The 1958 GMC trucks were very popular with farm-rural families in the late 50s. Most of them did not have more than an eighth grade education, so the operator’s manuals were illustrated with art that was almost pulp magazine quality. Photo from www.cheersandgears.com

We can gather from the census information gathered in the late 50s that families made more money and bought more goods in 1958 than any of the previous years since WWII. In fact, the median income of non-farm families was 66% higher in 1958 that the previous year. The median income of rural-farm families was 40% higher than the previous year. We all know what that means… more truck sales!

While the income was increasing, there was still a problem with the average education level. Most American’s (36%) had 5 to 8 years of elementary school. Only 20% of all Americans graduated from a four-year high school (data source: U.S. Census Bureau). Aiming at the majority of their consumers, car companies often used illustrated documents as operator’s manuals. We found one of these manuals online at Pee Wee’s GMC Trucks Facebook fan page.

We noticed the similarities to the typical 1950s pulp magazines, which averaged seven-inches wide by ten-inches high, with under 100 pages. While most pulps featured sensational cover art, many of the more buttoned-down publications used less sensational artwork but they still employed a brightly colored cover illustration. Such is the case with most of the illustrated owner manuals of the time.

The stoic cover hides the true symbology inside however. Right away the reader is introduced to the two main characters, the first is obviously the engineer and the other is his buddy. The engineer is wearing a white lab coat, so we know that he is very well educated and knows what he is talking about. His buddy, the less educated man as depicted by his blue collar outfit and work hat, is eager to hear the explanations of the GMC trucks systems as told by the man in the white lab coat.

To really get the point across, a farm animal is used to describe the warm up procedure. Everyone knows that horses don’t do well unless they are warmed up properly.

Continuing with the 1950 stereotypes, the manual shows an illustration of a buxom lady with a headset on. This is clearly whom the vehicle operator will be talking with when they call the information line. The dress code for 1958 at GMC demanded that a lovely young woman with black bob cut hairdo, dress in evening gowns with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline. Ironically the text immediately below the very polite young lady says “Under the hood.” We are not sure if that qualifies this as a romance pulp fiction novel or not.

For added instruction, the manual also includes illustrations of an eskimo spanking a driver that forgot to properly warm up the truck before driving. Before dismissing this as a joke, take into consideration the numerous stories concerning Nanook of the North making a pilgrimage from the polar regions to punish all the bad little drivers that found themselves on the bad list. Much like Santa Claus, Nanook keeps a naughty and nice list.

We found some terms that did not work well in this modern politically correct society however. The “hydraulic retarder” would probably be changed to “engine brake challenged” in modern terminology. Neverless, we found the operations manual easily understood, and by many accounts, easier to comprehend than many of the operation manuals from foreign car companies.