Here’s the first in a new series at Mac’s Motor City Garage, The Year in Cars. We kick it off with a seminal year in American automotive history: 1932.
In 1929, Detroit was named the fastest growing city in the United States, and the American auto industry produced 5.3 million cars. Then the Great Depression arrived. By 1932, production had plummeted to barely 1.3 million units, and the unemployment rate in the Motor City topped 50 percent.
The level of misery the Depression brought is difficult to relate today. In March of 1929, Ford had employed 120,000 workers, but by August 1931 only 37,000 filled the rolls as production fell straight down a mineshaft, from 1.5 million units in 1929 to 210,000 units for 1932. At General Motors, Chevrolet’s volume dropped from 1.3 million to 313,000 vehicles, and the corporation came very close to dropping the Cadillac and Oldsmobile divisions.
While the major manufacturers stumbled and reeled, the independents were circling the drain. The Durant combine finally disintegrated, and Willys-Overland, 60 miles south of Detroit in Toledo, went into receivership. Old line manufacturers, including Franklin, Peerless, Jordan, and Cunningham closed their doors for the last time. By 1940, the Big Three would control over 90 percent of the American car market.
It was a time of consolidation, retrenchment, basic survival. The Motor City would not see full employment again until World War II, and passenger car production would not reach 1929 levels until 1949. A treacherous cycle of overcapacity and overproduction was set in place which, in some ways, the American auto industry and its hometown of Detroit still suffer from to this day.
But as crippled as it was in 1932, the industry still managed to produce some of the most memorable cars in history. Ford introduced the V8, Hudson introduced the Terraplane, and all the automakers made important advances in engineering and styling.
Loosely speaking, the 1932 model year might be described as the point of departure. Before that, automotive design clung to its horse-and-wagon heritage, dominated by boxy, vertical forms. If one were to pick a single year, it was in 1932 that the automobile fully and finally embraced modernism, with streamlining and smoother, rounder, more swept-back lines.
Designer Amos Northup is usually credited with breaking the mold with the 1932 Graham Blue Streak line, which featured skirted fenders, laid-back grille and A pillars, and radiator cap hidden under the hood for the first time. Northup’s design was hugely influential, there is no doubt. But at the same time, there was a styling revolution taking place across the industry. Please take some time with the big photo gallery below and see if you don’t agree.
It always appeared to me that automobiles built in the early 30’s had a look of real quality in the way the body panels fit, the interiors looked, the nickle and chrome grills and trim appeared and the paint appeared. I remember especially the mid to later 50’s when the cars coming out of Detroit were very shoddy with file marks on the bodie panels, poor fitting and misaleigned doors, hoods and trunks along with numerous mechanical issues. The quality control in the 30’s compared to the mid to late 50’s was day and night in my opinion.
One thing about the 30s, the volumes were low, and there seemed to be time to do things right. When the 1950s came around we had the advantage (or disadvantage) of WWII mass-production informing us, and the mentality of “just get it out the door”. Most cars were still composite bodies in 1932, wood frames with steel panels tacked on and leaded together. One thing is for sure, America awards the mediocre who can produce, and punishes manufacturers who produce real, lasting quality.
1932 and 1933 were two of my favorite years for automobiles. Maybe second only to 1958. I’d love to have one of that Graham Blue Streak Eight coupe! The Franklin Twelve Brougham is beautiful too. Even the lowly Plymouth looks sporty and fun.
In this day of every car being silver, white or black, I miss the colors of the cars of the Thirties. We seemed to have been on a twenty year plan of bright colors for a while (30s, 50s, 70s) but that trend has died out. It’s sad that gray with a gray interior is the default scheme now. How is it that phones look racier than automobiles?
Great feature! Like Andy, I’ll take the Franklin Twelve.
Northrop also penned the 31 REO Royale. I always thought that was one of the 1st to “remove” the radiator cap/ornament. The Royale was the 1st automotive coachwork designed in a wind tunnel, and perhaps a real window into the coming model year winning concours awards in Europe. Side by side with it’s peers, the effort to streamline is really apparent. As for 32 designs, the best of the best never saw production. You mentioned that Peerless was gone, and their last effort designed by a young Franklin Hershey (21) while at Walter Murphy in Pasedena, CA was the Peerless 16. All aluminum and featured details the industry might only hope for like doors recessed into the roof, an integral front fender and running board treatment, proportions that make it’s 7 passenger coachwork genuinely sporting. Coachbuilt cars started to “speed it up” too. Witness the custom Dietrich Packard in the slideshow that looks almost as if it were moving standing still. Great post…
The 1932 Graham Model 57 was introduced in December 1931. In 1933 it was advertised as “the most imitated car on the road”. Graham-Paige was the only car company to post a profit in 1933.
Wonderful, Mac! Thank you!
Jim D.