Designed by Walter C Jerome of Worcester Mass, in 1959, a startlingly unorthodox two-section vehicle designed to protect the driver and three passengers from death or injury on the highway. Jerome created the design in 1949 but it was ten years before he decided to build it. The front section of the articulated car houses the engine from a 1956 Hudson, and two headlights that turn with the car and front wheels. The cab is coupled to the main body of the car which houses an elevated, glass enclosed cockpit which gives the driver, with the aid of mirrors, a full circle of vision; a third cyclops headlight that shines ahead when the car turns,; a spacious comfortable ‘club room’ for three passengers; a trunk and baggage space. A triple-section air-filled bumper surrounds the entire car which is about 17 feet long. Jerome claimed that the two section body would pivot and absorb the impact of a collision from any angle. The two doors on the coach body pivoted sideways, parallel to the car, and were designed to remain closed in the event of an accident. The car was years ahead with its seatbelts, padded interior, and built-in roll bars. The driver’s circular windshield revolved constantly and was cleaned inside and out as it turned by stationary felt-lined windshield wipers so that the driver’s vision was always clear. The car, which began as a 1948 Hudson cost $10,000 and he expected to be able to produce about 11 or 12 a year, hoping to increase to one a day within two years.
The Jalopy Journal
