The Ambulance: Wheels of Mercy (301)Take a look at the evolution of the ambulance, from hand cart or wagon to hearse and truck--to today's version, a mobile emergency room. Louis Farah, a paramedic and historian who collects ambulances, shares the history of this vehicle starting from the late 1700s, when a French military surgeon in Napoleon's army developed the first organized system of battlefield medical care.
- The Model T Ford, or Tin Lizzie, was popular with the volunteer ambulance corps in World War I.
- In World War II, the Dodge 3/4-ton truck served as an ambulance.
- Cadillac was the most popular manufacturer of hearses and ambulances until the 1960s.
- Dual-purpose hearses started using lights and sirens in the 1920s.
- The engine on one modern ambulance, the 2002 AEV Ford, develops 330 HP and can achieve 110 MPH.
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