Driver's view of delivering new cars (Popular Science article from 1957)

[Brian Austin]

 

 

 

Courtesy link to full magazine via Google Books:  https://books.google.com/books?id=Ci0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA184&dq=garage&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwih4O371J_vAhU1MlkFHYU7BZAQ6AEwBHoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by Brian Austin

[ChrisBcritter]

Something unusual there? I see two Skyliners with the second color of the two-tone only on the roofs; usually you see the second color just on the upper body, with the lower body and roof matching:

 

[Danno]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing it, Brian.

 

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[Brian Austin]

One thing that caught my eye was the caption stating the driver has to unload the upper rack to clear low bridges.

[afx]

My father worked at a Ford dealership.  As a kid I would watch the drivers unload the cars from the haulers.  I wouldn't want to have to load or unload those upper decks!

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by afx

[Sledsel]

Very cool

 

[Rodent]

Always loved auto transport trucks!

[Bob Warfield]

For you younger folks, cars weren't always delivered like this. My Dad graduated high school in 1936 and started working for a Pontiac dealer in Granite City, IL. Him and another young man would take a train to Detroit and drive a new car back while towing a second car.

Thanks, Bob

[Kromolly]

Really a neat piece of history here.  And thanks for the added note, Bob.  Hard to believe cars were transported two at a time like that.

[Brian Austin]

Prior to auto-rack rail cars, automobiles were shipped in special box cars, often four at a time.  There were special racks inside.  I'd love to build one in 1:24-1:25.  :-)

[misterNNL]

Thanks for this insight of a period of auto transport history as seen from the driver's perspective.

[Rodent]

Don't forget these rail cars.

https://www.autoblog.com/2013/03/01/vert-a-pac-train-cars-kept-your-chevy-vegas-price-in-check/

 

[peteski]

Vert-A-Pack were a big failure in practice - didn't last long. 

[BuilderX]

Wonder if they wait to let the oil fill the pan back up before starting them up?

[ChrisBcritter]

The firm my dad worked for at that time (Pettibone) built that lifter on the right raising the doors - it was a bit more reliable than the Vega. Ironically it was better known as a junkyard mule:

I bet it later hauled a Vega or two to the crusher...

 

[Kromolly]

The circle of life.  ?

[espo]

Interesting prospective of a slice of life in 1957. Something else that I noticed when information about the load of cars on the transporter being worth up to $20,000.00. That's not even the average price of a car today. The driver is proud, and should be for the time, that he earns $8,000.00 per year. That was some pretty good money in 1957. Anyone care to figure out what that would be in todays dollars ?  

[ChrisBcritter]

A couple handy-dandy online calculators say either $74,879.43 or $76,443.

However, the income tax rate on $8000+ in 1957 was 34% for a single person; head of household was 30%.

Edited March 11, 2021 by ChrisBcritter