Vintage Cars for Sale

The 1930s and 1940s in automotive design

The 1930s saw the rise of the streamlined style — designers like Harley Earl at GM and Gordon Buehrig at Cord shaped American cars into rolling Art Deco sculptures. The 1936 Cord 810, the Lincoln Zephyr, the Graham Hollywood, and the Chrysler Airflow all pushed aerodynamics and styling beyond anything seen before. By the late 1930s, the pontoon-fender body style was replacing the separate-fender design, and the modern car's shape was emerging.

Post-war classics (1946–1949)

The immediate post-war years saw manufacturers returning to civilian production with pre-war or lightly updated designs. The 1946–1948 cars are often overlooked collectors' items — the relative scarcity (production was ramping back up) and the transitional styling make them interesting targets. 1949 was the true rebirth year for American car design, with the all-new Ford and General Motors models that set the template for the 1950s era.