 |
Two simple letters signify
decades of leadership in the Professional Car field.
This M-M nameplate is on Tony Karsnia's 1968 M-M Classic
Limousine Duplex coach. |
 |
Steve & Gene Lichtman (and
Patriot the dog, too!) brought this 1970 M-M Volunteer
ambulance from Mt. Airy, MD. |
 |
Miller-Meteors lined up in
the reserved spaces at the Comfort Inn of Piqua, the
host hotel. |
 |
Chuck Kramer's 1979 M-M
Traditional Landau combination (probably the LAST
combination built by M-M!), on the hotel's parking lot. |
 |
The Miller-Meteor plant in
Piqua. The peeked roof feature in the front of the
showroom was the backdrop for hundreds of delivery
photographs through the years. |
 |
The relevant Miller-Meteor
cars lined up outside the Clark Street plant. |
 |
Indiana's Brian Vaughan
angles for the best place to photograph the cars,
including his 1974 M-M Cadillac Olympian. |
 |
The building may say
"Axis" but to Professional Car enthusiasts, it will
always be "Miller-Meteor." |
 |
Another Miller-Meteor
badged Cadillac joins the lineup. |
 |
In age order, in front of
the plant. |
 |
And yes, even the Meteor
speed boat was there! |
 |
Meteor made more than just
professional cars. This is a Meteor speedboat! |
 |
Much like the Meteor cars
of the same era, the Meteor speed boat was long and
glorious in design! |
 |
Friday night in downtown
Piqua was a street fair celebration featuring the
professional cars parked on the closed-off downtown
streets. This is Jeremy Ledford's 1977 M-M Cadillac
Landau Traditional. |
 |
The Bicentennial
organizers had several prints of Meteor and
Miller-Meteor pictures enlarged to display next to the
cars. This is the one that was by Jeremy's hearse. |
 |
A proud new owner gets
ready to drive his new Meteor Cadillac away from the
manufacturer. |
 |
Inside the Meteor plant,
building buses. |
 |
A print of a 1974 M-M
Cadillac ambulance at a staged scene for an
advertisement. |
 |
Towards the end of the
Cadillac ambulance era. |
 |
An overhead shot of the
Miller-Meteor Plant. |
 |
Workers at the plant take
a moment to pose for the camera. |
 |
Funeral cars in production
in the Meteor plant. |
 |
Another view of the Meteor
plant's production line. |
 |
In preparation for the
parade on Saturday, the Miller-Meteor cars line up in
age order. |
 |
These cars were certainly
a crowd pleaser at the parade as they some of the
retirees of M-M rode with the drivers. |
 |
Piqua celebrates like this
every 200 years! |
 |
Piqua's Mayor in a
Prowler. |
 |
Is a parade complete
without Ronald McDonald and a marching band? No! |
 |
A tribute to our Veterans. |
 |
How do they keep from
running over people? |
 |
A flash from the past. |
 |
Every parade needs a fire
truck or two! |
 |
And every Piqua
Bicentennial Parade needs reminders of the heritage of
the Meteor and Miller-Meteor companies. |
 |
Inside the Clark Avenue
plant of M-M. This area was the new car preparation
area, where cars received their final detailing before
delivery. |
 |
We enjoyed the
reminiscences of the retirees as they shared stories
related to this historic building. |
 |
Another view of the new
car preparation area. |
 |
Recognize those peeks? In
a former life, this was the showroom, where new
Miller-Meteors awaited their owner's arrival. |
 |
How many hundreds of new
Miller-Meteor Cadillacs passed under these peeks?
|
 |
Another view of the
showroom showing the peeks and diamond windows. |
 |
The weather may not have
been perfect, but being allowed inside the Clark Avenue
plant made up for the drizzle. |
 |
Greg Merksamer takes
copious notes of the conversations with the M-M retirees
for future articles in magazines across the country. |
 |
M-M retirees at the famous
garage door to the showroom, with Tony Karsnia,
president of the M-M Chapter second from right. |
 |
Some of the men and women
who helped build the legacy of Miller-Meteor. |
 |
The M-M retirees affix
their signatures to some of the historical photographs
of the cars they produced. |
 |
Mark and Susan Adams
brought this beautiful 1972 Miller-Meteor Cadillac
Traditional Landau 3-way hearse. |
 |
Inside the Adams' 1972
3-way showing the casket table. |
 |
Tony Karsnia's keys to his
1968 M-M Classic Limousine Duplex, looking just like
they did on that day in 1968 when a proud funeral
director drove out of the showroom with his brand new
Miller-Meteor Cadillac coach! |