Cars have come a long way in century of Blackwells Motors

Moving with the times has seen one car yard see cranks, keys and push-button starts through its 100 years in Christchurch.

Buttons and keys have replaced cranks and chokes over the decades at one of the oldest car yards in Christchurch. Blackwell Motors is celebrating a century of selling vehicles in the Garden City this year – and its products have come a long way since the boxy vehicles of yesteryear Bonnie and Clyde drove while hanging out the windows with their pistols drawn and hats donned.

Every shape and size of care has come through since Walter Blackwell and Gordon Fairweather established the business in 1923. The pair were blacksmiths and coach builders, Blackwells chief executive Steve Grenfell said, They began importing vehicles before the Kilmore St yard became a designated Chevrolet dealer in 1927.

From small beginnings with one single vehicle brand, the fleet grew to welcome Holden in 1954, and as the business took on more cars, it moved to on Manchester St in the late 1960s.

A decade later, in 1979, Blackwells was purchased by the Marsh family, who also bought Cooke Howlison during the 1973 fuel crisis and combined the two companies, Grenfell said.

Dunedin-based Cooke Howlison has also surpassed 100 years in operation. It was founded in 1895 by Frederick Cooke and Edward Howlison, who started out manufacturing bicycles in Great King St.

Vehicles have changed dramatically since the earliest models were a mode of transport mainly for the wealthy.

The changes were noticed “first and foremost in the build quality”, Grenfell said.

“That’s a definite stand out.

“The technology in the modern car today is so much safer than cars of yesteryear. They offer so much more for the driver. It’s like any product that keeps getting refined, you have to adapt to the new technology.”

But it was not just about the inside features, he said. “Cars are a required fashionable item. We all need transport and it all needs to be pleasing to the eye. It all needs to be reliable and it has to be value for money.”

The biggest change in vehicles had been the development of electric vehicles, with new technology being developed all the time, Grenfell said. “There’s a lot of talk, and it’s very top of mind for people.”

At Blackwell’s Sockburn commercial operation, conversions from diesel trucks to battery-powered vehicles has been done for the last six years.

But there was still room for both fuel and battery operated cars, Grenfell said.

It came down to each customer’s lifestyle, he said.

“We Kiwis that tow things, boats and caravans and like to go places ... some of the battery options don’t fit that pattern [due to an EV’s capabilities].”

But, technology was “always evolving”, he said.

A new brand bound for the lot next year is Omoda, a new electric hybrid vehicle, which will join other brands on the lot including GMSV, Mazda, Holden and Isuzu commercial trucks. And there are still more brands on the horizon to cater to the increasing number of electric vehicle users.