Great to see you brought this back, Gateway!
My auto history stretches only as far back as the 80s... so I'll contribute in about 60 weeks or so
#1
Welcome to my "Automobile flashback series"Every week, over the next 76 weeks, i will make a "Automobile flashback series" thread. Where, we will cover "that" year of the automobile. The good, the bad and the ugly. Interesting facts, outrageous opinions, and amazing feats will be posted.
Quote, originally posted by 4x4s »
As stated in previous episodes, don't be shy about asking questions. While we all are pasionate about our current cars, none of them would be what they are today without the constant innovation, improvement, development, and even outright blunders of the past. Ask questions, post up any info or photos you may find, and let's all learn something interesting. (And don't miss the previous episodes: 1920, 1921, and 1922, 1923!)Without any further ado, i present you the year 1924...
But first, lets hear that Jingle...
(VH1 Jingle)I love the 20's.... I love the 20's.... I love the 20's!!!!!(VH1 Jingle)
In The United States- Passenger-car output dips to 3,185,881 units; trucks rise slightly to 416,659
- For the first time, all cars at the National Automobile show have gasoline engines
- Balloon tires and four-wheel brakes are standard on several makes
- Twin-filament headlight bulbs appear
- Baked-enamel paint is used on various low-priced automobiles
- William S. Knudsen is named Chevrolet's president
- The General Motor Proving Ground is completed at Milford, Michigan
- Ford Motor Co. stock now valued at nearly $1 billion
- New York City taxi rates cut to 10 cents per half-mile
- Reports show California has highest auto fatality rate in US
New Makes: 1924Balboa (prototype), Chrysler, Kleiber, Luxor, S&S, Schuler, and Traveler
1924 Production figures
1. Ford.............................................. ..1,720,795
2. Chevrolet......................................... ..264,868
3. Dodge............................................. ...193,861
4. Willys-Overland..................................163,000
5. Buick............................................. ......60,411
6.Hudson/Essex...................................133,950
7.Durant makes....................................111,000
8. Studebaker.......................................1 05,387
By the Numbers
- US Population................................114,109, 000- Avg. Income................................$1,1244/year
- DOW Avg............................................... .....121
- New Births........................................2,91 3,000
- New Home Median Price)........................$7,720
- New Car (Avg. Cost).................................$ 398
- Gas............................................... ......21¢/gal.
- Milk (Qt).............................................. .......13¢
- Bread (Loaf)............................................ .....9¢
- Eggs.............................................. ....43¢/doz.
- Steak (lb).............................................. ....41¢
- Stamp............................................. ...........2¢
*New in 1924*
- Wheaties cereal
- White Tower
- Kleenex tissues
- (Kimberely-Clark)
- MGM movie studio was formed
- J Edgar Hoover becomes director of FBI
- Macy's Thanksgiving parade
- self-winding wrist watch
- A&W root beer drive ins
- Feb 8 -1st prisoner ever was executed in Nevada's gas chamber
- Tootsietoys
Warning: Wood content...
1924 Renault
Once, long ago, the ultimate in wheeled transport were carefully crafted bodies built by artisans on the chassis and running gear of famous manufacturers. Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza, Duesenberg, Delage, Isotta-Fraschini and Renault all provided the motive base for exquisite, chauffeur driven works of art. For the sporting customer, a frequent theme was the boat-tail 'torpedo'. Drawing from the features found on fast and elegant watercraft, these boat-tailed land-craft looked fast even while stopped.
But what was a fellow to do, when one just wanted to take the wheel and navigate the city streets in 1924? To be seen at the wheel, in the chauffeur's seat, of your custom bodied grand touring car would have been gauche. No, a different sort of vehicle was required for such a situation. Monsieur Henri Labourdette knew what was required for his genteel clients - a skiff, a diminutive version of his coach-built cabriolets and roadsters. In the mid twenties, Carosserie Henri Labourdette built several torpedo skiffs on a small Renault chassis. This car, a 1924 model, is believed to be the only Labourdette short chassis "boat tail" to survive.
Among antique Renault aficionados, the opinion is that only a handful of these chassis were ever sent to coach builders. Archival pictures of this body style show several differences between similar cars which, obviously, were because of the whim of the person ordering the car. Mahogany wood was used, not just for deck, dash and floors, but also for the internal structure of the body. In general, these customizations cost several times the cost of a completed factory car, but those in the cities who owned large chassis custom-bodied cars could now own a self-driven runabout with the same flair as their chauffeur-driven 40CV or Hispano-Suiza.
Jeff Brock, of Nashville, Tennessee USA, oversaw the "body-off" of the frame "nut and bolt" restoration, which was completed in 1998. The skiff has produced consistent AACA "Best of Show" and 1st place awards. In 1999, It received the Fogle Trophy for Style and Design at Cincinnati’s Ault Park Concours d’elegance.
Features and Specifications- Radically pointed knife-blade boat tail with third seat
- Labourdette signature "flying" wings and small rounded-bottom doors.
- "V" windscreen (extremely rare for short chassis)
- Fine hand-rubbed mahogany deck, dash, floor
- Coach-built body internally framed in mahogany
- Leather interior (recreated as per original patterns still with the car)
- Three place seating
- Two fine canvas tonneaus
- Dual side-mounted wheels (very unusual on this chassis).
- Marchal headlamps
- Tool boxes on both sides
- Electric starter, with auxiliary crank
- 950 cc 4 cylinder 6CV engine
- 3 speed transmission with reverse
French BugattisOne of the six original 1924 GP de Lyon cars, where the T35 was first presented!
1924 T35 Racing... racing at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races! T55 in background
Modified by Gateway at 8:59 PM 2-18-2005
#2
Great to see you brought this back, Gateway!My auto history stretches only as far back as the 80s... so I'll contribute in about 60 weeks or so
#3
When last we tuned in on the career of Walter P. Chrysler, the poor soul was up against another new trial. (See the 1923 post here.)Okay, he was far from poor - he had retired from GM as the Executive Vice President of GM at the age of 45, financially independent. His retirement didn't last - he was contracted by the investors of Willys-Overland for a two year gig to turn around that financially strapped company. While at W-O Chrysler started development of the Chrysler Six, under the Chrysler Motors Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of W-O. The bankers who held the purse strings were scared of new and unproven technology however, so the plans were shelved and the Chrysler Six was never produced by W-O.
After leaving Willys-Overland, good old Walt was tapped by yet another group of investors to reorganize and save the Maxwell-Chalmers Company. After a convoluted recivership and buyback plan was performed, Chrysler took over the Chairmanship of the new Maxwell Motors Company. Having lost the original plans for the Chrysler Six to his previous boss at GM, W.C. Durant at an auction of some excess W-O property, Chrysler hired the engineering firm that responsible for that design and started anew.
By 1923 a prototype had been produced, marketing strategies were ready, and production was ready to begin.
Despit his high position as Chairman of the company, the bank investors still held sway. As happened at W-O, the investors balked at the risks of anything not tried, true, and proven. This was certainly not the case with the innovative Chrysler Six. Chrysler was undaunted. He took his prototype to the 1924 New York Auto Show to be displayed with the other Maxwell and Chalmers models to guage interest in the design.
Unlike the car shows of today, in 1924 experimental and prototype vehicles were not eligible for display - only production vehicles were allowed. Chrysler would not be denied. The show headquarters were at the Hotel Commodore. Chrysler rented the lobby of the hotel for display of the Six. No one could enter or leave the hotel without seeing the cars. By the end of the show he had secured hundreds of orders for the advanced design of the Chrysler Six. Even more importantly, he secured financing from Chase Securities for production of the Chrysler Six.
In 1924, the Chrysler Six was in full production in the old Chalmers plant in Detroit. Maxwell sold eighty - thousand cars that year; thirty-two thousand of them were of the Chrysler marque. The last models of the Chalmers line were offered in 1924. In 1925, Maxwell's bankers were still concerned about the financial stability of the company and wanted to be free from the debt. Not wanting to lose his car and all his efforts that went into saving the company, Mr. Chrysler took steps to secure his hold on the Maxwell Motors Company. He then purchased the banker's stocks which appeased their concerns. The Maxwell Motors Company underwent one last reorganization. On June 6, 1925, the Chrysler Corporation was incorporated with Walter P. Chrysler as the President and Chairman of the Board. By the end of 1925, the Chrysler Corporation recorded a profit of seventeen million dollars. The last of the Maxwell line of cars appeared in 1925. The Chrysler Corporation was now a major player among the top ten automakers of the day.
There is certainly more to the Chrysler story to appear in future episodes of this series, but 1924 can be considered a hallmark year as the true birth of the Chrysler Corportation.
Walter Chrysler and the Chrysler Six
The 1924 Chrysler Six
(Source: http://www3.sympatico.ca/skpowell/wpc.htm)
Modified by 4x4s at 10:19 AM 2-19-2005
#4
I really like the idea of these older car threads for the Car Lounge.However, as a person who researchs and writes for a living, I think that some of the content of this thread and the threads like it need to be properly attributed to the persons who actually researched and wrote it. Links would be great.
This way we can learn more about the people who are taking the time to keep the stories of these old marques alive.
#5
Everything I write, unless properly cited otherwise, is from outtamynoodle. There's my attribution, I guess.
I mean, how does one attribute the collective information garnered from dozens of books and hundreds of magazine articles over 35 years? That's why I insert "IIRC" pretty often.
Modified by vwlarry at 7:35 AM 2-19-2005
#6
Good point. Many of my posts were my own interpretation of various web sources. In some cases I use just one source, and I have posted source links. I do occasionally forget to do this however. I have edited my plast post here to give attribution.
#7
In 1924, The Hudson Motor Co.'s previously mentioned sales of 133,950 Hudson-Essex cars showed a gain of about 50% over 1923. Hudson sales rose 28% while Essex sales skyrocketed 75% due to not only the new six cylinder engine (replacing the four) but also to lower prices, a trend that started with the 3rd year of the Essex sales in 1921. Even with the larger engine, all 1924 Essex cars were priced at less than $1000, while all 1923 four-bangers were above $1000.This year Hudson advertised that their cars were engineered around the new “Balloon tires” to get the best ride and handling available. These new tires were 33”X6.20” replacing the 34”X4.5” on previous Hudsons and 31”X5.25” replacing the 32”X4” on earlier Essex models.
Additionally, 1924 saw an industry first when the Hudson Motor Co. introduced the second series Coach at $1500. Yes a closed automobile could now be had for the same price as a comparable open car, in this case the 7 passenger Phaeton. Of further note, the price of the Coach actually dropped to $1395 by the end of the year pricing it below even the five passenger Phaeton.
Hudson prices this year ranged from $1400 for the 4 seat open Speedster to $2250 for the 7 passenger Sedan.
Essex prices ranged from $900 for the Touring Car to $950 for the Coach, both were 5 passenger cars.
1924 Hudson :
Modified by onebadbug at 7:19 PM 2-19-2005
Last edited by onebadbug; 12-21-2002 at 10:13 AM.
What you get isn't always what you see.
#8
I know it's an Automobile series, but I just thought I'd throw this in. BMW wasn't making cars yet, but they were making these:1924 BMW R32
#9
Like the others have said, good point clowncar. I posted links to most of the content in the other 3 threads. Just forgot to post one in the beginning of this thread.
#10
Quote, originally posted by yem_icculus » I know it's an Automobile series, but I just thought I'd throw this in. BMW wasn't making cars yet, but they were making these: 1924 BMW R32
How about some info on that bad boy?
The first BMW motorcycle – the R 32 is a big surprise. BMW, a company rooted in the production of aircraft engines, was not even two years old when the Peace Treaty of Versailles banned the production of aircraft engines in Germany in June 1919. The company was no longer permitted to produce its six-cylinder, 226 bhp, 19-litre engines and was restricted in 1920 to producing 500cc power units developing 6.5 bhp. The horizontally-opposed cylinder layout became known as a “Boxer” and was supplied to motorcycle manufacturer, Victoria, in Nuremberg in 1921 and Bayerische Flugzeug Werke, who fitted the BMW engine and transmission into their Helios model.
BMW’s General Manager Franz-Josef Popp and his engineering colleagues decided that the best way to support and safeguard BMW’s reputation as an engine manu-facturer would be for the company to build its own motorcycles. Max Friz turns around the Boxer engine.
Max Friz (who had made a name for himself as an outstanding engineer even before the first World War) was given the task of building BMW’s first motorcycle. He had joined BMW in 1917 after having worked on Mercedes’ sensational Grand Prix winning, four-valve ohc. Friz also designed the Type IIIa aircraft engine, the most progressive power unit of its day. While the small M 2 B 15 motorcycle engine developed by colleague Martin Stolle was no particular challenge to him, the job of building an entirely new motorcycle around the Boxer certainly gave him something to think about.
Relishing the challenge, Friz had a large drawing board and stove installed in the guest room of his house opposite the factory. By December 1922, he had produced a full-size, concept machine. His idea was to fit the engine at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, so that the crankshaft would run lengthwise on the motorcycle. The gearbox (also with lengthwise shafts) would be driven directly by a friction clutch and a drive shaft would provide the drive train between the gearbox and the rear wheel. Although there were already several horizontally opposed engines on the mar-ket (the British ABC motorcycle featured an engine with transverse configuration, and both the Belgian FN and American Pierce motorcycle were equipped with a drive shaft) Max Friz was the first engineer to combine all these features on the BMW R 32.
Making its debut in Berlin.
BMW proudly presented its first motorcycle on 28 September 1923 at the German Motor Show in the Kaiser-damm Fair Halls in Berlin. This pitched the Munich Company against no less than 132 other motorcycle manufacturers in Germany alone. The BMW received great praise for its unique technical concept as well as the aesthetic appeal of the new machine.
The BMW R 32 entered series production before the end of 1923 and the first motorcycles were sold to customers for 2,200 reichsmarks following the end of a period of rocketing inflation in Germany. Although the R 32 was one of the most expensive motorcycles on the market, sales were positive.
Setting new standards of quality.
BMW’s new motorcycle stood out from its contemporaries not only because of the engine and gearbox configuration but also because of its frame structure. This consisting of two, fully enclosed steel tube hoops running parallel with each other. Fitted low in the machine’s frame, the Boxer engine lowered the centre of gravity and helped to significantly improve the handling and riding characteristics. Although the front wheel fork allowed a small amount of spring travel, the use of leaf springs provided a certain inherent damping effect.
BMW riders began to reap the benefits of BMW’s experience as an aircraft engine manufacturer and because of the company’s choice of material – light alloy – which was used on the pistons for the first time. Another factor was the high standard of construction and reliability, something that had hardly ever seen before in a motorcycle. There was no chain drive between the engine and gearbox and no chain or belt leading to the rear wheel. The valve shafts, as well as the springs, were sealed off and were dust and oil-tight at the tops on the cylinders. In conjunction with the fully enclosed lubricant circuit, this served to keep the motorcycle clean and to facilitate mainte-nance at all times. Jet-black, burnt-in paintwork and elaborate white decal lines set new standards in the quality of a motorcycle’s finish.
Success in motorsport.
Success on the racetrack is the best way to promote a new motorcycle – especially a new brand about to enter the market. Rudolf Schleich-er, a young BMW engineer was aware of this important factor. After finishing the detailed design and engineering work on the R 32, Rudolf entered the Mittenwalder Steig Hill-Climb race on 2 February 1924 and set a record time on his BM. He also became the first winner in the long motorsport history of Bayerische Motoren Werke.
Using a machine with cast, light-alloy cylinder head designed and built by Rudolf Schleicher, with overhead valves encapsulated beneath a cover hood, three BMW works riders entered the Stuttgart Solitude race on 18 May 1924, each of them winning individual categories. Winning other signi-fi-cant races throughout Germany and with Franz Bieber bringing home the first championship, BMW becomes a leading manufacturer on the racetrack in its first year of motorcycle production. Works and private mo-tor-cycle riders from Munich were to dominate the German motorcycle racing scene in the years to come.
BMW’s unique shaft-driven Boxers also hit the headlines in Great Britain at the 1926 International Six Day Trial, causing a sensation in the country that was the home of mo-tor-cycle racing. Then, Paul Köppen and Ernst Henne won the Targa Florio in Sicily and the Italian press and public started to take a closer interest in BMW.
http://www.motorbike-search-en....html
#11
Did you know?The First MG built was in 1924?
MG Rover has announced the building of the 1.5 millionth MG since production began in 1924. Over its 78-year history many varieties of MG have made their mark on an enthusiastic public, making this one of the most famous sports motoring brands in history.
The 1.5 millionth MG is a new TF 160. In celebration of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, it has been specially painted in a new Jubilee Gold ‘supertallic’ paint.
MG has long been a by-word for sports cars and during its long history the proportion of roadster to sports saloons produced has been exactly 2:1, with the MGB accounting for one third in its own right.
The 1.5 millionth MG has been designated as an exclusive, one-off Golden Jubilee model with special badging including official Golden Jubilee crown logos. It is registered MG02OTF and will participate tomorrow in a motoring cavalcade in London that finishes in the Mall, helping to raise money with the proceeds going to one of the Queen’s nominated Golden Jubilee charities.
The MG TF will be introduced in Australia later this year, replacing the successful and much-loved MGF. It will join the recently-launched MG ZT sports sedan and ZT-T sports wagon, both dynamic new sporting prestige cars starting at under $60,000.
MG Production Totals: 1.5 Million Cars In 78 Years
http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/....html
1924 MG
#12
Do you remember when cars invaded Central Park?Cause i sure as hell don't.
In 1924 People Were Calling for an Auto-Free Central Park
It turns out that wanting cars out of Central Park is hardly a new idea: in The Park and the People, A History of Central Park, by Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar, they discuss the reaction by New Yorkers when cars first invaded Central Park en masse...
In the 1920s, with the middle class now adopting the automobile, general street traffic overflowed into the park; four out of five cars on its drives were simply "passing through" by the shortest possible route. Cars threatened the safety of parkgoers and even of the park itself: in 1922 cars crashed into two hundred park lampposts. In 1929 urban planners counted eight thousand cars on the drive north of the Sheep Meadow in a six-hour period and warned of the danger to pedestrians who tried to cross the forty-to sixty-foot-wide park drives "with no 'isles of safety' for the pedestrians at the crossings."
By the mid-1920s planners and letter writers to the newspapers were continually calling for a ban on automobiles in the park. Short of such drastic intervention, some thought that the solution to the "car menace" lay in slowing down motorists by making the park's drives more winding. Others proposed instead to straighten and widen the old carriage roads to speed up the traffic. Planners urged widening the transverse roads, and also Fifth and Eight avenues, to absorb park traffic and called for reducing the park's speed limit, now twenty miles an hour (and mostly ignored).
"Central Park was laid out as a restful recreation area," state senator Nathan Straus, Jr., said in 1924 when urging that cars be banned. "not as a thoroughfare for mechanical transportation." But by 1932 the automobile was firmly entrenched in city life, and park administrators installed in the park those most prosaic and mechanical of city features, traffic lights.
#13
Dodge Brothers pickup trucks were first produced in 1924.PickupTruck.com - History - Segment One: 1918 to 1928 Dodge Brother Pickups Author: Don Bunn
Dodge Brothers Company entered into an agreement with the Graham Brothers Company in 1921 whereby the Grahams would manufacture one and 1 1/2-ton trucks from mechanical parts supplied by Dodge and with cabs and bodies manufactured in the Graham's plants. The Grahams were able to offer an extensive range of wheelbases, cabs, and bodies to exactly suit the buyer's specifications. These trucks were sold exclusively through Dodge Brothers dealers.
The 1924 3/4-ton Dodge Brothers' pickup was actually built by the Graham Brothers. Very little is known about this truck. In four years less than 2,400 were built. It had a load space 71-inches long by 44.5-inches wide and 12.5-inches high. The tailgate was provided with chains to support it in a parallel position. Its cab and body were constructed entirely of wood reinforced with metal straps.
(Left) This picture was taken from the 1924 pickup's sales literature. The open cab was constructed of wood as was the cargo box. A closed cab was offered. Its drivetrain was the same as the Screenside / Panel.
(Right) Graham Brothers built a one-ton pickup (shown) and a 1 1/2 ton pickup in 1925. The one ton model BB with a closed cab as shown sold for $1,345. It's wheelbase was 130-inches, it was powered by the 212 cubic inch four cylinder Dodge Brothers engine mated to a 3-speed transmission. Its payload rating was 2,000 lbs. Its pickup body model number was 253 and the closed cab model number was 205.
#14
Agreed Clowncar. Most of my posts are made up of a mishmash of stuff from my head, my books and tons of websites, all pre-digested into (hopefully) interesting little nuggets. I will however, try to make up a tiny bibliography at the end of each one. Now, on with the show!As has been my habit thusfar, whither Porsche?
1924 was another bang-up year for our friend Ferdinand. He was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by the Technical University of Stuttgart, cementing him forever in our minds as Dr. Ing. F. Porshce.
Porsche's motorsports efforts were as strong as ever with his supercharged Mercedes 2 litre car walking away with the top 3 spots in the Targa Florio. Piloted by Christian Werner (#10), Christian Lautenschlager and Alfred Neubauer respectively, the cars puzzled the Italian fans as they were sporting an out-of-character red livery.
Of note, I found a source that says Neubauer's co-driver (mechanic) was none other than Ferdinand Porsche! (
http://courseweb.stthomas.edu/....html
http://www.germancarfans.com/c....html http://www.vpracing.com/The_Ra....html
#15
Today we get in our cars, and turn on the tunes when we go for a cruise.What would the 1924 motor head be listening to (if only he had a radio in his car at the time)? Here's a couple of car songs from 1924:
- "Lonesome Road Blues" - by The Blue Ridge Duo (Gene Austin and George Reneau).
- "I'm Wild About Horns on Automobiles" - by Harry Reser's Syncopators. (I'm not sure this was from 1924, but it's close.)
- "Ray and His Little Chevrolet" - by Bennie Krueger and his Orchestra: "Ray was just an ordinary fellow, couldn't get a girl though how he tried, and tried. He never did get far, because he didn't own a car, and all the girls he knew just loved to ride...."
(You can play it here - scroll down to find it: Car Tunes)
- I can't find a link to a recording of this one, but Charles P. Hughes (ever notice how everyone used thier middle initial back then?) wrote a song cautioning kids about playing safe by the street or the road. This is from the Smithsonian web site:
This image is part of the sheetmusic for the song “Beware Little Children,”written by Charles P. Hughes in 1924.
Above the score for the song the publishers warn children about the dangers of the road by informing them of the following: “10,000 Little Children were killed by autos in 1924. 700,000 persons were injured—many for life. There are 12 principal Commandments of Safety. Keep these and you will be safe from accidents. Be sure to show your work to daddy and mother and your teacher. Be a little Apostle of Safety. Have your teacher form and ‘ABC’ Club, which means ‘Always Be Careful,’ and sing the Safety Song at home and in school." The song’s lyrics were laden with advice to avoid being hit by a car, but placed the onus of responsibility on the child, not the driver: “When you're playing in the street don't forget that danger's near/With the noise of scrambling feet you can't hear the cars appear/And soon the little friend you loved lies in pain/You may never see him again.”That sounds like a catchy tune, eh?
#16
Okay, the music post was lame. I'm sorry.Doesn't anyone else have anything to contribute here? Google can turn up a lot od interesting tidbits.
No questions or comments on the cool vintage tech, or on the silly ideas that never went anywhere?
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