Indholdsfortegnelse for April 1959 i MotorTrend

British car costs $1500 less to buy … $350 a year less to operate than average station wagon…and it’s the “best engineered” of all economy cars “When I saw the Estate Wagon, I knew I had the car I was looking for,” says a new TRIUMPH owner. He writes: “It’s more than spacious enough to do all the hauling our 2-door sedan couldn’t handle. And what we saved on purchase price and operating costs is paying off our home improvement loan.” The TRIUMPH Estate Wagon is made by Standard-Triumph of Coventry, England—the same people who make the TRIUMPH TR-3 sports car. Since the company’s first cars appeared in 1903, they’ve gained a world-wide reputation for fine engi­neering. And fine British engineering is very good indeed. Here’s what the 1959 TRIUMPH…

DESIGN FOR A SMALL CAR Dear Sir: I have found an interesting challenge in trying to combine roominess with good looks in a small car. Enclosed is a sketch (above) of one of the approaches that I think is most feasible. I started by using the interior dimensions of the Rambler American as minimum require­ments. Michael J. Heuer Toronto, Ont., Canada SENSIBLE TWO Gentlemen: I was very pleased with your recent tests of the Rambler American and Studebaker Lark. They show the classification in which these two automobiles belong—the sensible car class. I’ll admit that these cars will never win any beauty prizes, but their styling is not too boxy or gaudy. The stylists and engineers proved that it is possible to work within limitations. These cars have adequate power…

Experts rate the HILLMAN best! POPULAR SCIENCE: “In the opinion of the writer, the Hillman — at the price — probably is the best buy among the more popular foreign cars selling under $2000.” MOTOR TREND: “Excellent choice as a small car for the one-car family. More power, sturdier engine … cruises easily at highway speeds. Even six-footers can find leg room to ride comfortably. Service and parts readily available.” Five models — 4-door sedans, convertible, 2- and 4-door station wagons—from $1639 p.o.e. Western states, slightly higher. Rally Champion SUNBEAM MOTOR TREND predicted: “The Rapier is an excellent road machine, and with its big-hearted engine, floor shift, improved steering and rugged brakes, it will have European rallyists talking to themselves!” And here are Sunbeam’s latest achievements: Winner of R.A.C. British…

YOU’VE REALLY STUCK YOUR FOOT IN IT NOW.’’ How’s that?” I asked. “It can’t be done. You can’t compare a Corvette with a Porsche. How unlike can two cars be?” Briefly that was the feeling among some of the MT staff members when we decided to compare these two sportscars. On the surface they would seem to defy comparison. But dig a little and see how much alike they really are. Both are in the $4000 price class. The Porsche Convertible D (replaces the Speedster) is slightly under—$3745 delivered on the West Coast. Our 250-hp soft-top Corvette rolls out in Los Angeles for $4375 including heater and four-speed gearbox. Cost of fuel injection, $484, has not been included. (Although our test car carried an injection system, it does not materially…

Rumors about an all-new Volkswagen have been raging for months. The “experts” said that a 1400-1600cc VW with Porsche-like body for four passengers would be announced this spring. What apparently happened, however, is that VW made an agreement with Opel not to produce this car because it would compete directly with Opel’s 1.5- liter car. Then there’s the smaller VW being designed by Porsche. This one, it seems, is a 600cc job with more room and performance than other cars in this near-minicar field for the European market. It’s known that several new models exist in the Research Dept, of VW. Whether or not the factory will see fit to change their present model is a debatable point at best. If it’s by modification, it could be like the one…

A LABOR OF LOVE for three years, Jack Norris’s golden-bronzed ’51 Merc club coupe combines an engine swap with a number of tastefully executed customizing touches. The ’56 Buick V8, augmented by Mallory ignition and four 97 Ford carburetors, provides a potent powerplant for this gilded chariot. Dropped three inches front and rear, the lowered look is complemented by the side trim of a ’56 Chevy spear and the rear fender chrome from a ’55 Merc wagon. The spoke wheels, machined to fit, are of the Dayton knockoff type. Tail lights from a ’57 Corvette are frenched and formed to blend with fender contours. The floating-type grille has a ’54 DeSoto bar with ’51 Kaiser parking lights; background mesh is from ’58 Ford. The entire grille shell unit has been…

INSTANT SIMONIZ (just add car) in a spray can eliminates the work and the mess from the waxing job. Just shake the can, spray a little on the car, rub it into the surface, let it dry and wipe it off. The Simoniz Co. says that it does a real simoniz job, cleaning and waxing in one application. It is suitable for all finishes, including the new acrylics. Ask for it at your service station. Price: $2.50 for a big can. UNIQUE WATCH that has no hands and no dial gives you the time in hours and minutes. Swiss movement in shock-resistant case is guaranteed for one year. Send check or money order for $8.95 to Cryder Sales Co., Dept. DW-201, P.O. Box 79, Whitestone 57, N.Y. D-A SPEED-SPORT GEAR…

YOUNG DON HELLWIG and his father probably know as much about the faults of automobile suspensions and methods for curing them as anyone we know. Of course, we don’t know everyone who has been able to solve automotive suspension and torque control problems, but we do know that the Hellwigs have a long list of satisfied customers, among them MOTOR TREND. Our hybrid experimental laboratory car, the KaiSoto, was just about the most extreme example of an automobile suspension and rear axle needing help. The extra weight of the big DeSoto engine that was installed in the Kaiser Traveler chassis had squashed the front springs to the point where we always had a sensation of going downhill. It wandered all over the place and dove to the bottoming point under…

SWITCHING LARGE CURRENTS in automotive ignition systems has plagued the designers of internal combustion engines for years. As engine speeds and compression ratios increased, the coil output requirements also increased to where the large amounts of current that the points were now handling shortened their life and reduced their efficiency after only a few hours of use. During the mid-1950s a semi-conducting crystalline solid known as Germanium and called the transistor was developed and has been widely used in the electronic field. Transistors are like an electronic valve, i.e., if they are energized by a small amount of current they become very conductive to large amounts of current. It is almost like a pane of glass that we would make opaque or transparent by applying low current to it, rather…

It’s the only production car of its type in the entire low- price field—the Plymouth Sport Fury ’59. Foreign engineers have marveled at its Torsion-Aire suspension system: a remarkable teaming of torsion bars up front with asymmetrical leaf springs to the rear. It has run with some of the best of the European sports cars on mountain roads in Italy. Tested against a famed Gran Turismo car (priced above $7000) on our own western mountains, FURY performance caused a famed automotive magazine editor to write that he d take the Plymouth! Yet Plymouth serves beautifully as a family car as well. That’s because it’s built with true American functionalism in mind. Most fellows don’t own two cars. They need roomy luxury for family travel and ample luggage space for long…

TO ANY STORY there are many parts. In the story of MOTOR Trend’s se­lection of the ‘59 Pontiac as “Car of the Year” and our presentation of the 1959 MOTOR Trend Award to the Pontiac Motor Division, there are at least four parts. The first of these is an explanation of what the award is—why we established it. The second is a rundown of previous award winners since its inception in 1956. The third is a brief discussion of the ‘59 cars and features we considered worthy of consideration for the 1959 award. And the fourth—the reasons why we chose the Pontiac this year. WHAT THE AWARD IS When the MOTOR Trend Award was first established we announced that it was going to be presented each year to the automotive…

IF ALL THE SMOG TALK (once confined only to Los Angeles residents and comedians) continues, we are bound to see a resurgence of all the “other types” of cars—mainly electric and steam. And of all the makes of steam cars, the one in our estimation that could best stage a comeback is the Doble. The two Doble steam cars on the opposite page are probably the finest extant examples of the Doble: the Touring Car E-23, and Roadster. The E-23 is mounted on a sturdy frame of 153-5 inches, with four semi-elliptic springs, four-wheel brakes, and is fitted with a five-passenger touring body believed to have been built by Murphy of Pasadena, Calif. As with most steam cars, the engine is not under the hood. Instead it is mounted in…

ENGINEERING AN ENGINE OF THIS TYPE falls into two major projects: First, an engine that meets all of the requirements for such a portable powerplant, i.e., size, weight, fuel economy, noise level, and adaptability. Second, and probably the more important, is the cost engineering. An engine, or whatever is being developed for civilian use, must be built to extract a profit for the builder at a cost the consumer can afford. Unlike military contracts, where cost is of little consequence, the materials for civilian goods must be readily available and have a reasonable cost. Progress along these lines has been more rapid in the last two years than in the previous five years in the automotive turbine engine field. Chrysler Corp. made quite a splash several years ago by driving…

CARS THAT RUN ON ELECTRICITY? It’s not a wild dream, but probably a long way in the future. But then again …? When we saw the sketches and ⅜-scale model you see on these pages, we went to A. E. Kimberly, DeSoto’s Chief Engineer and director of the product. We asked him if this car was a stylist’s dream or if it had a practical application. Here’s what he had to say: “The DeSoto Cella I is strictly an idea car. The ideas, however, have not been pulled out of thin air. When we speak of a revolutionary electro-chemical system, we’re referring to something that has been proved. Lockheed Aircraft has already developed practical applications of this principle, though not on a scale needed to power a car. “We call…

Requirements are: copy limit of 25 words (not including name and address); 1st come, 1st served; we reserve the right to edit where necessary; we are not responsible for accuracy of description, although we will reject any misleading statements. This service is not open to commercial advertisers. No ads will be accepted if payment is not made in advance, and such communications will not be acknowledged. Only one CAR may be listed in any single Sell ’N’ Swap insertion. This limitation will not apply to parts, catalogs, etc. The charge is $4 per insertion. If your car is unusual and you have a photo of it suitable for publication, you may submit it with your ad. If we decide to print it there’s no cost to you for the cut,…

“My wife always puts down ‘pro­fession: housewife’ on the income tax forms—but she’d be a lot more accurate if she made it ‘bus driver.’ We’ve got a Little Leaguer, a Boy Scout and a daughter in ballet classes, plus a fanatic interest in gardening, and it seems to me she spends 90 per cent of her time trans­porting kids or plants somewhere and back. “So when it came new car time for us I took Chevy’s whopping list of options and sat down to ‘build’ a car that would make her job easier. The nine-passenger wagon, of course, because we have to have the space—and the kids love that rear-facing third seat. The electric rear window is standard on this model and it’s a real boon on hot summer days.…

“The air slots in Chevies are to get the public used to this odd shape as a headlight.” POSSIBLE—Though we have no indication that Chevrolet designed their 1959 car with this in mind, we do know that auto manufacturers are working on new and unusual approaches to the headlighting problem. Horizontal lights could be one of them. “Horsepower will be reduced in 1960 to meet public demand for greater economy.” FALSE—Horsepower, like speed, is relative. From a performance stand­point the ratio of horsepower per pound of vehicle weight is the decid­ing factor. A low-horsepower engine that has to be operated at full-throttle to provide a desired performance would be less economical than an engine that could do the same job at part throttle. “Pastel shade sidewall tires to match or…

AT THE TURIN SHOW IN 1957 a new prototype appeared which brought enthusiasts jostling like bees around a honey pot. It was a long, low, streamlined coupe of rare beauty built by Bertone to designs by Scaglione, who knows more than most stylists about the science of streamlining. At this stage it was clearly intended as a competition model, with aluminum panels, plastic windows, lightweight interior trim and minimum frontal area, with overall height a little over 47 inches. But it was difficult to see how anyone of normal size could wear a crash helmet. For a year only occasional snippets of information about modifications filtered through. But production has now begun and I had a short test run on one of the first batch of 20 cars. Quite a…

1 You can submit your own origi­nal automotive design sketch or detail drawing—for a complete car or for one or more components. Examples of entries for this category are a dash concept by Paul E. Butler (right), and a design for a small-car two-door sedan by John Tjaarda (far right). 2 You can submit an original model car (example at far right), or a model built from any Revell (or other make) custom­izing kit. These contain a number of accessory items, allowing you to individualize your own customized model. At right is a Revell customized Chrysler model. 3 You can submit photographs of an actual full­sized car that you have designed or custom­ized. This can be an entire car, or just part of one. On the follow­ing pages are three…

THE ABILITY of Acheson colloidal graphite to remain suspended in a variety of liquids (as reviewed in MOTOR TREND Feb. ’59), is being used by HRL of Los Angeles to provide lubricating qualities to an oil and fuel residue solvent. Marketed under the name of GAF (“Fast Acting Graphite” spelled backwards), the product is a powerful solvent with a high flash point that will dis-solve varnish deposits in hydraulic valve lifters around rings and valve guides and at the same time leave a protective coating of microscopic graphite to lubricate the parts until normal oil flow reaches them. This is best demonstrated by squirting some of the product on a polished piece of steel and watching how the graphite adheres to the metal while the solvent base runs off. The…

AMOCO-GAS …chosen for the sixth consecutive year as the Official Motor Fuel for the Florida International Grand Prix of Endurance Sebring, Fla., March 21, 1959. On March 21, another Florida International Grand Prix championship team will be crowned at Sebring, Florida. For 12 grueling hours the winning team and their car will be pushed to the extreme limits of endurance. The pace will never let up. Their motor fuel will never let them down. For through every moment of the race unleaded Amoco-Gas will protect their car’s engine from power-robbing lead deposits. For sports car or family car, clear white Amoco-Gas delivers greater protection, power and economy. Only Amoco-Gas is all gas … untainted by lead … untinted by color. That’s why only Amoco can guarantee more gas per gallon.…

Questions and Answers What is it—Best Car Buys is a listing service … a publication which is sent you every six weeks. It is an organized effort to bring to you from hundreds of sources throughout the United States a list of new and used cars that you may purchase at dealers wholesale or below … it is an organized effort to screen from thousands of current wholesale buys the very best ones and present them to you in published form, describing the car … the equipment … the price … the address of the seller and complete instructions for buying wholesale. But how can I buy wholesale … I am not a dealer! True, many of these cars can be bought only through a licensed dealer so we have…

It’s British to the core—this staunch and practical 4-door Vauxhall station wagon. Beneath its trim and compact lines, there’s ample room for a husky five—and with the rear seat folded flush with the floor, an amazing 45 cubic feet of carpeted cargo space. Load it to the gunwales and its smooth and spirited power cruises you easily at turnpike speed—with extreme economy. Here, indeed, is typical British craftsmanship, with such American-inspired features as wrap-around windshield and rear window, standard American gearshift and many more. See and drive this meticulously crafted import or its companion, the Vauxhall 4-door sedan. SOLD AND SERVICED IN AMERICA BY YOUR PONTIAC DEALER…

TO EYE-IRRITATED ANGELENO the fight between their mayor and Detroit over a method to curb smog is no laughing matter. But a break-through is now possible with catalytic oxidation, reducing pollutants 60-75 percent. One device by Ford (shown here) is similar to a standard muffler, holds about 25 lbs. of pellets, and must be used in conjunction with a compressor. Possible cost: $150. The Houdry converter (GM’s) weighs 95 lbs., gives out excessive heat and a pungent odor and also needs a compressor. Other problems to be solved: back pressure, frequent need to replace catalyst, and varying effectiveness with grade of fuel used.…