A Cadillac For Mr Jinnah

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1947 Cadillac 75 series Limousine, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, ‘Standard of the World’, Cadillac, December 25, Fleetwood hand-built coachwork, La Salle, Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani, Mr Jinnah, Mr Jinnah's Birthday, Packard, Romano Karim Yusuf

In addition to being a great leader, Mr Jinnah (whose birthday will be celebrated on December 25) was a connoisseur of the finer things in life. He was always immaculately dressed and was especially fond of luxury cars. He owned several of these when he lived in Bombay, including a La Salle and an ivory coloured convertible Packard. When Mr Jinnah left for Karachi from Bombay, just days before Partition, his Packard was shipped to Karachi.

Aware of the busy official schedule that awaited him and the lack of official transport in the nascent state he had founded, Mr Jinnah sent word to Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani (Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States at the time) to purchase a Cadillac for him. The car was slated to arrive by the end of 1947, but due to various delays, it reached Karachi in early 1948. During this time, Mr Jinnah used his Packard.

The Auto Show Comes To Karachi

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2015 Camry, Automobile Art Exhibition, Ayesha Shaikh, car enthusiasts, Chevrolets, Cholistan Jeep Rally, Expo Centre, Ferrari Formula One concept car, Ford Mustangs, heavy bikes, Jhal Magsi Desert Challenge, Karachi Auto Show, Land Cruiser, Mitsubishi Evolution, Nadir Magsi, off roaders, Pak-Suzuki, PakWheels, rear mounted cameras, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Ronnie Patel, SUVs, Swift, test drive, Toyota, Toyota Vigo, traction control, vintage beauties, Wagon-R, wooden canvas-covered body work

Heads up car enthusiasts! After successful shows in Lahore and Islamabad earlier in the year, the second edition of the Karachi Auto Show will begin today at the Expo Centre organised by PakWheels. The Show promises to be the largest of its kind, with more than 500 vehicles on display.

Show stoppers include vintage beauties from the 1950s and 1960s – restored and refurbished – that will transport you to an era when cars boasted wooden, canvas-covered body work. A few that merit mention are stately Chevrolets, exquisite luxury saloons, powerful Ford Mustangs and a Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Several leading automobile manufacturers – including Pak Suzuki and Toyota – will have a presence there, showcasing their new-to-market luxury cars, SUVs, off roaders and even a few heavy bikes, all equipped with the latest technological advancements such as traction control and rear mounted cameras. You will also get exclusive previews and the chance to test drive highly anticipated models that are not yet in the market, including the 2015 Camry, Swift and Wagon-R.

Pakistan’s Beloved Tin Lizzie

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classic cars, Ford T, Harappa, Jinnah’s 1938 Packard, Jinnah’s 1947 Cadillac, Justice Cornelius’ Wolseley, Model T, Mohenjo-daro, neglected vintage cars, Sir John Hubert Marshall, Sir John’s Tin Lizzie, Taxila, Tin Lizzie, vintage cars

For auto enthusiasts, viewing classic cars remains a popular pastime. And while there are several such vehicles on display in museums across Pakistan (including Mr Jinnah’s 1938 Packard and 1947 Cadillac which are housed in his mausoleum and Justice Cornelius’ Wolseley, which is displayed at the Supreme Court Museum in Islamabad), and at classic car shows that are held frequently, many vintage cars remain neglected.

One such car is a Ford T once owned by Sir John Hubert Marshall, a prominent archaeologist who excavated, catalogued and published material on the ancient remains of Harappa, Taxila and Mohenjo-daro at the turn of the 20th century.

The Ford T was popularly referred to as the ‘Tin Lizzie’ and there are several theories about how it got its nickname, including one that suggests that it was named so because it looked like a tin can. The car was simple to operate, rugged and affordable, and mass-produced between 1908 and 1927.

Tapping Into Potential

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10th Pakistan Auto Show, 15%, 150 companies, 17 kilometres per litre, accessories, agricultural implements, anti-lock breaking, Asia, Car Show, CEO, chairman, China, Classic Car Show, commercial vehicles, complements, concept cars, Detroit, dual-airbags, electronic brake force distribution systems, Engineering Innovation Model Competition, exhibitor, export opportunities, FAST/NU, FAW V2, Frankfurt, fuel economy, Geneva, Germany, hatchback, Honda, India, Indus Motor Company, international vendors, Korea, Lahore, maintenance, manufactured, Millat Tractors, motorbikes, PAAPAM, Pakistan, Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers, PAPS, parts, Parvez Ghias, potential, Productivity, products, Profitability, Punjab University, repair, rickshaws, services, stakeholders, Suzuki, Syed Wajeeh-ul-Hassan Naqvi, systems, Taiwan, technologies, tractors, tuning, University of Central Punjab, Usman Aslam Malik, vintage

Organised by the Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM), the 10th Pakistan Auto Show (PAPS) took place in Lahore last week.

The event showcased the products, services and technologies of an estimated 150 companies from Pakistan, China, Germany, India, Taiwan and Korea across seven exhibitor categories: accessories and tuning, agricultural implements and complements, commercial vehicles, parts and systems, repair and maintenance, rickshaws and tractors. Approximately 15,000 people from Pakistan and overseas attended the show.

Vintage Beauties In Town

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1938, 1959, 1980s Rolls-Royce Silver Spurs, Adolf Hitler, Barker & Co, Bentley, British coachbuilders, bunk beds, Dr Ferdinand Porsche, exclusivity, German, gun racks, jungle safari, Nawab of Bahawalpur, Phoenix, power, privilege, rebuild, refurbish, rescue, restored, Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, Romano Karim Yusuf, spotlights, turbocharged engine, VW Beetle, white

The annual Vintage and Classic Car Show is expected to begin today at The Forum Mall’s car park in Karachi. Organised by the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan (VCCP), the event is now in its 11th edition and brings vintage and classic cars, as well as a few period motorcycles, from across the city, transporting us back to an era when vehicles ranged from wooden-framed, canvas-covered bodies to those made from solid silver.

Of the estimated 85 beauties that are expected to be showcased today, a few merit special mention.

One of these is a green, three-axle, 1920s Crossley hunting car, with bodywork by British coachbuilders Barker & Co and one of two ever built. From the collection of the Nawab of Bahawalpur, this vehicle exudes privilege, exclusivity and power. Ideal for a jungle safari, it has bunk beds, gun racks and spotlights.

Justice Cornelius’s Wolseley 6/80

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1940, 1948 Earls Court Motor Show, auto buffs, British, British Police, Britishness, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Chief Justice Sir Abdul Rasheed, chrome trims, Court Museum, domed spotlights, four-door sedan, four-speed gear lever, full carpeting, Green, Islamabad, Justice Alvin ‘Bobby’ Robert Cornelius, Justice Jawwad Khawaja, leather covered seats, long front, memorabilia, metallic, overhead camshaft, Romano Karim Yusuf, Rover, semi-elliptical leaf springs, side opening bonnet, six cylinder, success, Supreme Court of Pakistan, torsion bar, twin carburettor, twin shock absorbers, Wolseley 6/80, wooden dashboard, World War II

The Supreme Court of Pakistan is in the process of setting up a Court Museum in Islamabad to house memorabilia dating from 1940 onwards.

A star attraction of the Museum, at least for auto buffs, is a metallic green Wolseley 6/80 motor car, which was owned by the late Justice Alvin ‘Bobby’ Robert Cornelius (1903-1991), who served as the 4th Chief Justice of Pakistan between 1960 and 1968. After his death, the car was acquired by Justice Jawwad Khawaja and he has now donated it to the Museum.

Harking back to an era of simplicity, the Wolseley 6/80 was the first of the post World War II models manufactured by Wolseley Motors and was unveiled at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show.

The World’s First Underwater Car

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carbon, chassis, eco-friendly, electric motors, flood, Frank Rinderknecht Rinspeed, James Bond, Lotus Elise, Lotus Esprit, nanotube, oxygen system, Rinspeed, RM Auctions, sea bobmodifications, sea worthy, sQuba, The Spy Who Loved Me, underwater car, water jets, water proof, zero pollution

Last month, the Lotus Esprit that James Bond (in his Roger Moore incarnation) drove underwater in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), was sold to an anonymous bidder for nearly one million dollars at RM Auctions, a classic car auction company in London.

Interestingly, the car proved to be the inspiration for the sQuba – an actual, underwater car manufactured by Rinspeed, a Swiss car company.

Rinspeed CEO, Frank Rinderknecht Rinspeed, chose to modify a Lotus Elise and turn it into the sQuba, because of the Elise’s weight distribution characteristics and suspension. The main modifications were made to the car’s power train and included the addition of three electric motors.

One motor is used to drive the car on land and the other two are used underwater. The sQuba is relatively eco-friendly and creates zero pollution in the water; top speed on land is 120 km/h, and six km/h underwater.

But how does the sQuba float? Well, Rinspeed added lightweight body panels made from carbon nanotubes to the chassis to reduce its weight, as well as two ‘sea bob’ water jets to help it move with ease.

Cars And Stamps

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100 years, 150th birth anniversary, 1960s, 1970s, Aston Martin, Aston Martin DB5, Austin FX4, Austin FX4 black cab, British automotive industry, car stamp series, Casino Royale, Charles Rolls, classic automobiles, Dr No, Ford Anglia 105E, GoldenEye, Goldfinger, iconic cars, Jaguar E-Type, James Bond, Land Rover Defender 110, London taxi cab, London Taxis International, Lotus Esprit, MG MGB, Morgan Plus 8, Morris Minor Van, Rolls Royce, Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Royal Mail, Sir Henry Royce, Skyfall, speed, thoroughbreds, Thunderball, Tomorrow Never Dies, workhorses

A craze for cars and philately – these are two hobbies which do not usually go together. Or do they? The folks at the Royal Mail seem to think so which is why they recently launched a series of stamps honouring some of Britain’s most iconic cars.

The six-stamp main series celebrates the ‘thoroughbreds’ of the British automotive industry, including the Aston Martin DB5, Jaguar E-Type, Lotus Esprit, MG MGB, Morgan Plus 8 and the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

A four-stamp miniseries features the Austin FX4 black cab, Ford Anglia 105E, Land Rover Defender 110 and Morris Minor Van; these cars are classified as the ‘workhorses’ of British roads. All the cars featured were produced in the 1960s and 1970s.

So what is the occasion? As it turns out, 2013 is a special year in the history of British automotives on two accounts. This year marks the 150th birth anniversary of Sir Henry Royce, who founded the luxury automotive brand, Rolls-Royce (along with Charles Rolls) and it also marks 100 years of Aston Martin – another legendary British car.

One of Pakistan’s Most Beloved Vintage Cars

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1950s, 2005 earthquake, Adolf Hitler, Balakot, Beetle, Beetles in Pakistan, European tourists, Ferdinand Porsche, Foxy, Japanese saloons insect-shaped, Pakistan Vintage Cars, Romano Karim Yusuf, spare parts, two-door vehicle, Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan Rally, Volkswagen Club of Pakistan, Volkswagen Type 1, world’s most iconic cars

The result of a 1935 meeting between Adolf Hitler and Ferdinand Porsche (an Austrian automobile engineer), the Beetle, officially called the Volkswagen Type 1, is one of the world’s most iconic cars.

It is believed that Beetles started to come to Pakistan in the 1950s, driven over by European tourists, as well as by Pakistanis returning from their studies abroad. The car, with its rear mounted, air-cooled engine and four-wheel independent suspension, quickly developed a reputation for superior build quality, reliability and competent road manners.

A few years later, Volkswagen opened showrooms in Pakistan’s major cities, and the car continued to sell well until the early 1970s. It was then that compact Japanese saloons (with better fuel economy and four doors) arrived in Pakistan, and spelt the end for the insect-shaped, two-door vehicle. Consequently, the last Beetles were delivered to Pakistan in the mid-1970s (even though they continued to be produced overseas until 2003).

The Most Beautiful Car Ever Made

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1961 flat floor Jaguar E type, 1961 Geneva Auto Show, 24 hour Le Mans endurance race, Brigitte Bardot, car, car enthusiasts, car’s design, competitive pricing, E-type, Enzo Ferrari, icon of the 1960s, Jaguar, Jaguar’s reputation, Malcolm Sayer, New York City Museum of Modern Art, permanent design exhibit, quality engineering, recessed wheels, Romano Karim Yusuf, round headlights, sleek red, Steve McQueen, the most beautiful car ever made, Tony Curtis, top car, two-seater shoe brake roadster, XKE

Earlier this month, a rare 1961 ‘flat floor’ Jaguar E type was found stowed away in a garage for 25 years. The ‘investment’ was rewarded handsomely, when despite its shoddy condition, the car commanded $171,000 at auction.

So what makes the E type so beloved to all car enthusiasts?

The E type was selected by Car as the top car of the last 50 years. It is the only car that has had the distinction of being called, “The most beautiful car ever made” by none other than Enzo Ferrari.

The story began when Jaguar wanted to build on its racing successes of the 1950s, the decade when the carmaker won the 24 hour Le Mans endurance race a remarkable five times. Designer Malcolm Sayer came up with the XKE, a two-seater shoe brake roadster that could accelerate from zero to 96 km/h in under seven and a half seconds and go on to a top speed of 240 km/h. The car came with Jaguar’s reputation for quality engineering and competitive pricing – it cost a mere £2,000.However, it was the car’s design that had everyone going gaga at the 1961 Geneva Auto Show.