This Week in History: 1917: 'Closed-in automobiles' touted to keep out Vancouver's rain
Credit to Author: John Mackie| Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2019 23:18:02 +0000
Most early cars were convertibles. But by November 1917, many consumers were switching to “closed-in automobiles.”
“The closed car branch of the automobile trade is growing so rapidly that it promises soon to become the essential factor, even overshadowing the old and seemingly well-entrenched open car,” said a story in the Nov. 18, 1917, edition of The Vancouver Sun.
The anonymous author of The Sun story had a theory about why “open air” cars had dominated the industry: early cars broke down so much that manufacturers spent most of their effort trying to perfect vehicle mechanics, rather than improving the driving experience.
As the mechanics were smoothed out, manufacturers started to pay attention to comforts, such as a “winter top” which “converted the open touring car or runabout into a closed car.”
“That device, though originally a crude makeshift, introduced a large number of people to the comfort of riding well protected from wind, sun, dust, rain and cold,” the story noted.
Hence there were even “permanently enclosed touring cars” like the Overland Six Coupe and the Franklin Brougham, whose pictures accompanied the story.
The Sun capitalized on the growing car culture with a weekly automobile section that was brimming with car ads. Sales were exploding: the paper reported that by the end of 1917 “a total of 100,000 machines will have been sold in Canada.”
This was almost five times the sales in 1914, when the First World War started. The Sun reported that there was a car for every 78 people in British Columbia.
Vancouver Sun story on Nov. 18, 1917 on the growing popularity of “closed-in” vehicles.
Still, sales were small enough that on Oct. 28, 1917, The Sun ran a list of all 275 cars that were sold in B.C. that September. Almost half (129) were Fords, followed by Chevrolet (36), Studebaker (22), the Canadian-made McLaughlin (21), and Willys-Overland (14).
All sorts of car companies that have faded from view are on the list, including Gray Dort, Maxwell, Republic, Little Giant, Reo, Russell, Oakland, Hudson, Chicago, Rapid, Mitchell, Alma, Continental, Keeton and White.
The Sun also printed a list of new car owners and their license numbers — Edna Noble of 1722 Cotton Dr. in Vancouver purchased a Ford and was issued license number 12396.
The paper also had some very rudimentary stories offering driving tips.
“Don’t speed,” said one. “Regulation speed limit, 15 miles per hour along city streets, six miles per hour over intersections, 25 miles per hour in open country.”
The old car ads are a blast. One shows a “Vancouver Built Limousine Hearse” that was put together by Hall & Wallace, 573 Beatty Street, for S. Bowell and Co., “the leading funeral directors of New Westminster.”
“Owing to the hilly nature of the Royal City, Bowell & Co. found they could render more efficient service in having the motor hearse,” the ad states.
The ad for the “Winter Maxwell” was very elegant, and promoted the “progressive” enclosed top, “which gives snappy appearance and closed car comfort at much less than closed car prices.”
Maxwell ad in the Nov. 18, 1917 Vancouver Sun.
In this case, a touring car with an all weather top was $1,200, which was $35 more than a roadster. The Maxwell dealer was Consolidated Motor Co., 1230 West Georgia. (An online inflation calculator says $1,200 would be the equivalent of $19,000 today.)
People were very proud of their cars, which prompted photographer Stuart Thomson to take out an ad in The Sun asking, “Have you had your car photographed? If not, phone Stuart Thomson, Seymour 2967. Specializing in auto photos.”
The ad seems to have worked: the Vancouver Archives has a ton of Thomson photos of people with their cars and trucks. Thomson was also a key early sports photographer — he sold his archive to The Vancouver Sun in 1954, and The Sun donated them to the Vancouver Archives in 1963.
The late vintage car expert Rick Percy had an incredible collection of Thomson panorama photos showing people and businesses with their cars and trucks. My favourite is a 1919 pic of the British Columbia Gramophone and Talking Machine company truck, a black Studebaker with white tires and a very serious driver in an Andy Capp hat and suit.
The windshield is in two pieces, so it can flip up (and probably down) if the driver wanted to feel the wind in their face. Drivers may have drawn to “closed-in” vehicles for protection from the weather, but there’s nothing like a breath of fresh air when you’re driving.
Vancouver Sun ad on Nov. 18, 1917 for a “Vancouver Built Limousine Hearse.”
List of cars sold in B.C. in Sept., 1917, from the Oct. 28, 1917 Vancouver Sun.
List of new car owners in B.C. the week of Oct. 18-25, 1917, from the Oct. 28, 1917 Vancouver Sun.
Stuart Thomson ad in the Vancouver Sun ad on Nov. 18, 1917.
Stuart Thomson photo of the Triangle Tour car and passengers, circa 1919. Vancouver Archives AM1535-: CVA 99-5273
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