Here’s an idea that was well before its time… but somehow, its time never came: the Park-Car invented by Brooks Walker.
This gadget is a perfect candidate for the “New Inventions” departments in the popular workbench magazines of back in the day. Each month, the pages of Popular Science, Mechanix Illustrated, and the rest would be full of wonderful and clever (if not totally practical) gizmos like this. We still have inventions and innovations here in the 21st century, of course, and lots of them, but it’s all become so commonplace that we often misplace our sense of wonder.Brooks Walker, a California lumber guy, first patented his Park-Car invention in 1932, and installed it on a 1933 Packard for demonstrations, mesmerizing newsreel audiences of the ’30s.
In a nutshell the device was an extra wheel-and-tire assembly that would lift the rear of the vehicle, enabling effortless parallel parking, 360-degree zero-radius turns, and other impressive maneuvers. Later, Mr. Walker adapted the Park-Car to a 1951 Cadillac, 1953 Packard Cavalier, and a Saab, and while he never managed to sell the Detroit automakers on his invention, it’s still engaging and entertaining car enthusiasts to this day.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki9otMeiRP0&feature=emb_title
