Customized Taxi cabs...

[Noxnabaker]

Just saw this & wonderd about the taxis...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHe_d2hUVnA

[tsenecal]

Enjoyed the video, Thanks. The cars all seemed to be newer, but there were some early 20s trucks still in service, and even one horse drawn wagon. It didn't look like the safest place to be as a pedestrian.

[RadioRoy]

The taxicabs in your picture look like early Checker cabs to me. Not customized. All the cars sure look beat up, though.

Interesting that there is no detail on the streets. They could not have been that smooth.

[rockne10]

More jaywalkers than you can shake a stick at.
Yes, those early Checker Cabs were a little bizarre looking; kind of predicting the angry insect designs we see on so many of today's offerings.

[Noxnabaker]

Ah, so they were Checkers! Never seen any of those saved.
At first , before I saw the taxi sign, I tought it was a naughty car club driving stock car racers on the streets.
& yeah; crossing a street seems to have been quite an anarchistic thing...

[rockne10]

http://www.icta.club/the-1939-checke...was-watershed/

[tsenecal]

The article on the Checker Model "A" says that it used a pre war Studebaker front end with cross springs. It sounds like only one was saved and restored. The rest were run into the ground, during and after the war, when none were being produced.

[Lark Hunter]

There is certainly no mistaking that style of Checker cab for anything else on the road!

One thing I noticed is that all of the Checkers had severely degraded headlamp reflectors (as did some of the other cars)... some of them were so darkened that it looked like they had no headlights at all. One thing for certain is that the driver wouldn't be able to see a darn thing after dark, even if the bulbs lit up!

[RadioRoy]

One thing I noticed is that all of the Checkers had severely degraded headlamp reflectors (as did some of the other cars)... some of them were so darkened that it looked like they had no headlights at all. One thing for certain is that the driver wouldn't be able to see a darn thing after dark, even if the bulbs lit up!

That's why sealed beam headlamps were introduced in 1940. The reflector stayed shiny until the bulb wore out. Sealed beams were probably federally mandated, as all cars got them in 1940.

I wonder how that law was finally changed allowing modern cars to have stylized headlights in the 90's.

[Lark Hunter]

That's why sealed beam headlamps were introduced in 1940. The reflector stayed shiny until the bulb wore out. Sealed beams were probably federally mandated, as all cars got them in 1940.

I wonder how that law was finally changed allowing modern cars to have stylized headlights in the 90's.

I know Ford was lobbying for a change back in the early 1980's for its upcoming 1984 Lincoln Mark VII, and the laws were amended in 1983. I think they used "improved aerodynamics for better fuel economy" as one of their main arguments. Sadly, some halogen sealed beams started going this route in about the same period; the seal around the reflector->lens interface eventually fails and lets moisture in, then the reflector turns black. The bulb isn't replaceable, of course, but it defeats one of the main advantages to the lighting format. It is pretty neat to light up a (true, lens-fused-to-reflector) sealed beam that's been on a car for 50+ years, and have it still shine like new

[Andy R.]

I also thought it looked like an old stocker. I appreciate the open Jeep-like fenders on that Checker to eliminate a frequently damaged body area.
I like this taxi better...

The Studebaker showroom still exists today as a US post office.

[8E45E]

That's why sealed beam headlamps were introduced in 1940. The reflector stayed shiny until the bulb wore out. Sealed beams were probably federally mandated, as all cars got them in 1940.

I wonder how that law was finally changed allowing modern cars to have stylized headlights in the 90's.

The 1984 Lincoln Mark VII was the first US-made car after the war to have the composite headlights. Apparently, it was Ford that petitioned congress to make the change.

Craig

[Dwight FitzSimons]

That's why sealed beam headlamps were introduced in 1940. The reflector stayed shiny until the bulb wore out. Sealed beams were probably federally mandated, as all cars got them in 1940.

All cars, except (I think) Willys, which couldn't afford to retool for the sealed beams until 1941. Now, this is trivia!
-Dwight