[Closed] A lot of pictures here enough to make an old man cry,

A lot of pictures here enough to make an old man cry,

Look away now if you're squeamish about wrecking yards and cars 'dying'. Taken from LIFE Magazine.

July 23, 1953, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

The Detroit Jalopy Parade was an action to raise awareness of road safety - but with strong advertising purpose and encouraging the American economy after the end of World War II in which Chevrolet dealerships towed dozens of vehicles reportedly involved in serious accidents with fatal victims, and led them to the great audience of the automobile city, seeking to cause commotion and impact.

Each ′′ bumpy ′′ vehicle reported the gender and age of the victim and the scene where the sinister occurred, attaching the cause exclusively to the conditions of the vehicle involved, which paraded jokingly through the main streets of the city. At the end of the action, the vehicles were stacked in a large pyramid burned in the sequence, with full coverage of the famous Time magazine.

Despite the strong neglect of most Americans at the time towards maintaining their vehicles (an action that was simple on that technological level, was quite expensive), a situation that really motivated numerous accidents involving drivers, passengers and pedestrians, there were even greater concern.

The technology difference between vehicles running on the roads was blatant. Recent models - metal monsters with almost 2 tons powered by strong fortes engines and speeds up to 160 kmh, circulated along the simple models of the early car, similar to the open wagons with just over 500 kg , engines of few HPs that allowed maximum speeds of only 50 kmh and with virtually zero safety - and that when involved in accidents, serious injuries, tetra or paraplegia and even death were already predictable results.

Despite the noble image associated with the campaign, it was later found that many vehicles demonstrated at the event were just scrap or models with mechanical problems that were conveniently damaged for use in the piece.

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