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[Closed] The first 20 years of the automobile (PICS).

Harv Goranson · 2014-07-30T19:48:09Z

The first 20 years of the automobile (PICS).My receipt of the excellent 1902 Panhard B1 by Minichamps got me to thinking about how many REALLY old cars are in my collection. So here are most, but not all, of them. Excluded are competition cars (with one exception), multiple versions of the same car (1903 Cadillac), some commercial vehicles, and a few 1905 cars (I had that year covered pretty well). Incidentally, the real versions would all be eligible for the London to Brighton Run.photo no longer availablePre-1900: Carriages without a horse.photo no longer availableOn the front row are the Cursor Benz 3-wheeler and the Wiking 1886 Daimler (1:40). The 1885 Benz is perhaps the first gasoline-engine "car" but (aided by an article in Automobile Quarterly) I determined the Cursor represents an 1888 version. The Wiking has a posable front axle - being straight it had to be tough to steer! On the second row there's the Rio #30 1894 DeDion Bouton. DeDion started off with this steam contrivance, obviously meant to be a "horse" to the carriage in tow, but switched to gas soon after. Opposing it is the Igra 1897 Tatra President in 1:36 scale, but it actually looks smaller than the DeDion scale-wise. On the top row are two more Cursors, showing that commercial vehicles were not being overlooked in the infancy of automobiles. The Benz omnibus and truck both had rear engines. 5 of these 6 are plastic, and the Rio is actually part plastic. Back in the day, this material seemed to work best to capture all the fiddly little details on these early contraptions.1901-1903: Beginning to get a handle on things. photo no longer availableThe 1902 Panhard is a jewel, and I hope my review makes it on the website soon (c'mon Rusty!) The 1903 Cadillac is every bit as nice, a resin model from EMC that came in several versions. Both of these are of the rear-entrance tonneau body style, which was briefly popular until cars got lower with more substantial running boards. Behind these is the 1901 Fiat, another Rio (#31). Note the mother-in-law seat behind. All of these had front-mounted radiators, but the brass surrounds would follow later.1901-1905: Setting the layout for the 20th century.photo no longer availableIn the center is Distler's excellent replica of a 1901 Mercedes - probably a race version. The upright radiator with surround, raked steering column, front engine, rear drive all come together to define the basic layout of the 20th century auto. Panhard got some credit for this too, but theirs was a passenger auto. Anyway, Benz, Panhard, and Levassor all worked pretty well together in the early days.Clockwise from left, two more Fiats, and 1902 and 1903, both by Rio. The first motorized fire apparatus is believed to be the 1904 Merryweather, this replica made by Matchbox for a series of vintage fire engines, all of which had engine detail.On the right side all cars are from 1905 and depict the basic trend in layouts. In the front there's the Laurin & Klement by Abrex, followed by the lovely Rolls Royce by Top Marques, and the Fiat 60CV by Rio. This last one showed another trend - more horsepower.My favorites? First would be between the new Panhard and the EMC. It's that good and, as Wayne suggested, a contender for Model of the Year. After that, in no particular order, the Top Marques RR, Matchbox Merryweather, and Distler Benz.

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Harv Goranson

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Topic starter 01/08/2014 1:53 pm

Steven - As you probably know, the van was made from unsold maroon tonneaus.

I think there were 20 or 25 made. The one I have was a leftover that escaped modification, maybe the last one that was available.

I also have the red and black two-place runabouts. And there was a white tonneau. So six versions, right?

Wrong - Our own Pastor K has a special 1 of 1 - a white tonneau with erect top. How about a pic John?

David Holcombe

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01/08/2014 4:08 pm

A realy nice trio, Steven. Congratulations.

cadillaclloyd

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01/08/2014 5:21 pm

(PIC) Which is not a fantasy model...Seen here at a museum in Pa. This one was used to deliver packages from a department store in the day.

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