Pre World War II Cars

Pre WWII cars era (sometimes called the classic era) is defined as the period starting with the Great Depression in the 1930s up to the recovery of World War II in 1948. During this period, cars start to exhibit a more streamlined design brought about by integrated fenders and fully closed bodies. Many sedan body types in incorporate a rear truck area for storage compartment. Other aspect of the cars like the headlights, running boards as well as wings are also slowly merged with the body of the car towards the end of the end of the classic era. Also, as the industry matured and consolidated towards the end of the classic era, the number of car manufacturers is reduced significantly.

Major innovation during this era are still used in today's modern vehicles, although many reinventions have been made since. One of the more prominent ones include the front-wheel drive that was a feature of the Traction Avant by manufacturer Andre Citroën in 1934, though this feature have been introduced in earlier road cars made by Alvis and Cord, as wells as the racing cars made by Miller. Speculation even said that the front-wheel drive appear as early as 1897.

Pre World War II cars are a common exhibit in special shows. They do not run fast on the roads and have to have a special “antiques” license in order to be allowed on the road. They are often put on display, but not used for practical purposes. In other words, you are not going to take the old car down to the store to get a gallon of milk.