Re: IML: Airflow's affect on Chrysler during the 1930's

["Bill Watson" <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>]

The "big" cab orders in the late 1930's came from a gentleman named Waters,
who also owned a large Plymouth-DeSoto distributorship in the San Franscisco
area and owned the DeSoto cab company there.    He ordered long-wheelbase
DeSoto sedans and modified them for use in New York City where regulations
dictated that only the driver rode in front (thus the need for a
long-wheelbase to make room for jump seats) and there could not be a rear
luggage compartment (which is why suit cases, etc., were placed in  the
compartment beside the driver, where the passenger seat normally would be).
Chrysler supplied their corporate long-wheelbase model, used by Plymouth
(1935-41), Dodge (1935-51), DeSoto (1936-54), Chrysler (1935-54) and
Imperial (1937-54).  The 1955-56 Crown Imperials were drived from the
1949-54 long wheelbase sedan body.

To see these cabs in operation, watch The Yellow Cab Man (1950) with Red
Skelton.  In it he drives a 1946-48 DeSoto S-11 cab and you get a pretty
good feel for its size and use.

As for saving the company, consider the following sales figures from the
first cab in 1936 to 1942 :

1936 - 2,941
1937 - 225
1938 - 372
1939 - 1,250
1940 - 2,323
1941 - 2,502
1942 - 756

As you can tell, the numbers really are not that spectacular.  They would
not have been enough to save any company, although they did provide enough
sales to make corporate long-wheelbase sedan production at least break even.
When New York City changed their regulations in 1955, in favour of shorter
cabs, it was no longer a feasible operation for Chrysler.  DeSoto did build
a 6-cylinder Firesweep taxis in 1957, though - all 139 of them.

General Motors tried to follow Chrysler's example with the 1936-38 General
Cab, a stretched Chevrolet sedan.  But it bombed.  GM of Canada offered the
car as a regular Chevrolet production model in 1937-38,  if you can call a
couple of dozen production.

As for Mr. Waters, he never forgave Chrysler for dropping the DeSoto.  In
1963 his DeSoto Cab Co. placed an order with Studebaker for  a couple of
hundred Lark taxis, but the order was never filled.


Bill
Vancouver, BC


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kenyon Wills" <imperialist1960@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: IML: Airflow's affect on Chrysler during the 1930's


>
>
> --- David Duricy <desotobravo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > --- Kenyon Wills <imperialist1960@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > Despite the Airflow almost dragging the company
> > > under > (it was a sales disaster)
> >
> > Shame on the person who told you this.
>
>
>
> Hmmm.  Always willing to eat crow when it's the only
> thing on the menu.
>
> Up at Harrah's in Reno (now called the Natn'l
> Automobile Collection/Museum/whatever) they have a 37
> Sunshine Cab.  I think it was a Plymouth, but not
> certain.  That car is featured pretty prominently and
> the story on the long placard next to it says that it
> was part of a giant Chicago(?) cab co. order that
> partially saved Chryco. near the end of the depression
> - not that you can believe everything that you read
> (much less remember in my case).
>
> I got that impression from the following sources,
> also:
> http://imperialclub.com/Articles/35OldCars/Page01-reg.jpg
>



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