by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 1, 2007 | Uncategorized

When the Dodge Magnum made its debut, I was quite pleased. When its popularity translated into sales, I had an ear-to-ear grin. With the announcement production would be discontinued I lamented. The mini van, as versatile and practical as it was, was a poor substitute for the classic station wagon.
With the introduction of the Magnum, for a brief moment it would seem the station wagon, like the mythical Phoenix, was about to rise from the ashes of obscurity. As an added bonus the station wagon is now well on the way to gaining long overdue attention from the collector car crowd.
I am sure this is for good reason. Vintage wagons are different and, as when new, are quite practical. As another advantage, more than a few were outfitted with special packages that provided the necessary power (a muscle car sleeper if there ever was one)for towing or extreme economy.
Even in the waning years of their popularity, this was the case. In 1994, 1995 and 1996 the Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon was available with a 260 horsepower V8 engine with 335 ft. lbs. of torque!
If you would prefer something a little more economical perhaps a 1956 Rambler hardtop wagon might be the answer. When equipped with the optional overdrive these truly unique vehicles consistently tested at more than 25 miles per gallon.
The Olds Vista Cruiser wagon with the unforgetable raised roof trimmed in glass panels, introduced in 1964, came to epitomize the American station wagon and today leads the explosion of interest in vintage wagons. However, a lesser-known companion model, the Buick Skylark Sport Wagon is relatively obscure.
The ultimate station wagon has to be the Checker built Aerobus. Many associate this “stretch” station wagon with the last years of the company when in actuality the Aerobus story began in 1935 with the introduction of the Lycoming eight cylinder powered Y8 series and special order for the Parmelee Transportation extended wheel base models in six-door configuration. There is evidence an eight door version was also produced.
The next chapter in the history of the Aerobus begins in December of 1954 with the introduction of the A-8 series. On special order, standard model A-8’s were shipped to Armbruster-Stageway of Fort Smith, Arkansas and stretched to accommodate eight doors with comparable seating.
As the mechanical components were not modified from the stock 226 c.i.d., six-cylinder Continental engine coupled to a three speed transmission the additional weight made the vehicles performance worse than anemic. In the United States where highway improvements were resulting in higher speeds this was a detriment but in other countries the almost truck like attributes of these stretched Checker’s was ideal. As a result, the majority of this generation Aerobus was shipped to Middle Eastern countries, most notably Turkey.
The association with Armbruster-Stageway would continue through 1961. With the addition of more powerful engines, the Aerobus steadily increased in popularity so as a result in that year the decision was made to improve profitability of these vehicles by building them entirely in house. The Kalamazoo Gazette for June 21, 1961 noted, “…a completely new line of vehicles – the Checker Aerobus. Produced in both six-door, 9 passenger and eight door, 12 passenger models…”
For 1963, a larger Continental six-cylinder engine rated at 141 horsepower became an option in the basic Checker sedans and station wagons and standard in the Aerobus. For most companies an order for seventy-two units would have been laughable, for Checker an order for that number of Aerobus by the United States government that year was seen as confirmation that targeting niche markets was still the companies’ strong point.
Though the sales of the Aerobus in the United States were increasing, the cars primarily served to spearhead the companies’ penetration into foreign markets. A few importers took a page from the Checker playbook and began modifying these vehicles to local niche markets.
Perhaps one of the most notable entrepreneurs who staked their fortune on such markets was Patrick Seton who opened the first Checker dealership in Sweden during the mid 1950’s. The first endeavor involved the modification of a six door, 152.5 inch wheel base Aerobus into a prisoner transport vehicle for the Swedish prison system. His second was to replace the seats in a similar car with smaller ones and then selling the cars to school systems in Sweden as school busses.
In 1966, de Giorgi, a Swiss coachbuilder began modifying the Aerobus into several different configurations including ambulances. Though the idea was a sound one, only three were built; two were sold in Switzerland and one in France.
For 1968, Checker greatly expanded the list of engine options to include a Chevrolet built 230-c.i.d., 140 horsepower six cylinder, 200 horsepower 307-c.i.d. V8 and a 275 horsepower 327 c.i.d. V8. In the late summer of that year a Perkins diesel, the first diesel engine available in an American passenger car, also became available. In spite of these overdue improvements, overall sales at Checker stumbled with Aerobus leading the decline.
As a result, in 1970 the Aerobus became available by special order only. A redefined version of the Aerobus with standard sedan trunk rear rather than station wagon made its debut to a tepid response in 1976. After the production of only 107 units, the Aerobus was unceremoniously dropped with almost no notice from the press or the motoring public. Six years later, all production ceased and one of the most unique chapters in American automotive history drew to a close.
For those who march to a different drummer the Checker, more than twenty years after the cessation of production, still presents an irresistible draw. Though the Aerobus has yet to show similar popularity, with the resurgence of interest in station wagons how long can it be before they too are resurrected for the ultimate bring the crowd along vintage cruiser?

The last ride – again the station wagon theme prevails. This photo is of a rare Oldsmobile hearse conversion.

SEE ROCK CITY

by jimhinckleysamerica | Nov 1, 2007 | Uncategorized

“See Rock City” For those who remember the era of the family vacation, the tail fin, and the endless joys of passing the miles by tormenting your sister in the back seat these words bring back a multitude of fond memories.
It seems like yesterday when this message could be found emblazoned on countless barns throughout the Southeast and as far west as Oklahoma and as far north as Michigan. “See Seven States from Rock City” and the “World’s 8th Wonder,” all of this was as much a part of a drive through the Land of Dixie as RC Cola, Moon Pies, and sweltering summer evenings thick with the scent of honeysuckle blossoms.
With hindsight, we see this simplistic advertising campaign as one of the most successful ever devised. Simply select a barn facing towards a heavily traveled road and offer the owner a monthly sum for the use of the wall, or roof, for the slogan plus the promise of repainting the entire barn on a regular basis. A similar idea had worked quite well for the Chattanooga Medicine Company in the late 1890’s and there was no reason to expect different in the modern era.
In time, the slogan “See Rock City” almost eclipsed the attraction itself in notoriety and during World War II appeared on everything from helmets and tanks to ammunition crates and jeeps. In Korea and Vietnam, the tradition continued and a PX near Saigon sported a sign that read, “Only 13,000 miles to Lookout Mountain and Rock City.”
Today few barns with the faded slogans remain along the roadside but postcards and faded photographs mark their passing. Rock City, however, located high atop Lookout Mountain in extreme northern Georgia is alive and well and is a near-perfect time capsule from an era when Studebakers still rolled from the factory in South Bend, and Route 66 was just one of many two-lane highways being replaced by the modern wonder of the interstate highway system.
The secrets of Rock City, the inspiring stone pinnacles that shelter shaded avenues and the stunning vista from the summit were attracting visitors long before the advent of the advertising on barns or even automobiles. The mountain citadel fascinated Christian missionary to the Cherokee Indians David Butrick in 1832 where, “immense boulders were arranged in such a way as to afford streets and lanes.” During the American Civil War, the mountain was the scene of intense fighting as both sides fought for control of the summit in an effort control the extensive network of river and railroad traffic that lay just below in the valley of the Tennessee River.
With the dawn of the twentieth century, Lookout Mountain was already an established refuge for those seeking respite from the cloying summer heat of the river valley. In an effort to profit for this popularity Garnett Carter, an entrepreneur whose family had moved onto the mountain when he was eleven years of age, began construction of an exclusive residential subdivision next to the rock gardens near the mountains summit in 1924.
Frieda, his wife, had a deep fascination for German fairy tails as well as European folklore that spanned centuries. As the stone gardens had long been associated with stories of goblins it seemed a natural to christen the new project Fairyland with street names, such as Peter Pan Lane, chosen to fit the theme.
While Carter focused his resources on development his wife turned towards transforming the “Rock City” into a story book dream brought to life; the ultimate rock garden. With balls of twine, she began to lay out trails through the formations to the giant outcropping known as Lovers Leap. She gathered and planted wildflowers as well as other native plants, statues of gnomes and other figures from folklore. Some were imported from as far away as Germany.
The hard economic times of the Great Depression almost crushed the Fairyland housing project. With time on his hands, Garnett Carter turned his creative talents to the promotion and further development of his wife’s award winning mountain top rock garden that had opened to the public May 21, 1932.
Initially the number of paying customers who came to see the mountain top wonderland was small in number. Then in 1935, the now famous barn painting advertisement campaign began. By the mid 1960’s more than one thousand barns in nineteen states were adorned with Rock City slogans and the attraction was welcoming tens of thousands of visitors annually.
Today Rock City’s scenic trails lead through beautiful gardens to awe-inspiring vistas, past thundering waterfalls, and among rock formations with whimsical names like Fat Man’s Squeeze and Goblin’s Underpass as they have for more than a half century. The caverns filled with gnomes, goblins, elves, and other forest creatures still delight children of all ages just as they have since the gardens opened in 1932.
In a recent interview, Bill Carter, a member of Rock City Gardens’ founding family, summarized what has made it a popular attraction for more than 70 years. “We have a lot of people that were here as kids come back and bring their kids and grand kids,” he said. “They remember it and tell us it was a big hit both vacations.”