I confess that I've never taken much interest in trucks except to briefly admire one that's been nicely restored. It's just that trucks were never part of my so-called lifestyle. However I did, briefly, have a job delivering fur coats in a panel delivery, until one day the hood flew open, instantly eliminating the forward view. With a "retained image" of what was ahead at that moment and by leaning out the window I brought it to a halt without damage but the boss took a dim view and fired me when I returned to base with a bent hood. Nevertheless I'm slowly learning to admire old working vehicles and thus was delighted to discover an article by former About.com partner Dale Wickell, who produces the trucks.about.com site.
Dale had discovered some of the earliest trucks in his research and put together a photo gallery featuring light trucks through the decades. The photo above is a 1902 Rapid, made by the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, which was absorbed into General Motors in 1909 along with another truck maker, the Reliance Motor Company. The first trucks with GMC branding were actually re-badged vehicles from those two companies. I love the functional simplicity of this vehicle.
You don't have to be a truck guy to like this ad. Long before guys bought trucks to show off on Saturday night the ad agency imagined they'd be driven to the beach with surfboards in the pickup bed, surrounded by a bevy of beauties. Perhaps that happened in California but it certainly didn't on the shores of Lake Ontario where I lived, nor anywhere in, say, Wisconsin or Oklahoma. That doesn't stop me from enjoying the artwork, for it stimulates my "nostalgia" juices. (Yes, this dedicated sports car and Euro-centric fan can shed a tear when a vintage truck motors by.) Incidentally, the owner of my local repair shop owns a similar vehicle and reports that driving it is hard work. Obviously we've been spoiled by "power everything."
Hey, Dale, I'm becoming a vintage truck fan. Feel free to give us more of the same!