Cars

Who would have guessed that the brutal communist dictator Joseph Stalin had a secret, and decadent, car passion-he loved large American Packard limousines. Zil 111 1958 In fact, he loved the traditional majesty of the Packard Super Eight so much that he ordered the country’s premier truckmaker, ZIS, to manufacture a close copy that would […]

It was known as the “new Roadster,” or by its nickname “Silver Bullet,” but for Triumph, the official and futuristic TRX proved nothing but trouble. Triumph TRX 1950 The smooth-lined two-seater, unveiled in 1950, was meant as a replacement for the Triumph 2000 Roadster, a delightfully old-fashioned model with its tiny cockpit, dickey seat, and

The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the most symbolic event in the ending of the “Cold War” between East and West. But the emergence of the Trabant, spluttering its way into a bright new Europe, was the automotive equivalent. Trabant 1958 West German motorists were horrified at its highly polluting, two-stroke 600cc

KANSAS-BORN Walter P. Chrysler had worked his way up through the railroad business before his talents were taken up by the motor industry. Hired as a production manager at the General Motors’ marque Buick in 1911, he became president from 1916 until 1919. Chrysler Building, New YorkAt 1,047-ft (319-m) tall, this was briefly the world’s tallest

HENRY FORD was born on a farm in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1863. At age 16, he moved to nearby Detroit to train as a mechanic. In 1891 Ford went to work for the Detroit Edison company, and he began experimenting with engines in his spare time. He built his first “horseless carriage” in 1896. 2010 Ford

A specific little vehicle intended for specific uses, the Haflinger was created with scant regard for passenger niceties and a total focus on off-road ability. Steyr-Puch Haflinger 1959 Although many were built as pickups and military field cars, some came as open four-seaters, qualifying them as “automobiles.” The Haflinger was a tiny four-wheel drive contraption powered by

The Simca Fulgur (fulguris Latin for “flash”) is possibly the silliest concept car of the 1950s. But that wasn’t surprising-the project was a fantasy car of the year 2000, created with suggestions from young readers of a French children’s magazine. Simca Fulgur 1959 Had it ever worked as the children intended, it would have been

Ireland has few car-making boasts, despite Henry Ford’s establishment of a Model T assembly plant in Cork as early as 1917. But the Shamrock is a rare exception, built with the ambition of captivating US customers. Shamrock 1959 Possibly inspired by the American success of the Nash Metropolitan, Californian businessman Wilbur Curtis decided to up

The crowds at the Festival of Britain exhibition on London’s South Bank in 1951 must have sensed that Britain’s motor industry was on top of its game. Rover Jet 1 1950 For here was a car demonstrating Britain had the technology and ingenuity to keep pace with America and Europe. It was Rover’s “Jet 1,”

The two buzz phrases in the global car industry of the 1950s were “aerodynamics” and “jet-powered.” Many show cars of the time adopted one of these themes to grab attention, but Renault decided to unite both in 1956, to pursue a serious goal: the world land speed record for a gas-turbine car. Renault Etoile Filante