Chances are your first hot rod wasn't a Deuce. Or a '55 Chevy. Or even a hand-me-down Nash, for that matter. If you were born between about 1940 and 1965, your first hot rod would've been considerably smaller and probably made by a company known better for its bicycles or bowling balls. If that's the case, your first hot rod was a pedal car, and, whether you knew it or not, you took part in a pretty neat chapter in America's automotive history.
Not only is the pedal car back, it's back in a big way. Over the past generation or so, grown-up Boomers have dusted off their old tot rods for their kids or grandkids to enjoy. A few renegades went so far as to dust the little cars in candies and pearls. Naturally, a reproduction market developed, but you probably didn't notice until 10 of the chrome-plated jellybeans popped up at the 2007 Grand National Roadster Show as part of the celebration commemorating the 1932 Ford's 75th anniversary. While the decision to include them in the celebration was by no accident-they're Deuces after all-the chain of events that led them there was nothing if not coincidental.
A Meeting Of Minds
A little more than two years ago, Ford designer Larry Erickson, Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum curator Greg Sharp, and Ford PR whiz John Clinard met to discuss how Ford should approach the Deuce's Diamond Jubilee. To make a long story somewhat short, they appointed a 25-person selection panel to pick 75 of the most significant 1932 Fords, a group of cars that would initiate a series of yearlong events commemorating the car's birthday. By day's end, Larry even sketched and submitted an anniversary logo proposal to Ford's licensing department.
Little did they know, or you know, or anybody else know for that matter, a toy company about half a state away also submitted a licensing application to Ford. Only theirs was for a pedal car shaped like, of all things, a Deuce roadster. These two significant and similarly themed projects would've passed like proverbial ships in the night had one thing not happened though: The toy company happened to see Larry's logo.
To understand what the phone call from Ford's licensing department regarding this toy company's inquiry meant to this group, let us give you Larry Erickson's condensed background. He's an automotive designer with a long Detroit/Dearborn history. Among other things, he's the guy responsible for making the 2005 Mustang look like, well, a Mustang. Knowing that, you can infer that he's passionate about history-which he is. He's also an avid hot rod enthusiast. In fact, he has a space-frame, Potvin-blown roadster built around a '32 Chevy-style Experimetal steel body. Knowing that, you can infer that he's also creative-which he is as well.
Upon receipt of this news, Larry lit up: What if the group gave 10 of the country's top hot rod names each a pedal car and the instruction to build it in their personal flair and display the car as part of the Deuce's birthday? Better yet, why not tie the program to another automotive cultural phenomenon, collector-car auctions, and distribute the proceeds of their sale to a children's charity? After all, if pedal cars were meant for kids, wouldn't it be nice if these particular cars could benefit them?
For good measure, the committee nominated about 14 builders and one designer; however, when pitched with such a Frank Capra feel-good program, the first 10 they contacted-including the designer-jumped aboard. Warehouse 36, the toy company that initiated the dialogue that inspired this program, graciously delivered the cars.
The program's rules were simple: The cars should remain at pedal-car scale, they should resemble a 1932 Ford, and they should also bear the 75th anniversary logo. Per those same instructions, the builders relinquished the finished cars so they can appear at several venues; at the end of the season, the cars will go to Monterey, California, where RM Auctions will-pardon our pun-peddle the cars as part of the Monterey Sports and Classic Car Auction during the annual Pebble Beach Weekend. At least half of the proceeds garnered from the August 17 and 18 auctions (which will also be open to both phone and Internet bidding) will go to Edsel B. Ford II's pet charity, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; the other half will go to each builder's specified charity.
Jalopies Or Jewelry?
True to their word, each one of these shops finished its scaled-down car in the likeness of its fullsize brethren. The cars are so faithful that one could easily identify each builder by his respective car. In fact, depending on your perspective, these guys did too good of a job building these cars in their own particular style.
For example, while it was pretty much understood that the builders would modify or outright replace certain stock components, a few builders followed street-rod protocol and used aftermarket fiberglass bodies (we weren't kidding when we said this pedal-car thing was big). Two builders, each with a reputation for scratch-building shells for their fullsize projects, actually handformed their entries' bodies. In the respect that they reflect their builders' passion and interests, these cars are truly hot rods, even if small scale. Regardless of your persuasion, they're amazing.