In Oshawa, even the mayor works at General Motors. He's one of about 10,000 people GM employs in the southern Ontario city, which is hit hard in 1955 when GM workers walk off the job. After five months on the picket line, the workers get most of what they want: a pay raise, more secure working conditions, and a health plan half covered by GM. This 1956 clip from CBC-TV's Newsmagazine shows a thriving car company with plants in five Ontario cities.
this is the highest # Poncho weve seen so far,its vin sequencials would tell us where they were at # wise at that point!
1956 common 4 door sedan was at only 6590 bodies latest 55 of the same model we have is 11898 bodies latest 57 of the same model we have is 11321 bodies
26 cents an hour was a lot of money back then - I remember when I got a 10 cent raise working in the gas station as a kid and I was thrilled with my increased purchasing power (gas was 25 cents a gallon, you could cruise all night for 50 cents, eh?).
Dave
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1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod
My information from Windsor Plant shows that 4032 CKD units were built in 1956 and 5496 in 1957. The 19th September 1955 saw the start of the strike and just 768 units were built in Setpember. 528 units were built in April 1956 (from April 21st) whereupon 1957 Model CKD production started. This, on reflection, suggests that overseas plants that assembled Canadian units would have been delayed in their start-up in turn.
1957 CKD started October 30th 1956 and endedd in August 1957, and 1958 started October 24th 1957 and ended June 1958.
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Automotive Historian, Author and Journalist Deputy Editor, VINTAGE ROADSCENE Southampton, England
1956 Pontiac Pathfinder 2dr sedan, 496 - dyno'd 545 hp, stick shift, 4.11 posi - Hot Rod