The 1913 S.V.G. Touring Car, built in Reading utilizing a body constructed at the Fleetwood Metal Body Co., is the ideal vehicle to be housed at the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, according to its curator Kendra Cook.  "This car belongs here," she said.

                Last month, the museum, founded in 1965 with the intent of preserving automobiles built in Berks County, unveiled the newly acquired custom touring car at its 50th anniversary celebration.

                Cook described the cream colored car with green fenders, which features a Vulcan six-button transmission and high-end brass work, as a custom vehicle.

                Sold new, the vehicle cost more than $3,500, according to Cook. She said that comes to more than $80,000 in today's dollars.  "At that time, this was a cutting edge vehicle," she said.

                The touring car, displayed in a room with two other vehicles built in Reading early in the 20th century, is currently a featured exhibit at the museum, located at 85 South Walnut Street in Boyertown.

                Established in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer, the museum, currently located at former home of the Boyertown Auto Body Works, houses dozens of automobiles, trucks and motorcycles manufactured in Pennsylvania during the industry's infancy, according to its website.

                The facility also houses many horse-drawn vehicles, a multitude of which were produced in the region, the same information states.

                According to Cook, the S.V.G. Touring Car illustrates a key component of that history. She said the vehicle was put together in a "huge factory" at the intersection of North Eighth and Elm streets in Reading.  She said the city, the county seat of Berks County, produced many industrial goods in the first decade of the 20th Century.

                The Acme Motor Car Company produced cars at the same factory before selling the business to S.V.G. Motors, according to the museum's website.  It states that the S.G.V. Company dissolved a few years later.

                As part of its 50th anniversary, the museum is hosting a special event each month during the current calendar year.

                On March 21-22, the facility will host a Hoods Up weekend.  According to Cook, visitors will get a glimpse under the hoods of several of the museum's vehicles from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

                For more information on the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, visit www.boyertownmuseum.org.