The devil's Mercedes : the bizarre and disturbing adventures of Hitler's limousine in America / Robert Klara.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Klara, Robert, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945.

Hitler, Adolf.

Hitler, Adolf 1889-1945.

Mercedes automobiles--History--20th century.

Mercedes automobiles.

Used limousines--United States--History--20th century.

Used limousines.

Automobile drivers--United States--Biography.

Automobile drivers.

Automobile ownership--United States--History--20th century.

Automobile ownership.

Limousines--Germany--History--20th century.

Limousines.

Heads of state--Transportation--Germany--History--20th century.

Heads of state.

Transportation.

History.

Germany.

United States.

Local Subjects:

Hitler, Adolf 1889-1945.

Heads of state--Transportation--Germany--History--20th century.

Automobile drivers.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

342 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, 2017.

Summary:

"In 1938, Mercedes-Benz began production of the largest, most luxurious limousine in the world. A machine of frightening power and sinister beauty, the Grosser 770K Model 150 Offener Tourenwagen was 20 feet long, seven feet wide, and tipped the scales at 5 tons. Its supercharged, 230-horsepower engine propelled the beast to speeds over 100 m.p.h. while its occupants reclined on glove-leather seats stuffed with goose down. Armor plated and equipped with hidden compartments for Luger pistols, the 770K was a sumptuous monster with a monstrous patron: Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party. Deployed mainly for propaganda purposes before the war, the hand-built limousines--in which Hitler rode standing in the front seat--motored through elaborate rallies and appeared in countless newsreels, swiftly becoming the Nazi party's most durable symbol of wealth and power. Had Hitler not so thoroughly dominated the scene with his own megalomania, his opulent limousine could easily have eclipsed him. Most of the 770Ks didn't make it out of the rubble of World War II. But several of them did. And two of them found their way, secretly and separately, to the United States. In The Devil's Mercedes, author Robert Klara uncovers the forgotten story of how Americans responded to these rolling relics of fascism on their soil"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The Stockholm deal

The screwball of Winnetka

The great Mercedes

"The Göring special"

The Finnish connection

Men with cars

Running off to Canada

The big tent

Suspicions

Dutch wonderland

Stalemate in Ottawa

Like marrying a movie star

The sleuth

The cult of a car

California

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [245]-334) and index.

ISBN:

9781250069726

1250069726

OCLC:

947146118