It’s often said that the Ford Model T motorised the world, and while that is true to some extent, in that it definitely showed the way forward was the mass production of internal combustion engine cars, it only really motorised North America and some nations where Ford built factories. That included the UK, as Ford’s first overseas plant was constructed in Trafford Park, Manchester, in 1911.
It seems from the image below that Rural America didn’t have many commercial vehicle load inspectors in the 1920s, but it also speaks to a broader truth. The Model T was the vehicle that could do everything, including carry a seemingly impossible amount of hay. It was named Car of the Century in late 1999, and it very much deserved that accolade. It had remained in production for 19 years after being introduced in 1908 and had seen service in almost every role you could imagine a vehicle fulfilling, from racing car to fire tender, farm wagon to military armoured car and everything in between; a modified version even took part in the first Le Mans 24-hour race in 1923 and finished a creditable 14th!
The Model TT (truck) was first sold in 1917. Although no verified hauling specifications are known, this one is pictured loaded with 8,000 pounds of hay. It was probably driving well below the Model T’s top speed of 40 mph.
It had provided a private area for young courting couples, and its rugged design, high riding chassis and very narrow tyres made it perfect for the unmade roads that were prevalent at the time. Ford made nearly 15 million of them, and its place in history is assured. It was the first worldwide utilitarian car. A lot of the design philosophy behind the 2CV, its ride height and ability to work on any road, was no doubt informed by the Model T, as its successor, the Model A, while being a much better car, was less able off-road and much less utilitarian.
Other nations motorised when their domestic industry produced a product that could be made in significant numbers for a market that had the available spending power to buy that production volume. Hence, some nations were motorised by products of the 1970s or 1980s. The government-led Malaysian National Car Project, which became the 1985 Proton (Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad) Saga, was claimed by then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, to be, “… more than just a quality automobile. It is a symbol of Malaysians as a dignified people.” It was named after the Saga tree, which is deeply embedded in Malaysian culture. Proton’s share of the domestic market for cars below 1,600cc peaked at 74 per cent, but demand outstripped supply and the government was losing money on every car sold. Proton are now controlled by the Chinese company Geely.
The Four Great Economy Cars of the 20th Century.
There are, however, four cars which stand head and shoulders above any others in the post-war quest to produce economical transport for the masses: the VW Beetle, the Fiat 500, the BMC Mini, and the Citroën 2CV. All were the products of small development teams with a single-minded vision, and all were the products of pretty much clean-sheet engineering, no remits to carry over the floorpan of this, or the engine and gearbox of that, although the Mini used the block-upwards of the BMC A-Series, which had first been seen in the A30. All four stayed in production far longer than their creators had ever envisaged.
They all reflected the national characteristics of the nations from which they originated. Cramped, urban, overcrowded Britain produced the Mini, ideal for zipping around swinging London from one hip happening to the next. Even in standard 850cc form, before John Cooper got involved, it had racecar-like handling that reflected Issigonis’ experience as an amateur racer. Rome makes London look quiet, so the minuscule and narrow Fiat was the ideal tool. Hitler had demanded that the VW be a family car that could be used on the new Autobahns he was then having built, so the Beetle’s remit was fundamentally different. That may be part of the reason why it did so well in the USA, where Autobahn-type roads were quite normal. A Beetle (or ‘Bug’) could cruise at high speed fairly comfortably all day, yet still seemed small parked next to a full-size Buick, or even the ‘compact’ Ford Falcon, the car the blue oval designed specifically to counter its success in the North American market.
All four had their engines above the driving wheels as that was an obvious way of saving space, but two were, of course, rear-engined. The interesting thing is that only two were genuinely small; the Fiat 500 was an amazing 116 inches long, but really wasn’t a 4-seater in any real sense.
The Mini was, however, and managed to be so while being only just over 4 inches longer than the Fiat. The Beetle, which could be argued to have significantly less interior space than the original Mini, was actually much larger at 160 inches long.
Comfort and Joy. The 2CV’s raison d’être.
The most sensible compromise, however, was the 2CV, which was 149 inches long but had interior space for four or even five adults to sit comfortably. It was a small-ish car, but it was designed for a very specific market and lifestyle, where one car needed to move people, livestock, goods, and, most famously, eggs across any terrain in great comfort.
Une 2 CV devant le Mont Saint-Michel en 1960, une femme et ses trois enfants sortent par le toit ouvrant. Photo de Georges Guyot. Utilisation éditoriale uniquement, nous contacter pour toute autre utilisation
In a country where the pace of life was slow, the fact that its air-cooled flat-twin 375cc engine sipped fuel and could be maintained easily was far more important than the performance, or lack of it. Early 2CVs produced just 9bhp@3500rpm and struggled to travel much above 40mph, but no one really cared because it had enough space to take a whole family on a picnic, and the deckchair-like seats could then be removed to sit in while that family enjoyed a wonderful and leisurely French lunch.
Boulanger mettant des baguettes dans le coffre d’une 2CV en juin 1949. Utilisation éditoriale uniquement, nous contacter pour toute autre utilisation
The team behind the 2CV followed the national obsession of all French car designers and you have to draw the conclusion that of the French nation in general, comfort. Why design a car so small that you are cramped up and uncomfortable as a driver or passenger? Unless you live in London or Rome, that is not the ultimate issue. Other small utilitarian cars have, over the years, mistaken small running costs for small size. In fact, weight is the big enemy of good economy at slow speed, as aerodynamics only becomes important over 50 mph, and early 2CVs weighed only 1120LBs, 530Lbs less, or about 2/3rds in real world use, than the 25 bhp 1131 cc VW Beetle. A launch Mini, despite being so much smaller, weighed in at 1380Lbs, which seems light, until you ask a Citroën engineer…
We’ll see how they achieved that in Parts 3 and 4.
Pictures:
Citroën/Stellantis
Fiat/Stellantis
Ford Motor Company
Volkswagen AG
Proton
John Lakey
