The Playboy convertible was designed to be an affordably priced small car with a single-row bench seat and America’s first retractable hardtop convertible as standard equipment. (WIKIPEDIA PHOTO)
The Playboy convertible was designed to be an affordably priced small car with a single-row bench seat and America’s first retractable hardtop convertible as standard equipment. (WIKIPEDIA PHOTO)
The years following World War II were optimistic and prosperous. The suburbs were growing, the two-car family was becoming normal, and the public was hungry for cars. The war years shifted manufacturing from consumer goods to materiel in support of the military, and when peace broke out so, too, did opportunity.
In this fertile automotive soil, three car guys — Louis Horwitz, a former Packard dealer; Charles D. Thomas, a former Pontiac engineer; and Norman Richardson, a skilled mechanic — planted the seed of the Playboy Motor Corp. in 1947, no connection to the “lifestyle” magazine of the same name founded six years later. Or is there?
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.