Page 22 - the story of motoring

World on wheels

The motor car is a vital part of modern everyday life. This is the age of the
car. There are '300 million cars on the world's roads and the number is
growing. The car is useful in so many ways to the ordinary family, that they
probably take it for granted. More people work in industries connected with
the car than any other business. So the car is obviously important to us but
it can also be a menace.

Three outstanding cars of modern times are the Volkswagen Beetle, Morris Minor and
Mini. Not only are they well designed but seem to have character as well.

The Beetle was designed in Germany in 1936. Adolf Hitler wanted a car that would
ba bought by all Germans. Volkswagen means in German - peoples car. The Germans
were allowed to manufacture the Car following the War because the British con-
sidered it was so ugly that it would never sell. Since then the Beetle has become
the most popular car ever. In 1972'it overtook the sales record of 15 million set
by the Ford Model T.
In England after the 2nd World War, there were shortages of petrol and materials to
make cars. Few new car makes were brought out. However in 1948 the outstanding
Ylorris Minor was created by Alec Issigonis. This popular British car was one ofthe
nost reliable ever built., A car that could really be depended on and it did an
economical 40 miles to the gallon.

There was one car that started the trend towards baby cars, and gave a new word to
the English language - the Mini. It was another design by Issigonis. The Minis
outstanding features are compactneSs, low price and economical to run. It alsohas
excellent roadholding which immediately made it popular with sports rally drivers.
The Mini is a universal car, bought by all types of people. For young people it
was a fun looking car, for the elderly it was small and easy to handle. A Mini was
baught by the ordinary family, Dukes and Duchesses, even City businessmen.