The big hand is on the wheel

WHAT’S the time?

If you’re driving, you’d glance at your wristwatch or at the digital clock on the dashboard – or a fancy and hideously expensive analogue one if you’re at the wheel of a super classy car, like a modern Rolls-Royce.

Vehicle clocks go back a long way, to 1798, in fact, when Breguet made a carriage clock for Napoleon.

Then, in 1911, came Heuer with its ‘Time of Trip’ which was was a chronograph that indicated the time of day on the main dial, while two hands measured out the length of journey on the other two dials.

It was later quite common for drivers to hang pocket watches in leather holders from the dash before, in the 1930s, some manufacturers started to offer electric clocks.

The mechanical watch was gradually replaced during the next 30 years and car clocks, which had previously been available as aftermarket items, were fitted as standard equipment.

However, in the 1950s things became more interesting with the arrival of the steering wheel clock.

Oldsmobile, in 1951, was the first to offer them.

The Swiss-made Maar clocks had a gyroscopic movement, and could be wound by hand – but they also wound themselves under acceleration, braking, or when the wheel was turned during cornering.

Chrysler responded with its own steering wheel clocks from 1953 to ’58, and they were available as optional extras on all of its offshoots, so you could fit the corporate one, the Moparmatic, or the Chryslermatic, the Plymouthmatic, the Dodgematic, and the DeSotomatic.

Each clock, made by Benrus, another Swiss company, had a 15-jewel Gazda movement.

Installation was simple. You just put pressure on the round button in the centre of the steering, give it a quarter turn to remove it and then put the clock in its place.

They were either factory- or dealer-installed options, but, at US$50, when new cars cost around US$2000, they were pretty pricey.

Although most were fitted to Oldsmobiles or one of the Chrysler family, some clocks also ended up in some Chevrolets, Nashes, and even Volkswagens.

At the other end of the scale is a clock made especially for the four Rolls-Royce Coachbuilt Boat Tail cars.

At US $28 million, or $42m in our cash, the Boat Tail is the world’s most expensive production car.

Defender OCTA most formidable yet

Only four have been built – and all sold – and yes, each does have its own unique dashboard clock: they’re made by Vacheron Constantin, and are said to cost around US $175,000 (AU $262,000.)

So the era of the steering wheel clock didn’t last too long, and even shorter lifespans were those of a bumper-mounted pressure cooker in the 1930s that ran off exhaust gas.

Chrysler featured its Highway Hi-Fi, a 1950s under-dash record player and Chevrolet had a 12-volt Remington Auto-Home Roll electric razor, so men could shave while cruising the highway.