Welcome to 2020
BACK IN March 1976, a story by Tony Curtis – no, not that one – appeared in Wheels. ‘In The Year 2025’ was a bit of a depressing read, to be honest. Inspired by Orwell’s 1984, the author told a tale of all private motor vehicles being banned by the overarching hand of the state by 1985. Swing and a miss there.
Yet glance through the 1976 issue and some things are all too familiar. There are Corollas, Passats, 911s, Civics, LandCruisers and Lancers. A disgruntled reader wrote a letter complaining that modern cars lacked character, while a Fiat came last in a group test.
A couple of months later, however, ran a report on ADR27A, the first anti-pollution regulations on Australian cars, noting that “it’s become critically important that something must be done to at least minimise any further increase in air pollution”. Cars
