Every week, over the next 70 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, 1922, 1923, 1924,1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929 !)

Without any further ado, i present you the year 1930...

But first, lets hear that Jingle...

(VH1 Jingle)I love the 30's.... I love the 30's.... I love the 30's!!!!!(VH1 Jingle)

The 1930 Cadillac "V-16" is the industry's first production car to offer sixteen-cylinder engine and immediately sets a new standard for power, performance, and luxury.

V16 LaSalle Fleetwood Roadster Convertible

Modified by Gateway at 6:05 PM 4-10-2005

Quote, originally posted by Turbiodiesel! »

It's like rubbernecking a horrible, high-speed accident made entirely of words.

Quote, originally posted by Armour »

do you have the specs on that v16(weight, power, torque etc..)

This is all i could find... 165hp and could hit 100mph, in 1930!

1930 Fleetwood Cadillac V16
The Cadillac V16 was produced until 1940, and during that time made a mark for the reputation of Cadillac as a provider of luxury cars. Cadillac designed the chassis for these cars around the engine and basically offered custom built cars. A customer for a 1930 Cadillac V16 could choose from over 30 different body styles in a catalog from Fleetwood. In 1930, 2887 V16s were built. Repercussions of the Great Depression caused sales to falter and changes to be made during the V16's lifespan.

The V16 was a 45° Vee engine equipped with two carburetors. Two eight-cylinder nickel cast iron blocks were used for the engine. Five main bearings supported the crankshaft in an aluminum crankcase. Four counterweights were used to balance the engine. The bore was 76.2 (3 in) and the stroke was 101.6 mm (4 in) for a total capacity of 7.4 L (452 in3). Power was rated at 1123 kW (165 hp) with a compression ratio of 5.11:1 (ranged from 5.35:1 to 4.98:1 for variations). It was an overhead valve engine that used an automatic valve adjustment system using an eccentric cam on the rocker arm shaft. This cam adjusted valve lash to zero as the engine temperature increased.

The wheelbase of the 1930 Cadillac was 3759 mm (148 in). The V16 had 3273 parts associated with it and could achieve speeds of 129-161 km/h (80-100 mph). Prices ranged from $5300 to almost $10,000, at a time when the average Chevrolet might cost under $500.

At the Paris Motor Show Mercedes Benz introduces their biggest, heaviest and most expensive passenger car yet, the type 770 "Big Mercedes" (W 07) with a 7.7 litre I8 engine with a supercharger.

---

And I found a nice original picture from 1930, showing a Fiat somewhere in Southern Germany.

Quote, originally posted by DoktaJoch »

At the Paris Motor Show Mercedes Benz introduces their biggest, heaviest and most expensive passenger car yet, the type 770 "Big Mercedes" (W 07) with a 7.7 litre I8 engine with a supercharger.

Holy panzerwagen.
That thing is huge.

I was lucky enough to take a short ride in a Cadillac V16, a '30 Fleetwood sedan, about six years ago at a local carshow in Urbana, IL. The legend of this car's smoothness stands as truth. The near-silence of the engine, both within and without the car, was uncanny. The only other engine I've ever heard (or more correctly, NOT heard) due to its extraordinary silence (at idle that is) is a well-tuned Ford Flathead V8, and just about the only smoother engine I've yet experienced (while driving) would have to be the Mercedes Benz aluminum 3.8l V8 from the W126 chassis S-sedans of the eighties. They were DAMNED smooth; like a turbine.

One other notable thing about that '30 Cadillac V16 I rode in: The owner lifted the hood while the engine was idling, and when I placed my hand on the top of the engine, I could not tell if it was running or not, since it was so uncannily sam-moooooooth.

If Cadillac ever rediscovers their long-lost magic ability with automobiles, the luxury makers that hound them now had better watch out.

Modified by vwlarry at 2:59 PM 4-9-2005

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Quote, originally posted by Gateway »

This is all i could find... 165hp and could hit 100mph, in 1930!

Isn't it amazing that, today, we can get that same power from an inline 4? I can't imagine how powerful 165 hp must have seemed to car enthusiasts back then.

Furthermore, at that time, the ability of an engine to produce solid, grunty, low-end torque was much more highly valued than it is today. Gearshifting was viewed as a chore then, with recalcitrant, non-synchromesh gearboxes and chattery clutches even in the best automobiles. Thus, the ability of an engine to "lug", that is, to be able to effortlessly move away from a near dead-start in third, or high, gear, was prized and sought after by the luxury makers on both sides of the Atlantic. Think of it as a "one speed" transmission, and you have the goal of most automotive engineers at that time.

In this regard, the V16 Cadillac was at or near the top of the heap in 1930. Low gear in these cars is almost superfluous, and starting out in second is effortless. It has BAGS of low-end torque, and produces it with creamy smoothness, thanks to 452 cubic inches spread-out over 16 teacup-sized pistons, producing their power in perfectly balanced little pulses as opposed to a few BIG BANGS. It's a phenomenol engine even today.

We in the world of 2005 really have no idea just how technologically far ahead was the United States' automobile industry during the 1930's, which was perhaps the most exciting and fruitful and prolific technological decade in the history of the automobile, bar none. American motorists during this great decade enjoyed automotive advances that stood the rest of the world's auto industry on its ear, and on top of it all, the advances were made available to ordinary working people at affordable prices; not limited to the elite and wealthy few. It makes me angry and sad at the same time to see so many Vortex younger members sell the USA so short, since they obviously have NO IDEA of their own country's HUMUNGOUS role in the ultimate evolution of the very cars that they idolize today.

Modified by vwlarry at 10:47 PM 4-9-2005

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Therefore, I give you...the bump.

Modified by vwlarry at 11:18 PM 4-9-2005

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Ford tops Chevrolet in production- 1,140,710 cars to 640,980- but Chevy's "Stovebolt Six" is gaining favor.

GM cars sport tilted windshields.

Cadillac offers V12 and V16 engines, plus power brakes.

Oakland abandons its 6-cylinder engine and turns to an unreliable V8. The 85hp, 250 cubic inch V8 featured a 180 degree crankshaft, and vibrated badly at high RPM.

Studebaker pioneers free-wheeling, starting a trend that will last several years.

The American Austin Car Company is formed to build a variant of the British Austin Seven, the minicar's production begins in May 1930. The $465 coupe seated two and rode on a 75 inch wheelbase. The 46 cubic inch engine made just 14 horsepower. The roadster weighed in at 1,100 pounds.

The Buick-built Marquette arrives with an L-head six in June 1929 as a '30 model, it lasts just one season.

A FWD Gardner is announced (to join the rear-drive models), but only a few prototypes are built.

Cadillac, Chrysler, Dodge, LaSalle, Marmon, and Roosevelt cars are all wired for radio installation.

A revised Model A Ford debuts in January with taller hood-to-body lines and smaller balloon tires.

Chrysler's new "Steelweld" bodies use few wooden elements.

Cadillac engines have automatic hydraulic tappet clearance adjustment to reduce maintenance.

Hupmobile claims to be the first American car with an oil cooler.

Studebaker develops a carburetor-intake silencer; installs helical gears in its transmissions.

Graham-Paige uses rubber-cushioned springs and drops the "-Paige" suffix from car badges. Prices ranged from $845 to a sobering $4,505.

The National Automobile Chamber of Commerce launches a plan to scrap 360,000 obsolete vehicles to help combat the "used car problem".

Industry pioneers Harry C. Stutz, Andrew Riker, and Lionel M. Woolson die.

Cadillac launches the magnificent 165-bhp Sixteen in January. Some 33 V16 variants were listed, starting at a pricey $5,350.

Chrysler debuts its "CJ" six, the "lowest priced six ever to bear the Chrysler name".

DeSoto's K-Series starts the season, but is replaced by the CK Finer Six.

A Speedster is DuPont's most notable model; it features cut down doors, narrow headlights, and a $5,000+ price tag.

Essex and Hudson boast a new "Sun Sedan" (two-door convertible sedan) body style.

Franklins sport new styling and a reworked supercharged engine.

The "Great Eight" Hudsons debut as the sixes depart.

A Twin-Ignition Nash Eight is new this year. Eights rode a longer wheelbase and had a dashboard starter button.

Willys adds a new straight-eight; Whippet expires early in 1931.

Ford V8 engine experiments are begun in secret.

Immodestly heralded as the "World's Finest Motor Car", the Dusenberg Model J merited the title. Under this roadster's hood sat a 420 cubic inch, 265 horsepower inline eight. A Model J could reach 116 mph-- nearly 90 in second gear. A bare chassis cost $8,500. The technically advanced DOHC engine measured 4 feet with a 32-valve head. Fittings were nickel, chrome, and stainless steel.

1930 Model Year Production:
1. Ford- 1,140,710
2. Chevrolet- 640,980
3. Buick- 181,743
4. Studebaker- 123,216
5. Hudson/Essex- 113,898
6. Plymouth- 108,350
7. Dodge- 90,755
8. Chrysler- 77,881

Modified by Bonfire at 10:55 PM 4-9-2005

I don't think so, there's no one at McLaren who can weld that badly.
Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1, on if it would resemble the Ferrari F40.

...c'mon someone, SAY something! 1930 wasn't a THOUSAND years ago; there are still lots of people still living that were around in 1930!

This was the beginning of the greatest decade of development and innovation in the entire history of the automobile! What was Dr. Porsche doing in '30, fer instance? This period in the Great One's carreer is little known, so let's see someone put-up some interesting coverage of Porsche's goings-on in this year.

That is your assignment. It is due no later than sundown today. Extra-credit points will be awarded for off-topic/tangential research. Thank you v. muchly.

Modified by vwlarry at 12:43 PM 4-10-2005

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

True...

Where do we start?

Today, Volkswagen is the largest automaker in Europe. However, it has not always been this way...

Literally, the word "volkswagen" means "people's car." In Germany, the idea of a people's car wasn't exactly a new one. Before the 1930's, there had been many efforts to create simple cars that everyone could afford, but none met with profound success. Almost all cars before 1930, even if they were designed to be simple enough for the average person, ended up costing more than the average worker's yearly wage.

Meanwhile, the year is 1930, and Ferdinand Porsche had just set up an automotive design company, which became known as the Porsche Büro. The company patented a sophisticated independent front suspension system, which consisted of transversely mounted torsion bars connected to two trailing arms on each side. At the time, this was lighter than most other common types of suspension. In 1931, a German motorcycle company, Zündapp, asked Porsche if he could design a suitable car for them. Porsche came up with a streamlined 2 door sedan, which had lines similar to the Beetle. It was designated the Type 12. Zündapp wanted to put in a 1.2 liter radial engine from one of their motorcycles...this was the end of the line for this design, as it didn't make it any further.

More to come....

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Thank you for clarifying that for everyone else.

Bentley Boys at Le Mans, 1930

The victorious Speed Six team at Le Mans in 1930. On the extreme left is Barnato's chauffeur. Fifth from left standing is W O with, on his left, Sammy Davis (in beret), Frank Clement, Barnato, Glen Kidston, Clive Dunfee and Dick Watney. Mechanic Stan Ivermee is above Barnato and Hassan is above Kidston, with Kemish next to him.

By 1930 the 4½ litre supercharged ‘Blower’ cars were running and Birkin entered a team of three for the 1927 Le Mans race. W O entered the works team of three 6½ litre cars.

With 18 cars on the grid, the 7½ litre supercharged Mercedes of Rudi Caracciola was the most serious threat.

In the opening laps of the race Birkin had the time of his life duelling with the Mercedes. Overtaking at nearly 120 mph just before Mulsanne with his off-side wheels on the grass, Birkin caught Caracciola totally by surprise, but in the process threw the tread of his rear tyre. Undaunted, he continued to set the fastest lap of the race, before the tyre finally blew in the following lap.

The chase for Caracciola was taken over by the 6½ litre cars, initially Davis and then the Barnato/Kidston car. Barnato had a terrific time. The lead changed back and forth throughout the night forcing Caracciola to use the supercharger almost continually, instead of occasionally for overtaking as it was originally intended. Eventually at about 4.20am it proved too much for the Mercedes which blew its gasket.

Thereafter, W O slowed the cars to a fast tour. The Blowers kept going until about noon, with the two 6½ litre cars of Barnato/Kidston and Clement/Watney taking 1st and 2nd place respectively.

http://www.bdcl.org/HistoryRacingBentleyBoys.htm

Whenever I imagine how gruelling, physically, the LeMans race must have been for those drivers back then, in those punishing racing cars, I'm filled with respect and awe for them. Just the thought of emerging from hours of having one's face battered with pebbles, bugs, and then having the whole mess topped-off with a nice coating of hot engine oil is unreal.

We have it so soft and cushy today it's unbelievable.

Modified by vwlarry at 1:31 PM 4-10-2005

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

I remember reading somewhere a long while back that Porsche was a big fan of Tatras back then and that the VW design kind of built upon that. Anyone else know anything about this? Ive always wondered if it was true or not.

Drive fast, turn sharp, signal sporadically for no reason.

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

I believe the Sun Sedan was offered only as a Hudson. It was only offered in 1930.

Quote, originally posted by Bonfire »

American Car News of 1930: The "Great Eight" Hudsons debut as the sixes depart.

Hudson had noticed the public's enthusiasm towards other straight 8 engines and decided to join the fray with their own 213.8 CID straight eight. Boasting 5.78:1 compression it developed 80 horsepower @ 3600 RPM. It was the first Hudson engine to abandon the "splash" lubrication system in favor of a unique valveless oil pump.

Although continuing the Super-Six was deemed "unthinkable" at the time, the six would return in 1932 and eventually dominate stock car racing.

ban OneBadBug!

In 1915 a Stutz Bearcat was driven from San Diego to New York in a record breaking 11 days, 7 hours, and 15 minutes by famed race car driver Cannonball Baker.

Stutz Motor Car Co. went public in 1916, and Harry sold out his remaining interest in the company in 1919.

By 1930, Stutz Motor Car Company was in severe financial trouble due to the Great Depression, but continued producing cars. The ownership at the time was attempting to redefine the company as a maker of luxury cars, getting away from the pure race and sports car image of its past.

This beauty is the 1930 Stutz Monte Carlo Lebaron

The Stutz Motor Car company would not make it more than half way through the decade of the 30's.

Find all of the Flashback episodes in The Automobile Flashback Series Index

Further proving the fact... Some car manufacturers need to stay true to their roots. (Well, if you are in the midsts of the great depression that is.)

The following year, in 1928, saw the introduction of a more refined and practical form of automotive safety glass, when Ford Motor Company featured a new type of laminated, shatterproof glass in the windshields of the brand-new Ford Model A. This Ford approach used two sheets of thin glass with a bonding agent sandwiched between the layers. It was very successful, and the entire industry followed Ford's lead in the coming years.

BTW, Fred Moskovics was also responsible for the design of the excellent and advanced Stutz straight-8 engine of the early thirties known as the DV-32. This was a double overhead-camshaft, four-valve-per-cylinder powerplant ("DV-32"...dual valve-32 total) that rivalled the Duesenberg brother's Model J engine for sophistication and power output. I believe it also actually outperformed the "J" engine in terms of its ability to rev to (for the time) very high rpm's. This is getting ahead of the game, but the '32 Stutz "Super Bearcat" with this engine is one of the world's most prized classics today.

A lot of people think that automotive safety consciousness is a v. recent phenomenon. It's really not at all. Such is the conceit of the historically illiterate.

Modified by vwlarry at 8:16 PM 4-11-2005

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Find all of the Flashback episodes in The Automobile Flashback Series Index

Those cars are so easy on the eyes, aren't they?

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Cord L29 - Front Wheel Drive.

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

Quote, originally posted by vwlarry »

May God Bless the spirits of Alan Leamy and Errett Lobban Cord.

But unfotunately, as with Stutz Motor Car Co., Cord did not survive beyond the 30's either.

Quote, originally posted by http://www.panacealimo.com/cord.html »

"The right sort of men don't work for money. They work for what money will bring, and that's what I try to help them earn." E. L. Cord, born in 1894, learned to make money at a young age. A high-school dropout, he rented out his inexpensive room to a friend who would sleep in the bed during the hours Cord was working. That was only the beginning. It was reported that he made and lost three $50,000.00 fortunes by the time he was 21. Cord bought the Auburn Motor Company in 1925 and became a pioneer aircraft and automobile manufacturer. He developed the classic 1929 and 1930's Cord, a front-wheel drive vehicle. The annual car show of November 1935, brought out a new design for the Cord Corporation of Auburn, Indiana. The classic 810 and 812 design lived until the Cord Corporation's demise in August 1937. Celebrities such as Tom Mix, Amelia Earhart and Barbara Stanwyck, to name a few, owned Cord models.

I suspect we will see more Cord posts before the 30's episodes of this series are over, however.

Find all of the Flashback episodes in The Automobile Flashback Series Index

Inspired by the company's increasing success during the first half of the 1920s, BMW's head, Franz Josef Popp, started to look at ways of expanding its manufacturing interests some time around 1925 and it seemed that motor cars would be a logical addition to the BMW range of aircraft engines and motorcycles.

Theses were times of rampant inflation in Germany however. The effects of the 1914-18 Great War were still being felt and any attempt to sell luxury cars was likely to be doomed to failure. So Popp began instead by considering a revolutionary economy-car prototype designed by Professor Wunibald Kamm. This car was astonishingly advanced for its time, with chassisless aluminium-alloy construction, front-wheel drive, all-round independent suspension and a flat-twin engine - but it was too complicated to be built cheaply. Popp therefore decided to look elsewhere.

Not long afterwards, in 1927, a new economy car appeared on the German market. Badged as the Dixi 3/15, it was actually the British Austin Seven, built under licence in Eisenach. As it happened, Popp knew the owner of the industrial group to which Dixi belonged and he lost no time in proposing a deal under which the company and its manufacturing licences should pass to BMW. And so in September 1928, BMW bought the Dixi company and the famous blue-and-white roundel began to appear on a car which was now called the BMW 3/15.

Design modification, initially minor, soon began to make the 3/15 a very different car from its Austin relative and by the time it ceased production in 1932 it was almost as much the work of BMW's chief engineer Max Friz as it was of Sir Herbert Austin. It was no fault of BMW's that sales had dropped off after the Great Depression of 1930 and that BMW managed to build only 19,000 3/15s in four years while Dixi had sold 9,000 in one year alone during more prosperous times.

Throughout the period of 3/15 production, the car was built at the old Dixi plant in Eisenach. BMW headquarters remained in Munich, some 200 miles away to the south-west. This was where the company had been established in 1916 and it was here that aero engines and motorcycles continued to be built.

Modified by lazydog108 at 8:01 PM 4-11-2005

I was born in the wrong age. The thirties is where I belonged.

“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” - St. Thomas Aquinas

But to keep it on topic, here's the 1930 versions of each of the four rings in the Audi logo:

The 1930 Audi SS

The 1930 Horch 500 Pullman-Cabrio

The 1930 DKW F1

The 1930 Wanderer W10

Find all of the Flashback episodes in The Automobile Flashback Series Index

More info, specs, etc... on this?