It's more than a lack of context as to why there aren't many cars made before 1955 that I find interesting. I'm of the opinion that car design really didn't hit its groove until after World War II and it took another ten to twenty years to perfect before eventually giving way to safety regulations.
Pre-1955 cars, especially prewar cars, that I find interesting are almost exclusively General Motors makes and models. Exceptions proving the rule, I'd have to find a space in my Jay Leno-esque fantasy garage for a 1934 Ford Five-Window Coupe like this one.
These cars were heavily influenced by Henry Ford's son, Edsel. Possessing a sense of art and design that his father lacked, Edsel had become enamored with the European automobiles he encountered, cars that displayed an elegance most American automobiles, particularly Fords, simply did not.
Although his father vehemently disagreed with him, Edsel recognized that the automotive market was shifting toward individual taste, design, emotion, and status.
All 1933 and 1934 Fords equipped with Ford's new-for-1932 flathead V-8 engine were designated "Model 40" under the company's internal numbering system. Four-cylinder models were designated "Model B." The Model 40 and Model B succeeded the 1927-era Model A, which itself had replaced the long-running Model T, introduced in 1908.
While these were marketed as five-window coupes, there are actually six panes of glass. In automotive terminology, however, the windshield is not counted as a window.
Ford offered several body styles for 1934, all built on the same 112-inch wheelbase. Buyers could choose from two- and four-door sedans, two- and four-door convertibles, three- and five-window coupes, and a roadster.
Both the three- and five-window coupes were nominally two-passenger cars. Of course, they could carry four if you counted the poor bastards relegated to the optional rumble seat perched over the rear axle. Cars ordered without the rumble seat received a conventional trunk instead.
I think I'd rather be stuffed in the trunk than ride in a rumble seat.
Open the cowl vent ahead of the windshield and roll down the rear window, and you had somewhat effective cross-ventilation. As a bonus, rumble-seat passengers could actually carry on a conversation with those riding up front.
"Stop! I've had enough! I'd rather walk!"
Rumble seats largely disappeared from American automobiles before World War II as enclosed trunks became more practical and popular.
While possessing about the same level of sophistication as a modern ride-on garden tractor, the essence of a modern automobile is all here. Gas pedal on the right, brake in the middle, clutch on the left. The large manual steering wheel sits at an odd angle, but it was positioned that way to provide the driver with additional leverage. Power steering was still nearly two decades away for Ford buyers.
The Ford Motor Company was notoriously late to the hydraulic-brake party. This car, assuming it hasn't been updated, would have mechanical brakes that relied almost as much on the driver's leg strength as they did on the braking system itself.
I know I'm not alone in believing these cars are special; this example recently sold at auction for more than $46,000. These are favorites of hot rodders too.
This car also reminds me that as we get older, our sense of time changes right along with our hair color and waistline. When I was born in 1964, this car was only thirty years old. Never mind the fact that it's now ninety-two.
When I look at cars that are thirty years old today, it simply doesn't seem possible that they're the same age a 1934 Ford was when I was born.
