Re: Packard Bikes
Posted by Leeedy On 2022/9/28 14:28:49
Great to see all of the pedal car stuff.
As I mentioned earlier, back in the 1970s I had a very unusual four-passenger Packard pedal car. That pedal car was quite old and appeared to be from the early 1930s. It looked just like a real Packard phaeton complete with Packard styling cues and electric headlights.
Unfortunately my Packard phaeton pedal car was in pretty bad condition at the time. So I sold it to someone who said they were going to fully restore it. Wonder where it is today?
Now. Many of the American bicycle companies (or their subsidiaries) also made pedal cars and what are commonly known today as "wagons." There were also Packard wagons and I once had one of those too. No clear photos, but somewhere I have literature. Can't find it right now but what I do have at hand is literature on a Cadillac wagon.
People today think wagons like "Radio Flyer" brand were merely for hauling things around (like at a swap meet). Or for sitting in front of a Christmas tree. But it wasn't that way when I was a kid growing up in Detroit.
Today's people have either forgotten or never knew what kids (primarily boys) used to call "coasting" and how popular this activity once was.
To go "coasting" you had to have what were known as a wagon or "coaster wagon." You got in on one knee with your right foot folded under you. Then you pushed yourself, scooting along forward with your other foot. You steered with the tiller. Voila! "Coasting."
Some kid would yell, "Let's go coasting" and the neighborhood boys would line up on the sidewalk and do a concours d'elegance. Sometimes we would line up like a LeMans start for a Grand Prix race and then take off in a procession. Coasting, despite being forgotten today, was once a big deal for American boys.
In my neighborhood I had a Packard wagon (yes, a company–not PMCC– made those too). But one day another kid showed up with a Cadillac wagon. It had really nice wheel roller-bearings and full suspension– believe it or not.
While I cannot find my Packard wagon brochure right now, here is an original piece of literature on the Cadillac wagon.
As you can see, yes, this wagon used a Cadillac logo just like the car. And you will even notice that the ad refers to it as a "coaster wagon." BUT... Cadillac Division of GM was certainly not making these. Cadillac wagons were made (very nicely I might add) by a company in Detroit, Michigan.
Now let's sit back and we'll see how many stories now surface of Cadillac wagons being given away by Cadillac to entice the purchase of a new car.
And since we are on the subject of all this stuff, many years ago I owned quite a bit of the remaining "Kidillac" (yesss, they made these too) pedal car stuff from the Garton company. The unrestored original paint black and salmon color "Kidillac" pedal car (with a continental kit spare) pictured around the internet today was originally mine.
Attach file:
CadillacWagon copyWM.jpeg (259.44 KB)
As I mentioned earlier, back in the 1970s I had a very unusual four-passenger Packard pedal car. That pedal car was quite old and appeared to be from the early 1930s. It looked just like a real Packard phaeton complete with Packard styling cues and electric headlights.
Unfortunately my Packard phaeton pedal car was in pretty bad condition at the time. So I sold it to someone who said they were going to fully restore it. Wonder where it is today?
Now. Many of the American bicycle companies (or their subsidiaries) also made pedal cars and what are commonly known today as "wagons." There were also Packard wagons and I once had one of those too. No clear photos, but somewhere I have literature. Can't find it right now but what I do have at hand is literature on a Cadillac wagon.
People today think wagons like "Radio Flyer" brand were merely for hauling things around (like at a swap meet). Or for sitting in front of a Christmas tree. But it wasn't that way when I was a kid growing up in Detroit.
Today's people have either forgotten or never knew what kids (primarily boys) used to call "coasting" and how popular this activity once was.
To go "coasting" you had to have what were known as a wagon or "coaster wagon." You got in on one knee with your right foot folded under you. Then you pushed yourself, scooting along forward with your other foot. You steered with the tiller. Voila! "Coasting."
Some kid would yell, "Let's go coasting" and the neighborhood boys would line up on the sidewalk and do a concours d'elegance. Sometimes we would line up like a LeMans start for a Grand Prix race and then take off in a procession. Coasting, despite being forgotten today, was once a big deal for American boys.
In my neighborhood I had a Packard wagon (yes, a company–not PMCC– made those too). But one day another kid showed up with a Cadillac wagon. It had really nice wheel roller-bearings and full suspension– believe it or not.
While I cannot find my Packard wagon brochure right now, here is an original piece of literature on the Cadillac wagon.
As you can see, yes, this wagon used a Cadillac logo just like the car. And you will even notice that the ad refers to it as a "coaster wagon." BUT... Cadillac Division of GM was certainly not making these. Cadillac wagons were made (very nicely I might add) by a company in Detroit, Michigan.
Now let's sit back and we'll see how many stories now surface of Cadillac wagons being given away by Cadillac to entice the purchase of a new car.
And since we are on the subject of all this stuff, many years ago I owned quite a bit of the remaining "Kidillac" (yesss, they made these too) pedal car stuff from the Garton company. The unrestored original paint black and salmon color "Kidillac" pedal car (with a continental kit spare) pictured around the internet today was originally mine.
Attach file:
CadillacWagon copyWM.jpeg (259.44 KB)
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