The fascinating history of American cars . . .one story at a time.
There aren’t many differences between the Mercury cars of 1946, 1947 and 1948. This coupe looks like a ’46 based on the grille surround, which is the same color as the body and has chrome embellishments, as well as the chrome strip and lack of a Mercury emblem on the side of the hood. It sits just north of the highway at McCoun Truck Parts in Wood River, Nebraska, and I sure hope someone takes an interest in this old survivor and gets it back on the road.
During the Fourth of July celebration in Seward, Nebraska, this remarkable vehicle was parked outside the Nebraska National Guard Museum.
It is an M-792 “Gama Goat” 6×6 amphibious ambulance. This one was built in 1971, and less than 15,000 of them were made. They were manufactured by Consolidated Diesel Electric Company for use in the US Army and Marine Corps and could transport three patients on litters with one medic. The power plant in this one is a Detroit diesel 3-53 two stroke, and the vehicle is articulated in the center to enhance its off-road ability. The nickname was derived by combining part of designer Roger Gamaunt’s last name with the vehicle’s goat-like mobility when traversing rough terrain. It has a top speed of around 55 mph on land and 2 mph in water using only its wheels for propulsion. This thing is a beast and looks like an absolute blast to drive as seen in YouTube videos like this one.
The Gama Goat wasn’t in production very long, 1969-1973, and was seen, at the time, as a symbol of the military’s wastefulness and incompetence. It was years behind schedule, went through drastic design changes and ballooned in cost. Senator William Proxmire, known for his “Golden Fleece” awards that highlighted government waste, summed it up this way while addressing the Army’s procurement deputy, Brig. Gen. Vincent Ellis, during a Congressional hearing:
“I do not want to be unfair to you, but I am astonished that you were pleased with the Gama Goat progress. You have got a program that is three years late, and you have a truck that is three times heavier than it was supposed to be, and it does not have any bigger payload, and one that is twice as expensive as the original estimate. It seems to me that you are an easy man to please.”
We spent Independence Day in Seward, Nebraska’s Official Fourth of July City. This town takes America’s birthday very seriously and has hosted a celebration virtually every year since the town was established in 1868. The town is located in Seward County, and both were named for William H. Seward, a Republican and strong opponent of slavery who served as President Lincoln’s Secretary of State during the Civil War.
Seward has less than 7,000 residents, but the number of attendees at this annual festival is estimated at an incredible 40,000. This year it included everything an American could want for the country’s birthday celebration such as an anvil firing; flag raising complete with reveille and the firing of an historic cannon; parades and fireworks; an apple pie eating contest; a craft show with vendors covering the entire courthouse square; live music and blocks of food trucks; Revolutionary and Civil War era soldier encampments; actors portraying Presidents Lincoln and Grant mingling with folks at the Nebraska National Guard Museum, and so much more. Happily for me, there was also a car show, so here are a few pictures of some of the entries. Note that the ’54 Willys Jeep is for sale, priced at $19,995 obo!
“Educators indict the speed-craft of academic youth principally on the charge that it is a time-waster, a peril to safety and a menace to morals, and generally they are unable to see that it possibly can have any particular utility anywhere near the halls of education.”
Here is the entire article:
I am guessing school administrators underwent a change of heart once they realized the funds they could generate by overselling parking permits.
Kearney Cruise Nite is coming! The live auction (with live internet bidding) will be held Friday, July 15th at 7PM. You can check it out at Rhynalds Auction.
No one knows for sure, apparently. The most popular theory is that it was derived from the name of a place in Mexico, Jalapa, where many used cars were supposedly sent from the United States during the early 1900s. The word first appears in print in the 1920s, and I did find the above explanation in newspapers as early as the 1940s. Newspaper readers of the 1940s also submitted these possible explanations:
Whatever the origination, the US government adopted the word to encourage the scrapping of old automobiles for the war effort. This article is from October of 1942:
This advertisement for a Pitless Auto Turntable appeared in a 1913 newspaper:
With the Pitless, you could simply turn your car in a full circle without even starting it. Other ads claimed that it was so simple to operate, a child could do it. It is hilarious that the main selling point of the Pitless was that putting your automobile in reverse is anxiety-inducing and, of course, an especially risky business for women:
Speaking of 1913, this amazing Model T housed at the Republican County Historical Museum in Belleville, Kansas, originated that same year. Note the carbide generator for powering the headlamps mounted on the running board and all the brass details:
We pulled this Dodge “Pilot-House” B-series truck dash out of an old shop the other day:
These trucks were made from 1948-1953, and the term “Pilot-House” was used to describe the improved visibility provided by higher and wider windshield and windows:
You can tell that this particular dash came from a 1953 because of the Dodge emblem. Other years featured a chrome trim piece in the center position, but only ’53 had this Dodge script. Surprisingly, these emblems were made of plastic, not metal, and they do become brittle with age.
This 1942 Cadillac was used by General Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II and is now on display at the Eisenhower Presidential Museum, Library & Boyhood Home in Abilene, Kansas. It was first delivered to London in 1942 where Eisenhower was commanding U.S. troops and then went with the General to Paris where he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. This well-traveled Cadillac returned to Washington with Ike for his post-war tour of duty as Army Chief of Staff, and it was kept available for his use in New York when he served as president of Columbia University. This same car then went back to Europe when Ike returned to active duty as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
Eisenhower had reportedly tried to purchase the Caddy in 1948, but even this great general could not cut through all the bureaucratic red tape involved in making such a purchase from the U. S. Army. In 1957, anonymous friends purchased the historic vehicle at an army auction in Germany and gifted it to President Eisenhower at the White House. When he was surprised with it, newspapers reported that he responded with, “Oh, it’s my old command car, ” while smiling from ear to ear.
In 1957, this four-door Cadillac had 67,000 miles on it and a fresh coat of olive drab paint. It also had jump seats and a glass panel separating the front and rear areas.
A 2004 story from the Salina Journal describes some preservation efforts made necessary by the passage of time as well as years of being stored in a garage with the hot Kansas sunlight streaming in through many windows. At that time, steps were taken to clean and restitch the leather seats (using the existing holes) and to source and replace plastic parts like Bakelite knobs and some lenses. Some of the interior wood trim was also refinished.
This Cadillac is the very car that carried Eisenhower on the night of May 7, 1945, when he traveled to Reims and refused to meet with the Germans until they agreed to an unconditional surrender. If only this car could talk, the stories it could tell . . .
The bidding is already over $236K, but if you have that kind of cash to spend you can check it out at BigIron: Butch Siebenaler Muscle Car Collection
Some other good stuff in the collection:
