1932 General Yellow Cab Company Taxi Pontiac Buick

1932 GMC Other Description

I've decided to sell my 1932 General Cab. GMC Truck built 398 of these specifically for Yellow Cab Co. They combined a Pontiac body, a GMC straight 6 and a heavy duty chassis. Besides the straight 6 and the Buick chassis, there are a lot of little differences compared to the 32 Pontiacs. They stretched the body about a foot to add room for passengers. They made the grill and hood ornaments specifically for these cabs. The spare tire was moved from the fender to the rear bumper. They also added rear vent windows, a GMC Truck badge, and steel commercial wheels. There are holes in the top where the taxi sign used to be and there's even a clipboard clip on the dash where they would have written their directions or addresses down and clipped them to the dash.
At the peak of the Great Depression, 1932 Pontiac production was the lowest ever recorded with only 45,340 cars made. Between the Great Depression and the chaos surrounding the cab industry, Yellow Cab Co had cut back on the number of vehicles they used leading up to this time. These cabs were driven hard and then most were scrapped which makes it even more amazing that this vehicle even exists and I know of only one other remaining of the 398 made. The photo of the finished one is the only other one I can find.
This vehicle was a Missouri vehicle and the license plate says 1941. From all the information I've gathered for this time period I would assume this vehicle was used in Kansas City Missouri. Kansas City would have been the boom town in Missouri at the time while St. Louis was still struggling due to the depression.
Extra cool bits of history:It's said owner John D Hertz was forced to sell Yellow Cab due to the violence surrounding the war between the two cab companies. After his stables were burned, Hertz sold his shares to Checker Cab in 1929. The fire killed 11 thoroughbreds that cost Hertz $225,000, but that years Kentucky Derby winner was saved from the fire.
Please see photos and ask any questions prior to bidding.