Читать книгу 60 Years Behind the Wheel - Bill Sherk - Страница 12

Winton Runabout, Toronto, circa 1904

THIS AMERICAN-BUILT, RIGHT-HAND-drive Winton attracted a crowd of mostly men and boys in front of the King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto in the early days of motoring. The hotel was named in honour of Edward VII, the reigning monarch (1901–1910) and an early enthusiast of motor cars.

The “King Eddy” first opened its doors in 1903, and on July 27 of that year, it provided the venue for the first general meeting of the Toronto Automobile Club, which had already set up a permanent office in the hotel. Through amalgamation with similar clubs in Hamilton, Ottawa, and Kingston, the Ontario Motor League was born in 1907.

The Winton was named for Alexander Winton, who began building automobiles in Ohio in 1897. One of his first customers was John Moodie of Hamilton, who imported a Winton into Canada in 1898. The one shown here is typical of cars of that era — no windshield, no doors, and no top. Motorists often bathed or showered after every drive on the mostly unpaved, dusty roads. Note the heavily clothed female passenger and the goggles on the driver’s cap.

The headlights shown here are covered, perhaps to protect them from stones flying up from horses’ hooves. Even if you intended to drive your car only during daylight hours, you were well advised to equip your car with a pair of headlights. The roads were littered with horseshoe nails, and changing a flat tire could delay your return home until after dark.

Not everyone who owned a Winton was happy with it. One of Mr. Winton’s first customers didn’t like the car and told him so. To which Winton allegedly replied, “If you’re so smart, maybe you should build your own car, Mr. Packard.”

James Ward Packard did exactly that, and test-drove his first car in November 1899. Winton automobiles remained in production until 1924. The Packard nameplate survived until 1958.