In 1971, Chevrolet unveiled a mind-bending way to ship its new subcompact car: standing straight up on its nose! Meet the Vert-A-Pac system, a wild engineering feat developed jointly by General Motors and the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Traditional rail transport used open tri-level autoracks, cramming about 15 cars per 89-foot railcar—or up to 18 for smaller models like the Vega. But the Vega's lightweight design left railcars underloaded by weight capacity, driving up per-unit shipping costs. GM's solution? Flip the script—literally.

The Vert-A-Pac railcar featured hinged side doors that swung down to form steep ramps. Workers drove Vegas nose-first up these inclines, then a massive forklift-like loader pushed the doors closed, securing 15 cars vertically on each side for a total of 30 per railcar. This nearly doubled capacity compared to standard loads, slashing shipping expenses by around 40% and enclosing the vehicles for better protection against weather and vandalism.













The cars were specially engineered for this: oil and fluids designed not to leak when vertical, and the body structured to handle the odd orientation without damage. Loading looked surreal—a forklift hoisting bright red, blue, and green Vegas skyward like giant toys being packed into a freight car.

This innovative method was unique to the Vega and lasted only through its production run (ending in 1977). Modern autoracks stick to horizontal stacking, but the Vert-A-Pac remains one of automotive history's quirkiest logistics stories—a bold attempt to make an economy car even cheaper to deliver.