USS K. I. Luckenbach (ID-2291) - Later Career

Later Career

The ship resumed commercial service as SS K. I. Luckenbach. Children's author Howard Pease drew upon his service aboard K. I. Luckenbach for his 1927 novel The Jinx Ship.

Midway through 1933, K. I. Luckenbach received press coverage when San Francisco, California, automobile dealer James F. Waters purchased 350 new DeSoto and Plymouth automobiles from the New York distributor and, for publicity purposes, elected to ship them to San Francisco via the Panama Canal, an event that was well publicized by DeSoto's sales office. In an article entitled "DEALER CHARTERS BOAT TO TRANSPORT 350 CARS; San Francisco De Soto Dealer Receives Cars Via Canal, Automobile Topics reported:

"For the first time in the history of automobile business, a boat sailed out of New York Harbor last week flying the house flag of an automobile dealer. It was the K. I. Luckenbach, and from the top of the mast flew the flag of James F. Waters, San Francisco DeSoto-Plymouth dealer who chartered it to carry 350 DeSoto-Plymouth cars to the West Coast through the canal.

"This record shipment of automobiles to a single dealer is further indication of the upward swing in automotive sales in all parts of the country, according to R. M. Rowland, assistant general sales manager of the De Soto Motor Corporation. 'For instance,' Rowland stated, 'since the first of this year this one distributor alone has sold more than $2,000,000 worth of automobiles in his San Francisco territory. Waters is of the opinion that sales will hold strong even into November and December . For this reason he has ordered this shipload of cars to protect his customers for immediate delivery.'

"It is significant that in San Francisco from January to August of this year, out of the first six cars which led in registrations, four of them were Chrysler Motors products. Plymouth was second is sales for this period."