QOTD: Know Anyone With a Pre-War Car?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

So, it seems the Cannonball Run record was smashed once again this week, with a team from Ohio making the New York-Los Angeles run in XX hours and XX minutes thanks to a specially outfitted German land missile and plenty of electronic help. The actual duration of the feat has no bearing on today’s question, so we’ll leave you to read about it somewhere else.

These Cannonball Run attempts are, frankly, getting annoying. They’re also inherently dangerous. But the news did dredge up an old article about a very different cross-country trip that proved far more interesting to this writer.

A 2013 feature in Autoweek details the crossing of the continental U.S. in a 1930 Ford Model A in 50 hours and 20 minutes, unofficially shattering the record for such a feat in a pre-war car.

Average speed? 58.5 mph. In a 40-horsepower Model A, which topped out at about 65 mph when showroom fresh, that’s quite an achievement. This is the kind of thing your author loves reading about, and it inspired today’s question.

As the internets fill with glamorous social media photo shoots depicting musclebound pony cars, ‘Vettes, and 1970s-90s Euro exotics, the pre-muscle car era classics are being forgotten. Time and lack of attention (brought about by a fiscal inability to do so) is slowly taking a toll as current owners age out of their vehicles. What becomes of the cars? Junior isn’t likely to share the habit, or even possess a garage.

As for the running board era, appeal isn’t nearly as broad as later models. Yet Ford made millions of Model As, and they remain the most achievable of the pre-war set to get into. Parts can be sourced online, and the basic makeup of the vehicle was the picture of durability and simplicity from Day One.

So, B&B, do you anyone who owns — and drives, even if only on special occasions — a pre-war car?

[Image: General Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Jeff S Jeff S on Aug 22, 2020

    Nate always good to see the next generation interested in keeping the old cars and trucks running and maintained especially those vehicles that were in their families. It is always sad when the older vehicles that were well maintained end up being neglected and then scrapped and forgotten. That is one thing I like about Jay Leno and his car collection that some of the good old cars that are plain and have lesser value are kept up and preserved. I like Leno's philosophy in that he doesn't really own these cars but he is taking care of them and preserving them for future generations. Leno also drives his vehicles. It is always a good thing when the next generation takes an interest in older vehicles.

  • Tankinbeans Tankinbeans on Aug 23, 2020

    A co-worker's mother keeps a 1938 Ford up at the collective cabin. Allegedly it still runs, but infrequently since her dad died.

  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
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