Throughout history technology has been progressing very rapidly. Man has created things that are used in daily life everyday. Inventions from the creation of fire to the telephone have changed life immensely. In the year 2010 people do not notice how life would be without our everyday tools such as the computer or the light bulb. People today heavily rely on these items that it would be very difficult to live without them. One invention that changed life was the creation of the automobile. Looking back the automobile has been here for a very long time. Since the 1700’s Man has tried to create a tool that would help someone progress faster than on foot. From the steam engine to the electric car the automobile’s design has came a long way. The automobile was created for one simple method of easy and faster way of travel. Through time the automobile’s main function has changed. When it was created its sole purpose was just take someone from point A to point B. In the 1930’s the role of cars changed. During the 1930’s America was going through the Great depression. The Great Depression was a very struggling time for many Americans. Many families were forced into poverty and their everyday lifestyle changed. Cars became a big part of society. Even with many people in debt during that time there was still a need to have social class. The few individuals that could afford to pay for more luxurious cars bought to show how hard times do not affect them. Back then cars did not come with all the gadgets they have today but there was a difference in class. Cars were not just a method of travel but to some during those times, it was there home.
In the 1930’s there was a variety of new innovative cars being processed into the world. In the 1920’s America was going through the vintage era. In the 1920’s most cars were just a luxury but through time it became easier for cars to become produced faster and cheaper. New techniques such as the assembly line help build the widespread of cars. The ford model t was one of the first cars to be mass-produced with the assembly line. By the time the 1930’s came around cars have already been apart of average American life. When the Great depression hit the production of cars in America had decreased immensely. Cars such as the Auburn 1931 Convertible Cabriolet were very affordable during those times. It was priced at $1045 Includes finest leather upholstery specially designed window construction that positively prevents rattle finger tip door handles and adjustable steering wheel in the Convertible Cabriolet. Another Car that set new standaards for cars was the Cadillac v-16. The new car attracted rave reviews from the press and huge public attention. Cadillac started production of the new car immediately. January production averaged a couple of cars per day, but was then ramped up to twenty-two cars per day. By April, 1, 000 units had been built, and by June, 2, 000 cars. These could be ordered with a wide variety of bodywork. The Fleetwood catalog for the 1930 V-16 included 10 basic body styles; there was also an envelope containing some 30 additional designer’s drawings. Research by the Cadillac-La Salle Club, Inc. puts at 70 the number of different job/style numbers built by Fisher and Fleetwood on the sixteen chassis. Beginning in June 1930, six new V-16s participated in a promotional tour of major European cities including Paris, Antwerp, Brussels, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Münich, Nüremberg, Vienna (where they won prizes), Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Zürich, Madrid, San Sebastian, La Baule and Angers. On the return journey from Spain, the V16 caravan stopped also in the town of Cadillac, in south-western France, although that city bears no relationship to the marque, other than its name. After the peak in V-16 orders in mid 1930, production fell precipitously. During October 1930, only 54 cars were built. The lowest figures for the 452/452A cars of 1930-31 were August 1931 (7 units) and November 1931 (6 units). Minimum production continued throughout the rest of the decade with a mere 50 units being built both in 1935 and in 1937. 1940 was only marginally better with a total of 51 units. Not surprisingly, Cadillac later estimated that they lost money on every single V-16 they sold. But during that time your car was not just a car but your home.
In the 1930’s because of the great depression, your car became your home for many. The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s. It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century, and is used in the 21st century as an example of how far the world’s economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, starting with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday), but quickly spread to almost every country in the world. Many people because of this had lost there homes because they could not afford to live in it anymore, they began to use there cars as there homes. The first “ mobile homes” were created during the 1930’s. In order to save on gas people would use there cars as a wagon by attaching horses to the vehicle. Many farmers used this method to travel. The term hitchhike was first originated in the 1930’s. Because not everyone could afford a car but needed to travel, they would try to hitch a ride with passer byers. Many people charged hitchhikers a small fee. People tried to make business of each other in order to fight the depression. The idea that in order to survive ment that you had to do anything in order to save yourself. Your car was probably the only item that you kept since the depression. Everything that would not help americans would get rid off because it would only hold them back from survival.
Even with the Great Depression there were stilll grand prix racing taking place. Beginning in 1934, the Germans stopped painting their cars, after the paint had been left off a Mercedes-Benz W25 in an effort to reduce weight. The unpainted metal soon had the German vehicles dubbed by the media as the “ Silver Arrows”. French cars continued to dominate (led by Bugatti, but also including Delage and Delahaye) until the late 1920s, when the Italians (Alfa Romeo and Maserati) began to beat the French cars regularly. At the time, the Germans engineered unique race vehicles as seen in the photo here with the Benz aerodynamic “ teardrop” body introduced at the 1923 European Grand Prix at Monza by Karl Benz. In the 1930s, however, nationalism entered a new phase when the Nazis encouraged Mercedes and Auto Union to further the glory of the Reich. (The government did provide some money to the two manufacturers, but the extent of the aid into their hands was exaggerated in the media; government subsidies amounted to perhaps 10% or less of the costs of running the two racing teams.)[6] The two German marques utterly dominated the period from 1935 to 1939, winning all but three of the official Championship Grands Prix races run in those years. The cars by this time were single-seaters (the riding mechanic vanished in the early 1920s), with 8 to 16 cylinder supercharged engines producing upwards of 600 hp (450 kW) on alcohol fuels. As early as October 1923, the idea of an automobile championship was discussed at the annual autumn conference of the AIACR (Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus) in Paris. However, discussion centered around the increased interest in racing by manufacturers and holding the first European Grand Prix at Monza in 1923. The first World Championship took place in 1925, but it was for manufacturers only, consisting of four races of at least 800 km (497 mi) in length. The races that formed the first Constructors Championship were the Indianapolis 500, the European Grand Prix, and the French and Italian Grands Prix. A European Championship, consisting of the major Grand Prix in a number of countries (named Grandes Epreuves) was instituted for drivers in 1935, and was competed every year until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.
Cars during 1930’s influenced American life in many ways. They set a new standard for living. Even with the hard times and stuggle americans still felt the importance of buying cars. Automobiles has been something since time that had grabbed America’s wallets since the begginging. Today there is still the same basic need ot have the best car. Every year there is a new must have design that people want to buy. Cars are something that is a basic necessity. No one knows what will be the next big thing in the automobile indusrty.
