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All images courtesy Antique Automobile Club of America.
Lists! As we get toward the end of the year, we’re gonna see a whole lotta lists, including a few from us here at Hemmings over the next several days. The folks at the Antique Automobile Club of America thought they’d put together a list as well, one no less ambitious (or sure to generate discussion) than the 10 most significant antique automobiles from American automotive history.
As the AACA notes, each of the 10 cars (12, but who’s counting?) were selected “as a function of its technical, social and/or market contribution that furthered the cause and acceptance of the automobile” by AACA experts. “In addition, these 10 most significant antique automobiles and their associated impact helped propel the American automotive industry to a position of dominance.”
So what did they choose? And, in your opinion, did they get it right?
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Curved-Dash Olds. This was the first affordable, series-produced car with interchangeable parts, and the Curved Dash provided the opportunity of automotive ownership for everyman. The single-cylinder, tiller-steered Oldsmobile was known for its utmost simplicity; it paved the way for the Model T and it very much proved to be a successful competitor to its nearest market rival at the time. That being the horse.
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Ford Model T and Ford Model A. As the first affordable, mass-produced car, the Ford Model T literally put America on wheels, and its impact on our social and industrial history is second to none. Henry’s “Tin Lizzie” proved so ubiquitous that it was marketed as “The Universal Car.” But the Model T is also essentially inseparable from the Ford Model A, because together they are now well recognized as the backbone of the antique automobile movement.
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1912 Cadillac. As the first production car fitted with an electric starter and integrated electrical system, the 1912 Cadillac provided the solution to what had previously been a precarious starting ritual. Hand cranking was not only strenuous and potentially dangerous, but it also contributed to the then-limited market appeal and potential of the automobile.
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1922 Essex. In harmony with the self starter, the arrival of the affordable, enclosed car for the masses catapulted the market acceptance of the automobile from a seasonal alternative to a bona fide, year-round proposition. The 1922 Essex Coach is credited with providing this innovation to an anxiously awaiting audience: the American buying public.
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1927 La Salle. Generally cited as the first production car to be truly and consciously “styled,” the 1927 La Salle was the product of General Motors’ then-new Art and Color Section. It was influenced by the Hispano-Suiza and served as a more dynamic, yet still elegant, companion car to Cadillac. It was also the first aggressive attempt to market exterior design as a competitive advantage.
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Cord L-29. This was the first series-produced, American car with front-wheel drive that was available in some quantity. Then the technology pretty much migrated back to Europe and overseas where it matured as the drivetrain of choice, due to its manufacturing, packaging, and efficiency advantages. It has since returned here and become a staple of the American automotive ownership experience.
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1929 Chevrolet. With its standard, six-cylinder engine in response to the four-cylinder 1928 Ford Model A, this was one of the most conspicuous and calculated early marketing shots-over-the-bow between mainstream competitors. Of course, Henry responded with a V-8 engine in 1932 and so began the tit-for-tat Ford/Chevrolet rivalry that continues to this day.
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1949 Cadillac. The arrival of its overhead-valve V-8 in 1949 was yet another milestone that cemented the “great coming” of the Cadillac marque and set the stage for the General Motors juggernaut that would ultimately redefine the luxury car class. So much so, that by leveraging its engineering might, marketing strength and purchasing power, GM essentially pushed companies like Packard to insolvency.
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1955 Chevrolet. The small-block Chevrolet V-8 that first appeared in 1955 enhanced the art of engine engineering to the extent that it’s been called “the self-perpetuating marvel of automotive history.” With its compact and lightweight design and the use of thin-wall casting techniques, it unlocked a previously unknown combination of performance, reliability and manufacturability. And as the darling of the aftermarket, it helped fuel an entire industry of hardcore performance parts and specialty equipment to cast the die that’s still followed to this day.
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Volkswagen Beetle. While recognized for numerous attributes, the Beetle’s most significant impact on the American industry led to the creation of the mass-market, compact-car category. Certainly, small cars had been offered to American consumers numerous times before, but it was the domestic industry’s response to the Volkswagen that finally brought success and sustained viability to the compact segment.
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Note: The 1895 Duryea, America’s first automobile to be commercially produced, is not included on the list because its significance has already been well recognized by AACA, with the incorporation of its image as the organization’s logo.