Introducing the General Electric Partio Cart! A true product of the late 50's-early 60's, this beast epitomizes the post-war affluence of the American public. It's a charcoal grill, electric range and, well, let's let the copywriters at GE explain it...
"Your new Partio Cart is a complete indoor-outdoor cooking center on wheels. At one end is a complete electric reange, for oven baking, roasting, broiling, and two extra Hi-Speed units and a removable automatic griddle for fast, contolled heat.
At the other end is a deluxe charcoal barbecue for capacity grilling or spit roasting. Hanssdome drop-leaf removable cutting boards, along the side, provide convenient working and serving counter space. The gay umbrella can be tilted for protection, and the wheels and long cord allow conveient loction of the Partio Cart for ease in use and entertaining. "
GE didn't make these for very long, and the reason remains shrouded in mystery. It probably had something to do with safety, as any electric appliance that is subject to the elements needs to have a ground, and this one sorta/kinda doesn't (It has what was considered an acceptable ground back in the day, but these days you need a four wire, not a three wire ground. The neutral is not an acceptable ground (I could get more technical, but stuff like that makes my head hurt). With all that said, I have a Partio Cart, and I'm not dead yet, but you know how safety is.
President Eisenhower (the only Republican I ever loved) had a Partio Cart at his Palm Springs home (and you all thought he retired to Kansas). He endorsed it, calling it "the most fantastic thing you ever saw", which seems a bit hyperbolic for a former Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, but a buck's a buck at the end of the day, and ex-Presidents gotta eat too.
For more information on the Partio Cart (including PDF's of the owner's manual and repair manual, visit my Facebook Partio Cart Page
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