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All the Makes: Hampton to Hyundai |
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HAMPTON
(1912 - 1931) |
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HEALEY
(1946 - 1954) |
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HEINKEL
(1954 - 1958)
Established in Warnemünde, Germany by Ernst Heinkel
in 1922 for the production of airplanes, at the time
being restricted in what it could manufacture by the
Treaty of Versailles. Heinkel managed to obtain the services
of 3 leading aeronautical engineers, Heinrich Hertel
and brothers Siegfried and Walter Günter. Jointly
developing the Heinkel He 70 Blitz airliner for Deutsche
Luft Hansa in 1932, their first effort would break several
air speed records.
Spurred on by its success, the twin
engined He 111 Doppel-Blitz would soon follow. Heinkel
was selected by the rapidly expanding Luftwaffe to adapt
the He 70 and He 111 for military use as bombers, the
latter becoming the mainstay of later German bombing
campaigns. The company would go on to develop the He
177, the largest bomber to join the Luftwaffe arsenal,
although it was never deployed in significant numbers.
For a time Heinkel courted the Reich Aviation Ministry
(RLM) with fighter plane designs, however those from
rival manufacturer Messerschmitt were chosen.
The He
219 night-fighter was produced, but in very limited numbers,
it remaining a victim to the political machinations of
the Ministry. In 1941 the company was merged with engine
manufacturer Hirth, allowing the newly formed Heinkel-Hirth
to manufacture an end-to-end product incorporating their
own engines. The company would be involved with pioneering
efforts in jet aircraft manufacture, having their He
280 developed to operational prototype stage, only to
have the RLM again favor Messerschmitt with their iteration
the Me 262.
For accuracy’s sake we should mention
that the Heinkel He 162 jet aircraft did manage to get
airborne before the war was over. At wars end Heinkel
was prohibited from manufacturing aircraft, instead turning
to the manufacture of bicycles and motor scooters as
a means of providing work for thousands.
In 1954 Ernst
Heinkel himself would design the now highly collectable
3-wheeler, following the success of the Messerschmitt
KR 175 and the Isetta. After only 4 years of production
the design was sold to Dundalk engineering in the Irish
republic, it later undergoing some mechanical improvements
and being sold as a Trojan. As for Heinkel, the company
would return to building aircraft , this time F-104 Starfighters
for the West German Luftwaffe.
In 1965 the company was
absorbed by Vereinigte Flugtetechnische Werke (VFW),
they in turn absorbed by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
in 1980. Heinkel’s foray into car manufacture
was brief, and made under adverse conditions, which
is what makes them so highly prized today.
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HILLMAN
(1907 - 1978)
Founded as the Auto Machinery company by William Hillman
in Coventry for the manufacture of bicycles, he enlisted
the help of John Kemp Starley (who would go on to found
Rover) to help get the fledgling operation off the
ground. Such was the demand for bicycles at that time
that Starley would soon leave to set up his own business,
while Hillman’s
company would go from strength to strength, soon making
him a millionaire. It was almost inevitable that Hillman
would join so many other cycle manufacturers into the
world of automobile manufacture.
The 1907 Hillman-Coatalen
(named after the designer), featured a powerful for the
time 24 horsepower engine. Confident that it would quickly
garner race track success, the car was entered into that
year’s Tourist Trophy. It would crash, but not
before it had put in a stellar performance that had not
gone unnoticed. Coatealen would leave Hillman and join
Singer, his departure leaving a vacuum in the design
area, and subsequent Hillman’s were much more staid
than the original iteration.
In 1913 came the 9 horsepower,
which would survive the war and continue to be a top
seller well into the 1920’s. In 1926 Hillman released
the 14 horsepower, then in 1928 Hillman unveiled the
incredibly expensive 2.6 liter Straight Eight model;
new from the ground up, it was unashamedly built to appeal
to the well heeled.
Production problems would delay the
release by a year, and the timing couldn’t have
been more wrong, the depression years being just around
the corner. Rootes came to the rescue in 1928, and
in the ensuing years their designs started to influence
Hillman. The Wizard appeared in 1929 and was available
with either a 2.1 or 2.8 liter engine, then 1932 saw
the introduction of the Minx, the first in a long line
of models that was to last until 1970.
Gallery | Price Guide |
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HINDUSTAN
(1940 - present)
Set up during World War 2 to manufacture motor vehicles
for the burgeoning Indian middle-classes. As part of
the British Empire, it was inevitable that ambitious
industrialists based in India would look back to the
homeland to provide the manufacturing technology and
facilities.
Successfully established, the company's
first product was the Landmaster, which entered production
in 1942. Essentially an Indian-built version of the
original Morris Oxford, it marked the beginning of
a long-lasting and fruitful relationship between Morris
Motors and Hindustan.
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HISPANO-SUIZA
(1904 - 1944)
Lost
Marques |
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HOLDEN
(1948 - present)
Founded by British immigrant James Alexander Holden
in 1852 as a leather works and saddler, by 1910 the
company would be trimming motor vehicles and, in 1914,
they manufactured their first one-off car body fitted
to an imported Lancia chassis. The company would go
from strength to strength when, in 1917, the Australian
government placed an embargo on fully assembled vehicles.
Became the exclusive GM body builder in 1924, and was
subsequently acquired by GM in 1931 during the depression.
Sir Laurence Hartnett was sent to Australia from the
US with a view to making it profitable, or closing
it down. Holding the Australian work ethos in high
regard, he was able to increase production and efficiency,
and court the Australian government with the idea of
building an entirely Australian car.
Assisted by the
Commonwealth Bank, Hartnett and Jack Horn made a pitch
to the Detroit headquarters for the …”Manufacture
of Complete Motor-Cars in Australia”. The resultant
48/215 would go on sale in 1948, and the name Holden
would be indelibly etched into the Australian motoring
landscape for all time.
Gallery | Heritage | Media | Price
Guide | Colour
Codes AL | Colour
Codes MZ |
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HOLDEN HDT
(1980 - 1986)
Lacking from the Holden lineup since the introduction
of the Commodore was a high-performance iteration,
something with real driver appeal. In a stroke of genius,
GM approached race legend Peter
Brock to help construct high performance, exhilarating
vehicles reminiscent of the days of the Monaro. Starting
out as a very small concern, it would quickly garner
a reputation for creating high quality and extremely
well sorted high end Commodores, all which remain to
this day highly prized and extremely collectable.
Naturally
enough few ever referred to them as HDT Commodores,
rather they would only ever be "Brock Commodores".
From the moment you sat behind the wheel you knew you
were in something special, but perhaps that was because
the Momo steering wheel featured the King of the Mountains
stenciled signature. Together with partner John Harvey
(then Special Vehicles Department Manager), the company
would go from strength to strength, even entering a
couple of VK HDT’s in the LeMans 24-hour race.
Our advise is, if you are lucky enough to own one,
keep it.
Gallery | Price
Guide |
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HOLDEN SPECIAL VEHICLES
(1986 - present)
Holden Special Vehicles is a joint operation between
the Tom Walkinshaw Racing Group (TWR), who own 75%, and
GMH. Following the formula established by HDT under
the leadership of Peter Brock, HSV use models from
the Commodore and Statesman range to produce high performance,
and highly desirable versions. The emphasis has always
been on performance modifications, but with each new
model Commodore HSV has included greater body kit and
interior change to uniquely identify them from the
more run-of-the-mill iterations.
Through clever marketing,
HSV enjoys an image that evokes excitement, and has
continued to push the boundaries with concept and one
off vehicles. Customer loyalty to the brand is unsurpassed,
with turnover of vehicles low and resale prices high.
The logo is an amalgamation of the Holden logo (the
lion) and a Racing Driver, which highlights the profile
HSV has with the Australian Touring Car Championship
through the Holden Racing Team (HRT).
Gallery | Price
Guide |
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HONDA
(1962 - present)
The world's largest motorcycle manufacturer did not make
its first car until 1963, and even then it owed much
of its mechanical underpinnings to the two wheeled
variety. Founded by Soichiro Honda, one of nine children
from a poor family, he was a gifted engineer and astute
businessman. Apprenticed in a car repair shop, got
his first chance to actually drive a car during the
Toyko earthquake of 1923, then ferrying people and
supplies around the devastated city. =
Dabbled with racing
cars, but his big break came after World War 2 when
he realised that few could afford a car, and so turned
his attention to the manufacture of ex-military two-stoke
engines fitted to bicycles. Manufactured their first
motorcycle, the Dream, in 1949, which was fitted with
a four-stoke engine. Launched the chain driven 500
sports car in 1963, subsequent iterations becoming
more conventional, and more popular.
Gallery | Media | Price Guide | color Codes |
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HORCH
(1898 - 1940) |
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HOTCHKISS
(1903 - 1954) |
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HRG
(1936 - 1956) |
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HUDSON
(1909 - 1957)
Price Guide |
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HUMBER
(1899 - 1976)
One of the pioneering British automobile manufacturers.
Started out making bicycles in 1867, amoung them the
Pennington 3-wheeler. Released their own single cylinder
car in 1899, then experimented with front-wheel-drive
and shaft-driven DeDion powered cars. Took control
of truck manufacturer Commer in 1926 and Hillman two
years later. Introduced the larger 6 cylinder Humbers
in 1930, but was taken over by the Rootes group in
1932.
The wonderful unitary constructed 4 cylinder
Hawk was released in 1957, alongside the similarly
bodied 6 cylinder Super Snipe. The Humber identity
was lost during the 1960's as the cars became re-badged
Hillman's. When Chrysler took control of Rootes they
allowed the marque to fade into obscurity.
Gallery | Price
Guide |
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HURTU
(1896 - 1929)
Like many of its competitors, the Hurtu Company was producing bicycles and sewing before manufacturing its first car in 1896. Fitted with either a proprietary de Dion or Aster four cylinder engine of around 14 hp, the company specialised in light cars. They were manufactured in France until 1929
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HYUNDAI
(1973 - present) |
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