The Brass Car Era Featured Cars
The Brass Car Era featured cars and trucks built between 1890 and 1918
 Such very old vehicles present special challenges to today's collectors. Replacement parts must nearly always be handmade and basic documentation such as wiring diagrams and specification sheets are often nonexistent. The huge variety of companies and technologies represented during this formative period is also a complicating factor. It has been estimated that there were well over 1,000 manufacturers in the U.S. alone. Nevertheless, an active collector community exists for these vehicles, which when well restored can be extremely valuable. The very, very rare original-condition survivor can be even more so. The early Ford Model T is an example of a Brass Era car for the mass market, and the early European Hispano-Suiza models are fairly typical of expensive models of the time. The gold-tone trim which is occasionally added to modern luxury sedans is a reference back to autodom's great Age of Brass. In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine cataloged the entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. |
The Antique Car Era featured cars and trucks built before 1920
The Antique Car Era followed the Brass Car Era at a time when automotive pioneers were trying to adapt gasoline engines to most anything on wheels. Antique cars were the first mass produced vehicles with gasoline engines, immortalized by Henry Ford´s model T. They were at the forefront of quality control, standardized parts - and the industry itself.
Steam power proved too cumbersome and electric motors were limited by battery technology, as they still are today. But gasoline was cheap and plentiful, encouraging both two-stroke and four-stroke development.
By 1910 there were over 500 companies competing for supremacy. But by the time the Great Depression hit in 1929 , only 60 had survived and twelve years later there was less than 20.
The early cars were built in back yards and barns, with more wood than steel. There were no guarantees or repair facilities and buyers were left to their own devices to keep them on the road. They were a significant investment that only the well-to-do could afford but they were far from luxurious. The engines had to be started with a crank that frequently kicked back and could easily break your arm. It took two strong arms to turn the steering wheel. There were no doors, or heaters or windshield wipers. And when headlights were finally added they had to be lit with a match. In addition, gasoline was not always easy to find and the lack of roads coupled with crude tire technology resulted in all to frequent flats.
However, it was an exciting time for inventors and entrepreneurs and names like Ford, Daimler, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Studebaker, Olds and Hudson became household names.
Up until 1920, when the average worker earned less than $1500 a year, automobiles were hand made - one at a time - and could cost $3,000, $6,000 and even $10,000 dollars. Then Henry Ford revolutionized the industry by creating the assembly line and pre-manufactured, replaceable parts. It was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
The Model T Ford sold for less than $300, putting it within reach of millions of people, and the automobile industry was born. The affordable automobile became a national sensation and more cars begat more roads, more gas stations and drive-in restaurants and movies. Taking the family for a Sunday drive replaced an afternoon walk in the park. More roads meant people could go further quicker and the suburbs were born.
Henry Ford started the frenzy but it took the likes of Alfred P. Sloan to perpetuate it from year to year with the Chevrolet and ´planned obsolescence´. Henry sold millions of black Model T Fords while men like Sloan saw the value of enticing people with new gadgets. Annual offerings of handy accessories, such as the electric starter, headlights, synchromesh transmissions and trunks kept the industry alive and customers drooling for more.
The beginning years were wild and exciting as manufacturers, employees and customers pushed and shoved for their wants and rights. Plants produced pollution without regard; employees went on strike and formed unions; and the customer ruled - developing an insatiable appetite for more and more and more. But it was a new road of opportunity, filled with potholes and perils, leading to setbacks and heartbreak. The first obstacles came with World War I, leading to the Vintage Car Era, then came the Great Depression and World War II, leading to the Classic Car Era.
The Vintage Car Era featured cars and trucks built between 1920 and 1930
The Vintage Car Era followed World War I, a time when factories, machinery and men needed work and promises of better times encouraged pioneers. Vintage cars were built by would-be inventors in barns and backyards, without thoughts of warrantee or repair. Henry Ford kicked off the industrial revolution with his assembly line, but the automotive industry was truly born after World War I, during the Antique Car Era, when entrepreneurs like Ford, Daimler, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, Studebaker, Olds and Hudson were household names. After the war, military plants were quick to retool for automobile production and the lack of government regulations for safety, the environment or employees gave it a sense of the wild wild west. Industrial accidents were all too common and compensation was at the whim of the employer. There were no vehicle requirements like windshields, doors, lights, turn signals or seat belts. There were no pollution control devices or air bags, and brakes were problematic. There were over 500 companies competing for supremacy in 1910 but by the time the Great Depression hit in 1929 only 60 had survived, and twelve years later there was less than 20. The Great Depression of 1929 all but brought the burgeoning automobile industry to its knees and the build up of military plants for World War II, once again paved the way for an all new generation of automobiles, and the Classic Car Era. |
The Classic Car Era featured cars and trucks built between 1946 and 1972*
The American automobile industry began about 1900 and drove the US into the Industrial Revolution in the 1920´s with replaceable parts and the assembly line. The first fifty years was an unruly time with an "anything goes" attitude by manufacturers and consumers alike. These were the years of The Great Depression, two World Wars, and the birth of labor unions. There were no government regulations and little regard for pollution or vehicle safety. 1955 Chevrolet NomadAs the American people recovered from the Second World War they embraced the role of consumer and the annual parade of fancy new cars. For the next ten years the automobile designers lead the way with bigger, better and more powerful cars and factories retooled for new methods of production. Price wars eliminated many small companies, a significant recession put consumers on edge, and the Big Three emerged as kings.The Classic Car Era began in 1946 as the Cold War, the Communist threat in Cuba, civil rights and Vietnam brought new strife and concerns to the American people. The 1960´s also brought new concerns for Detroit. As foreign automakers imported a new breed of compact, more efficient cars American automakers responded by dropping their trademark fins and consumers eagerly accepted GMs´ all new Corvair, Fords´ Falcon and Chryslers´ Valiant. The smaller cars went faster and the introduction of the Big Block V-8´s assured Americans that the horsepower war was still on. By 1964 the Big Three had stuffed V-8 engines into their mid-size cars and the Muscle Car was born with names like Camero, Firebird and Barracuda. Throughout this new profusion of speed and visual marketing AMC managed to hold on to a distant fourth place but in 1966 Studebaker closed its doors. The American automobile industry was knocked to its knees in the 1970´s by two significant events. First, the Clean Air Act of 1970 practically killed the use of high performance engines over the next few years. And then the oil embargo in the winter of 1973 encouraged consumers to conserve gasoline. By 1978 Congress had passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule and Detroit was scrambling to comply. The gas-guzzlers of the past were replaced by smaller, more efficient vehicles modeled after the ever-present imports and an all new race for fuel economy supremacy began - marking the end of the Classic Car Era. * The Classic Car Era does not necessarily define classic cars. For instance, many DMVs and define a classic car as any vehicle over 15-25 years old and the Classic Car club of American says classic cars were produced between 1925 and 1948. The Classic Car club of American says: "e;A CCCA Classic is a ´fine´ or ´distinctive´ automobile, either American or foreign built, produced between 1925 and 1948. They are also sometimes called ´Full Classics,´ or just plain ´Classics´ (with a capital "C"). Generally, a Classic was high-priced when new and was built in limited quantities. Other factors, including engine displacement, custom coachwork and luxury accessories, such as power brakes, power clutch, and ´one-shot´ or automatic lubrication systems, help determine whether a car is considered to be a Classic.quote; |
The Hot Rod Era originated with home-made custom cars that were typically found in old barns and scrap yards
| Hot Rods were born when backyard mechanics discovered how much fun it is to customize a discarded Model T Ford. And when they cut off the top the roadster was born. Hot rods and roadsters have been the trademarks of street racers and speed buffs since the first V-8 engine and continue to be both a popular pastime and commercial enterprise. The Model T Ford became known as the 'T-Bucket' and from those days forward they have had an irresistible allure to 'grease monkeys' and 'gearheads'. As the original parts became impossible to find, new companies surfaced to meet the challenge. Today, you can purchase a Model T fiberglass body and build a brand new hot rod from scratch. But the hot rod was not limited to the Model T. Every hand-made custom car that favored speed can be called a hot rod, or just 'rod'.  T Bucket |
The Muscle Car Era featured cars and trucks built between 1964 and 1972
Muscle Cars are a product of the Classic Car Era. They evolved from the feverish consumerism that followed World War II, when bigger and faster were always better. Muscle Cars evolved by accident at a time when Detroit was trying to stop the invasion of imported cars with new, light-weight models like the Corvair, Falcon and Valiant. Pontiac GTO However, despite America's love for horsepower, the Clean Air Act of 1970 called for pollution control devices that hampered performance. And then the oil embargo of 1973 limited the supply of gasoline. By the time congress passed the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule in 1978 the Muscle Car was gone forever. |
