Page 16 - AAA Magazine – AAA Ohio Auto Club – September 2018

The Cars of
The Route 66 Car Museum in
Springfield, MO, celebrates
the ‘Mother Road.’
By Guy R. Mace
The “Mother
Road,” a.k.a. Route
66, was established in 1926, just as
the automobile was becoming commonplace in America. It runs 2,500 miles from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. This asphalt and concrete ribbon challenged the cars and trucks of the day on extended road trips.
Travel on Route 66 over the years gradually changed as automobile designs improved and the reasons for travel changed. John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” and the 1939 movie by the same name immortalized this trek of the Dust Bowl victims in the early 1930s. The 1926 Hudson Truck used in the movie is on display at
after World War II with the prosperous 1950s and interest in
leisure travel by car to explore the countryside. Today’s travelers are doing the same. They are
following their dream of experiencing all the sites along the Mother Road. The cars that traveled the Mother Road began in earnest in the late 1940s. At the same time, filling stations dispensing regular and “ethyl” gas and offering all maintenance services began popping up along the road, as did motels of unique design, restaurants and attractions to pull in customers.
Of the 75 cars in the Route 66 Car Museum, it is the vintage and classics that would have traveled Route 66. Fully half of the cars displayed in the museum are typical of those that traveled the highway. Of course,
we remember the “Route 66” television show from 1960 to 1964 that had three stars: Martin Milner,
the Route 66 Car Museum.
The most popular car of the late 1920s and
early ’30s, the Model A, was roomy, yet a rough ride for passengers. Because so many were produced (4.9 million) and so dependable, they were used through the 1940s and still are today, by Model
A aficionados. We have hosted several Model A and earlier Model T clubs at the Route 66 Car Museum that were traveling Route 66.
The golden age of Route 66 began
Typical
1940s and’50s sedans exhibited in the museum are the 1948 Chrysler Town & Country “Woodie,” complete with period luggage on the roof rack.
George Maharis and the principle star, that 1960 Chevrolet Corvette. However, the
popular cars on Route 66 were not the two seat sports cars, but the six
passenger “family “ cars. They were typically larger, more comfortable and
better suited for the extended trip of hundreds of miles.
The 1936 Buick Century in the museum embodies the typical 1930-
1940 sedan. Very roomy with a smooth
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