Before...

...John Hertz put you in the drivers seat...
..he put you in the back, that's how he thought he could beat...
...the costs of buying cars.  In 1921 he started to make..
...his own for Yellow Taxi, in 1925 it's when he sold his stake...
..to General Motors, then they made them just for him...
...so know we know the margins made, weren't all that slim.


1931 Yellow cab




1936, taxi!



..and in 1941, this was the cab.

It was...

...kind of hard, to find cars that start with X,
not too many of them, maybe it was a hex;
but, whatever caused the lapse, never may be known,
but now that I found one, it's one I'd like to own.

These were called "cyclecars", and they were small,
two people in a row, or tandem, if that's your call;
sporty little buggys, chain drive and all that,
and a nice windscreen so you wouldn't lose your hat!


1914 Xenia



An early Xenia ad



You'd like one of these, admit it.



It's pronounced willies..

From the comic strip "Shoe":
Editor "I need you to cover that story at the morgue"
Shoe "My car is in the shop"
Editor "Take that old Jeep out back, like you did last time"
Shoe "How come every time I have to go to the morgue I get the Willys?"

That's right, it's what W brings,
John Willys praises, the US sings;
from plain old cars to the almighty Jeep,
we owe him more than a peep.
 
It's an old brand, back to nineteen-oh-six,
some folks still drive them, just for kicks;
the '41's were a hot-rodders dream,
put in an Olds engine, and let 'er scream!


1935 Model 77 Willys



1949 Willys Jeepster



1954 Willys Aero



Here's a '41 that's done over



We are...

...arriving at the letter V,
not much longer until we see Z;
Willard Velie a grandson of John Deere,
was in Moline, Illinois, built the cars right here.

There also were trucks, race cars and planes,
radial engines and sixes, he went to great pains;
but even back then techology changed,
he couldn't keep up, with the way things were arranged.


c.1903 Truck and race car



1910 Touring Velie

1920 Model 34 Touring Velie

It takes...

...a little looking, for the letter U,
not many autos out there for you;
but there were a couple, photos sure are scarce,
but we I found would save a lot on gas.

Single cylinder engines, not built for speed,
Union City, Indiana, must have had a need..
..they only built three hundred of these motor cars,
but, for the letter U, they're our daily stars.

1902 Union



Ad for the 1902




Ad for the 1903 - the last year for Union



Now we arrive...

...after A to S, at the letter T,
and we offer the Terraplane, just you wait and see;
there cars were beauties, no such thing as plain,
before they were a Hudson, just plain Terraplane.

Nothing real fancy, kind of middle class,
built to last but had good speed, very hard to pass,
I'd like to take one for a ride, but that is not to be,
simply put, well you see, none belong to me.


1934 Terraplane roadster




1935 Hudson-Terraplane pickup



1935 Terraplane sedan



1938 Terraplane Coupe



If I had...

...a Studebaker, I take it for a ride,
all the way to the sea, just to watch the tide;
or maybe to the mountains, a breath of fresh air,
and I'd take you along, after all fair is fair.

They started making wheelbarrows, then wagons...
...the brothers five, then they say "fire breathing dragons..
...of the internal combustion type. 
They turned to making autos, and advertising hype.

The Studebaker, very well could be my favorite car,
I had one once and liked it, it was, for me, a real star;
but change is change and it was gone, and left me with a Ford,
oh how I wish my Studeie back, please, please Lord.

1932 Studebaker President Convertible Coupe



1948 M52 A16 truck



1950 Studebaker Champion Cabriolet