The 1932 Lincoln L, the 1931 Chrysler Imperial and the 1934 Pierce Arrow, the last of its line, are representative of the large, fast and handsome cars that the Americans built during the world's most confident era of motoring. These cars had their European counterparts: the French Bucciali T AV with its sixteen-cylinder engine, the Mercedes-Benz SS 38/250 and the Italian Tips 8A. In some cars of this type, the windscreen height had shrunk to a ridiculously narrow strip of glass at the end of a long, high bonnet. Visibility was impaired and there is no doubt that these extreme proportions detracted from the general good looks of the car. In the first six months of 1932 2,119,715 new cars were registered in the United States.
The revolutionary Floating Power rubber engine mountings gave further smoothness to Chrysler's already outstanding ride. A vacuum controlled automatic clutch allowed the driver to free himself from the bonds of a clutch pedal as he shifted with the silent gear selector. Oilite, an oil-impregnated sintered metal, took care of leaf spring squeaks. The CP also was the first to use universal joints with roller bearings.
Unlike the Model T that had enjoyed a near
20 year production run, Ford knew that to
retain market share, they would have to turn
models over regularly as did their competitors. And so the Model A was replaced in 1932 by the
Model B, carrying over the 4L engine layout however
offering some minor refinements. Ford then used the Model B as the basis for
another car, and for the first time since the
companies inception Ford had two models on offer.
The Model 18, which is most commonly referred
to as the Ford V8, was fitted with Ford’s
new Flathead V8 engine.
