Burns Novelty Yellow New York City Checkered Taxi
The Jolly Roger
Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company was founded in 1910 by J.W. Murray in Detroit, Michigan until it moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. They originally produced fenders, fuel tanks and other parts for automobiles though in the mid 1930s, the company began producing bicycles and pedal cars.
Murray anchored its line of pedal cars in 1966 with a fleet of pedal boats. The whimsical, three-wheeled design was the first seen in the flagship of the series, the Jolly Roger, which featured such nautically correct accessories as a battery operated outboard motor, dual lens flashing navigational light, bow staff with pennant, chrome plated bow rail and wrap around windshield. The Jolly Roger was white with red graphics and had bright blue wheels.
Murray Atomic Missile
During the years 1954-1964 as the United States was entering the space age Murray countered with its own sign of the times in the form of the three-wheeled Atomic Missile pedal cars. The performance-minded youngster had the choice of two drive trains on these three-wheelers, the usual pedal drive or the smoother dyna-chain drive. Murray's "out-of-this-world" styling was reflected in the colorful paint schemes and realistic dual jet controls with simulated gauges and instruments. A noise-making "motor tone" shifter added to the authentic fun!
The 1948 Murray Pontiac was first introduced in 1941 as a style change to the '41 Chrysler pedal car. The molds for the newly designed Pontiac were used from March through December of 1941. Manufacturing then ceased as Murray's facilities, like many others in the United States, dedicated their production toward the war effort, leaving the barely used molds for the Pontiac shelved and its fate in question.
Murray introduced a streamlined style of pedal car in 1949, the sleek looking Comet. Designed to be a more economical offering from Murray, the simple styling of the comet didn't last long and was quickly overshadowed by the more expensive Torpedo which featured the same body as the Comet, but was painted in vibrant colors and had chrome trim and many chrome accessories. Since the body styling stayed the same, there is some disagreement when referring to this car. Some call it a Comet, but it more widely known as a Torpedo. It is also called a Buick, since the top of the line version featured four port holes like the ones on the full-sized Buick automobiles of this era.
Using the body styling of the new full-size Ford Fairlane as a guide, Murray introduced the Flat Face style pedal car in 1959. The Flat Face featured a dramatically different body style than that of Murray's successful Champion pedal cars, along with improved full-ball bearing wheels, bright paint and many accessories. Versatility seemed to be the main reasoning behind the new styling as minor paint and decals changes transformed the Flat Face many times. A wide range of these cars emerged including this Speedway Pace Car.
From 1950-1958, Murray produced pedal cars with an unusual style front bumper and grille that gave the pedal car a frowning, sad appearance. From the aptly named "Sad Face" series emerged this Fire Truck. Murray's color presentation on pedal cars during this period reflected the trends of full-sized automobiles of the time therefore two-tone paint schemes were popular on the Sad Face cars.
A salute to public service seemed to be the driving force behind the themes of Murray's three-wheeled pedal cars. Among many on the scene in 1955 were the Good Humor Ice Cream Truck and a Police Radio Patrol Cycle. The police cycle had a realistic siren and the ice cream truck had bells with built-in rear compartments and eye-catching graphics making these three-wheelers very popular.
A Very Popular Pedal Car .. the Murray Champion
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