Did you realize these unkempt tramps were to blame for the ruin of the running board? Neither did I. Not until today. But this 1941 Chevrolet ad has opened mine eyes to the truth.
Just look at those adjectives: swank and streamlined. Running boards were preventing those adjectives from existing. And look how happy she is! A woman who wears an entire colony of minks on her frame is a woman I can trust. Maybe it’s badgers, wolverines–I don’t care, as long as they keep her warm.
And did you know there was a real fear of package-carrying tweens in knee breeches and dress shoes attacking your windows if your car had running boards? It was practically an invitation.
Here I was thinking auto makers had simply stopped caring about style, but all along, I was wrong. I had never stopped to consider the peril involved in taking TWO STEPS.
This is what they mean when they talk about light-bulb moments, friends. Running boards were downright dangerous.
It’s December, folks. Some of you Northerners can relate to Trenchcoat Trent and the loss of his dapper derby. Should that really happen in a civilized country? God bless Chevrolet for hitting CTRL+ALT-DEL on the cursed running board.
I Don't Get It 
I miss the running boards… they were so handy to stand on when you were shooting your tommy gun at the police car chasing you.
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Right? What’s a tommy gun for if you can’t do that in style?
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That’s what I’m saying!
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Just imagine trying it in a Prius. I think there’s a vortex around it that prevents bullets from projecting because that might make a big carbon footprint.
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Well good luck outrunning the cops in one of those… and my mom has one… she pronounces it all Pry-oose, because she sang in a church choir for years, and she wants it to sound like Latin.
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hee-larry-us. That’s awesome, Kerbey. Leave it to you to pull this all together. As you’ve grandly and eloquently (and yes, just a week bit snarkily) pointed out, WHO KNEW? Concealed safety steps in quotes? Wouldn’t want to have out-in-plain-view safety steps because then folks would laugh at our need for caution. Crazy talk, all of it.
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oh oh oh–just saw it: Your blog title is the name of what could be an awesome bluegrass or even jug band. Yes!
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MUCH better than the popular Old Crow Medicine Show!
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I shall now retire having achieved eloquence. I like how you used a name inside your adjective. Who needs caution if you’re wearing six feet of dead ferret? Talk about heavy…
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wee bit, wee bit, not week bit or even weak bit. Wee bit.
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Reblogged this on Trickshots for Amateurs and commented:
I never knew there was a name for that bit of olde cars, but now I do, I resent taht Children, Hobo’s and snow ruined them.
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As usual Kerby you knocked that whiffle ball way over the sofa. I had no idea running boards were so dangerous. However on the “unintended consequences ” side, what of the poor carhops. I recall that in 1942 alone 6 carhops at the Varsity in Atlanta feel,smashing their faces into car doors, because the running board was gone. In their haste to serve one of the country’s best hot dogs to the customers they did not notice the change. Alas poor car hops. Regardless, you found,as usual some great pics. Thanks.
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Thank YOU! Those poor carhops! Old habits die hard, no? I wonder how that changed the insurance rates.
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I don’t know about that but dentists had a Varsity discount for extractions and caps.
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While I agree about all the inherent dangers, Kerbey, I surely wonder how then they earned the name of the running board in the first place and not something tamer like the jogging board or perching board.
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Did jogging exist? I thought Forrest Gump invented that to grow a beard. It could be a chilling board for just chilling.
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The ads sort of reminded of something we used to do when it snowed on Long Island when we were kids. We called it Skitching. The point was to sneak up on icy roads crouched down low to cars or trucks, grab onto the bumper without the driver seeing you, and get pulled along keeping your balance on your boots. Crazy, huh? If the cops saw you, you’d get yelled at. If your parents saw you, you’d get swatted.
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Good Lord, how are you not dead? Sounds like surfing on ice. I have a visual of Michael J Fox doing that in Back to the Future because 1) I am incredibly young and 2) I have no frame of reference for snow. What if they threw it into reverse?
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You made sure they were going forward, stopped at a stop sign or a traffic light. Yeah, I can see how it would remind you of Michael J. Fox. And yes, it was incredibly dangerous and young-kid dumb.
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Haha, this is too funny! >_<
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Thank you!
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Oh thank heaven GM is looking out for the consumer.
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Problems of 1%ers in the 1940s. I think running boards should make a comeback along with curb feelers, parking lights and hi-beam switches on the floorboards. Oh yeah, I still like a three on a tree.
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I just heard yesterday on History Channel that 30,000 people died in car wrecks due to the crappy quality of the roads. Curb feelers? My husband just had to explain that to me.
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Those were some well-dressed, stylish hobos!
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Yes. I think they could find work easily.
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