1956 GE Thinline a/c and Fairbanks Morse fridge Canadian ads

[petek]

I was perusing through the google news ads for the Windsor Star around my birthday 1956 which is quite fun to look at and makes you feel old.
Saw this ad for a GE Thinline a/c.. not sure how they say the window remains operable though.

 

[petek]

And the Fairbanks Morse Gibson fridge

 

[petek]

And I found my birth announcement.. I thought it would be a little more grand that this though, I'm somewhat disappointed LOL

 

[jamiel]

Always nice to follow things from your birth month...interesting the linkages between US brands and Canada manufacturing...Living here in Detroit I wonder the "pre-free-trade" strategies for selling items across the border...clearly the auto business was consolidated in 1965 or so, so now the vehicles are about 98% identical...there's a Chevrolet (Orlando) available in Canada which won't be released in the US; Mercedes sells the A-series which is n/a in the US; and the preferences north of the border are slightly different than in the US (prefer models slightly smaller, smaller engines and lower in the model line than the US).

To bring this back to appliances, though, I imagine that gradually manufacturing of full-lines of appliances has rationalized between the two countries as tariffs have been removed. Now, I think there are only a couple/3 appliance plants in Canada (Camco (wherever they're located...believe they're GE's single source for large-capacity dryers); Frigidaire in Quebec (their single-source for built-in cooking), and maybe Whirlpool/Wood's in Ontario (freezers).

In the past (50s-60s-70s), did the Canadian plants supply only the bulk of the Canadian market with only the high-line stuff (Foodaramas...) or specialty (built-ins) coming from the US, or was there other logic to it?

 

[jmm63]

There was a built in ThinLine in the family room of my "ex-house" when we bought it in 1998. The house was built in 1952 so it makes sense. I always thought it was neat and it sure did blow super cold air. It even had a built in "air freshner" cartridge. Sadly, the outside of the unit became badly rusted and the siding was rotting around it so we had it removed and went with a window unit in 2004. I remember helping the carpenter take it out and the thing weighed a TON!!

 

[jmm63]

There was a built in ThinLine in the family room of my "ex-house" when we bought it in 1998. The house was built in 1952 so it makes sense. I always thought it was neat and it sure did blow super cold air. It even had a built in "air freshner" cartridge. Sadly, the outside of the unit became badly rusted and the siding was rotting around it so we had it removed and went with a window unit in 2004. I remember helping the carpenter take it out and the thing weighed a TON!!

 

[petek]

My mistake then.. .so it's a wall unit then, not a window a/c .

Jamie.. couldn't answer a lot of that but as far as I know the bulk of the major appliances were made in Canada but the more specialized high end models were from the US.. Not enough population here to manufacture something with a very limited market. Most of the time the Cdn market got a more limited choice than the US.. instead of perhaps 6 or 7 , we'd get 3,, low-med-high,,or they'd alter the US model a little. It's still that way a little but not to the extent. When NAFTA got rid of all the tariffs on US imports though Canadian retailers really didn't lower their prices if at all until recently because our dollar was low (one excuse) but the shit started hitting the fan a couple of years ago.. more people ordering online, Walmart making a big push into the Cdn market along with Home Depot and Lowes etc, Targets opening next year, even Nordstrom. It's gotten to the point now you have to do your homework to see if it's really worth buying something in the US or not.. often as not,, it's not anymore because the Cdn price is the same or less. [this post was last edited: 10/27/2012-20:27]

 

[tomturbomatic]

It could be either a thru the wall or window unit. It could be mounted in a number of interesting ways according to the double page ads in the magazines of the time.

 

[jamiel]

Yeah, if remodeling the kitchen I'd definitely consider driving to Windsor for a coil-top electric stove---the plant up there produces stoves with higher backsplashes (more like the old Frigidaire) and a logical control layout; also interesting sizes (24 inch stoves with self-cleaning ovens) and convenience outlets. I didn't know about the wiring and circuit differences...learn something new every day.

 

[petek]

Tom , interesting, no way then if it was window mounted then that you could "operate" windows normally like the ad says.

Jamie, last time I was looking at stoves it seems like the convenience outlets are beginning to disappear here as well

 

[danemodsandy]

Operating Normally....

I think the secret to this ad claim might be that most windows then were double-hung, and that if you had the bottom sash properly secured to the A/C unit, you could lower the upper sash as always.

The only other thing that would make sense would be an installation with a brace from the bottom of the outer cabinet to the exterior wall, which might allow for the bottom sash to be raised if properly done.

 

[philr]

My sister used to have a Fairbanks-Morse Gibson 30" range in her apartment when she lived in Montreal. It had illuminated push buttons for the burners. 

 

[hydralique]

Frigidaire also makes some free standing gas ranges in Canada for both themselves and Sears.