Search Results for: "moving the metal"

Used Car Dealers Moving the Metal in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania “Moving the metal” is a term for used for auto sales that originated in the early to mid-1900s in the “Motor City,” Detroit, Michigan. The expression is still in use today in new and used car sales field, although over time, for the most part, has transformed to “moving units.” Selling new cars in good times… 15 Comments Read More

Moving The Metal – Part V A 1956 Ford F-750 “Big Job” hauling 1957 Fords Many of the cars in today’s photos date from 1957, which was a significant year in many ways. Tail fins were approaching their peak. The new Chrysler torsion bar front suspension was unique in the domestic industry, as Packard returned to conventional coil front and rear… 5 Comments Read More

Moving the Metal – Part IV GM photo of 1954 GMC’s and Fleet Carrier’s GMC COE tractor and trailer All the trucks in our photos today share one common feature: they all would have been gasoline powered. More fuel efficient diesels might have been finding increased favor amongst common carriers in the nineteen-fifties, but the big car hauling fleet operators would… 9 Comments Read More

Moving the Metal – Part III An in-house built high-cab Convoy car hauler on January 20, 1955. The very first trucks used to transport cars from the factory to the showroom were, by necessity, home built jobs. They were fabricated by resourceful entrepreneurs seeking to beat the high prices charged by the railroads. As the volume of car production exploded, it… 5 Comments Read More

Moving the Metal – Part II New 1949 Mercury’s on a W&K trailer in Chicago The post war boom in new car production had a marked multiplier effect on the American economy. Once they were finished, cars had to be shipped to the dealers. Construction of specialized trailers built for that purpose provided employment opportunities in those factories, too. Drivers were also… 4 Comments Read More

Moving the Metal – Part I An Automobile Shippers, Inc. 1940 Dodge COE filled with 1940 Plymouths As highways began to improve in the 1920’s and 30’s, it became more viable to ship cars from the factory directly to dealers by truck rather than by rail as had been the custom. Detroit businessman Eugene Casaroll was one of the first to… 8 Comments Read More

Moving the Metal in Holland – You Can’t Drive There From Here In response to our recent post on crating Jeffery and Nash cars for shipping, Ariejan Bos sent us these photos showing how cars were crated for shipment and then moved to the docks in Holland. Ariejan wrote: This is the way we did it in Holland. The 1914 Simplex is a Dutch product from a small… No Comments Read More