffered from bodies that rattled. Packard's once sterling reputation was ruined. The Packard Clipper marque would soon fade into history. With it went the word "Clipper," when symbolising a form of transportation that stood for both speed and elegance.

Can you imagine a 2014 model named Clipper? Well... maybe. It's certainly more appealing than some of the names car manufacturers are using. But then again, maybe not. The car-buying public would probably mistake it for a hair-cutting appliance.

[Photos: 54 Packard, petrolheadaesthete.blogspot.com/ 40 Packard, velocityjournal.com./ PanAm Clipper, willigula.tumblr.com]