The cost of running a car in 1908? $150 every 6,000 miles.

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Author: Young, Pamela

FROM OUR PAGES

WILL SOARING GAS PRICES put an end to Canada's love affair with the car? A century of Maclean's articles suggests otherwise. This magazine's rapturous tributes to the automobile date from 1905, our first year of publication. In a June 1908 article with the catchy title, "Automobiling in Canada decidedly popular," G.C. Keith observed that the amenities of the open-air cars of his day had almost reached perfection. "In the cool days of early spring and late autumn," he wrote, "foot warmers add to the comfort."

By the late 1920s, North American cities were congested with gas-powered vehicles. A 1929 Maclean's article quoted a popular vaudeville joke of the day: "So your old man has been missing for a month?" the straight man says. "Yes, but we're not worried," his partner replies. "He's been looking for a place to park his car." In late 1945, the challenge was obtaining a new set of wheels. Canada's auto plants had been producing war-effort vehicles exclusively for three years and were just beginning to convert to peacetime production. Maclean's stated that some 15,000 cars for the civilian market would roll off Canadian assembly lines by the end of 1945. At the time, an estimated 700,000 to one million Canadian households wanted a new car. Today's drivers might be inclined to envy the average car owner of 1908, who could expect to spend $150 every 6,000 miles on gasoline, oil, parts and labour. But then again, as Keith cautioned his readers, that sum did not include a chauffeur's salary.

From Our Pages celebrates Maclean's centenary

PHOTO (COLOR): Chrysler ad in 1941: hard to get during the war

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By Pamela Young