Car Companies that built refrigerators and other appliances.

[Twisted Shifter]

Automakers like GM, Ford, AMC, and Chrysler used to make all kinds of home appliances. Here’s why they don’t anymore.   An interesting historical article.

 

https://www.thedrive.com/news/cold-start-the-rise-and-fall-of-car-companies-building-refrigerators

[real77]

Ford improves your grilling experience.

[real77]

Can't even skip Peugeot.

[John_S_in_Penna]

It's interesting how the emblem actually declares,

"Kelvinator--Product of American Motors."

Now every well-furnished collector's garage

needs a car-themed antique refrigerator

to go along with the cars!

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[8E45E]

Not much mention made of Philco Ford's TV division.

 

An AC/DC 12" portable Philco TV was actually a Ford automotive part which appeared in their Accessory Catalog for a number of years.

 

Craig

 

 

[Larry Schramm]

When we got married we bought a  Frigidaire Washer, Dryer, and Refrigerator on the GM Employee discount as GM made Frigidaire home appliances. I also had a Delco house radio for some time.

[HarryLime]

Shop fall Hershey for your appliances. I wonder if AACA will allow that . Then you get into judging standards .

[John_S_in_Penna]

34 minutes ago, HarryLime said:

Shop fall Hershey for your appliances. I wonder if AACA will allow that. 

Most likely, yes.  You'll see a tremendous variety

of automobile- and highway-themed items in the

flea market.  Even old Coca-Cola vending machines

from the days of Route 66.  I'd be happy to see them there.

[Mark Shaw]

I have a Frigidaire fridge in my man cave at the Buick Barn. 

It still works too.

[Zimm63]

International Harvester made a variety of refrigerators, freezers, milk cooling equipment, etc.  

 

[TerryB]

What about Crosley?  Radios and refrigerators.  The Crosley name is still being licensed today for electronics.

[Frank DuVal]

And Crosley TVs 

 

My garage refrigerator is a 1947 GE, as it was my parent’s first fridge. I did replace the gasket. Now to find a GE car. 🤣

[Pfeil]

Here is a big appliance from GM,

 

How about Honda?,

 

 

Chrysler boats??

 

Ford??

 

Healey???

Healey ski master

 

 

BMW ??

not to mention these

 

Chrysler??

 

Hyundai ????

 

BUICK Hellcat????

 

FORD???

 

 

Subaru???

 

 

TOYOTA houses????

 

 

PHILCO, Mission control Houston, PHILCO electronics,

FORD

 

 

SAAB???

 

 

BUGATTI????

 

 

 

Chrysler ???

M1

 

 

GM mechanical heart???

 

FORD, PORSCHE, John Deer, FIAT, Mitsubishi, VOLVO, Lamborghini, David Brown- Aston-Martin, and more made these.

[Harold]

1 hour ago, TerryB said:

What about Crosley?  Radios and refrigerators.  The Crosley name is still being licensed today for electronics.

Back in early 1970's, I went to college with Powel Crosley's grandson.  He was really surprised I knew who he was and said the only Crosley product they had at home was a radio.

[30DodgePanel]

Westinghouse made buses

Polaris comes to mind but I don't think they made cars (yet) quads/snowmobiles/three wheelers maybe?

Edited October 7, 2022 by 30DodgePanel (see edit history)

[Mark Gregush]

What about Chrysler boats and Ford houses. 

[edinmass]

I have posted photos of my Pierce arrow refrigerator in the past. 

[prewarnut]

I have one of these, didn't buy the 505 years ago (separate branch of the family though).

[Grimy]

19 minutes ago, edinmass said:

I have posted photos of my Pierce arrow refrigerator in the past. 

Just to be p*ssy, an icebox is not a refrigerator, and the icebox was a product of the Geo. N. Pierce Co. long before they made automobiles, and the Pierce-Arrow name was not applied until 1909, long after the iceboxes and bird cages were dropped.

 

I have, and I'm sure Ed has too, a Pierce bird cage.  Mine is displayed with the stuffed birds on the OUTside of the cage.

 

[8E45E]

23 minutes ago, Mark Gregush said:

What about Chrysler boats and Ford houses. 

Or a Sears:  https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/stove-huggers-the-non-studebaker-forum/48107-orphan-of-the-day-12-13-1909-sears-model-k

 

One could also order Sears garage to park it in, and a Sears house and fill it with a Sears organ, icebox, etc.

 

Craig

[John_S_in_Penna]

8 minutes ago, Grimy said:

...an icebox is not a refrigerator...

Actually, iceboxes were referred to as refrigerators.

I appreciate the many old magazines I have:  there is

a lot of history that has been forgotten today.  Old

ads for wood or metal iceboxes call them refrigerators.

 

In the 1920's, they refer to the newest refrigerators as

having "electrical refrigeration."

[Bloo]

15 minutes ago, Grimy said:

I have, and I'm sure Ed has too, a Pierce bird cage.  Mine is displayed with the stuffed birds on the OUTside of the cage.

 

 

 

[Grimy]

1 minute ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Actually, iceboxes were referred to as refrigerators.

I appreciate the many old magazines I have:  there is

a lot of history that has been forgotten today.  Old

ads for wood or metal iceboxes call them refrigerators.

 

In the 1920's, they refer to the newest refrigerators as

having "electrical refrigeration."

I lived with in-home iceboxes in my long-ago youth and never heard my parents or other relatives speak of them as refrigerators but wasn't reading magazines at the time 🙂   @John_S_in_Penna I'd appreciate seeing such ads if/when you have time so I can store this info in my "validated information" category.

[edinmass]

18 minutes ago, Grimy said:

Just to be p*ssy, an icebox is not a refrigerator, and the icebox was a product of the Geo. N. Pierce Co. long before they made automobiles, and the Pierce-Arrow name was not applied until 1909, long after the iceboxes and bird cages were dropped.

 

I have, and I'm sure Ed has too, a Pierce bird cage.  Mine is displayed with the stuffed birds on the OUTside of the cage.

 

 

Since I wasn’t born during the Cretaceous period I can’t see what they called a refrigerator back then. That said, in my house we called it a refrigerator. 😎

[Layden B]

Cadillac handy appliance on the battlefield. I understand that Cadillac was selected for manufacture after measuring all the assembly lines in the US. Cadillac had the largest "hole" down thru the factory, they could build the biggest vehicle of any assembly line.

[Grimy]

1 minute ago, edinmass said:

Since I wasn’t born during the Cretaceous period

Doesn't stop you from sometimes being cretin-like, Ed....  🙂

 

Photo of Pierce birdcage with external birds for you fans...

[John_S_in_Penna]

29 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Actually, iceboxes were referred to as refrigerators.

23 minutes ago, Grimy said:

...I'd appreciate seeing such ads if/when you have time so I can store this info in my "validated information" category.

I try never to post on conjecture or with unsubstantiated

statements.  The ads are easy to find in old magazines,

but instead of scanning them, I found some readily on the 

internet.  In that era, some ice-powered refrigerators were

being converted to electricity;  and I recollect that some models

were made either way, or for easy future conversion.

 

And in the 2nd ad below, they refer to the electrical unit as

"this new type of refrigerator," clearly indicating that the

old method was a refrigerator too.

Edited October 7, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[Grimy]

2 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

I try never to post on conjecture or with unsubstantiated

statements.  The ads are easy to find in old magazines,

but instead of scanning them, I found some readily on the 

internet.  Actually, in my limited experience, I've never seen

the old-style units referred to as iceboxes by their manufacturers:

They're called refrigerators.  And in the 2nd ad below, they

refer to the electrical unit as "this new type of refrigerator."

 

 

John, the Seeger ad (2nd) speaks of "electrical refrigeration" -- does that mean a fan to promote cooling from ice?  The Wilke ad is even more confusing to me:  "...system of cold, dry air circulation..." does that imply a fan?

[John_S_in_Penna]

13 minutes ago, Grimy said:

...does that mean a fan to promote cooling from ice?  

I don't claim to be an expert on refrigerator mechanics.

The non-electrical versions could not have had a fan,

but the air circulated in some way through natural

processes.  There are also references to some non-electrics

as "siphon" refrigerators, whatever that means.

 

People in the old days may not have had all of our

modern technology, but they were smarter than we

may realize.  Just as with our old cars, knowledge of

that old technology should be preserved as much as

the products themselves are preserved.

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[intimeold]

Powel Crosley

By the end of his life, he had invented, developed, manufactured or produced:

• The first compact economy car (1939)
• First auto radio (1930)
• Electric wagon (1900)
• Shelvador refrigerator
• 500,000-watt radio station (1934)
• Night baseball (1935)
• Soap operas (1934)
• Facsimile machine (1940)
• First 4-wheel disc brakes (1939)
• 35mm camera
• Airplanes (4 different)
• First radio broadcast from an airplane (1930)
• Phonographs, scalp massagers, canoes, furniture, baby carriages, washing machines, stoves and bed-cooling systems.

In 2013, Powel Crosley, Jr. was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

[joe_padavano]

5 hours ago, Pfeil said:

Chrysler??

 

Actually, Chrysler built the first stage of the Saturn I, precursor to that Saturn V. Boeing built that S-IC stage in the picture above. And contrary to the ad copy below, Chrysler's S-IB stage never got past low Earth orbit.

 

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by joe_padavano (see edit history)

[Durant Mike]

Thank Billy Durant for adding Frigidaire to the GM Line!  A visionary for sure!

 

[Jim Bollman]

Crosley sold off the appliance and radio side of his business at the end of WW-2 to concentrate on the car business. The Pre-War Crosleys were made in Richmond Indiana. I talked to a librarian in Richmond back in the 70s when I was doing some research on Crosley and she said she had worked for Crosley before the war and was on the refrigerator line and could look across the factory  floor and see the cars coming down the assembly line. I never compared them side by side but the prewar Crosley script used on the side of the Crosley car hood look very close to the one used on the front of the refrigerator at that time.

 

Here a couple of links that might be of interest, one is on a non electric refrigerator that Crosley produced back in the late 20s up to about WW-2, some Crosley firsts, early fax and an important non automotive contribution to winning WW-2.

https://crosleyautoclub.com/IcyBall/crosley_icyball.html

https://crosleyautoclub.com/Crosley_Firsts.html

https://crosleyautoclub.com/Reado/Reado.html

https://crosleyautoclub.com/Proximity_Fuze.html

[Frank DuVal]

Wow!  An Icy Ball explanation.

 

I also want to point out there IS  refrigeration without electricity! Besides the Icy Ball above, the absorption process is how "gas" refrigeration works. Millions of non electric gas refrigerators have been and are still being sold (natural, propane and Kerosene [OK, not a gas...]). So just because a cool box has no cord does not mean it cannot be a refrigerator.

[5219]

I have a late 1940's Delco table radio on the shelf behind me as I write this. My grandfather's house, which was built in 1941, had oil fired hot water heat with a boiler that said "General Motors" on the front of it. I don't know how common they were or how long GM was in that business.

 

In the 1930's, GM marketed a line of DC battery powered radios and appliances for rural areas that did not have electricity. I think that they used the Delco name. I have always wondered if GM made much money in these ventures. Since they don't seem to have lasted very long, I guess not.

 

In Alfred Sloan's book, he says that Frigidaire was a company that made central refrigeration units for large apartment buildings. The building would be plumbed for refrigeration lines, and each apartment would have its own refrigerator box with the cold piped in from one central unit. Durant bought the company. When electrical refrigerators caught on, Frigidaire went into that business.

[playswithbrass]

Did not Buick invent vitreous enamel that all white goods are covered in

[8E45E]

On 10/7/2022 at 11:29 AM, 30DodgePanel said:

Westinghouse made buses

And cars:

 

[8E45E]

On 10/7/2022 at 5:40 AM, John_S_in_Penna said:

Now every well-furnished collector's garage

needs a car-themed antique refrigerator

to go along with the cars!

 

The International (Navistar) dealer in Lethbridge has two working I-H refrigerators in their lunchroom.

 

[rocketraider]

13 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

Wow!  An Icy Ball explanation.

 

I also want to point out there IS  refrigeration without electricity! Besides the Icy Ball above, the absorption process is how "gas" refrigeration works. Millions of non electric gas refrigerators have been and are still being sold (natural, propane and Kerosene [OK, not a gas...]). So just because a cool box has no cord does not mean it cannot be a refrigerator.

Wonder what type ammonia was used in an Icyball?

 

While it's a very effective refrigerant the stuff is hateful to deal with. Probably why CFC refrigerants were developed. They might make the naturally occurring ozone hole a bit bigger or smaller (same as nature itself does😛), but they're also generally safe and won't burn, kill or blind you like NH3 will.

 

Having to handle anhydrous ammonia is the single biggest thing I DON'T miss about my old powerplant career!

 

RE powerplant: we had Frigidaire refrigerated compressed air dryers for instrument and control air applications, used until GM-Frigidaire no longer supported them, and ROLLS-ROYCE coal burners! Yes, RR has a big presence in power generation.

[Paul Dobbin]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:08 PM, 8E45E said:

Or a Sears:  https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/stove-huggers-the-non-studebaker-forum/48107-orphan-of-the-day-12-13-1909-sears-model-k

 

One could also order Sears garage to park it in, and a Sears house and fill it with a Sears organ, icebox, etc.

 

Craig

   We have friends inFLorida who live in a Sears & Roebuck home (1924) ,  Every piece of wood was numbered and then assembled with the   

   numbered plan.  (No batteries included)    A two story waterfront home, survived Ian too.