Universal Newsreel: Canada’s Motor City Celebrates Millionth Car

Announcer: Municipal executives along with motor car officials are guests at a dinner to mark a red-letter day in the history of Oshawa, Ontario. Workers cheer as the millionth car to be produced in the big Oshawa plant is piloted of the assembly line by Luther Bowen, veteran driver.

Oshawa was a town of 5000 back in 1907 when Luther Bowen drove the first Oshawa-built motor car. It had grown to 25,000 when the millionth car was piloted to the test track. Driver Bowen took the wheel of this two-cylinder touring car more than 30 years ago, and since then has driven a new car each four minutes of every working day.

While production lines churn out new models, safety and traffic authorities are campaigning against dangerous old crocks. Modern safe construction is literally blasting the road menaces from the highway.

Plant supervisors who worked on the very earliest cars rise to their feet as the millionth unit is revealed on the stage. Models in the costume of an earlier day bring back memories of the times when Oshawa had three livery stables.

In those days the manufacture of five cars per week was considered to be the peak of production. Bridging a million cars in a period of thirty years.

Mayor Alex McLeese expresses the pride of all the people of Oshawa in the achievement of their first million, and says that when better cars are built, Oshawa will build them.