WWII Era Cars

With the outbreak of WWII, the US military needed a vehicle that could handle the mud and jungle of the South Pacific islands as well as the cold weather and forests of Europe. The vehicle they chose became an icon of WWII: the Willys Jeep.

At the start of the war, the US military asked all of the car companies from around the country to produce a prototype vehicles. Our military would then test these vehicles and determine which was the best. The winning company would then be contracted to produce X amount of vehicles for our military to use. The test consisted of only one task: the vehicles had to drive through a mud/water pit and come out with no problem. Out of all of the vehicles tested, only one completed the test: the vehicle designed by American Bantam Motors. Though Bantam won the contract, but due to their small size, production was shared by other companies including Ford and, like the name would suggest, they Willys Motor company. The Willys name stuck because the Willys company tweaked Bantam's designs a bit, and this version became the favorite among soldiers.

The Willys Jeep was loved for one main reason: rugged simplicity. There wasn't much that could go wrong on the vehicle because there wasn't that much on it to begin with. It was just the chassis, motor, a body, and four wheels- it didn't even come standard with a roof! Because the Jeep was light and featured 4-wheel drive, it did not get stuck in mud or muck very easily. The main drawback to the Jeep was its lack of a roof and adequate windshield, which left anyone inside exposed. Some stories have been told about Nazi soldiers stringing piano wire between trees on roads, which would decapitate the driver of the Jeep if he was going too fast. Despite its problems, the Jeep was loved by all American soldiers and the soldiers of countries that we sold Jeeps to. General Eisenhower even put the Jeep on his list of top 5 things that helped us win the war, which included the M1 Garand rifle, the M9A1 Bazooka antitank weapon, and the C-74 transport plane.

1920s Autos

The car was a hot commodity during the 1920s. The legendary Ford Model T was quick to produce and in turn inexpensive for the consumer. This, along with the new concept of buying expensive items on credit and paying over time, made it easier than ever for average Americans to own a car. An assembly line worker could afford a car with just 4 months' pay.

As cars became more and more popular, lots of infrastructure had to be reworked. Roads that were originally designed to handle horse traffic quickly deteriorated with increased used by cars. Funding from the local, state, and federal levels helped to overhaul the road system so that they could withstand used by cars.

In my opinion, the 1920s were an important part of automobile history. Early in the decade, there were countless car companies in the US and abroad. As strong companies found their niches in the market, weaker companies began to go out of business. Many of the companies that were left are still around today, including Ford, GM (and its respective sub-brands such as Chevrolet and Buick), and Mercedes-Benz.

The included picture is a 1927 Chevrolet advertisement.


Source: http://www.1920-30.com/automobiles/
Picture: http://www.philseed.com/files/images/chevrolet-1927.jpg