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In between
making the 1936 and 1941 "Parade of Progress" vehicles, GMC
workers designed and built this streamlined "Previews of
Progress" vehicle. It was billed as a 28-foot, ultra-streamlined
truck. The vehicle transported the displays and an operating staff of
six people. It was built on a GMC chassis and used a Buick engine.
Below is an account from Vic Garske.
"The Previews of Progress was the stage show of
the Parade of Progress, which was held inside the Aero-Dome tent. The
show was designed to last 45 minutes with two "Paraders"
making the presentations. It was also a stand-alone show, taken to
schools, colleges, auditoriums, as well as to foreign countries. The
stand-alone show was often referred to as the "little
caravan" consisting of various devices for demonstration of
scientific phenomena, developed by the General Motors Research
Laboratories. At one point an "ultra-Streamlined" truck
(below) was created to transport the displays. This truck was built on
a GMC chassis, with a Buick engine."
March
1938 News Release
On March 2, the
Public Relations Department of the Corporation will bring General
Motors' "Previews of Progress" to Carnegie Hall for a
private showing to New York area employees and their families.
C.F. Kettering,
Vice-president of General Motors Corporation in charge of Research,
will open the show and introduce E. L. Foss, its Science Commentator
and Director. This rolling show, popularly referred to within the
organization as the "little caravan," consists of various
devices for the demonstration of scientific phenomena, developed by
the General Motor Research Laboratories. Its general theme, built upon
Mr. Kettering's thesis that the world is not finished, is to dramatize
the contributions made to science, to industry and to the average man
by the research laboratories of the world where scientific experiments
breed the germs of industrial progress.
As far as
scientific devices and demonstrations are concerned, the "little
caravan" is a decided mis-nomer, for Previews of Progress
actually carries a bigger show than does the master caravan, the
Parade of Progress, which dwarfs the Previews in physical proportion.
Among the
amazing scientific demonstrations to be seen on the state of Carnegie
Hall will be: that of frying an egg on newspaper without heat; of
sending a million volts of electricity crackling across the stage by
means of a giant Tesla coil; the transmission of music by means of a
light beams; and many others.
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