SWEDEN. The summer of 1947 was the hottest in a long time. The dust was settling from the end of the War and the atmosphere was on the rise. The gas ration that was abolished 1945 had created an unreal transition from producer gas to aviation gas. Leftovers from the war. Maybe the minds of the people went through the same metamorphosis. by Lars-Åke Krantz. Translation Ellen Kay Krantz.
After the War – avgas at the gas station.
Users of the producer gas unscrewed the units and polished their boiler for the last time. At this time you could make a refill at the gas station and what quality then! The allied had distributed necessities to the battlefields during many years. When the War ended Europe was suddenly left with excess avgas and Sweden was able to import it for pocket money. In every town they went from producer gas to 130-octane over night. The magazine industry was blooming.
Harley Earl had the blue prints completely laid out in his head that today, 50 years later still overwhelm. He started at GM 1927. When he retired as Head of Design in 1958 he had given wings, fins and chrome to an entire world.
In Sweden
Football became a big hit for the every-day man and it was just this summer that the War Jeeps entered the country side and Epa-tractors were rebuilt on every other farm. Bikes were ridden, music was played and they danced like never before. 1947 was a hot summer that put emotions in motion and air bearings in a roll. The 5th of July 1947 Vastbo in the state of Jonkoping got caught by a tornado that diminished 25 miles of forest. In that very same day another tornado blew out 988 acres of trees in Varmland. Refugees were welcomed on Swedish soil. This summer Ester amongst many others arrived to Skelleftea after sailing over Bottenviken just this summer.
Ford of peace
American Ford had again and again showed proof of their sensitive and respectful marketing strategies when they right before the end of the War delivered the slogan:”Come peace, comes Ford” When the first American cars started selling after the War Ford’s finished product out on the streets with positivity and prosperity attached to it. The Ford of 1946 was commonly known as the Ford of peace, by the way.
Today
A war tank drowned out other noises in the area, sure it had a silencer and was demilitarized, but still. 346 ventilated cubic inches divided on eight cylinders motioned a body so overwhelming and so slick that the only way of coping with the experience was to blink repeatedly and pinch the arm to believe what was seen. From the beautifully rounded, low rear the roof lines swiped forward along the roof line and parted the front windshield was a magnificent hood relieved to explode in a firework of chrome in its powerful, respect induced front.
– A study of beauty, refinement and strength, bound together in perfect harmony.
A Cadillac series 62 Club Coupé Sedanette 1947 from a Museum in USA through a Barret Jackson auction in the same country all the way to a milk table in Norrland. The motor stops, a click from the door and out steps Gunnar Forsstrom from Bispgarden, in jeans and t-shirt who weekly commutes in the car 58 miles to Nasaker the entire summer.
A design that simply takes your breath away. The enormously powerful front reaches your chest without taking away the otherwise slim shape. It’s simply magic and a serial produced artwork.
Sweden isn’t amazing but the Swedish people are. If you ask him, he doesn’t think it’s something to mention.
– Cross-ply, vacuum wipers and 6V worked fine then and works fine now, he says with simplicity.
– It’s an ok car but simply awful when it comes to putting it in reverse.
”Ok” I give the word a taste while crawling through the ditch in search for the perfect angle. Like this absolutely perfect creation that represents the American dream still after 50 years is in really good condition and every mans possibility of being Clark Gable for a second is described as …”ok”!
The hood ornament, that’s more of an accessory, actually had a purpose on the 1947 Cadillac. A bonnet latch. Note the height. The car will penetrate any pedestrian in solar plexus literary as well as figuratively.
Only eleven inches separates the Swedish milk table and the American car jewel on this very fragile summer day. The huge leap between time and culture gathered in one small area forces me to sit down in the front seat to take it all in.
– You wanna go for a ride, Gunnar says.
It’s like the car is on mute. Everything is so quiet. It feels like sitting in a room. And the entire room sails away. Behind me is another room. The dining room. No one is sitting in the dining room at the moment. Gunnar is placed by the window in our room. He has a wheel that he turns a bit from time to time. I’m at the other end of the room. The room turns. At the other side of the window we see green pastures and small cars. It hits me that I’ve got my shoes on inside. Wondering how Gunnar feels about that?
”No one was in the dining room” but it felt like Churchill just left.
He’s got no opinion. He tells me:
– The car was for sale the summer of 2005, in Trollhattan.
– I wanted the car but had just bought an apartment so it was no idea to even crunch any numbers, Gunnar says.
Gunnar Forsstrom from Bispgarden has put the car in everyday use during sunny weeks in summer. The Caddy roams freely instead of drying up in some museum.
A year after that, in September 2006 it crossed his path once again. This time it was for sale in Smaland. The price tag was the same as the year before and this time he just had to have it. Gunnar bought it and drove the 500 miles in pouring rain. It rained so heavily that he had to stop but that was not an option for Gunnar. The only thing he could do was to keep taking aim between crash barriers through darkness and sky fall.
Off-white steering and wood grained dashboard gives an exclusive touch to the car ride. Hottest part during this period of time was the car radio which was allowed to dominate “the room”.
Since then an awful lot of people has shown an interest in buying the car. During the War, the motor was used to pull tanks. One for each belt.
– I wonder if they had a vehicle following each tank with their own gas supply, Gunnar says.
The body is ”the big one” Series 62. Series 61 had a three inch shorter wheelbase and five inch shorter body and this is by the way the last Cadillac with no fins. The first details on the chrome of the tail lights were first introduced in 1948 and would soon be the world’s highest.
Where am I? Gunnar Forsstrom’s car is enticing on so many levels.
Not a lighting detail from the Waldorf Astoria in New York but inside the Cadillac. A weird feeling to lock eyes on that whilst having one foot on the Swedish milk table.
Options on the car were sombrero hubcaps as well as rounded blinkers. Oddly enough squared blinkers were standard. Another optional part was a coned, chromed reverse light, Gunnar says. Standard of the world – They also offered three different kinds of heaters in 1947.
– Gunnar rides in a warm and cozy home.
in a word ……’stunning!’