Blast From The Past: Government-Funded Jalopy Bonfire

Editor

Check out the city of Chicago rounding up all the supposedly unsafe jalopies for a mass slaughter! While this particular “Jalopy Parade and Bonfire” took place in September 1948, similar events were common across the country back in the day, often heavily sponsored by new-car dealers (wait a second–sound familiar?). I’m glad this doesn’t happen anymore–the whole village-square-witch-burning vibe is creepy, what with wrapping the cars in banners proclaiming their sins and so forth. Still, there’ve been numerous instances when I was working in the garage and wanted to smack some cheapskate customer who insisted on driving away in a patently unsafe vehicle instead of doing the necessary repairs, so I can kind of relate to the impulse. But turning their ride into a marshmallow roast hardly seems an appropriate response. Check out more pics at Jalopy Journal.