The U.S. Dominates the Car Industry 1940-1950

The Auto Industry during WWII and After

The auto-industry turned it's attention to Europe in 1942. All domestic auto production in America ground to a halt with efforts focused on arming the 11% of American soldiers, as well as Allied forces with massive amounts of military equipment produced by men and women on the home front.

P-38 Bomber-inspired lines

General Motor's designer Harley Earl, top in his field in his day, changed the face of Cadillac when he drew inspiration from his tour of Lockheed's hanger and the fighter jet, the P-39 he saw while there. The jet's twin engines, booms and tails gave Earl the idea to incorporate this look into the Cadillac and perhaps draw the American public to buy into the glamour surrounding fighter pilots. The P-38 remained one of the only U.S. made military aircraft to stay in production throughout the war.

Earl's design stayed popular into the early 50's when the "Dagmar" twin spinners evolved into the huge, sweeping tail fins that became icons of the era.

Bomber-inspired designs



From 1942 to 1945, the United States auto industry produced about 20% of the total U.S. war material output used to fight World War II. That accounts for a whopping $29 billion!

With all that effort going into the war, civilian stock of autos was seriously going down. Nearly half of the 25 million registered vehicles driving on American roads were over ten years old.

In 1942 the Volkswagen Bug appears on the market for the first time. But in 1944, under threat of Allied bombing, the German car company halts production.

In fact, by February 1942 all of the major America auto makers were shut down and all existing stock of automobiles were managed by the government for the war effort, rationed out for civil and military use. No new automobiles were produced in 1943 or 1944 but about 800 were assembled during those years from existing parts. During this freeze, automakers became exclusively defense contractors.

The war department o.k.ed the production of some light and heavy cars for staff from Chevy, Ford, Plymouth, and Packard and Buick respectively.

In an interesting bit of local lore, the Willow Run Plant in Ypsilanti, MI Ford churned out parts for the B-24 Liberator long-range bomber every 6.3 seconds. Each bomber had 1, 555,000 parts in all!!

The Chrysler company made fuse bomb noses, shells, cartridge cases, tanks, anti-aircraft guns,  Ford build aircraft for the British government and General Motors built over $12 billion dollars worth of war materials.

Auto production resumed in 1945, business as usual, and the models were built for the 1946 year. Most of the designs were just repeats of 1942 designs with GM's first real post war designs not coming out until 1949.

Cars and the Great Depression

Cars and the Great Depression

During the Great Depression when people could barely afford to put bread on the table, the auto industry was churning out luxury cars with innovative features. Electric wipers and front-wheel drive were just some of these features that were ahead of their time. Most of these cars sold for a mere $4,000-$5,000 which was much more than most people could afford at this time.

In the early 1930s car manufacturers added features to increase the comfort and safety of their products. Foot boards made alighting onto the vehicle much easier and cars had sunshades added to windshields as well as rear lights. Security glass was added to windshields and wipers were added as well.

The most obvious change to cars in the 1930s was the design. Gone was the steel box look of the Model T and replacing it was a more artistic variation. Flowing lines and sweeping fenders changed the way we look at cars.

Most of the new designs of the 1930s did not spring from the Big 3: Chrysler, Ford or GM. The smaller car designers poured their resources into new designs and style and, subsequently, suffered greatly from the depressed economy.  The Big 3 borrowed from their ideas and because of shear size, survived the depression.

General Motors introduced the idea of the face-lift for cars during the 1930s. Prior to this idea you could design your own car, adding different features along the way. Now a car was designed as a whole instead of piecing parts collectively.  

Cadillac would not have survived the Great Depression had it not been for General Motors. Large, expensive motor cars were seen as an extravagant display of wealth and no one wanted to take that kind of risk in the economic environment. Cadillac released the luxury V16 sedan called the Sixteen in 1930.

With glamorous new lines, the car became a symbol of hope for the future during the 1930s. Aerodynamics and streamlining had the added benefit of aiding in fuel costs.

Chrysler was the first in the auto industry to use aerodynamics and streamlining in their designs. The first model, the Airflow, was produced in 1934 and was the first of its kind in the world.

Ford Motor Company won a legal battle which would benefit all American auto producers. George B. Selden,  held a patent on a "road engine" giving him royalties paid by all American car companies. Ford overturned the patent and opened the road to the American auto industry.

Ford went on to improve the industry when, in 1934, he introduced the one piece V-8 engine allowing Ford's cars to outperform all competitors at that time. 

Source:

http://www.anythingaboutcars.com/1930scars.html

Cars Roar Through the Twenties

Cars Roar Through the Twenties

Days of the old Model T were gone and replaced by larger, faster and snazzier cars. 

By 1927 people were on the look out for new and innovative car designs and people were buying cars on time. This practice started the purchasing of expensive items on credit as an ongoing middle-class habit in the American economy.

Used cars began piling up on car dealers lots as the industry began to stagnate.

Despite all the money changing hands, the industry was undergoing a setback. The market was getting saturated with too many cars while the technology innovations were slowing down. The post-World War II cars included changes like the self-starter, the enclosed, all steel body, high-compression engine, hydraulic brakes, syncromesh transmission, and low-pressure balloon tires.

Quite a few of the innovations we know today were first conceptualized in the 1920s.  These include electric cars, four wheel drive, front wheel drive and hybrid fuel.

Advertisements became less focused on the basics like horsepower and features and began to make an emotional appeal to car buyers. Women were target with enticements like designer colors, luxurious interiors and the angle that cars had become easier to drive and maintain. Many cars in the 1920s featured flowing, sensual curves and dual tone color schemes, making them an art form like the  Arts and Crafts movement.

To cover the expense of the influx of autos, the federal government implemented a gas tax to pay for new roads and repairs to existing roads.  Insurance companies cashed in on the new fad by relating to car owners that their expensive item needed to be protected from damage and theft. Car insurance rates were quite high during this time.

Wealthy Americans purchased imports like Mercedes and Hispano-Suiza for an unprecedented $15 to $50k and American luxury cars like Cadillac and Packard were driven by other wealthy Americans and celebrities. 

Sources:

http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/