 Freddie Laker's idea to convert surplus examples of the Douglas DC-4 and its military counterpart the C-54 Skymaster to carry cars was a relatively inexpensive solution to develop a successor to the rapidly aging and increasingly inadequate Bristol 170 Freighter, the car ferry airlines' mainstay since the late 1940s.The Bristol Freighter's main drawback was its limited payload, in terms of the number of cars that fitted into a single aircraft.Even the "long-nosed" Mark 32 was able to accommodate only three cars (in addition to 20 passengers).