Peterbilt Trucks
Stock photos of Peterbilt trucks. In 1939 Theodore Peterman of Tacoma, Washington purchased the virtually defunct Fageol Motor Company, which had been producing high quality trucks but which had also been operating in a technically bankrupt state since 1932. Peterman did not run an assembly line but produced trucks to order. As Fageols had been colloquially known as "Bill-builts" , after the company president W.H. Bill, the new trucks were named Peterbilts, the spelling of "bilt" hinting at Vanderbilt and the quality level that Peterman was seeking. He achieved this and the vehicles became known as the Rolls Royce of trucks. Peterman died in 1945 and his company was eventually taken over by Paccar in 1958, but to this day it operates with a degree independence and largely builds to order.
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