- Joined
- Jul 11, 2004
- Messages
- 1,830
Okay,we've gone from the squeeze bulb horn to the "AHOOOOGA !" & now to the electric one. Headlights have gone from carbide to bulbs.
We saw Oldsmobile introduce the automatic transmission,a bulky device that almost filled the front seat. Fluid was 10 W motor oil.
Vehicles became more specialized, salesman's coupes, panel delivery trucks on auto frames,hearses & limos appeared in quantity . The fingertip column gearshift appeared in the late '30's too. Coil front springs appeared . Water pumps were needed for higher hp larger engines.
In 1940 the body styles changed into more streamlined ,racier designs.The
'40 Ford coupe was a honey .Some body styles remained bulky in 1941 and few changes other than arranging lights differently,particullary tail lights was the fashion. Flathead V-8's stayed the same but the GM overhead straight 8's were more powerful. Law enforcement in my area used huge Buick Roadmasters. We kids could outrun them for 3 or 4 miles & then they would come on like the posse chasing Butch Cassidy & Sundance.
Shock absorbers advanced from straps to the Houdalie arm type & on to piston types. Hydraulics were recently new but there was only a single master cylinder so the emergency brake was still a vital pice of equipment.Speaking of hydraulics, Olds had a hydraulic front bumper to absorb impact. Short lived though.
!941 saw the virtual end to auto prodiction. The ones made had almost zero changes. I remember in particular,Ford went from round to oblong parking lights & the rear went from vertical rectangles to ovals.
The 1946 models were mostly warmed-over '42's & there was a mad scramble to line up to buy one. Most of them had hardwood bumpers & the dealers were opportunists. You had to buy the car,bumer guards, a radio & heater [to be delivered at a later date ] & those bastards really milked the public good-time. I truly believe that was the year that dealers started planning to screw-over we customers thenceforth .. That Ford was $745 on the floor & out the door ! No trading offers or threats changed their policy.
Through the recent years,colors had crept in but black was still the most popular. Fender shapes were changing & getting smaller. Some of the post-war inovations were the coming & going Studebaker, Chevvy vacuum assist gear shifts [ a GM lead balloon . We sold hundreds of change-over kits because they shifted very slowly & were subject to lock-up ] .
Hudson had a front hinged hood.
During WW II Henry J. Kasise build Liberty -type ships on the West coast. Seeing the great auto vacuum, he plunged in & marketed his own car & a contemporary marketed the Frasier. They were both excellent autos ,using a proven engine, the Continental red [or blue ] seal . They had many innovative ideas & sold like hotcakes,filling the void. Friends that had them swore by them. Then the ship hit the sand ! The BIG three started pumping theirs out & things slowed down. Kaiser marketed a Kaiser Manhattan that was a near Classic. He made a compact sized Henry J. in 4 & 6 cylinder & Sears jumped in & sold them as the Allstate. The last Kaisers were made in South America,Brazil ,I believe.
Tucker jumped into the pot & I was amazed at the one I saw in the DC area. Recessed dash,cyclops headlight with the 2 standard ones,spiffiest interior I'd ever seen.It had 6 tailpipes split in 3 to a side. The idea was each cylinder could be anayized very easily. Wasn't able to test drive it though.
The big 3 finally wore down these upstarts. Rumor [& some fact ] the Feds helped the new guys to keep the big 3 in line.
Our Jeep emerged just before WW II & is still the most recognized vehicle in the world ! Wilys-Overland was the designer/maker of it but demand swept them into second place. Ford built most of them at their Willow Run facility. Detractors call the Ford built Jeeps the " Will-it-run ?"
Will not attempt to do each car by manufacturer. It would take about a year because of the amount of makes . The " Monstrous American Car Guide " that I have covers the '20's through the '80's & is 1,076 pages long.
Uncle Alan
We saw Oldsmobile introduce the automatic transmission,a bulky device that almost filled the front seat. Fluid was 10 W motor oil.
Vehicles became more specialized, salesman's coupes, panel delivery trucks on auto frames,hearses & limos appeared in quantity . The fingertip column gearshift appeared in the late '30's too. Coil front springs appeared . Water pumps were needed for higher hp larger engines.
In 1940 the body styles changed into more streamlined ,racier designs.The
'40 Ford coupe was a honey .Some body styles remained bulky in 1941 and few changes other than arranging lights differently,particullary tail lights was the fashion. Flathead V-8's stayed the same but the GM overhead straight 8's were more powerful. Law enforcement in my area used huge Buick Roadmasters. We kids could outrun them for 3 or 4 miles & then they would come on like the posse chasing Butch Cassidy & Sundance.
Shock absorbers advanced from straps to the Houdalie arm type & on to piston types. Hydraulics were recently new but there was only a single master cylinder so the emergency brake was still a vital pice of equipment.Speaking of hydraulics, Olds had a hydraulic front bumper to absorb impact. Short lived though.
!941 saw the virtual end to auto prodiction. The ones made had almost zero changes. I remember in particular,Ford went from round to oblong parking lights & the rear went from vertical rectangles to ovals.
The 1946 models were mostly warmed-over '42's & there was a mad scramble to line up to buy one. Most of them had hardwood bumpers & the dealers were opportunists. You had to buy the car,bumer guards, a radio & heater [to be delivered at a later date ] & those bastards really milked the public good-time. I truly believe that was the year that dealers started planning to screw-over we customers thenceforth .. That Ford was $745 on the floor & out the door ! No trading offers or threats changed their policy.
Through the recent years,colors had crept in but black was still the most popular. Fender shapes were changing & getting smaller. Some of the post-war inovations were the coming & going Studebaker, Chevvy vacuum assist gear shifts [ a GM lead balloon . We sold hundreds of change-over kits because they shifted very slowly & were subject to lock-up ] .
Hudson had a front hinged hood.
During WW II Henry J. Kasise build Liberty -type ships on the West coast. Seeing the great auto vacuum, he plunged in & marketed his own car & a contemporary marketed the Frasier. They were both excellent autos ,using a proven engine, the Continental red [or blue ] seal . They had many innovative ideas & sold like hotcakes,filling the void. Friends that had them swore by them. Then the ship hit the sand ! The BIG three started pumping theirs out & things slowed down. Kaiser marketed a Kaiser Manhattan that was a near Classic. He made a compact sized Henry J. in 4 & 6 cylinder & Sears jumped in & sold them as the Allstate. The last Kaisers were made in South America,Brazil ,I believe.
Tucker jumped into the pot & I was amazed at the one I saw in the DC area. Recessed dash,cyclops headlight with the 2 standard ones,spiffiest interior I'd ever seen.It had 6 tailpipes split in 3 to a side. The idea was each cylinder could be anayized very easily. Wasn't able to test drive it though.
The big 3 finally wore down these upstarts. Rumor [& some fact ] the Feds helped the new guys to keep the big 3 in line.
Our Jeep emerged just before WW II & is still the most recognized vehicle in the world ! Wilys-Overland was the designer/maker of it but demand swept them into second place. Ford built most of them at their Willow Run facility. Detractors call the Ford built Jeeps the " Will-it-run ?"
Will not attempt to do each car by manufacturer. It would take about a year because of the amount of makes . The " Monstrous American Car Guide " that I have covers the '20's through the '80's & is 1,076 pages long.
Uncle Alan