1920-1929 | Duesenberg Model J | 119 mph (191 km/h)

In the 1920s the automobile became the lifeblood of the petroleum industry, one of the chief customers of the steel industry, and the biggest consumer of many other industrial products. The technologies of these ancillary industries, particularly steel and petroleum, were revolutionized by its demands.

The automobile gave people more personal freedom and access to jobs and services. It led to development of better roads and transportation. Industries and new jobs developed to supply the demand for automobile parts and fuel. These included petroleum and gasoline, rubber, and then plastics.

Many of the automobile innovations that we assume of as being modern were in fact introduced in the 1920’s. For example, front wheel drive, four wheel drive, electric powered cars, and even hybrid fuel/electric cars. The braking system of the cars improved as cars became more powerful and traffic increased.

Cars that were produced in the 1930s — from 1930 to 1939….C

• Cadillac Series 60.
• Chevrolet Eagle.
• Chevrolet Series AD Universal.
• Chevrolet Series AE Independence.
• Chevrolet Series BA Confederate.
• Chevrolet Standard Six.
• Chrysler Imperial.
• Chrysler Royal.

1932 Ford V-8 Cabriolet The 1932 model of V-8 Cabriolet weighed around 2,400 lb. The car was popular because it was smaller than other cars and had unique exterior styling.

$1 in 1930 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $15.99 today, an increase of $14.99 over 91 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.09% per year between 1930 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 1,499.13%.

• Great Depression. USSR Collectivizes Agriculture.
• Empire State Building. The Star-Spangled Banner Named U.S. National Anthem.
• Franklin Roosevelt Elected President. World War I Veterans Bonus March on Washington.
• New Deal Begins. Prohibition Repealed.
• Dust Bowl.
• Germany Enacts Nuremberg Laws.
• Hoover Dam.
• Hindenberg Explosion.

On the starting year of the decade, 1930, two very useful inventions came out; scotch tape, and chocolate chips. Scotch tape, originally invented to help artist paint colors straight and separated from each other, is now a very useful tool with endless possibilities (1).