page 10, WhItby Free Pros, Wednrisday, juIy 19. 1995 by JiI Mclntos Myths abound in auto industry Whenever we hold something near and dear te, our hearts we're bound te, corne up with stories about it, and the automobile is no exception. 0f course, they're not always true but youIre sure to hear them over and over anyway. '7lenry Ford invented the automobile. " Not even close; there were already few cars on the streets Of Derit when Hlenry startedl worIng in bis garage. Although well never be 100 per cent sue, credit generally goes te Gottfried Daimler of Germany i 1886; it's believed the firet American-buît car was the 1893 Duryea. Henry. bufit his first Prototype car in 1896; the first Model T appeared in October of 1908. '7lenry Ford inuented mass prrxluction. J The first mass-produced car was the Curved-Dash Oldsmobie. It was built on a crude assernbly line copied fr-om- a system Ransom Olds saw i Europe. Credit ge te Ford for perfecting it; w 1e Olda moved bis cars between stations of workers, Ford came up with the idea of a continuous conveyor, along with a second lime that brought the parts to bis workers. This is the basic system still used today. 'T e r Aunt Irma left me must be worth a fort une.« Well, it might be, but don't stop buying Iottery tickets just yet. At almost eveiy .car show, Fin approoched by someone Who knows of- an old car in a neighbour's garage, or one they inherited, and which they believe is worth tans of thousands of dollars. While' there are exceptions, the niajority of cars you see at cruise nights or outdoor car shows would oeil on the open'market for less than a new Buick Regal. Price is deterinined not just by the fact that it's old, but by its model, condition, rarity and popularity. One "Aunt Irma" car I was asked to look at was a 1963 Pontiac the owner haLl inherited. When we got there we found it was a four-door, six-cylinder model (the type most older family members bought). Although. it looked solid, careful checking revealed extensive rust damage umder the mouldings and windows, and since it had been sitting i a damp garage, the upholstery was musty. The new owner thought he could get $12,000 for it; a more realistic estimate was $5,000. Yes, occasionally a million-dollar car shows up ini a garage, but most of those cars cost $30,O00 back during the Depression. If Aunt Irma had that much cash, hope that she left you her stock portfolio, too. 'They don't make lem Like that anymore. " No, they don't bu t that isn't necessarily a bad thing. New cars have much better brakes, steering, coling systems, lighting and safety features than old cars. They start instantly (most of the time) -- my'47 needs to warm up for 15 minutes on cold days before it'll run properly. They'il idie in traffie on the hottest days -- remember al the SEE PAGE Il Hot wheels KARI MANNINEN of Brighton, while visit- in relatives in Oshawa, looks at Bobby Rahal's backup car on display at Tailgate Charies in Oshawa on the Tuesclay prior to the weekenci I dy event held in Toronto. Photo by Jermy Oresar. Whtby Fme Pres Collision reportin.g centres are wave of the future By ML Parnu In these times of budget cuts and manpower restrictions, changes are occurring in the way municipal and provincial police respond te auto accidents. In scxne places in Ontario, police nô, longer attend minor accidents. Instead, motoriets are instructed by the police te go te a Collision Reporting Centre if their vehicles are safe te drive (tewed vehicles must go directly from the accident te the centre). "lIn the future, more and more motorists will be reporting their accident at the centres instead of the police going te the accident scene," says Robbie Robbe, an auto dlaims irisurance expert with The Co-Operators Motoriste can go to a Collision Reporting Centre at their own convenence (24 hours te o r accidents) rather than waitingfor police te show up. And it will bea lot safer than waiting on the rond for an officer. The benefit te police is that the centre should free up officers te attend more urgent calis. Police do flot have te go te an accident scene in order te lay charges. In the Metro Toronto area, there is an- average of 63,000 accidents a year and it takes approximately two hours for an officer te investigate each crne. The annual coSt savings of the prograin is estimated at, more than $4.7 million (investigation time, court attendance, equipment, etc.). How dos. it woek? While the centres acrass Ontario and Alberta may operate in a slightly different fashion, in each case drivers will cail police and a dispatcher will ask a nuinber of questions te, establish whether an officer should attend the crash. Those involvedi minor crashes, where no one is hurt sud vehic les are safe te drive, will be instructed te go te, the centre. SER PAGE il Yo il e fre pie n sa h ervice!e * sw- l core fo- th p-s e.. ade ayfortheseric! Y us wl s omefosth. sice.. ndstyfo e sevc!à LiFAS T PRICES!I 199TAGIA LX ABS, airbags, BBS wheels, air, p/locks, tinted glass, sports seats, advanced safety system, AM/FM cassette, 8 speaker sound system, sun roof & much more! 1995 GOLF GTI VR6 2.8L VR6 engine, ABS, traction control, cflise control, p/windows, Ieather covered steering wheel & shifter, height-adj. steering column, alloy wheels, air, sunroof & much more!. Eperience17 the Owasco Féeln ___ ro en t serve you BEST since à 2 A~ AnM CARE an at d AA award wnnr. 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