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Although Hudson’s Essex was certainly the first of the so-called companion cars, it’s often Lasalle, the Cadillac companion, that comes first to mind. Introduced for 1927, it was the first hurrah for a young Harley Earl, recently discovered as a talented designer. In fact, LaSalle is generally credited as the first truly designed car, one not conceived by body engineers and draftsmen.

Earl took as his inspiration the Spanish-Swiss Hispano Suiza. Adapting Hispano cues into what was in great measure a small Cadillac, Earl produced a car that was elegant, yet dashing. Introduced in March 1927, the LaSalle was available in an ambitious 33 body styles, four by Fleetwood but most, like this 4-5 passenger phaeton, by Fisher. Prices ranged from $2,350 to as much as $5,000. First year production reached nearly 17,000.

Subtle cues were updated for 1929, by which time displacement had been increased to 328 cubic inches. By 1933, the engine had been enlarged to 355 cubic inches, the same sizd as Cadillac’s. However, hard times were upon the industry, and despite prices no higher than $2,645 sales barely reached 3,400. So for 1934, an entirely new personality was devised, which owed a lot to Oldsmobile. This car, with a straight eight engine and selling for under $1,700, more than doubled sales from the year before. The design was somewhat simplified for 1935.

For 1937, the V8 was back, at prices that now started under $1,000. Sales recovered, reaching some 34,000 units. 1938, another bad year for the industry, saw sales shrink by half. What would be the final iteration of LaSalle was readied for 1939. The changes for 1940 mostly concerned the headlights, now sealed beams partially submerged into the fenders. Body styles were now but ten, coupes, sedans and two- and four-door convertibles. Although not cataloged, at least one station wagon was built.

When 1941 dawned, LaSalle was gone. However, there was a new Cadillac Series 61, which, at prices from $1,345 to 1,535, effectively replaced it. With sales of more than 28,000, it did that and some.

In the end, both Essex and LaSalle lasted fourteen years, though not concurrently. LaSalle, however, was the companion to survive the latest, save for Pontiac, the companion that eventually killed off its parent Oakland. This has been but a quick overview. For more detailed information, take a look at Yann Saunders’ Cadillac Data base.

The whole world knows the US automobile industry is in trouble (and that everyone else’s isn’t far behind). I took particular interest, then, in this year’s New York International Auto Show, to see what the manufacturers themselves would say about the subject. Their attitudes were telling.

Most candid was Chrysler. Vice president Jim Press drove out in a Fiat Cinquecento and proceeded to wax euphorically about how much they’re looking forward to their wedding night with the Italian automaker. Then he cut to the chase and rolled out a new Jeep Grand Cherokee, flagship of the line that has apparently been in the pipeline for quite a while. For all that, it’s rather anachronistic, based on a pre-divorce Mercedes ML platform, but forward-thinking in that it brings four-wheel ifs, the first in a Jeep. A new dohc V6 is in the offing, too, as an alternative to the pushrod Hemi V8.

Next American up was GM. Their lipservice to economic trouble, delivered by Buick-Pontiac-GMC Channel North American vp Susan Docherty, consisted of their no-payment promise to the newly laid off. The sole rollout from The General was a GMC SUV, albeit a small one, an Equinox equivalent called “Terrain.” For green credits, they touted their hybrid Yukon Denali. Perhaps it’s time for GM to change the channel. A possible preview of the next channel is the two-passenger Segway, seen maneuvering on the show floor.

And what of Ford, you ask? Nothing. Nyet. Nada. No intros, no hype, just a quietly idling stand with lots of cars, including the returning Fiesta and the Transit Connect, a little utility van that is coming from foreign shores.

Last year Bentley promised they were getting hip on the environment. We won’t see a hybrid Bentley, I’m afraid, but in 2010 the Continental is apparently going flex-fuel. New for now is a 621-hp Continental Super Sports.

Less dramatic, and perhaps more relevant, was VW’s new Golf duo, a basic model and hotted-up GTI. Asked earlier, after his keynote breakfast address, why the company can’t make up its mind between “Golf” and “Rabbit,” VW of America chief Stefan Jacoby responded “It will be Golf forever.” Porsche had a superhot 911 GT3, Mercedes a 518-hp E63 AMG, a hybrid SUV, the ML450, and a new E Class coupe. BMW, with precision PowerPoint proficiency, introduced the X6 M, a twin-turbocharged SUV.

Land Rover’s mostly warmed-over trio, a new LR4, freshened Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, failed to excite. Most innovative vehicle of the first press day was Scion’s iQ, a characteristically quirky box derived from a home-market Toyota product. I was most impressed by the unveiling of Acura’s ZDX concept, a luxury hatchback possessed of a personality all but absent from all their recent cars.

Thursday’s intros were all Asian, roll-outs from Mitsubishi, Subaru, Kia, Mazda, Honda and Hyundai, none of them earthshaking. Perhaps most interesting was this eye-opener discovered near the back of the First Level. It has its own story, which we will tell in the fullness of time.

The New York International Auto Show runs through Sunday, April 19th, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Check it out.

We’ve studied Chrysler’s Fluid Drive before, both early and late versions. You’ll notice, however, that Plymouth is mentioned only in passing, having missed out on all the variants that fall under the Fluid Drive label. This is probably because Plymouth was an inexpensive car whose customers were least likely to spend money to avoid shifting. Too, the competition lacked such amenities, but once Chevrolet announced Powerglide in 1950 and Ford the Fordomatic in ’51 Plymouth was at a disadvantage.

Chrysler still didn’t have a fully automatic gearbox, but from 1951 had added a torque converter to make Fluid-Torque and Gryo-Torque. So for 1953, they put a torque converter ahead of the conventional three-speed and Plymouth got Hy-Drive.

Driving was simple. You just stuffed the transmission into high (remembering to use the clutch) and drove away. It was smooth, versatile and fast (well, faster than a Ford or Chevy if using only high gear). It offered good engine braking, which some fully-automatics didn’t, and there was enough creep in the torque converter to hold on hills. At $146 it was cheaper than Powerglide or Fordomatic, less expensive, even, than Fluid Torque. According to Jim Benjaminson’s excellent history Plymouth 1946-1959, by the end of the model year about a quarter of Plymouth production was delivered with Hy-Drive.

There was more to Hy-Drive than a simple torque converter. It was a hefty converter, 2.6 to 1 multiplication, highest in the industry. A beefier transmission was used, and a different engine block. From mid-1952, Chrysler torque converters had taken their oil from the engine, and Hy-Drive followed suit. Because of the additional torque converter housing, ahead of the clutch, a new floor pan was needed, so interchangeability with standard three-speed cars was nil. Like the other shiftless cars, a shift quadrant was essential for marketing purposes, even if it didn’t do anything, so Plymouth got one – with no markings except neutral.

Hy-Drive continued into 1954, and was fitted to such prestige cars as the Ghia-built Explorer. By April, though, Powerflite, the clutchless, shifting automatic, became available and Hy-Drive hit the low road.

I don’t remember seeing many Hy-Drive Plymouths back in their day. Nowadays, of course, they’re pretty scarce. A few years ago I saw this Cranbrook sedan in the Car Corral at Hershey, complete with Hy-Drive. I’ve always thought the 1953 Plymouths to be attractive, more so than the gaudier ’54s. They’re compact and contrite, and the Suburbans are very useful. Maybe I should have bought it. I’d still like to drive a Hy-Drive Plymouth some day.

By 1916, the Hudson Motor Car Company had established itself, according to the advertising, as the “world’s largest builder of six-cylinder cars.” Not only had the company produced the massive 421 cubic inch Six-54, it had pioneered the counterbalanced crankshaft with the much smaller Super Six. Company president Roy Chapin there might also be a market for a less-expensive Hudson product, and so came Essex, first of the “companion makes,” launched at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January 1919.

Designed by Swiss engineer Emile Huber, Hungarian Stephen Fekete, and Stuart Baits, the Essex was powered by a spirited little F-head four of 179 cubic inches. The same size as Henry Ford’s Model T engine, it made nearly three times the power, and had such advanced features as automatic spark advance. Initially sold mostly as open models, Essex introduced one of the first low-priced closed cars, the two-door coach, in 1922. By 1924, the coach sold for less than a touring car, and the F-head four had given way to a smaller L-head six. Initially plagued with lubrication problems, the Essex six was iteratively improved and managed to advance Essex sales, which had from introduction surpassed those of parent Hudson, to achieve third place in the industry by 1929.

Essex introduced an all-steel coach body in 1926, so strong and men could hang out on its doors. In 1927 and 1929 there were boat-tailed Speedabout roadsters, and in 1930, when bodies were shared with Hudson, an attractive Sun Sedan. There was a boat-tailed Sport Roadster in 1931, when Essex mimicked Hudson’s looks, but by 1932 it was becoming old hat and sales suffered. Hudson responded with a new model, the Essex Terraplane, smaller, lighter and cheaper than ever before. Hudson promoted “Land Flying,” and engaged aviatrix Amelia Earhart to christen the car and presented one of the first to Orville Wright. Whereas Essex had sold opposite Pontiac and Dodge, at $425 to $610 Terraplane was a Ford-Chevrolet competitor. An eight-cylinder Terraplane for 1933 gave Ford a run for its money on the road, if not in sales, and Terraplanes competed in races and hill climbs.

Terraplane never did equal the 1929 sales rank of Essex, best showing of an independent marque until Rambler displaced Plymouth in 1961, but it did save the Hudson Motor Car Company as the Depression deepened. The first of the companions, Essex gave up its name in favor of Terrplane by the time 1934 rolled around. It had, however, paved the way for nearly a dozen similar marques from other manufacturers, and if you consider Terraplane as lineal descendant of Essex it was surely one of the longest-lived and most successful.

In 1942, Chevrolet introduced a new model that would profoundly affect the make’s product range for the rest of the decade. We’re referring to the strikingly-trimmed fastback Fleetline Aerosedan, companion to the notchback Fleetline Sportmaster sedan. The Sportmaster, a “four window” sedan, was a more decorated version of 1941’s Fleetline sedan, a mid-year introduction to complement the “six window” Sport Sedan.

The fastback coupes were not new at General Motors. Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, even Cadillac had them in 1941. But at Chevrolet something remarkable happened. The Aerosedan quickly became the best-selling 1942 style, even in the war-shortened model year. Pontiac had similar decorative streaks on the Sedan Coupe and four-door sedan, the latter a fastback, but sales volumes were not nearly as high.

With success like that, of course the Fleetlines returned for 1946, but, perhaps because of construction constraints, the Stylemaster Sport Sedan took the sales lead. But in 1947, the Aerosedan was back on top, selling nearly 160,000 cars, almost twice the level of the second place style. In 1948, the Fleetline Aerosedan reached over 211,000 units.

And then Chevy did an odd thing. The Fleetline series was enlarged to include four models, all fastbacks. There were both two- and four-door sedans in upscale Deluxe trim, and a matching pair of stripped Special models. The Fleetline Deluxe two-door remained popular, at 180,251 units, but it was eclipsed by the notchback Styleline Deluxe Sport Sedan, which sold over 191,000. The 1950s models were a modest re-trim of the ’49s, and the Fleetline Deluxe two-door again sold well, nearly 190,000, but the notchback four-door surpassed 300,000. This trend continued into 1951, where the Fleetline Deluxe two-door fell to 131,000, the Special four-door barely 3,000, while the Styleline Deluxe four-door nearly hit 400,000. Management sized this up in a hurry, and when the warmed-over ’52s arrived there was but one Fleetline, the Deluxe two-door. It sold a paltry 37,164 cars.

Fastback body styles were becoming passe, and all the GM brands had ditched them by 1953. In fact, Chevy had held on the longest. There’s no denying, though, that the Fleetline Aerosedans were among the classiest Chevrolets of the 1940s. You don’t see them very often, but every once in a while they turn up, sometimes even as a matched pair.

Except for avid bikers, to most Americans the word “Triumph” calls to mind a nifty little TR-2, 3, 4 or 6. (There was no TR-5 here; our version of the six-cylinder TR-4 was the carbureted TR-250.)

In fact, the name was seldom found on ordinary passenger cars.Even in the cars’ British homeland, the company’s name “Standard” being used instead. Notable exceptions were the 1800 and 2000 roadsters of 1946-49, with their twin dickie (rumble) seats with pop-up windscreen, and the razor edge Renown saloon. A small razor edge, the Mayflower, was developed with Americans in mind, but they minded very much and bought few, though a convertible version might have helped.

With the success of the sports cars in America and the boom of imports in 1958, the Standard Triumph Motor Company decided to try sedans and station wagons here, selling versions of the Standard Ten as the Triumph Sedan and Triumph Estate. It was an attractive little car, of unibody construction and powered by a 948 cc four that owed much to the “big TRs” engine. That fact was TR-2much touted in the TR-2literature, in which the sporting sibling was usually featured. The interior was pretty basic, and the seating, despite the claims, was not very comfortable. I can tell you from experience that the old folks in this illustration are really pretty cramped, and that poor child in the back is romping around unrestrained, without even a seat to sit on. Later, the company started to call it the Triumph Ten, then finally the TR-10, but despite (or because of) some pretty dismal advertising the car never caught on.

I hadn’t realized it, but some Americans had seen the car before. The New York dealer, Fergus Motors, had offered a “Vanguard Cadet” in the mid-1950s that was a rebadged Standard Eight, predecessor of the Ten. “Vanguard” was the name of the larger Standard sedan, also sold here, apparently, along with the Renown.

After a couple of years the Ten was succeeded by the Triumph Herald, a modest success, which begat the small sports Spitfire, a competitor to the Austin-Healey Sprite and a success story of its own. There was a brief attempt to market a larger sedan here, the 2000, in the mid-1960s, probably in response to the Rover 2000TC sports sedan, but despite a six-cylinder engine and a TC version of its own, the 2000 soon retreated to its homeland.

In Britain, meanwhile, the heir apparent to the Herald, the 1300, had been born. Of front-wheel drive design and with an engine of that cubic capacity, the 1300 was a lively little car, and handled well – Jill’s Mum had one and I liked it very much.

Standard-Triumph, and successor British Leyland, got a lot of mileage out of that 1300 shell. It was upgraded to 1500 power, then converted to rear-wheel drive as the cheaper Toledo. In 1972, with more upmarket appointments, it became the Dolomite. Sumptuous seats, wood dashboard and available automatic transmission added convenience and prestige, and a new 1850 cc slant four engine, cousin to the Saab 99 powerplant, gave more power. My mother-in-law had several of these, good cars generally. She really liked the wood dashboards.

The ultimate Dolomite was the 16-valve sohc Sprint, built through 1980. The final Triumph sedan was the Acclaim, based on the Honda Ballade, in turn related to the second-generation Civic. Many people claim it was no Triumph at all.

My father had a 1960 Triumph Ten Estate. He ran a small printing business, and the convenient cargo capability of the Triumph was a great asset. It ran well enough, but it rusted badly. Eventually he pushed it under the barn. About 15 years later, I located a Canadian collector who wanted it, so we exhumed it and three generations of Fosters got it ready to travel. I assume it made it to Ontario, but I’ve never heard if the ambitious restoration the fellow planned ever took place.

A late winter storm blew through New England this past Monday, leaving behind some six to nine inches of damp snow here in southern Connecticut. Some of us are anxious for spring and were sorry to see it come. For Dennis David, however, it was a dream come true, for the popular school teacher and CarPort honor scout had a snow day in more ways than one. Not only was his school closed – he got to play with his newest toy.

Dennis recently notched up a milestone birthday, and to celebrate he treated himself to a nifty little Kubota B7100 tractor. Long the dream of many a suburban homeowner, the tractor is a four-wheel drive 16 hp 3-cylinder diesel; equipped with a front end loader it will make short work of many outside chores. More important right now is the ability to simply detach the bucket, with a couple of pins, and mount a snow blade. Thus converted the tractor is ready to plow away the snowfall. What can’t be plowed can be easily lifted by reinstalling the bucket. Dennis and his wife Susan had fun all day.

The Kubota was Japan’s answer to the American farm tractor, of necessity because that country’s farms are much smaller than those in the West. The first Kubota was built in 1961; by 1969 the company, parent of which dates to 1890, was exporting compact tractors to the United States, where they immediately became popular. In 1972 a headquarters was established in Torrance, California; a plant in Georgia now builds front end loader and backhoe attachments. The compact tractor segment has grown to include a number of models from familiar names like John Deere, Massey Ferguson, New Holland (née Ford tractors) and Cub Cadet (née International), but the Kubota name has become almost generic for the breed. Kubota owners and enthusiasts have an excellent resource on the web at OrangeTractorTalks, which dispenses news and technical information – “everything Kubota” according to the headline. TractorByNet also has information and forums on compact tractors.

I’ve long had a hankering for an old gray Ford tractor, either 8N or NAA “Jubilee”. The Fords are small and maneuverable, in comparison to big Farmalls and the like, and were the first to use integrated hydraulics. However, in comparison to the Kubota they are primitive, lacking four-wheel drive and full-time hydraulic operation. When fitted with the very useful front end loader they’re hard to steer, as power steering was not available. So as much as I’m fond of the Fords, I have to admit a Kubota would be much more practical. Dennis tells me there’s a Kubota B6200 available not far from him, and I, too, have a (more advanced) milestone birthday coming up…

Have you ever fancied your own car company? Word has it that Saab is for sale. Last week, after the Swedish government declined to issue a bailout package, parent company General Motors consigned the Saab unit to the Swedish equivalent of Chapter 11. “[I]t was determined a formal reorganization would be the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment,” said Jan-Åke Jonsson, Saab’s managing director. In other words, ready to consume someone else’s money, hopefully to the good fortune of the company and the investor/buyer.

This is hardly what GM foresaw when it purchased the Swedish automaker in 1990. That was a heady period when the big global companies thought established boutique brands might enrich their market share. GM took Saab, Ford latched onto Volvo and Jaguar, and BMW and Volkswagen went completely nuts, one-upping each other over other struggling British makes. What a difference two decades make.

For Saab it’s all too sad. Born of the aircraft industry after World War II (the name is an acronym for Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget or Swedish Aeroplane Company), Saab’s first car, the Model 92, was a front engine, front-wheel drive compact torsion bar independent suspension and a two-cylinder two-stroke powerplant. (There had been 91 aircraft projects.) It was in production from 1947 to 1956. Its successor, the 93, used a three cylinder two-stroke of 750 cc displacement. By 1958, annual production reached nearly 14,000 and in the US the car had achieved cult status. The funny little Swedish cars were favorites on the rally circuit.

The 93 was evolved into the 96 in 1960, and received a new grille for 1966 when a four-stroke engine, a V-4 acquired from Ford of Germany, was introduced. Four-strokes were the way of the future, as in 1967 an all-new Model 99 adopted an inline four, developed in conjunction with Triumph, who used it, turned back to front, in the Dolomite and later in the much-maligned TR7. Initially Saab bought engines from Britain, but in 1972 took production in-house in Sweden. In 1977, Saab started offering turbocharged engines, and was an early proponent of four-valve-per-cylinder designs. A brief flirtation with a Sonett sports model from 1968 to 1974 was not a success. Although the Sonett looked the part, the Datsun/Nissan “Z-cars” were smoother, faster and cheaper and took the majority of segment sales.

The GM acquisition provided deeper pockets to Saab, and resources for new models, derived from cars that GM was building in Germany. The 99 had evolved into the 900, which in turn was replaced by an Opel-based model, and a 9000, which had been jointly developed with Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, was succeeded by the 9-5 (presumably 90000 would have been unwieldy from a marketing standpoint). Similarly Opel-derived (and related to the L-series Saturn), the 9-5 also offered a wagon.

Although GM retained Saab hallmarks like turbocharging and a floor-mounted ignition switch (latterly moved to the console), the faithful found The General’s Saabs too bland and too mainstream – which ironically has driven them out of the mainstream. Recent sales have been about 1,000 a month in the US, down nearly 50 percent from a year ago. You can probably get a good deal from your local dealer, if he’s still in business. Can’t afford a car company – or even a new car? Buy part of a company. At closing time today, GM stock was $2.55 a share.