Luxury cars development during the Great Depression

Nov. 5, 2013 - PRLog -- When the Roaring Twenties provided a decade of strong economic growth and prosperity people thought nothing could ever go wrong. On Tuesday, October 1929 New York Stock Exchange collapse began a series of events which would lead to the worst crisis in history. Great Depression started slowly as the chaos from the trading floor spilled over to the real economy. The fear of losing their life savings drove people to withdraw their money from the banks, in effect forcing them to close. Great Depression was the most difficult crisis experienced in the United States until the Global financial crisis. Agonizingly slow recovery lasted the entire decade. Millions of desperate people were simply looking to survive the days. Those that had jobs and a home were considered lucky. To avoid failure American car manufacturers turned to the growing luxury car market. For the wealthy owning a new luxury car became a matter of prestige.

Ford De Luxe

Henry Ford figured that despite the Great Depression Americans still wanted to buy classy and stylish cars. As a result, Ford De Luxe was presented in 1937 from this leader in an attempt to dominate the market in every segment. A fantastic new V8 engine Ford introduced a year before set the foundation for De Luxe. Edsel Ford and highly skilled designer Eugene "Bob" Gregorie were given serious tasks to create the exclusive vehicle.

Ford De Luxe model production run lasted only three years. Its innovative rounded exterior design with fine horizontal bars and hood side grilles in front was partially inspired by the Lincoln Zephyr model. With a strong 221 cu in 85 horsepower engine decent power performance was guaranteed. Henry Ford personally opposed hydraulic brakes and insisted on mechanical ones. Finally, constant public demands forced the management to offer hydraulic brakes in 1939. Three-speed manual transmission was used as standard equipment. The most popular 1939 De Luxe Ford Tudor was produced in 144,333 units and sold at the price of $742.

Cadillac V16

During the early stages of Great Depression, Cadillac was the strongest brand on American luxury car market. The management called it the penalty of leadership, a vision to produce and engineer the best vehicles in the world. Cadillac Sixteen was the most technologically advanced car on the planet at the time, named after a special sixteen cylinder engine. V16 engine was amazing piece of engineering, made in a time when many people found engines with six cylinders complicated.  Brilliant engineer Owen Milton Nacker was hired by the company to create the Sixteen model in secrecy. Official launch happened at New York car show in 1930. Production run lasted eleven years and each vehicle was completely customized. Cadillac organized a promotional tour in major European cities such as Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, etc.

Lincoln Zephyr

Edsel Ford was the President of Lincoln Motor Company during the difficult times of Great Depression. He preferred modern design that would appeal to high end luxury market clients. Lincoln Zephyr was his dream car of streamlined aerodynamic design. Officially, the Zephyr model was introduced on November 2, 1935. It was a risky move, since American public was very conservative at the time. Chrysler Airflow failure several years before back raised many doubts should this model even be produced.

Nevertheless, Edsel Ford and Eugene Gregorie once again successfully captured the market in 1936 as Lincoln Zephyr made 80% of Lincoln's total sales. Only 15,000 cars were sold in total. Buyers seemed to love the conventional front with an engine hidden inside. Zephyr introduced the first modern horizontally oriented grille in the American automotive industry.

Lincoln Model K

In the 1930s a luxury market clash between Cadillac and Lincoln brands occurred. Only one could become America's most prestige car manufacturer. Edsel Ford had launched Lincoln Model K as soon as he became the President of the company, in order to impress new wealthy clients.

Model K had a strong 385 cu in V8 engine which produced 120 horsepower. The car body was generally longer and lower, with a large number of custom body styles available. Edsel Ford hired the best coachbuilders of the time to provide exclusive features. Priced at more than $4,000 Model K was reserved for Hollywood celebrities and other successful people. The extravagant car split into two production lines in 1932, becoming Model KA and Model KB.

Read more about the different car models developed during Great Depression at: (http://oldtimerbase.com/OldtimerDatabase.html)

Many other interesting stories about automotive icons available at: (http://oldtimerbase.com/AutomobileHistoryPeople.html)

For more information on classic American cars explore ourdatabase:(http://oldtimerbase.com/ClassicAmericanCars.html)