The most influential cars of the century

Some of the most important cars of the past 100 years had higher profiles than others, observes PAUL OWEN.

Several New Zealand Ford Model T owners recently went on a long drive to celebrate the centennial of the arrival on these shores of the most influential car of them all.

The 1910 Tin Lizzy's status as such is undeniable. It was voted the Car of the (20th) Century by an international panel of esteemed motoring journalists, it introduced drivers to the world's first (crude) automatic gearbox, and it made Henry Ford a household name.

Most of all, the T-bucket was cheap, and bought motorised four- wheeled personal mobility within reach of the masses. It therefore forced governments to pay more than lip service to road construction and saved cities from becoming fly- blown heaps of horse excrement.

The Model T created the template for a motorised society, and almost all the cars that followed it were refinements of Ford's initiative to create cars that ordinary folk could buy and drive.

The 1959 BMC Mini is arguably the second-most influential car of the last 100 years for its debut of a powertrain layout faithfully copied by most cars produced since its arrival 51 years ago. By mounting the engine east-west to drive the front wheels, the Mini could devote 80 per cent of its floor plan to passenger- luggage space. This made it the most Tardis-like of cars, despite its impish proportions.

The 1920 Essex Super Six was the first affordable car to feature a fully enclosed all-metal body, and began the trend away from so-called touring automobiles featuring canvas roofs and wooden doors. The Essex's other claim to automotive influence was the first use of warning lights.

The year 1959 was a significant milestone in the advancement of automotive safety, for three cars debuted that year that would drive the trend towards safer cars.

First, the 1959 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE introduced the first crumple zone, a sacrificial part of the body that could absorb a significant amount of crash energy before it reached the passenger cabin. Then the 1959 Volvo 120 showed off the first three- point seat-belts.

Finally, there was the 1959 Chevrolet Corvair, a rear-engine car that became infamous for the wayward handling that inspired the title for Ralph Nader's crusading book, Unsafe at any Speed.

The Merc and the Volvo might have debuted life-saving technology, but it was the deadly Corsair that convinced car buyers that such features were worth having.

On the suspension front, the 1949 Ford Verdette and 1967 Datsun 1600 debuted new systems that helped engineers provide better ride comfort and improved handling. The French Ford sported the first MacPherson struts up front, named after Earle S MacPherson, a former General Motors chief engineer who defected to the Blue Oval when his proposed affordable car, the Chevrolet Cadet, was canned. Essentially coil-sprung dampers with a stub axle attached at the bottom, the struts were popularised by the 1951 Ford Zephyr- Consul, and are now the favoured front suspension system for most cars. Bringing the rear up to speed was the Datsun's task. It was the first affordable car with fully independent rear suspension.

Two Italian cars were notable for more than their beauty, for both debuted engine technologies that have become commonplace today. The 1940 Alfa Romeo 6C2500 Mille Miglia used electrically operated fuel injection sourced from one of Mussolini's high-altitude bombers to good effect, winning the famous road race that year. From the same stable came the 1954 Alfa Romeo Guilietta Sprint, the first road car featuring an inline four-cylinder engine of all- alloy construction.

Thanks to the 1965 Renault 16, and 1970 Range Rover, buyers have a lot more choice these days. For the French car perfected the hatchback, while the Brit was the first sport utility vehicle, and each created a segment soon to become a big slice of the market. Others responsible for the proliferation of models and body styles include the 1926 York-bodied Model T (first station wagon), 1910 Vauxhall 20hp (arguably the first sportscar, although the term wasn't coined until after World War I), and 1996 Honda CR-V (first crossover).

The 1935 Citroen Rosalie was the first car to embrace the revolutionary compression-ignition engine technology of Rudolph Diesel, and therefore the first to promote frugality as a core value. However, it wasn't until the 1978 Peugeot 604 that a diesel car engine was made more efficient through the addition of a turbocharger. Diesel cars were the first choice for those seeking increased fuel efficiency until the 1998 Toyota Prius offered a new alternative in the form of a petrol- electric hybrid powertrain.

Performance car fans can look back to milestone vehicles like the 1915 Cadillac Type 51 (first V8), 1962 Oldsmobile Cutlass Jetfire (first turbo), 1976 Volkswagen Golf GTi (first hot hatch) and 1966 Jensen FF (first 4WD performance car).

Then there were the cars that convinced buyers that certain nations could be trusted to produce reliable and desirable automotive engineering. It could be argued that we were still slightly suspicious of Japanese cars until the 1966 Toyota Corolla and 1972 Honda Civic came along. The 1996 Hyundai Lantra was the car that broke the mindset that Korean vehicles were merely cheap.

As for the car that will convince us the Chinese can produce safe, entertaining, well-built cars for the price of a mountain bike, that should arrive some time soon.

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