{"id":2678,"date":"2006-03-08T03:07:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-08T08:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2006\/03\/excess-baggage\/"},"modified":"2010-12-30T12:02:04","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T17:02:04","slug":"excess-baggage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2006\/03\/excess-baggage\/","title":{"rendered":"Excess Baggage"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Willys-Overland eagerly touted the luggage capacity of the new Aero models<\/a> in 1952: “24 cubic feet of space – ample for a large family.” They even bragged about the primitive exterior hinges: “outside where they can’t bite into luggage.” That’s quite remarkable for what was a comparatively small car; the Packard Patrician<\/a> rated but 30 cubic feet.<\/p>\n

We take luggage capacity pretty much for granted, forgetting that early cars had none at all. Any passenger suitcases had to go on the roof<\/a> or behind racks<\/a> on the running board. The first “indoor” luggage space was the trunk, just that, a steamer trunk fastened to the rear of the car<\/a>. By the early 1930s, automakers started to provide inside storage with an outside door<\/a>; by mid-decade the “touring trunk” became popular, though the first ones, like this 1935 Hudson<\/a>, were top loading.<\/p>\n

Our Ford Falcon wagon<\/a> was a vast cavern<\/a>, more than adequate<\/a> for our “large family” of five. Just as adequate, it turned out, was its successor, a 1970 Chevy Impala<\/a>, another 30-cubic-footer (by GM’s calculation – Automotive Industries<\/i> counted its “usable luggage space” barely half that). The Chevy Suburban<\/a> that replaced it, first in a long succession of Foster ‘Burbs, made capacity almost irrelevant.<\/p>\n

If luggage-measuring systems are comparable, today’s cars are puny by Packard or Impala standards. The Lincoln Town Car<\/a> counts only 21 cubic feet of space, though it’s not the largest American sedan trunk. Perhaps surprisingly, that distinction goes to the Ford Five Hundred<\/a>\/Mercury Montego<\/a> twins with 21.2. Not enough space? You can still put things on the roof<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Need a trunk<\/a> for your old car? You can find one at Hershey<\/a>. At Beaulieu Autojumble<\/a> you can also find vendors of
\nvintage luggage<\/a> to put on your vintage roof.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Willys-Overland eagerly touted the luggage capacity of the new Aero models in 1952: “24 cubic feet of space – ample for a large family.” They even bragged about the primitive exterior hinges: “outside where they can’t bite into luggage.” That’s quite remarkable for what was a comparatively small car; the Packard Patrician rated but 30….<\/span>
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