1914 Stutz
They called the Stutz ‘The car that made good in a day’ because of its first-time-out eleventh placing in the 1911 Indianapolis 500-mile race. Most famous of all the Stutzes was the 1914 Bearcat speedster, a ‘racy creation’ which was the star of the new Series E Stutz range. Available with either a four or six-cylinder engine, the Bearcat featured Stutz’s patented three-speed gearbox/ rear axle unit and could exceed 80mph.
1914 Turner
Turner of Wolverhampton originally built the Belgian Miesse steam car under licence. and persisted with steam until 1913. They had already seen which way the wind of fashion was blowing. however. and introduced their first petrol car in 1906. After a three-year hiatus. they returned to internal combustion in 1911 with a cyclecar, but soon progressed to better things like this 1914 12/20hp with its sporting vee-radiator and detachable-rim wire wheels.
1914 Valveless
Although in later years the name of the David Brown Organisation was to be linked with that of Aston Martin, the famous Huddersfield engineers’ first venture into motor manufacture was with the Ralph Lucas-designed Valveless in 1908. The heart of the Valveless was a curious duplex two-stroke engine with ‘only six working parts’ (two pistons, two con-rods and two crankshafts). The two crankshafts were geared together, running in opposite directions.
1915 Ford Model T
Mass-produced in unprecedented numbers the Model T Ford may have been, but certainly in its pre-1917 brass-radiator form it was not devoid of style. Some Model T variants could be positively elegant, like this 1915 Coupelet, ‘as convenient and exclusive as an electric’, In 1914-15, Ford sales exceeded 300,000, so all customers were given a $50 rebate as a sales stunt inspired by Henry Ford himself.
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