Wingfoot Express truck line turns 90
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co's pioneering interstate Wingfoot Express truck line is celebrating its 90th birthday in 2007.
In 1917, a five-ton Packard with a 10-foot-high, specially built body established the first interstate trucking route with regular non-stop runs from the Akron OH tire factory to the company's tire fabric mill in Connecticut. The one truck eventually blossomed into a fleet of trucks, complete with the industry's first sleeper cab.
A 1917 Packard Model E 3-ton truck — similar to the models used in the first fleet — symbolizes the original truck fleet. Housed in Fort Smith AR at the headquarters of Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems, the Wingfoot Express truck will celebrate the 90th anniversary this year with stops at Wingfoot Tire Center grand openings nationwide.
Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Goodyear, operates more than 173 commercial tire centers in North America.