Here’s a followup piece to the recent feature at Motor City Garage, “The Year in Cars: 1932.” 

In the story, MCG made an ambitious claim: that 1932 was a pivotal year in automotive styling. Is that really true, or mere journalistic blabbering?

Well, there’s a handy proof available. We can remove the 1932 model year from the annual progression and compare the 1931 and 1933 models directly. Then we can more clearly see the impact of the 1932 model year in the evolution of design. Check out the photos below— they’re an eye-opener.

First we’ll compare the two model years in America’s popular low-priced car, Ford.

At top is a 1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Coupe; directly below it is a 1933 Deluxe Five-Window Coupe. Dramatic, no? The Model A is bolt upright, all vertical elements, a holdover from horse-and-carriage days. The ’33 is swept back at the grille shell, hood louvers, and windshield pillars, suggesting streamlining and speed.

Next we’ll look at the mid-price range with Oldsmobile.

A 1931 Oldsmobile Two-Door Sedan is at top, while below it is a ’33 Olds Four-Door. The changes here are equally stunning. The quaint windshield visor and headlamp spreader bar are gone, and now the skirted front fender now flows gracefully into the running board. And check out the horizontal hood vents that look like cartoon speed lines.

Now we’ll look at the luxury class with Cadillac.

Here’s a 1931 Cadillac V12 All-Weather Phaeton at the top with a 1933 Cadillac V16 Seven-Passenger Sedan below it. Note how the ’33 Caddy’s front fender now extends downward at the front nearly to the bumper, and the fender’s full skirting behind the front wheel with trim embellishment. The body, fenders, and bumpers are gradually integrating into a single form, and in less than a decade, envelope bodies will start to appear.

To wrap things up, we take another look at the 1932 Graham, the car generally credited as leading the ’32 styling revolution in volume production cars. That’s a bit of a simplification, arguably, but when you compare the Graham to the flock of cars above, the resemblance is with the ’33 models. The 1932 model year represents a clear turning point in body design, and the Graham helped to lead it.

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