Auburn Rubber Company - Vehicles

Vehicles

Toys were made in many different styles, models and sizes. Proportion and detail were fairly good for vinyl toys. Probably the most famous were the four inch variety. Some of the model selections could be quite clever, for example, a 1955 Thunderbird, a Triumph TR-2, 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL, a 1957 Ford Ranchero, and a neat Ford Model A-style Hot Rod.

One sports car appeared to be a cross between a Cunningham and an Aston Martin (see photo). One convertible's fins and dagmar bullets looked mainly like a Cadillac. Another odd sedan had fins like a Pontiac, a front grille like a Kaiser Traveller, with the general shape of a forward-look Chrysler. Utility and service vehicles in the small size were also popular such as a fire engine, a telephone truck with two ladders on top (it looked like a Dodge), and a flat bed truck. Police cars (molded in blue) and fire chief cars (molded in red) appeared to be variations on 1955 Chevrolets. What appeared to be a policeman on a Triumph single cylinder motorcycle also was popular, and there was also a Harley three-wheeler. One of the more clever vehicles was a boy molded in a waving position on a tricycle.

Models were simply constructed, typically only 7 parts: the body, four wheels, and two metal axles with flared tips to keep the wheels in place. The wheels were a slightly harder vinyl and were usually molded in either black or yellow. One popular coloring feature was the application of sprayed on silver coatings for the windows, grilles, bumpers, and other highlighted areas. Peoples' faces in bas relief style would often be molded into the windows of the cars - and often separate views were seen from the driver's side to the passenger side. Entire torsos were often molded into the open interiors of convertibles or roadsters. Similar to other plastic or vinyl vehicles of the era, the toys were often shipped and sold with many vehicles clumped together in a single box - so the buyer could walk away with the vehicle of his choice - cars and trucks were not sold in their own individual packages.

Cars and trucks were also molded in larger sizes, from about five inches up to about ten inches or so. These appeared both as cars and trucks / utility vehicles. Larger cars included an Indianapolis style open wheel racer (see photo), a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, a less realistic Cadillac-style 'station wagon', and also a 1955 Plymouth station wagon airport limousine with nine different people molded into the windows (see photo). Utility vehicles produced were a detailed fire truck, a variety of tractors and farm implements, a road grader and other construction vehicles, an articulated cab and stake bed truck. Tanks and airplanes were a staple, and many other more fantastic creations were also produced.