Cars reached a level of general technical competence about 100 years ago. By then, they did what they were supposed to. Since then, their basic form and function have remained unchanged. They do the same job of transporting people and luggage in the same way with the same fundamental components and controls as the cars of today.
But everything, absolutely everything, has been constantly altered to improve performance, handling, reliability, comfort, safety, convenience, and to reduce the toxicity of their exhaust emissions. Add-on indulgences have gone from ‘non-existent’ . to ‘optional extras’ . to ‘built-in’ abundant and are now often computerised.
There have been too many step-changes and refinements in every respect and to every part to list them all here, and their ‘significance’ depends on what aspect you measure.
Focussing primarily on ‘the driving process and experience’, those that have had the most profound effect would surely include pneumatic tyres (and then radials), synchromesh (and then automatic) gears, power steering, servo-assisted disc brakes, handling integrity and power performance (including turbocharging).
Safety features, for example, have gone from nothing to lap straps to three-point with a diagonal, to inertia reel belts and head restraints, and then air bags. The whole car body and everything in it or on it now has safety built-in to crumple zones and safety cells, padding, softness, roundness or snap-offness.
It is the lack of those things that would most surprise any modern motorist put behind the wheel of a car that didn’t have them.
The interior would be Spartan, and everything in it would have to be manually operated. There would be a bench seat at the front, and the gear lever would be on the steering column. The steering itself would be surprisingly heavy at low speeds, and the brakes would require double the pressure with half the effect.
The revs range would be limited, and acceleration and top speed would be disappointing, control would be less precise, and handling would be less assured. Many of today’s mid-range family cars would win a race against James Bond’s original Aston Martin.
The gears might demand double-declutching, windows would have to be wound by hand, doors would be locked and unlocked one-at-a-time; no anti-glare rear-view mirror, pathetic headlights with dip-and-beam operated by a foot button behind the clutch pedal!
The trim and extras levels on today’s town runabouts would top even the executive limos of yesteryear. Push-button and power-assisted and computer-managed operation of just about everything is now the universal ‘standard’.
And the overall motoring scene would be very different.
The old days – less pure but simple
Few things in life evoke past eras quite so vividly and powerfully as the car. The imagery is so strong and clear that filmmakers can pinpoint their audience – in both time and place – with just a single shot of a street.
So, what would stand out the most – car wise – if we watched a film clip of Nairobi taken, say, 70 years ago? It would be a cine film, of course. Video bado.
Obviously, all the vehicles would be models from the 1950s, cruising around on almost empty streets between low-rise buildings (a queue of 10 cars was considered a traffic jam; the terms ‘parking space’ and ‘open road’ were things that actually existed, rather than just being hoped for). But beyond the most obvious long-distance observations.
There would be no SUVs, no hatchbacks, and almost no pick-ups or matatus. The only 4WD would be a Series II Land-Rover, with its headlights still mounted in the radiator grille (not out on the wings).
The biggest trucks would be what we now call 7-tonners. And in these and any other classes, there would not be a single vehicle from Japan (where today 80% of our road fill comes from).
Zoom in a little closer and there would be more to surprise today’s norms. All would be running on crossply tyres (though radials were about to arrive as the Michelin X, which everybody thought needed to be pumped up more).
They might have wing mirrors but no door mirrors; all the bumper bars would be chrome plated with over-riders (and badges). The number plates, fore and aft, were black with silver-grey lettering (mostly starting in the KC-KF range).
Many would have roof racks, sun visors and bonnet ornaments. The latest fad was a little Perspex gizmo mounted on the front of the bonnet, billed as an ‘insect deflector’.
There were no buttons – switches were either push-pull, screw-twist or up-and-down toggle flippers, and in whichever case were provided in a hotch-potch of locations.
Dials were few – speedo (in mph), an odometer in miles but rarely with an interim-distance ‘trip ‘that could be zeroed; temperature gauge (in Fahrenheit), fuel gauge (in guesswork; the VW Beetle didn’t even have one), few warning lights and, as an optional extra, a clock (in loud ticks). A silent clock was a distinguishing feature of Rolls-Royce.
Gear shift levers on the steering wheel were common – four-on-the-floor gear levers and bucket seats were for sports cars. There were no combination lights-and-wipers levers – those were push-pull buttons scattered randomly around the unpadded dashboard; a two-speed wiper was something to mention in adverts, intermittent options were unheard of, and the washer spray was a completely separate item activated by a one-squirt-per-push rubber bulb.
The steering column often (but not always) have a small second lever to make the ‘trafficators’ blink left or right, and there were still plenty of vehicles that did not have those – instead, a little illuminated paddle swung out of the door pillar, at the behest of a toggle switch near the ashtray.
The rear-view mirror had no anti-dazzle mechanism. Reversing lights were an optional extra, the taillights were a quarter of their modern size, and bulbs were physically quite large and generated more heat than illumination.
There were no fabric-covered seats. Those that weren’t leather were described as ‘genuine’ or ‘real’ plastic, much vaunted for their washability. Fully reclining seats were a novelty (and much more effective as a bed before head restraints were invented).
Under the bonnet, there was mostly. space. No turbos or intercoolers or computerised management systems or air conditioners or power this-and-that. Just a lump of iron called the engine, lightly dressed with the bare essentials for delivery of air, fuel and spark, a radiator, a single belt driving the fan blades, water pump and the dynamo/generator (no alternators yet), and a bakolite box called the battery.
Wiring was mostly insulated with fabric, not plastic. Expansion tanks on radiators were a not-yet, like brake servos and power steering. Steering wheels had a thinner ring but a much larger diameter, to help leverage because they were so heavy at low speeds.
The hydraulic shock absorber had arrived, and the McPherson strut was imminent. Any car that could do 100 miles per hour (160 kph) was exceptional, which is perhaps just as well considering how crude the tyres, handling, steering and brakes were. Windscreens were predominantly flat.
Some brand nostalgia
Though the ‘car’ fleet was only saloons and station wagons (no hatch-backs or notchbacks), it was already class-conscious. Here are some reminders, for those old enough to suffer from nostalgia, of what Kenya had:
The popular dinky cars included the rear-engined Renault Dauphine (the Quatre’L ‘Roho’ hadn’t been invented), the Renault Floride, the Fiat Topolino Cinquecento (500), the Citroen 2CV, the smaller Standard (its boot did not open; you loaded through the flip-down back seat), and the occasional three-wheeled and rear engined ‘Bubble Car’. Motorcycles (not infrequently with side-cars) were still a realistic option.
Town runabouts included the Simca Aronde, Ford Prefect/Anglia, VW Beetle, Opel Kadet, Peugeot 203, Morris Minor (the ‘Moggy Thou’ – also convertible, also a van!), DKW, Saab.
Medium family cars were typified by the Ford Consul, Peugeot 403, the Hillman Minx (Mk 8!) and Husky, the Saab 96, Singer Gazelle, and – with or without roof – the Triumph Herald, Mayflower, and MG-A.
Bigger family cars verging on the executive included Ford’s Zephyr, the Humber Hawk, Standard Vanguard, the Triumph Renown (for vicars), Citroen DS19, Opel Kapitan/Commodore and its Holden cousins, Morris Oxford, Austin Devon/Cambridge, Lancia Aurelia, MG Magnette, Vauxhall Velox, the Volvo PV, and the Peugeot 404 just coming over the horizon and due to become all-conquering until cars invented Japan (sic).
Sportier types used the Austin Healy or the frog-eyed Sprite.
There was already a Wabenzi class, and other posh sorts drove Jaguars, top-of-the range Rileys and Wolseleys, Humber ‘Super’ Snipes, Rover Cyclops and P4 90, and a collection of once-dominant but now remnant American V8s from Plymouth, Dodge and Co. There were more than a few Porsche 356s.
The only 4WDs were Land-Rovers, the Willy’s Jeep and the Austin Champ. That would change dramatically in next two decades, and again around the turn of the century with crossovers and SUVs.
Front-wheel drive was rare (the Citroen Avant); the transverse engine was about to arrive (the Mini, whose 10-inch wheels disqualified its chances of popularity in Kenya).
In core functional terms, the 1950s car was much the same thing as the 2020s car, but just about everything has ‘changed’ both inside and out – mostly upwards in safety, performance, driveability and convenience, and also in shape (aerodynamics and fashion), and use of a much wider range of materials (especially plastics).
Read: Are EVs 20 years too early.or too late?
The original ‘chassis@ concept has been supersedes by ‘monocoque’ construction. Electric and hybrid vehicles are, of course, a whole new dimension, and computerisation has led to so many non-essential extras that the latest addition to ‘driving experience’ is to not drive at all!
Some cars can drive themselves, and already many turn on their own wipers when it rains, turn on their lights at sunset, open and lock their own doors without any keys, beep if you are about to bump into something, apply their own brakes to avoid an accident.
One thing that has not improved is ease of maintenance. That has been made more difficult, with many items ‘sealed for life’.
Nowadays, you mostly don’t service or fix things. You replace them. And plug-in diagnostics to some extent replace mechanics.
And where there are items that would benefit from servicing or could be repaired, they are designed, attached and positioned to simplify manufacture and assembly, not to facilitate DIY access.
The engine compartments of older cars were half-empty – everything was clear to see, simple to recognise, and easy to reach. On modern cars, they are packed full, hidden by pretty covers, profoundly mysterious, and do not welcome intrusion or interference of any sort.