We spotted this old beauty while driving through a small town the other day:
In 1941, Dodge was already using the iconic “job-rated” term to promote its trucks, explaining that the phrase meant “a truck that fits your job”. The company advertised a complete line of trucks (1 1/2 ton to 3 ton) that were powered and sized to meet “97% of all hauling needs”.
That was probably true as the ’41 Dodge trucks were available in 112 standard chassis and body models on 18 wheelbases and with six different engines, both gas and diesel. Dodge also offered 23 different frames, 17 different rear axle gear ratios, six brake combinations, 10 basic spring combinations and eight rear axles. With all those options, Dodge almost certainly had a truck to fit the job!
This beautiful 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL hardtop is pictured in front of the Mill at the annual Stuhr Museum car show in Grand Island, Nebraska. Check out the gorgeous white leather interior and bucket seats:
The tail lights in ’64 were the size of dinner plates and featured the sunburst design:
When you think of Ford in 1964, you likely think of the introduction of the Mustang, but Ford’s emphasis in 1964 was on power. Ford advertised it as “total performance”:
Clockwise from the top: Thunderbird, Fairlane, Galaxie, Falcon
Engine options for the Galaxie included five different V-8s, ranging from the 195-hp 289 to a 425-hp Thunderbird 427 V-8. Excellent choices for a fabulous Ford line-up!
Some of the more intriguing radiator badges are the ones that feature portraits such as the one of Teddy Roosevelt found on the Marmon Roosevelt and this one, found on the LaFayette:
In October of 1919, it was announced that a motor company was being formed to start manufacturing a new automobile in Indianapolis. It was called LaFayette Motors Co. and Charles Nash was the president.
1919 LaFayette Advertisement
The new automobile was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought with American colonists against the British during the American Revolutionary War. Lafayettewas a tremendous asset during the fight for American independence, providing tactical leadership and securing vital aid from France including troops and supplies. Lafayette spent that terrible winter at Valley Forge with George Washington, and they formed a lasting friendship. The Marquis even named his only son Georges Washington de Lafayette and famously said, “I gave my heart to the Americans and thought of nothing else but raising my banner and adding my colors to theirs.”
1921 LaFayette Advertisment
In light of the Marquis’ relationship with America, it is no surprise that someone in the automobile industry saw fit to honor his memory. One 1920 story states that the engineers and designers of the new automobile studied the memoirs of the “liberty-loving marquis” and that several refinements and appointments of the new V8-powered luxury car had a historic conception. The choice of materials such as silver and walnut woodwork were influenced by French art of the period. The radiator badge, like the one seen above, was a cameo of Lafayette. It featured onyx framed in silver and was said to resemble something made by 18th century craftsmen. The gracefully scrolled monogram used by Lafayette on his private stationary was used on the hub caps and hood ornament.
1936 LaFayette
The company moved to Wisconsin to cut costs but still struggled to make a profit and stopped production altogether in 1924. The name was revived by Nash during the ’30s, but no longer as a luxury car. It is a shame that the automobile didn’t experience greater success, because Lafayette certainly deserved the tribute.
When the government violates the people’s rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of the rights and the most indispensible of duties.
This is a WWII GMC model DUCW, a 2.5-ton 6×6 amphibious vehicle that used six wheels on land and a propeller when in the water. Essentially sea-going trucks, they were crucial for ferrying supplies from ship to shore. The vehicles were naturally nicknamed Ducks, and Canadian war correspondent Dick Sanborn reported this incident in 1943:
During the invasion of Italy, when hundreds of ducks plied their way back and forth carrying anti-tank guns, mortars and ammunition across the Messina straits, a British destroyer raced cockily past one group. From the bridge twinkled a signal lamp in Morse. Deeply offended, the officer in charge of the ducks translated the message: “Quack, quack.”
The iconic greyhound pictured above is adorning a 1929 Lincoln. Of all the hood ornaments and radiator caps ever produced, the greyhound might be the one most reproduced. It is definitely “buyer beware” when it comes to the greyhound as even sellers frequently don’t know what they have. I picked up this greyhound radiator cap years ago:
The underside of the cap is marked “THE MURPHY CAP MFG BY RUPERT DIECASTING CORP KC MO.”
Rupert Diecasting was located in Kansas City until moving to Kentucky in the 1960s. I have been told that this cap was only produced in 1933, which makes it pretty rare. I haven’t been able to verify that, but it makes sense as I recently found a copyright infringement lawsuit that was filed against Rupert by Franklin Diecasting in 1933 regarding Franklin’s copyrighted “Greyhound Combination Ornament and Radiator Cap”. If you have any additional information on the Murphy Cap, I would love to hear from you. Contact me at americancarhistorian@gmail.com.
Velie’s story is an interesting one that I have written about before. Its founder, Willard Lamb Velie, was a grandson of John Deere and the Velie automobile was even sold through John Deere dealerships. In November of 1914, Velie hired a few “prominent ball tossers” to engage in some transcontinental touring in order to draw attention to their brand. All stopped off at the Velie plant in Moline before taking various routes to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. They included Ivy Olson and Fred Carisch of the Cleveland American League Team and Walter Leverenz of the St. Louis Browns.
The ball players were driving 1915 models, and those were available in a Big Four, a Big Six and the Biltwel with a higher (40) horsepower 6-cylinder Continental engine.
Carisch is the best-known of these players. In 1923, he was coaching for Detroit alongside the legendary Ty Cobb and ended up playing in a game against Cleveland. Cobb had to resort to using the 41-year old Carisch as catcher after the third and last Detroit catcher was ejected from the game. Unfortunately, Detroit still lost to Cleveland, 10-7.
When Buick restyled the beautiful ’49 Buick for 1950, it made a change that continues to inspire strong emotion, both positive and negative. Buick replaced this beautiful grille . . .
. . . with this toothy beast:
The sales brochure referred to the new design as a “bumper-grille”, and it consisted of heavy-duty vertical bars that were attached to the bumper so that they both formed the grille and served as bumper guards. The bars, according to Buick advertisements, were heavy enough to absorb “normal impact” and individually replaceable to save money in the “unlikely event of damage” (now note the damage to the grille shown above).
Unfortunately, the bars each had a different part number and were not at all interchangeable, and that made stocking and replacing them relatively expensive. This diagram showing the part numbers and prices was found in the 1958 edition of Motor’s Flat Rate & Parts Manual:
Buick had advertised the bumper grille as “something that makes so much sense that it’s safe to say that it will start a new trend in styling,” but no such trend materialized and even Buick abandoned the idea for 1951.
