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History 1953 Battle Cry "DEATH TO ALL JALOPIES !!!"

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Harms Way, Feb 6, 2010.

  1. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    I don't know if I have all the facts straight, but it would seem back in 1953 several Detroit Chevrolet Dealers went on the warpath against all old, unsafe, death trap, Jalopies. It looks like there was some sort of publicity campaign to mark all old cars as unsafe,....

    They put banners on all the old cars they towed through Detroit in a big Parade, saying A Jalopy killed somebody on a certain date and location,.. I assume in a effort to sell more cars.

    It was very public, with brass bands lining the now safe streets,..... they were towed to a central location, made into several piles,... dowsed in gas and set afire,......

    Sad,.. some of these cars survived the great depression, WWII, the first rounds of scrap drives,.... to end up with there service dishonored and made into "Public Enemy #1"

    Looks like a 1932 Packard 900 series in the pile,.... and a model 40 or two,....

    [​IMG]

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  2. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

  3. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

  4. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member


  5. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

  6. DocWatson
    Joined: Mar 24, 2006
    Posts: 10,273

    DocWatson
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Im gonna puke.
     
  7. retro54
    Joined: Apr 1, 2004
    Posts: 735

    retro54
    Member
    from PA

    notice how clean the 'jalopy' brake drums and running gear are....
     
  8. ironandsteele
    Joined: Apr 25, 2006
    Posts: 5,918

    ironandsteele
    Member

    wow-so sad. awesome pictures though!!
     
  9. Wow! What mindblowing tactics'
    It's funny, I recognize those pictures with the moto-cop as being on Michigan ave in Chicago, Where just a few years ago I would drive an antique firetruck (48' Pirsch) around that same corner every few hours. No power steering or brakes. I didn't worry about that though. My worries were on all the homeless people who would jump up and try highjacking the ride while I was giving sight seeing tours...

    I'm gonna guess they burnt these "Jalopies" because they did'nt have any "Beatles" records to burn yet!!!!!!!!!!!!
     
  10. Insane 1
    Joined: Feb 13, 2005
    Posts: 974

    Insane 1
    Member
    from Ennis TX

    Instresting....just goes to show not much has changed.

    Back then it was - Let's just waste some gasoline, set them on fire and see how much we can polute the air. I guess to be more politically correct now days they just blow up running engines.
     
  11. Brandy
    Joined: Dec 23, 2004
    Posts: 5,286

    Brandy
    Member
    from Texas

    It was all promotional to get folks to buy new cars. Munsters old Pontiac coupe was a 'jalopy' that the dealership painted up to encourage people to trade their cars in on something new and shiny..........this is just one step further I'm sure.

    Still sickening.
     
  12. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!


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    Look at the fart can on this one! =O

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  13. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    It's funny you mention Chicago,.... I was just reading about some of these,... it was done once in 1948 and again in 1953,... once in Detroit and once in Chicago,..... again I'm not sure if the details are accurate.
     
  14. NoRust
    Joined: Feb 6, 2010
    Posts: 117

    NoRust
    Member

    These photos are very upsetting. Maybe at the time, these old jalopies were considered the same, as we now see late 70's to early 80's American cars.
     
  15. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    I didn't notice before that the T had a Cali plate on it.,..... any of you guys see the Willis on the top of the pile ?
     
  16. pasadenahotrod
    Joined: Feb 13, 2007
    Posts: 11,775

    pasadenahotrod
    Member
    from Texas

    They had to start somewhere with the tuner stuff! That is actually an original style muffler which is missing the back cast iron end!
     
  17. motorhead711
    Joined: May 7, 2008
    Posts: 734

    motorhead711
    Member

    THAT"S Crazy!!!! What a waste of old iron....the signs on the doors are pretty damn eerie.
     
  18. Some of those pictures are painful, but a lot of those cars look like wrecks they hauled out of the junkyard to parade around then took right back and piled up again. Meaning they all likely would have been scrapped anyways.
     
  19. oilslinger53
    Joined: Apr 17, 2007
    Posts: 2,500

    oilslinger53
    Member
    from covina CA

    But jalopies are just fine for tow truck drivers? The trucks pulling the cars are just as old!
     
  20. stude_trucks
    Joined: Sep 13, 2007
    Posts: 4,755

    stude_trucks
    Member

    I thought stupid was a recent invention, but I guess not.
     
  21. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

  22. The37Kid
    Joined: Apr 30, 2004
    Posts: 30,627

    The37Kid
    Member

    Sad to look at today, but at the time they were no different than the cars of the 1970's & 1980's we send to the crusher.
     
  23. Harms Way
    Joined: Nov 27, 2005
    Posts: 6,894

    Harms Way
    Member

    This one really hurts,.. A 1932 Packard 900 Series (shovel nose) ,..... I have been looking for one for 30 years,.....
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    Showing a little pride in there accomplishment. (check out the WIllis on top.)
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  24. 510madmav
    Joined: Dec 29, 2009
    Posts: 814

    510madmav

  25. Insane 1
    Joined: Feb 13, 2005
    Posts: 974

    Insane 1
    Member
    from Ennis TX

    Why did it always have to be the cars fault? It might have been the idiots driving them?
     
  26. ironandsteele
    Joined: Apr 25, 2006
    Posts: 5,918

    ironandsteele
    Member

    [​IMG]


    all i know is these dudes will never be "lookin' like a fool with there pants on the ground"
     
  27. I would say that '41-ish Hudson was a taxi, given the added on bumpers and the spot on the roof that looks the right size for a taxi roof light. I could use the hood off it for my '42 (although it's probably the long wheelbase and mine is the short one).

    We had one of those Packards for a while. Well half of one, it had been cut down like a doodlebug and converted to run the belts for a sawmill or some other thing. Damned thing still weighed as much as a complete Chevy.


    "A young man and woman at Division & Hooker" ... I guess back then no one would get the wrong idea about that one? Talk about the ideal corner for a prostitute to work from, though.
     
  28. Morris
    Joined: May 9, 2009
    Posts: 46

    Morris
    Member
    from UK

    I'm guessing they just ignored all the people killed by new cars in the same period...
     
  29. frankenstein1948
    Joined: May 23, 2008
    Posts: 713

    frankenstein1948
    Member

    Just what i was thinking.
     
  30. storm king
    Joined: Oct 16, 2007
    Posts: 1,989

    storm king
    Member

    Auto manufacturers would like you to crush your car every year and buy new; it's why they exist, to sell NEW cars. They could care less about how well you maintain your car, how much you love the hobby. If they could they'd make it illegal to keep a car longer than it takes for you to pay for it. What do you think the bailout was about? Auto company lobbyist convinced Washington DC that you weren't buying enough cars, so the Gov't stole all of our money to give to the car mfg's. That's all there was to it.
    Bottom line is that a car company will do ANYTHING to sell cars. Once they're sold, they have no interest.
     

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