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VINTAGRAPH • WPA • WWII • YOU MEAN A WOMAN CAN OPEN IT?

Hot Wheels: 1942

        After the halt of automobile production and "freeze" of car sales, these 1942 Buicks were among the last new models the public could buy until the end of the war.
May 1942. "Grand Island, Nebraska. Auto dealer's window." Better buy Buick! Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

        After the halt of automobile production and "freeze" of car sales, these 1942 Buicks were among the last new models the public could buy until the end of the war.

May 1942. "Grand Island, Nebraska. Auto dealer's window." Better buy Buick! Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.

 

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

Sharks

That Buick behind the glass - collective image of the sales force behind?

BTW, I love 40's car design.

Doleful Buick

Sad-eyed appearance brings to mind a forlorn and lonely pet shop animal.
Purchasing a Buick Straight Eight with city MPG in the 12-14 range and strict gasoline rationing in effect, wouldn't have appealed to the average buyer.

Assault on freedom?

I am bemused by Geezer's report that in 1942 the U.S. government required everyone with a car to submit the serial numbers on their tires. Gives some perspective on the current "freedom"-defending North Americans attacking protective mask mandates.

That car?

Could it be a Buick Super? The front end looks identical to some images I found online for that year/make/model.

Not Froze?

And not Freezed either. And no snow in May.

"Frozen" was not even a Disney dream at the time, correct as the grammar might have been.

Hot cars indeed!

Still available?

It took me 80 years, but I finally qualify.

If you qualify

The Office of Production Management issued an order on Jan. 14, 1942, to "stockpile" all cars shipped after Jan. 15. Cars shipped to dealers could not be sold until specific permission to sell was granted when deemed "in the public interest" but such permission probably wasn't granted earlier than January 1943. Dealers were also required to make the tires and tubes from such vehicles available to any "appropriate agency" at any time so requested.

All manufacturers ended their production of automobiles on February 22, 1942. The January 1942 production quota had been a little over 100,000 automobiles and light trucks. The units manufactured at the beginning of February would bring up the total number of vehicles in a newly established car stockpile to 520,000. These would be available during the duration of the war for rationed sales by auto dealers to purchasers deemed “essential drivers.”

The government’s Office of Price Administration also imposed rationing of gasoline and tires and set a national speed limit of 35 mph.

During the early part of February 1942 all car owners were required to record the serial numbers of the tires on their cars and report them to the proper authorities. They also had to certify that they had only five tires and tubes for each vehicle they owned.

Brubaker Buick

102 East 2nd Street is now an empty lot, but I was able to locate this memory.

No room at the "N"

Should've paid for larger lettering.

[Or slightly smaller! - Dave]

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