Texaco Doodlebug

Last updated

The Texaco Doodlebug (also called the Diamond T Doodlebug) was a futuristic American tanker truck of the 1930s.

The vehicles were streamlined and highly aerodynamic. [1] The overall shape, a flattened half-cylinder rounded at the front and tapered at the end, has been described as a "pill" [1] or "breadloaf". [2] The passenger cabin was blended into the body, and there were no fenders, hood, cowl, or running boards. [2] The windshield was compound curved glass, quite advanced for the time. [1] It stood only 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, very short for a tanker truck then or since. [1]

The bodies were made by Heil Trailer [3] in Fort Payne, Alabama (museum there with references and photos from the build shop that produced them) and the chassis by Diamond T. The first model was publicly displayed in January 1933. [4] The Texaco Doodlebug probably [4] featured a rear-mounted Hercules L-head [2] six-cylinder engine. [1] The clutch and gearbox were actuated by air pressure. [2] A microphone in the engine compartment connected to a speaker in the driver's position allowed the driver to hear the engine, so he would know when to shift. [1] [2] [4]

The Doodlebugs were part of an overall project by Texaco, contracted to industrial designers Norman Bel Geddes and Walter Dorwin Teague, to modernize their brand look. This project produced the Texaco star-T logo still used today and other updates, including the Doodlebug, which was designed by Bel Geddes [1] [2] and his design team. [3] However, not many Doodlebugs were produced (some sources say six, [5] [4] but the actual number may be lost to history). [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Futurama (New York World's Fair)</span> 1939 General Motors exhibit illustrating the companys vision of 1960

Futurama was an exhibit and ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair designed by Norman Bel Geddes, which presented a possible model of the world 20 years into the future (1959–1960). The installation was sponsored by the General Motors Corporation and was characterized by automated highways and vast suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">REO Motor Car Company</span> American automotive company

The REO Motor Car Company was a company based in Lansing, Michigan, which produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point, the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatra 600</span> Motor vehicle

The Tatra 600, named the Tatraplan, was a rear-engined large family car produced from 1948 to 1952 by the Czech manufacturer Tatra. The first prototype was finished in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truck</span> Commercial or utilitarian motor vehicle

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction, with a cabin that is independent of the payload portion of the vehicle. Smaller varieties may be mechanically similar to some automobiles. Commercial trucks can be very large and powerful and may be configured to be mounted with specialized equipment, such as in the case of refuse trucks, fire trucks, concrete mixers, and suction excavators. In American English, a commercial vehicle without a trailer or other articulation is formally a "straight truck" while one designed specifically to pull a trailer is not a truck but a "tractor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">REO Speed Wagon</span> A light motor truck model manufactured by the REO Motor Car Company, 1915-1950s

The REO Speed Wagon was a light motor truck model manufactured by REO Motor Car Company. It is an ancestor of the pickup truck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1932 Ford</span> Motor vehicle

The term 1932 Ford may refer to three models of automobile produced by Ford Motors between 1932 and 1934: the Model B, the Model 18, and the Model 40. These succeeded the Model A. The Model B had an updated four-cylinder engine and was available from 1932 to 1934. The V8 was available in the Model 18 in 1932, and in the Model 40 in 1933 & 1934. The 18 was the first Ford fitted with the flathead V-8. The company also replaced the Model AA truck with the Model BB, available with either the four- or eight-cylinder engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Bel Geddes</span> American theatrical and industrial designer

Norman Bel Geddes was an American theatrical and industrial designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unic</span> French manufacturer

Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purchased in 1952 by Henri Pigozzi, who was keen to develop Unic as a commercial vehicle arm of the then flourishing Simca business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DMC DeLorean</span> 1980s automobile

The DMC DeLorean is a rear-engine two-passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) for the American market from 1981 until 1983—ultimately the only car brought to market by the fledgling company. The DeLorean is sometimes referred to by its internal DMC pre-production designation, DMC-12. However, the DMC-12 name was never used in sales or marketing materials for the production model.

Goliath-Werke Borgward & Co. was a German car manufacturer started by Carl F. W. Borgward and Wilhelm Tecklenborg in 1928, and was part of the Borgward group. Goliath was based in Bremen and specialized in three-wheeler cars and trucks and medium-sized cars. Their vehicles were sold under the Goliath brand.

The Pennsylvania Railroad class Q1, #6130, was a single experimental steam locomotive designed for dual service. The locomotive entered service in 1942, and retired in 1949 after accumulating a relatively low 165,000 service miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamond T</span> Defunct American motor vehicle manufacturer

The Diamond T Company was an American automobile and truck manufacturer. They produced commercial and military trucks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyota AA</span> Motor vehicle

The A1 was the first prototype passenger car built by the company that became Toyota. It was redesigned and put into production as Toyota's first production cars, the AA sedan and the AB cabriolet. These were succeeded by the similar AE, AC and BA sedans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Louis Car Company “Doodlebug”</span> Streamlined diesel-electric railcars

The St. Louis Car Company "Doodlebug" was a model of lightweight, streamlined Diesel-electric railcars built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1936 for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Electromotive Corporation supplied the 600 hp (450 kW), eight-cylinder Winton Diesel 201-A he prime mover and electric transmission components. The units had a B-2 wheel arrangement, mounted atop a pair of road trucks. The aft section was divided into two separate compartments: one was used to transport baggage and the other served as a small railway post office, or RPO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Metro Van</span> Motor vehicle

The International Metro Van, made by International Harvester, is a step van, also known as walk-in or multi-stop delivery truck. This vehicle type was one of the earlier, mass-produced forward control vehicles, once commonly used for milk or bakery delivery, as well as ambulance services, mobile offices, and radio transmitter vans. Typically, they were 1/2-, 3/4-, or 1-ton panel trucks that allowed the driver to stand or sit while driving the vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scania-Vabis 335</span> Motor vehicle

The Scania-Vabis 335/345/355 was a series of heavy duty trucks produced by Swedish automaker Scania-Vabis between 1931 and 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodge Airflow truck</span>

The Dodge Airflow truck was a special request model truck that Dodge introduced in late 1934 and available through 1940. It used styling cues from Chrysler Airflow cars and the Divco 1937 Model-B delivery vans. Most of the 265 units produced were fitted with streamlined tank truck bodies, and were used by major oil companies, like Texaco, Socony-Vacuum Oil Company and Esso.

Airliner Number 4 was a design by Norman Bel Geddes and Otto A. Koller for a 9-deck amphibious passenger aircraft intended to replace the large transatlantic liners that traveled between Europe and North America before the Second World War. It was never built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streamlined Ocean Liner</span>

The Streamlined Ocean Liner was a design by Norman Bel Geddes for a streamlined steam-powered ocean liner. The shape was compared by Pathé to that of a porpoise, blunt at the front and tapered at the rear. It first appeared in Geddes' 1932 book Horizons and an outline patent was filed in 1933 with a detailed patent following in 1934. An offer was made for the rights to the design in the late 1930s, which Geddes refused, as he still hoped to sell it to an American shipbuilder, but the ship was never built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morris CS8</span> 15-cwt truck

The Morris Commercial CS8, also known as the "Morris 15 cwt" was a British light military truck of the Second World War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Texaco Doodlebug Tanker Truck". Diseno-art.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lamm, Michael (August 25, 2015). "Texaco's Futuristic Streamlined Doodlebug Tank Trucks". The Old Motor. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Banovsky, Michael (February 13, 2015). "February 13, 2015". Weird Cars. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lamm, Michael (September–October 1995). "Bel Geddes's Truck of the Future". Special Interest Autos. p. 38. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. Strohl, Daniel (June 16, 2013). "SIA Flashback – The 1933 Texaco Doodlebug: Bel Geddes's Truck of the Future". Hemmings Daily. Retrieved March 9, 2016.