The vast majority of drivers in the 1930s were perfectly happy with their spacious, easily-accessed, upright, slab-fronted cars. But now that cars were capable of comfortably exceeding 80 mph (129 km/h) a small number of stylists and engineers in the United States and Europe were...
Commissioned to create a people’s car (Volks Wagen) by Adolf Hitler, Ferdinand Porsche designed an engine that was cooled by air rather than water, saving the weight and complication of a radiator, water pump, and hoses. When car production resumed after World War II, the...
In the 1930s motoring became popular for the middle classes of the United States and Europe, with discerning buyers choosing cars for reliability and power, spaciousness and price. In the United States, new marques such as Pontiac were created to cater to the mass market,...
New events such as the Mille Miglia in Italy and the Le Mans 24-hour race in France in the 1920s meant that by the following decade competitive automobile racing was thriving. It led to many manufacturers developing models that could be used on both road...
Cars like the Corvette, Camaro, and Blazer carry the name of one of the most charismatic racing drivers pre-World War I. Yet Louis Chevrolet had precious little to do with the products that have sold in the tens of mil lions—his heart was always at...
The 1930s saw Italian marques take the lead in European motor racing as French and British opposition waned. However, it wasn’t long before German government investment created immensely fast and dominant racing machines. These German cars left other manufacturers looking at lesser formulae where they...
The Great Depression that struck the United States in 1929 and spread around the world hit car sales hard. Some people still wanted cars, though their aspirations were lower. Upmarket car makers introduced smaller, more affordable versions for the new decade, and manufacturers of small...
One of the finest models ever produced by Alfa Romeo, the 6C 1750 is often considered to be the first true Grand Tourer. Equally at home on the road and the racetrack, the 6C was supplied as a rolling chassis upon which specialists ranging from...
Unmistakably French in style and yet universal in outlook, Renault remains one of the world’s most successful car makers. For more than 100 years Renault’s reputation for design flair has been matched by its accomplishments in all the major motor-sport arenas, from rallying to Formula...
In the 1920s manufacturers competed to produce practical motor cars at prices the middle classes could afford, finally enabling car ownership to extend beyond the wealthy elite. Some of these vehicles were terribly primitive, others almost too small to be usable. But there were also...