The vehicle market in the US in 1932 was said to be “deader than a doornail” as the deepening Depression hit its lowest sales point since 1918. In 1929 Wall Street crashed, which resulted in the motor industry’s production for 1930 plummeting to 2.78-million from 4.58-million the previous year. According to ‘American Cars of the 1930s’, compiled by the Olyslager Organisation, edited by Bart Vanderveen and published by Frederick Warne & Co, this drastic fall-off in automobile production meant the end of many car manufacturers. There was something special about 1930s American cars. They were renowned for their endurance, reliability and styling. As Vanderveen says, the 1930s was the decade of change from the “square-bodied” sedans and four-door phaetons to attractive streamlined models. Chevrolet added the “speedline” to its 1937 model. Chrysler went further with its 1937 C9 Airflow Eight and DeSoto with the S2 Airflow Six. But the last word in styling was the 1937 Cord 812. As Fred S...
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