[maple_leaf_eh]

A coworker tells how his father survived the long retreat from the Eastern Front in a gengas truck. From time to time they'd have to stop and fight, or stop and refuel their truck. The old fellow eventually moved to Canada and started his family.

I also recall reading wartime Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines that had disparaging stories about the German's use of non-petroleum fueled vehicles. It didn't seem stupid or backwards to me, only different and somewhat less efficient. My childhood included flashlight reading through cases of old magazines, some of which are still at my father's house.