Page 10, Whîtby Free Press, Wednesday, August 18, 1993 by Jil Mclntosh Before'the Big 3 It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, where the big guys make it to the top and the littie guys don't make it at ail. Nowhere is that more evident than in the world of car manufacturing. In North America, there's the Big Three and no one else. But at one time, there were 4hundreds of small individual companies turning out anywhere from a single vehicle to thousands -.some of them relatively successful and others quite unusual. The Belden Motor Car Company of Pittsburgh issued a catalogue in 1907 showing their new six-cylinder cars, and accepted orders for them. In 1909, they admitted in September that they had just completed their first car. The Bush, built in Chicago between 1916 and 1925, was sold by mail only, and ta an elite few. Made by other companies ta Bush specifications, they were presented as gifts ta graduates of the Bush Auto Mechanics School. Two names that are well-known taday are also footnotes in history. The Cavalier was made in Baltimore in 1926, and featured a body style that could be altered by the owner simply by adding or removing panels. t was advertised as '$595 AC-D' -- At Your Garage Door. The Regal, made in Detroit between 1907 and 1920, had an even stranger selling point. Regal made 50 four-cylinder cars in 1907, but the followving year they took them ail back and gave the Iowners 1908 models for free. In the early days of motoring, rnany manufacturers thought that a « new' approach ta mechanical engineering might be the key ta, success. The Lewis, built in Philadephia between 1898 and 1902, was powered by a single-cylinder horizontal engine with a fiction transmission. Its unusual feature was a drive dise made of compressed paper. Another oddity was the Gearless, made between 1921 and 1923 in Pittsburgh. It had two separate two-cylinder steam engines, one for each rear wheel, which eliminated the need for a diffrential. Both engines worked with one throttle. Its downfall was not its unusual design but its manufacturers. Four Gearless officials were charged with mail fraud and conspiring to sell $1 million of company stock fraudulently. F'raud waps also the key ta, the Texas, a highly-publicized car built in 1919 -- sort of. Company owner William Uivezey sold considerable stock in the campany, but no cars appeared. Finally he produced six prototypes, but when officiaIs noticed that they were al different, it was discovered that they had been put together by local blacksmiths. Livezey was promptly arrested. Other unsuccessful cars of the period included the Lô,s Angeles, made between 1913 and 1915. The chassis for each car was built in Buffalo, then shipped ta Laos Angeles te be fitted with a body. Anather car that neyer made it that far was the 1909 Southern. The company folded when their single prototype got caught in the middle of a shootout between SER PAGE 12 FERRARI Si FERRARI: By Glen Konorowski It's not often that I get invited to, the launch of a new Ferrari Spider (Eurapean name for con- vertible) in Canada. Sa when' a tough assi nnment such as this cornes up, I relue- tantly do it for The Pree Press and aIl you car loyers. Like any big Toronto social event, the who's who of sports cars turned out for the festive occasion. The launch for this new Ferrari was at the p osh Maranello Sports Cars in Wood- bridge. The 348 Spider is an offshoot of the 348 TB/S series Ferrari introduced in 1989. What is sig- nificant is this car is the first two-seat Ferrari since the 365 Daytona in 1971 (impending laws at the time threatened ta banish the convertible farever, killing development of future cars). Power for this 1.487 kg. (3,252 lb.) Italian stallion cames from a mid-engined 5.4-litre double overhead cawn V8. Maximum power is 312 h.p. at 7,200 r.p.m. and 228 lbi/ft. of torque at just 4,000 r.p.m. Surprisingly, the Spider sprints ta 60 rn.p.h. in 5.3 seconds. Now you might say that 'PIDER 2-seate r rei ntroduced seems fast enough. But when you compare it with the likes of the Corvette ZR-1 and TVR Griffith (April Auto Section) it's slower, and these cars are haîf the price. But no matter how fast they are, they are not as classy as a Ferrari. As you might expect, the Spi- der cornes with the best of every- thing -- leather interior, high- performance tires and a paint job that is flawless. This car is certainly a head- turner, it's sleek lines are al Ferrari. Sitting just a few inches off the ground, -the Spider looks fast just sittipg still. The price, you ask? Well as the old saying goes, "If y'ou have to ask, you can't aiford.' But since I like to tell secrets, it's just $162,336 p lus tax. Oh, and top speed is 171 m.p.h.. New Iook Golf solid B y Glen Konorowski Finally hitting the streets in bigger numbers is the all-new- for-1993 Volkswagen Golf. Over the past few montha I have test driven a couple of models and have been very impressed with the car. The 1993 Golf is in fact, the third generation Golf, as the first generation was called the Rabbit , sturdy in North America. For 1993, the Golf gets a total revamp inside and eut. Starting with the body, VW decided t hat a new, more roun- ded look was needed. The square look of the older model was just not cutting it with customers, and sales proved it. SEE PAGE 12 The Most funyvou can have going topless. I 1, Our beautiful body has had a facelift from the waist down. If you've always promised yourself a car that is absolutely fun to drive, then drop the top of the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet. With the Cabriolet's new body, you'll turn a lot of heads around. This year, it has integrated body-coloured bumper covers and an integrated front spolIer. Along with fatter, steel-belted radial ply tires. Body-coloured wheel arch f lares and rocker panel moulding. And more. See the 1993 Golf Cabriolet soon, and see how much fun you can have with our new body. And your top down. 4Z Golf Cabrioletej OWASCO VOLKSWAGEN INC. WIO Experienoe the Oivasco Feeling. 1 H ý 2 An 'I CARE" and CAA award wnner . OWASCO Saes, service, leasing, body shop. ail malies o 0 Q. Reniais in Canada, USA and Europe, overseas delîvery . N MI VR -F, 1425 Dundas St. East, Whitby- rm 686-641035 MINUTES J L 68-6410EAST FROM ~OWACObTOP DOLLAR FOR DOWNTOWN VOUR TRADE! TORONTO 77