1930-40 The Presidential Car

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Car  

Origin: As the era of cars gradually continued to grow, the value and importance of cars grew as well. Though many presidents have already owned many cars, they never had one that was always there for them parked in the front lawn. The car company, Lincoln, had made a car for the president which was extremely luxurious and up to date on specs. During the early ages of the automotive era, presidents used to get around in normal cars. The addition of this vehicle was to show that the president was not an ordinary man, but someone with power.


Purpose: This specific vehicle was named the "Sunshine Special" by its manufacturers at Lincoln. The limo was built with high end specs for the time as it focused on two major factors: Convenience and Security. Lincoln had made this car especially for FDR who had polio; a disease that causes paralysis to the legs. The company made the car for the convenience of the president as it was hard for him to move very quickly. The reason for the upgrade for security had one reason behind it. In 1933, President Roosevelt survived an attempted assassination while giving a speech out the open end of a convertible car. Seeing this as a huge problem, Lincoln went ahead and gave their Sunshine Special bullet-proof windows and built it out of much stronger metal. The Sunshine Special remained in service of the president until 1950. It was then replaced by the Lincoln Cosmopolitan.

The Sunshine Special on display in the Henry Ford Museum

Value: The Sunshine Special had a huge reputation on the presidential cars. It was the first car to have bullet-proof material all over the car which was extremely important as presidents are seen with the most power in the US. For President Roosevelt, the car was extremely convenient. Lincoln had made the back doors of the car larger than normal cars just so that FDR can just sit inside with his wheelchair. Though it may not seem as an extremely important vehicle for the public; it sure was for the president of the time.

Limitations: The Sunshine Special was a car made only for the president. No one from the public were allowed to buy such a car. As the car was made of extremely high quality; it was obviously appealing towards normal people. Each Sunshine Special costed a hefty price to make which was the reason why Lincoln did not make them for the public. However by 1943, Lincoln made their "Continental" for the public which mirrored the Sunshine Special in many ways.

1920-30 The Dodge Half-ton Pickup Truck

The Dodge Brothers Pickup Truck

Origin: As the era of automobiles were quickly expanding, America had found itself another automotive company. Horace Dodge and John Dodge had founded the Dodge Brothers Co. in 1912 which in now known as simply Dodge. As a supplier of the Ford Motor Co, the Dodge Brothers focused on designing and building Motor trucks, ambulances, and such. As the Ford Motor Co. and GM were quickly designing newer and better commercial cars, the Dodge Brothers had come up with the idea to build something not so luxurious, but rather something that is for transporting merchandise and other things of this sort. However a tragedy had struck in which both Horace and John died. Their death resulted into a company named Chrysler (which also made trucks similar to Dodge's) to buy the Dodge Brothers Co. As both companies collaborated to build trucks, they resulted in making the 1929 Dodge half-ton Pickup.

 The Dodge Half-ton Pickup Truck

Purpose: The 1929 Dodge half-ton Pickup truck was made for the transportation of merchandise. Many automotive companies such as Ford, Buick, and Cadillac were focusing on luxury for the average consumer The Dodge Brothers made a "truck" that would ease transportation of domestic products instead of having them get delivered by bikes or whatnot. The truck came with a 76 horsepower engine which was the last of kind as Chrysler had bought dodge. It also had a capacity of half a ton, hence the name of the vehicle. During the time, half-ton of space was considered a huge amount. As the truck was made for transportation of goods, Chrysler had made sure to maximize the space of the truck. By the end of the 1920's, Dodge and Chrysler had sold 1.5 vehicles to costumers through Dodge dealers as many people saw this machine as an automobile of a great value.

Value: This particular Automobile tells shows us the improvement of automotive itself. It redefined the meaning of a car as it was the first car that wasn't made to transport people or to drive for fun, but rather something that is made for work, and on top of that, ease the work itself. The value that the Dodge Brothers had brought with their vehicles had also let many other companies produce some of its own which had helped the economy as it helped the supply of trucks in America increase as well. 

Limitations: Though this car was made to help with merchandise; it does not tell us whether every type of job would be done. To clear the fact, the truck only came with the capacity of half-ton in other words, 1000 pounds. There could have been times when workers would have to still work a bit more and make second trips to get their work done. However, this can be seen as a fault of the car which would eventually be fixed by the company itself. In conclusion, The Dodge Half-ton Pickup Truck was a sign of many new things to come.

1910-20 The Chevrolet Type C

1912 Chevrolet 6 Type C

1914 Chevrolet Light (L) Series

Origin: During the up-rise in the automotive industry; Louis Chevrolet invented his own, the "Chevrolet." Seeing the success that Henry Ford had made through his Model T, Louis had taken it upon himself to make a better car. Similarly like Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet wanted t make a car that would be more powerful, quieter, and a better overall ride. As a car of the Brass era, it was a huge deal that there was a car under development of such sort. The Brass era was the name of time period when the automotive industry started to rapidly rise. The Chevrolet 6 had an extremely strong built to it. However, that had let to the car overall being more expensive but Louis Chevrolet had placed many high hopes in the production of this car.

Purpose: Louis Chevrolet had started building cars by seeing the success of the Model T. His ideology was that "the higher the price, the better the car." This led to the reason why his Chevrolet's were so expensive at that time. In order for his car to actually be in the competition, he started off by taking the cons of the Model T and fixing them in his own car which he called the "Chevrolet." His final product was (which is now) called the Chevrolet Series C Classic Six. The car was extremely well constructed for the time as it had a 6 cylinder engine over Fords 4 cylinder engine which made the Chevrolet have the most powerful engine at the time. on top of that it also came in various colors rather than just black. The L series which is the successor of the 1912 Chevrolet 6 Type C came out in 1914. The L series costed around $800-$1500. This was around $600 more than Fords Model T.

Value: The rise of Chevrolet was showing that the automotive industry had really started to kick it up. Because of the success Louis Chevrolet had with his cars despite their price showed that society at the time had also agreed with Louis's ideology. Back in the 1910s, people used wealth as a symbol of power. by that people with wealth would buy Chevrolet's just to show off their wealth to others. Because Chevy made cars that were made to fix up the mistakes of Ford; it was starting to give birth to a universally known rivalry between Ford and Chevy.  

Limitations: Wold War One was basically the highlight of the decade if not the century. While people were fighting in the war, Louis Chevrolet was making luxurious cars for the rich. Him making luxurious cars does not tell us anything of how it contributed to the War. There was no way the army would have used such an expensive and premium car for soldiers but rather would use old rugged cars. Though the rise of Chevy did represent something in the automotive world, it didn't tell much of what was really happening in the world in that decade.  

                   

1900-10 The Model T

Henry Ford and his Ford Model T

Origin: The Ford Model T was known as the most influential car of the 20th century. Produced by the Ford Motor company in 1908; it was the first automobile that the public could buy. During this time, the Wright Brothers had just built the first airplane which was a great influence to the Model T. As air transportation got better, Henry Ford had taken upon himself to make an very cheap car that almost anyone could buy. Thus resulting into the Model T.

Purpose: During the time of its production, the Model T was aimed towards the people of the middle class. What was so unique about this car was that it wasn't just for one or two people but rather a whole family. On top of that different variant's of the Model T were made such as the Model T roadster which were aimed towards people who wanted a faster car. The Model T was made for faster transportation and since Henry Ford made the original Model T for the middle class, it was really affordable. This helped people traveling places farther in a much faster time rather than walking. The Model T being so affordable, the car was selling really fast. Because of the that the Model T helped many unemployed people get jobs at the Ford Motor Co. 

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces." -Henry Ford

Value: The Model T showed the importance of technology needed in the world. This hot selling car helped the United States in many ways. It gave many people jobs, started race clubs, and overall brought light in the world of technology. The Model T was the best expression of the 1900-10 decade because almost everyone had one of their own. From the quote said by Henry Ford, he says that his intention is to make a car that everyone could have. By succeeding he brought great value to the Ford Model T.

Limitations: The car itself cannot tell us if everyone liked it or not. Sure it was the first affordable car by everyone and is known as the most influential, it cannot tell us if others were making cars of their own to beat the Model T. Though Model T was the first car made for production; Henry Ford had slowly found his Model T some competition by the 1910s.