1903 Columbus Electric
Oshawa, Ont., collector Peter Fawcett treasures early alternative-fuel vehicles. As well as this battery-powered pioneer, he owns (and drives) a 1903 Stanley Steamer. His dad, Ron, found the American import in Kingston in 1957. Only two such roadsters from the first-year of production in Columbus remain.
Related: The Toronto auto show and its royal connection - a McLaughlin-Buick
1914 Russell 14-28
Long before hockey skates, the CCM bicycle company made luxury cars, with Tommy Russell as president. “The thoroughly Canadian car” boasted its engine was designed and manufactured in-house – competitors bought theirs from U.S. car makers. Tommy’s daughter, Elizabeth Anderson, owned this one, made the year before Willys-Overland bought the Toronto-based company.
1935 Packard 1207 Coupe Roadster
With a messy divorce behind him, having repulsed an American attempt at taking over his National Grocers Co. of Canada, Marland Woolnough lived large in this huge roadster he purchased from Packard-Ontario Motor Co. on Toronto’s Bay Street. Granddaughter Vivian Thomson remembered, on the WeGoBack ancestry site, being frightened by Marland’s speeds as he exercised the V-12’s 175 horsepower.
1949 Cadillac Concept
Intended to astound, the first Coupe de Ville realized its goal as a debutant at New York’s Waldorf – and will do so again throughout the Toronto show. The stunning hard top introduced GM’s first curved windshield and V-8. Found in a barn in Connecticut in 1978, the one-of-a-kind concept car was restored by Cadillac collector Steve Plunkett of London, Ont.
1956 Monarch Richelieu
Andy Schmidt’s racing sponsor through 17 Ontario stock-car championships, sawmill owner Lorne Bester collected Fords but maintained someday he’d own a Monarch Richelieu, made by Ford of Canada exclusively for Canada. “When Lorne passed away, I decided, ‘Hey, I’ll find one,’” says Schmidt, who operates Andy’s Country Repairs near Walkerton, Ont. “Took me about two years, but then, word-of-mouth, I heard of this one, fully loaded, restored by a retired teacher. I’m into sporty cars, it’s a big old boat, but I love it – put on 2,300 miles the first year.”
