January 2016 The Brass Lamp CADILLAC and its RISE to FAME Article & photo by Gerald Perschbacher (LL.D.); all rights reserved In the home stretch on the numbers of acclaimed classic cars that were ever made, the name-brand of Cadillac is among the best known. Little wonder! Cadillac went from its modest lower-priced status of selling for under $1,000 in 1903 to tower atop the luxury car market in America by the 1950s. That was hardly a small feat when considering the early success of Winton, Stevens-Duryea, and a Traditional Cadillac designs were massaged to greater perfection in the eyes of rafter full of luxury car the wealthy who had the cash and willpower to back it up. Thus, custom classics were cultivated and added luster to the growing popularity of the Cadillac sur- makers. Among them name. Shown: a 1939 model. were Pierce-Arrow and Packard, two brands des- The first achievement of various twists and turns with tined for legendary status monumental fame and impact the luxury level as its target. which was realized while was the winning of the Dew- Becoming part of General they were very much in ar Trophy for successful in- Motors in 1908 gave it production. terchangeability of parts. enough momentum to gain The award originated in the the top rung on society’s up- Yet, Cadillac watched. United Kingdom but, inter- wardly mobile ladder of ac- Cadillac learned. Cadillac estingly, was not restricted. clamation which car buyers tried to increase and gain The first Americans to be hoped to climb. Indeed, with notoriety. granted the award were the the advent of Cadillac’s note- Stanley brothers of steam-car worthy V-8 motor in 1914 the fame (1906). Rolls-Royce nameplate made a huge run took the honor for 1907. In for the pinnacle of the domes- 1908, honors came to Cadil- tic automotive industry. Oth- lac. er lesser GM brands lined up behind. The rise of the marque took Continued on page 6 >>> Joe Yochim (314) 602-9498 THE 40s—A DECADE OF BOTH President CHANGE AND NO CHANGE Mark Goldfeder (314) 878-2786 By Bill Tabor 1st Vice President/Programs Sharon Mercer (636) 928-8672 The decade of automobile de- tal, in both a coupe and a con- 2nd Vice President/Membership sign in the 40s was in many vertible. The second was some- ways similar to any 10-year thing we still use in a many Louis Allen period through the years. But, changed form today. Oldsmo- (314) 741-4158 in many ways there were vast- bile started selling cars Treasurer ly different and important equipped with something called Vacant things that were a part of that a Hydro-Matic: an automatic Recording Secretary decade. From great innova- transmission. tions to minor face-lifts, and Dr. Gerald Perschbacher truly unbelievable design 1941 saw mostly “face lifts” of (314) 849-5249 Corresponding Secretary changes. All of which seemed the 1940 design for the big to point the finger of change three. There were changes like Directors on to future generations. the Chevy grill, now a copy of Bill Albertin(2016) the Buick grill. There was one Al Mercer(2016) John Clark (2017) The design of the 1940 cars big new announcement from Ron Nelson(2017) had debuted in 1939 and saw Chevrolet: A total new trim line Jackie Allen (2018) few differences in 1940. But to add luxury and appearance to Mike Ebert (2018) there were two things accom- the Chevy. They called it the Ron Nelson plished that year that is truly Special Deluxe. 9826 Affton View Ct. notable. The first and proba- St. Louis, MO 63123 bly most important to the car The brutal attack on the U.S. By (314) 638-7131 Brass Lamp Editor collector was the introduction Japan, December 7, 1941 was a of the—both beautiful and pivotal point that year. Don Hoelscher luxurious—Lincoln Continen- (636) 939-9667 Webmaster www.hccmo.com (314) 991-HONK Celebrating 72 Years In St. Louis! 2 The new cars of 1942 were called the “Blackout Spe- cials”, no more “shiny.” Sav- ing materials for the war ef- fort had become the thing to do. Car production stopped in February 1942. 1943, 44 & 45 were notable for two reasons. One—which everyone agreed with—was no production of civilian auto- mobiles, The second, and one my grandmother just could The most notable exceptions the Studebaker, albeit with not believe, was that women to the “same old design prin- much rounding and larger became factory workers. On- cipal” was the 1947 Stu- dimensions. ly with women working could debaker Champion. Wow, we supply our service men. what a cute little car. Some Cadillac and Oldsmobile Those women became heroes folks said “you can't tell were out with the all newly also. whether it's coming or go- designed overhead valve V-8 ing.” Studebaker heralded in engine. All G.M. lines had a August 1945 the new body styles of the new design called the THE WAR WAS OVER future. The second was the “hardtop”. Everybody's sta- new Kaiser. It was much big- tion wagon had lost its wood The auto maker immediately ger, wider, longer, and much and now were all steel. Steel moved their focus toward pro- more rounded, but it set the was available again in mas- ducing the 1946 automobiles. trend to the “slab sided” cars sive supply. Most 1946 models were of the future. “warmed over” remakes of One exception to the no the old 1942 design. With 1948 and Big News: Preston wood sides, Chrysler had re- chrome back they did look Tucker announced the shaped the wood body parts better. planned production of the all of the Town & Country con- new automobile, the Tucker. One major announcement was That just did not happen. He vertible to fit the new flowing made in 1946. Henry Kaiser was later convicted of fraud. design of the 1949 models. was going to build a line of cars called Kaiser Frazer. Hudson came out with a new Also, in an omen of things to Frazer would be the luxury design and a new concept: come, people were seeing car. the “Step Down Design.” more Jaguars, Morris Minors, And in another most unusual Volkswagens, and MGs on Most manufacturers were hap- move, Ford, Cadillac, and the streets. py to be making civilian cars Oldsmobile announced their again, and there was no excit- new 1949 models in mid-year The 40's were both bad and ing news coming out of the displays. good, both great and small. big three. Just normal pro- However the 40's are truly a duction of the old styles. The greatest year of the dec- most exceptional decade in There was, however, two no- ade was 1949. The big three the automobile business. table changes to the business- were all selling the new “slab as-usual mind set of the big sided” cars. Ford had copied three, G.M., Ford and Chrys- the coming or going look of ler. 3 U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum Story and Photos by John R. Paul Scattered across America are scores of museums, institutions and foundations that serve as repositories of our cultural and automotive heritage. Many of these places are not considered automotive museums, per se. But the historical perspective they provide is no less important when it comes to revealing the many ways the automobile has impacted our world. Formed as a non-profit in 1986 by invisible from the outside, this con- 1940 Ford Pygmy GP - 01, the current museum director Randy crete and steel building hides a veri- oldest surviving jeep. Placed in Withrow, the organization behind the table treasure trove of military line with a handful of its progeny, U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum in ephemera. Rows upon rows of this original Ford pilot model for Huntsville, Alabama, moved into its tanks, jeeps, helicopters, firearms, the vehicle that would arguably uniforms and assorted memorabilia current building in 2001. What waits help America and its allies win the line the interior of the building, filling inside the unassuming building is Second World War is perhaps the virtually unparalleled in the sheer it almost to capacity. most historically significant piece number of military pieces on dis- in the museum’s collection. Main- play. Not surprisingly, given the wealth of artifacts from the period, the World tained in its mostly unrestored War II era is the best represented condition, the Pygmy is a rolling Tanks, Jeeps, Firearms and More throughout. From the Allied forces to time capsule and repository of Housed in a former airplane hangar- the Axis countries, elements of each ideas that would ultimately be co- turned-correctional-facility-turned- are represented in some form or museum, the VMM now features an opted by the Willys and Ford joint another. overwhelming number of artifacts venture to produce hundreds of from the Revolutionary War all the thousands of jeeps for troops Jeeps Galore way up to and through the most re- fighting in theaters across the The automotive centerpiece of the cent Gulf War conflicts. Virtually globe. museum’s entire collection is the 4 Fascinatingly, the subsequent mod- final production WWII jeep, a 1941 jeeps all of the way until the end of els on display alongside the Pygmy Willys MB “slat grill.” Each jeep the ¼-ton vehicle’s military ca- help illustrate the development of the features design elements incorpo- reer. Tucked away in crevices next jeep from its initial iteration through rated from the original prototype, to Sherman tanks and a half-track the apex of its design and construc- which help to showcase the evolu- can be found a Willys MB, an unre- tion.