Mac’s Motor City Garage explores another pivotal year for the American auto industry: 1929. 

The year 1929 was notable from a number of angles. First, it marked the founding of the market segment that came to be known as The Low-Priced Three: Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth. In the years to come, these cars would often hold the top three slots in total sales as well.

Henry Ford’s replacement for the Model T, the all-new Model A introduced for the 1928 model year, was plagued with development problems and running production changes throughout its first season. But once the bugs were sorted out, the new Ford sold over one million units in the first half of 1929 alone.

Chevrolet answered Ford with its 1929 line, offering the first six-cylinder engine in a popular, low-priced car. Chrysler was the last to join the Low-Priced Three, introducing its price leader, based on a Maxwell design, as the Chrysler-Plymouth in 1928 to acclimate shoppers to the new name. The Plymouth brand was formally adopted for 1929. The Model A was a huge technical advance over Henry’s venerable Model T, but still lagged behind the Plymouth, which offered four-wheel hydraulic brakes, and the Chevy with its smooth overhead-valve six.

However, Ford did manage to elbow Chevrolet aside and briefly take over the top spot in sales in 1929. Meanwhile, Plymouth quickly rose through the ranks to claim third place in 1932, an impressive performance for a new brand. Here’s how the top eight in sales stacked up in 1929.

Ford                           1,507,132
Chevrolet                   1,328,605
Hudson/Essex              300,962
Willys-Overland            242,000
Pontiac/Oakland           211,054
Buick                             196,104
Dodge                           124,557
Nash                             116,622

1929 Studebaker Commander Roadster

Of course, the Crash and the Great Depression were lurking just around the corner, and 1929 would prove to be a high point in sales for the industry for years to come.  From 5.3 million cars in ’29, production plummeted to just 1.3 million in 1932, and would not return to 1929 levels until 1949.

But for the moment at least, a number of minor manufacturers managed to weather the storm. In the gallery below, you’ll find automobiles from Auburn, Franklin, Marmon, Stutz, and other manufacturers who survived the initial tumble, but would ultimately succumb as the hard times wore on through the decade.

Part of the fun in these old publicity photos is they often feature items of interest beyond the vehicles themselves, including celebrities and noteworthy locales. See how many you can recognize. Click on any image to launch a slide show.