I love this British Aluminium Company advertisement, which appeared in Motor Transport in the early 1970s.
It’s basically saying that old trucks were crap, built poorly, and rotted quickly.
“They used to build lorries with steel sheets, reinforced with wood and screws and finished with iron, steel and brass fittings,” it says.
“The result was a body that rusted, split and chipped. In the past there was a very good reason for building wagons like this. They had no choice.”
OK fair point, aluminium doesn’t rust, but I think they’re being a bit hard on what appears to be a late 1920s Ford AA. It’s over forty years old when this picture was taken. I can’t imagine that a 1967 Ford Transit would look any healthier today – even if it did have an aluminium body on the back.
And if you like photos of old American cars and trucks please check out my book Roadside Relics!!!!