Long ago on independence square (requirement, panel, firewall)

[Mad Anthonie]

Originally Posted by SilverDoc

Okay, here's another easy one for a lazy Sun. evening:

I know, I know!!! But I'll wait until Monday to answer.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by SilverDoc

Okay, here's another easy one for a lazy Sun. evening:

That was an entrance to Allis Chalmers Gleaner Combines manufacturing on South Cottage Street.

In 2013, Gleaner combines are in their 90th year of manufacture but, sadly, not in Independence. Since 2000 they have been manufactured in Hesston, Kansas, by a company that purchased the company from Allis Chalmers.

[SilverDoc]

Originally Posted by WCHS'59

That was an entrance to Allis Chalmers Gleaner Combines manufacturing on South Cottage Street.

In 2013, Gleaner combines are in their 90th year of manufacture but, sadly, not in Independence. Since 2000 they have been manufactured in Hesston, Kansas, by a company that purchased the company from Allis Chalmers.

Correct! Too easy? Want another one?

[z0650]

He's leaning on a full size Matador, I would guess around a 1974 since it has the "safety bumpers" that were mandated in 1973. Is that Bill Rodekoph (sp)?

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by SilverDoc

Correct! Too easy? Want another one?

Keep em coming.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by z0650

He's leaning on a full size Matador, I would guess around a 1974 since it has the "safety bumpers" that were mandated in 1973. Is that Bill Rodekoph (sp)?

I dont have a clue where they got the Matador name or the Gremlin name. When I went off active duty in 1973 I test drove a new Gremlin from the local dealership. The salesman went with me. The car died about two blocks after driving off the lot. We walked back and while he sent a crew down to revive it, I got in my car and left declining to try another. That may have been the only time I never got a followup telephone car from a new car salesman wanting to know what I had decided.

[WCHS'59]

Originally Posted by SilverDoc

Correct! Too easy? Want another one?

Doc, when I first saw that Allis Chalmers building photo, I thought that I had never seen an architectural style building like that in Independence. Then the more I looked at it, I thought the gate area was a factory workers entrance. For a second time, I looked around the Gleaner complex and found it. I have driven by there a couple times in the past year and I guess I just did not pay attention.

A few months ago someone in the Chamber of Commerce indicated they would like to take over that former combine production area for the annual Santa-Cali-Gon festival.

Dont recall whether money was an issue or not. Have not heard much about that proposal since.

[MRG Dallas]

Originally Posted by z0650

He's leaning on a full size Matador, I would guess around a 1974 since it has the "safety bumpers" that were mandated in 1973. Is that Bill Rodekoph (sp)?

I'd guess 73 or 74 just based on that "high fashion" look

[SilverDoc]

Originally Posted by z0650

He's leaning on a full size Matador, I would guess around a 1974 since it has the "safety bumpers" that were mandated in 1973. Is that Bill Rodekoph (sp)?

Yep! That be him!

[SilverDoc]

Originally Posted by MRG Dallas

I'd guess 73 or 74 just based on that "high fashion" look

"The Matador (1971-1978) replaced the AMC Rebel, which had been marketed since 1967. With a facelift and a new name, the AMC Matadors were available as a two-door hardtop as well as a four-door sedan and station wagon. The sedan and wagon models "offered excellent value and were fairly popular", including as a prowl car. The Matador received a redesign in 1974, in part to meet new safety and crash requirements as well as a completely different model "to contend with the bull market for plush mid-size coupes that sprang up after the end of the muscle car era." The Matador was based on AMC's "senior" automobile platform shared with the full-size Ambassador line.
American Motors advertising assured that the Matador was not just a name change and facelift, but in reality, it was the 1970 Rebel restyled with a longer front clip and a new interior. The 1971 Matadors acquired a "beefier" front end look for all three body designs. From the firewall back, the Matador shared its body with the Ambassador, which had a longer wheelbase and front end sheetmetal, a formal grille and luxurious trim, as well as more standard equipment that included air conditioning.

While "Matador" may have been a move away from connotations of the Confederacy inspired by the rise of the Civil Rights Movement, it did not help solve the obscurity problem, as AMC adopted a "What's a Matador" advertising campaign. This self-disparaging marketing campaign "turned the styling of anonymity into an asset." Consumer-research polls conducted by AMC found it meant virility and excitement to consumers. However, American Motors ran into problems in Puerto Rico. Matador turns out to have connotations for "killer" on the island where bull-fighting was abolished when the U.S. took control of Puerto Rico."