This is a timeline of the history of the American automobile industry and vehicles along with a sample of noteworthy events that occurred between 1920 and 1945, during the Vintage Car Era. We used a wide variety of resources that were often in conflict so the dates are approximations and should not be relied upon!
| 1920 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- William C. Durant was voted out of the General Motors Corporation
- Pierre du Pont became president of General Motors
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- Cadillac Type 59 - (1920-1921)
- Sheridan - (1920-1921)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Gaston Chevrolet - Average speed: 88.618 mph
- The Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote, was passed
- The first commercial radio station in the U.S.
- U.S. population estimated to be 107,823,000 people
- Babe Ruth joins the New York Yankees
- Tornadoes killed 200 people in the U.S.
- The VII Summer Olympics were held in Antwerp, Belgium
- Baseball World Series was won by the Cleveland Indians
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| 1921 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- William C. Durant founded Durant Motors
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Tommy Milton - Average speed: 89.621 mph
- Warren G. Harding became the 29th President
- Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize in Physics
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio
- Iowa established the first cigarette tax
- Chanel Number 5 perfume was introduced
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Giants in eight games
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| 1922 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Jimmy Murphy - Average speed: 94.484 mph
- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established
- The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated
- Prohibition law was amended to include home brewing
- The Reader's Digest magazine was launched
- Waterskiing occurred for the first time
- The first U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Langley was commissioned
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Giants
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| 1923 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Alfred P. Sloan became president of the General Motors Corporaton
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- Chevrolet Series M Copper-Cooled - (1923)
- Chevrolet Superior Series B - (1923)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Tommy Milton - Average speed: 90.545 mph
- Warren G. Harding died and Calvin Coolidge became the 30th President
- The Teapot Dome Scandal took place
- Time magazine was launched
- One piece bathing suits for women came into fashion
- The Ten Commandments and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were released
- The town of Rosewood, FL, was burnt to the ground by the Ku Klux Llan
- Yankee Stadium opened
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- The first portable radio was developed in the U.S.
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| 1924 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Lora Corum & Joe Boyer - Average speed: 98.234 mph
- Sir Malcolm Campbell set the world land speed record at 146.16 mph
- Land speed record set in France - internal combustion engine - 145.90 mph
- Land speed record set in England - internal combustion engine - 146.16 mph
- The Gershwins wrote Rhapsody in Blue
- International Business Machines (IBM) was founded
- The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held in New York City
- The U.S. Post Office started Airmail delivery
- The Wrigley Building in Chicago, IL, was opened
- Two U.S. Army planes flew around the world for the first time
- Hoof and Mouth disease and Pneumonic Plague hit California
- J. Edgar Hoover was appointed the first director what would become the FBI
- The VIII Summer Olympics were held in Paris, France
- The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France
- Baseball World Series was won by the Washington Senators
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| 1925 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chevrolet Superior Series K - (1925)
- Buick Master Six - (1925-1928)
- Ford Model TT - (1925-1927)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Peter DePaolo - Average speed: 101.127 mph
- Walter P. Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corporation
- The Scopes Trial took place
- WSM first broadcast The Grand Ole Opry
- The first Motel opened in San Luis Obispo, CA
- A giant tornado swept through Missouri, Illinois & Indiana
- A Tennessee teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution
- Sears opened their first store in Chicago, Il
- Calvin Coolidge started his second term as President
- Scotch Tape was invented
- Ben Hur and Phantom of the Opera were released
- Baseball World Series was won by the Pittsburgh Pirates
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| 1926 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Cadillac Series 314 - (1926-1927)
- Chevrolet Superior Series V - (1926)
- Chrysler Imperial - (1926-1942)
- Divco - (1926-1986)
- Pontiac ???
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Frank Lockhart - Average speed: 95.104 mph
- General Motors produced the first Pontiac
- Henry Ford established the 40-hour work week
- The first Kelly Blue Book was published
- U.S. route 66 was opened between Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA
- The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was founded as a radio station
- Winnie-the-Pooh was published
- The first liquid fuel rocket was flown
- 27 tornados hit the U.S., including an "F4"
- The U.S. population was 115 million
- Gangsters like Al Capone are rampant in Chicago, IL
- The "Great Miami Hurricane" wiped out the Miami area and killed over 1,000 people
- Baseball World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals
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| 1927 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chevrolet Series AA Capitol - (1927)
- Ford Model A - (1927-1931)
- Ford Model A - (1927-1932)
- LaSalle - (1927-1940)
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- Ford Motor Company retired the "Model T" after making 15 million
- Ford introduced the "Model A" starting at $460
- Indianapolis 500 winner: George Souders - Average speed: 97.545 mph
- Land speed record set in the U.S. - internal combustion engine - 203.79 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Charles Lindbergh
- Sir Malcolm Campbell set the world land speed record at 174.883 mph
- Charles Lindbergh made the first trans-Atlantic flight
- The Jazz Singer was the first motion picture with sound
- The Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) was founded
- The Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River in New York opened
- Charles Lindbergh flew "The Spirit of St. Louis" on the first solo transatlantic flight
- The Mount Rushmore monument was started in South Dakota
- The "Great Mississippi Flood" was the greatest natural disaster in U.S. history
- Striking miners in Serene, CO, were massacred by machine gun fire
- The first transatlantic telephone call between New York City and London, England
- Pan American Airways was founded
- The first talking movie pictures came out
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
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| 1928 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Louis Meyer - Average speed: 99.482 mph
- Land speed record set in U.S. - internal combustion engine - 207.552 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Walter Chrysler
- Disney's first animated, Steamboat Willie, opened
- Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
- The first Yo Yo factory opened
- Alexander Flemming discovered penicillin
- The "iron lung" was invented
- Bubble gum was invented
- A major hurricane killed over 500 in West Palm Beach, FL
- The St. Francis dam collapsed in California killing hundreds
- The IX Summer Olympics were held in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- The II Winter Olympics were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
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| 1929 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chevrolet Series AC International - (1929)
- Viking - (1929-1931)
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- Motorola Corporation produced the first car radio
- Indianapolis 500 winner: Ray Keech - Average speed: 97.585 mph
- Land speed record set in U.S. - internal combustion engine - 231.446 mph
- Herbert Hoover became the 31st President
- Time magazine person of the year: Owen D. Young
- The St. Valentine's Day massacre occurred
- The beginning of the "Great Depression"
- The Museum of Modern Art opened in New York City
- American Samoa officially became a United States territory
- The U.S. population was 120 million
- The Popeye comic strip started
- The first Academy Awards occurred
- The soft drink "7-up" was invented
- Sam Foster came out with Sunglasses
- Baseball World Series was won by the Philadelphia Athletics
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| 1930 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Cadillac Series 353 - (1930)
- Cadillac Series 370 - (1930-1935)
- Cadillac V-12 - (1930-1937)
- Cadillac V-16 - (1930-1940)
- Chevrolet Universal Series AD - (1930)
- Marquette - (1930)
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- The Chrysler Building in New York City was completed
- Indianapolis 500 winner: Billy Arnold - Average speed: 100.448 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Mahatma Gandhi
- The first frozen vegetables packaged by Birdseye went on sale
- The average of a new house was about $7,000 and rent was about $15 per month
- The average annual wage was less than $2,000
- All Quiet on the Western Front movie was released
- 1,350 banks failed, unemployment reached 8.7%
- Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary killed 320 inmates
- The worst drought in U.S. history was the beginning of "The Dust Bowl Years"
- Pluto was identified as the ninth planet in our solar system
- Baseball World Series was won by the Philadelphia Athletics
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| 1931 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Ford Motor Company retired the "Model A"
- Indianapolis 500 winner: Louis Schneider - Average speed: 96.629 mph
- Land speed record set in Africa - internal combustion engine - 246.09 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Pierre Laval
- The Empire State Building opened as the tallest building in the world
- U.S. unemployment reached 16.3 percent
- Gasoline cost 10 cents per gallon
- Jacob Schick invented the electric razor
- Wallace Corothers invented nylon
- The aerosol can was invented in Sweden
- Nevada legalized gambling
- The Star Spangled Banner became the national anthem
- The George Washing Bridge opened in New York
- The U.S. population reached 122 million
- Work started on the Boulder Dam on the Colorado River
- 2,500 more banks failed in the U.S.
- The movie Frankenstein opened
- Baseball World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals
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| 1932 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chevrolet Series BA Confederate, Twin Six - (1932)
- Duesenberg Model SJ - (1932-1937)
- Ford Model B - (1932-1934)
- Ford Model Y - (1932-1937)
- Nash Ambassador - (1932-1942)
- Terraplane - (1932-1938)
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- Ford Motor Company introduced the Model B with a V-8 engine
- Indianapolis 500 winner: Fred Frame - Average speed: 104.144 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- U.S. unemployment reached 24 percent
- Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion
- The X Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, CA
- The III Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid, NY
- Charles Lindberg's son was kidnapped
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- The movie Tarzan the Ape Man opened
- The first parking meter was used in Oklahoma
- Edwin Land invented the Polaroid camera
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| 1933 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chevrolet Eagle - (1933), to become Chevrolet Master - (1933-1942)
- Chevrolet Mercury - (1933), to become Chevrolet Standard - (1933-1936)
- Chevrolet Suburban - (1933-1942)
- Willys 77 - (1933-1942)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Louis Meyer - Average speed: 104.162 mph
- Adolf Hitler ordered Ferdinand Porsche to build the "People's Car", which became the "Volkswagen"
- Time magazine person of the year: Hugh Samuel Johnson
- The Twentieth Amendment, making new terms for elected federal officials begin on January 20th, was passed
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the 32nd President
- Roosevelt introduced The New Deal
- The Twenty-first Amendment, ending prohibition, was passed
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Giants
- U.S. unemployment peaked at over 25 percent
- Wiley Post became the first man to fly solo around the world
- The Loch Ness Monster was sighted for the first time in Scotland
- The first drive in theater opened in New Jersey
- The chocolate chip cookie and Monopoly were invented
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| 1934 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Harlow H. Curtice became head of GMs Buick division
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Bill Cummings - Average speed: 104.863 mph
- The "Dust Bowl" drought in the Great Plains began
- John Dillinger was killed by the FBI and local police
- Time magazine person of the year: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by the FBI
- Baseball World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals
- Lindbergh was found dead
- The Loch Ness Monster was sighted for the first time in Scotland
- Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was opened in San Francisco Bay, CA
- The "Flying Dutchman" was the first train to hit 100 mph
- The trampoline was invented
- Donald Duck appeared for the first time
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| 1935 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chrysler Airstream - (1935-1936)
- DeSoto Airstream - (1935-1936)
- Ford Model 48 - (1935-1936)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Kelly Petillo - Average speed: 106.240 mph
- Land speed record set in U.S. - internal combustion engine - 276.816 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Haile Selassie I
- The FBI was established
- Alcoholics Anonymous was founded
- The U.S. unemployment rate began to drop
- Temperature in Oklahoma reached 117 as "Dust Bowl" continued
- Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in New York City
- The first can of beer went on sale
- Penguin Press published the first paperback book
- The first public housing project was launched in New York
- The first Orange Bowl football game was played
- Baseball World Series was won by the Detroit Tigers
- General Electric sold the first fluorescent tube light
- Igor Sikorsky invented the helicopter
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| 1936 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Louis Meyer - Average speed: 109.069 mph
- Life magazine published its first issue
- Time magazine person of the year: Wallis Simpson
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- The XI Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany
- The IV Winter Olympics were held in Germany
- The Hover Dam (aka Boulder Dam) on the Colorado River completed
- Magnetic recording tape was invented
- The Zippo lighter was invented
- Popular movies: The Alamo and The Great Ziegfeld
- Billboard Magazine published the first pop music chart
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| 1937 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Cadillac Series 65 - (1937-1938)
- Chrysler Royal - (1937-1942)
- Ford Deluxe - (1937-1940)
- GMC Suburban - (1937-1942)
- Hudson Utility Coupe - (1937-1942)
- Willys Americar - (1937-1942)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Wilbur Shaw - Average speed: 113.580 mph
- The first flying car was demonstrated
- Land speed record set in the U.S. - internal combustion engine - 311.42 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Soong May-ling & Chiang Kai-shek
- U.S. unemployment continued to drop, reached 14 percent
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was began his second term as President
- The "Dust Bowl" continued in the Midwest
- Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated movie
- The Hindenburg blimp exploded in New Jersey
- Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean
- The Golden Gate Bridge was completed in San Francisco
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- The "Memorial Day Massacre", police killed union demonstrators in Chicago, IL
- The National Basketball League (NBL) was established
- Joe Louis (aka The Brown Bomber) became the World Heavyweight Champion
- Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men
- The Golden Gate Bridge was opened over the entrance to San Francisco Bay, CA
- The first blood bank opened in Chicago
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| 1938 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Cadillac Sixty Special - (1938-1942)
- International Harvester Metro Van - (1938-1975)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Floyd Roberts - Average speed: 117.200 mph
- Land speed record set in U.S. - internal combustion engine - 357.5 mph
- Orson Welles broadcasted The War of the Worlds
- Time magazine person of the year: Adolf Hitler
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- The "Long Island Express" hurricane devastated the Northeast
- The Honeymoon Bridge over Niagara Falls collapsed
- The first "seeing eye dog" was used
- Floods and landslides in Los Angeles, CA, killed 200 people
- Federal minimum wage minimum was set at 25 cents per hour
- Howard Hughes set a record for flying around the world in three days, 19 hours
- "Seabiscuit" beat "War Admiral" in the match race
- The RMS Queen Elizabeth was launched in Clydebank, Scotland
- The first issue of Action Comics was published
- Orson Welles caused panic with his broadcast of The War of the Worlds
- Ball point pends went on sale
- Teflon was invented
- The first nylon toothbrushes went on sale
- Chester Carlston invented the photocopier
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| 1939 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Cadillac Series 61 - (1939-1942)
- Chrysler New Yorker, Saratoga - (1939-1942)
- Chrysler Windsor - (1939-1961)
- White Horse - (1939-1942)
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- Packard introduced the first air conditioned car
- Indianapolis 500 winner: Wilber Shaw - Average speed: 115.035 mph
- Land speed record set in U.S. - internal combustion engine - 367.91 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Joseph Stalin
- Nazi Germany invaded Poland starting World War II
- The 1939 New York World's Fair
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- Albert Einstein encouraged President Roosevelt to develop an atomic bomb, leading to the "Manhattan Project"
- The Worlds Fair opened in New York
- LaGuardia Airport opened in New York
- Regularly scheduled television broadcasts began in the U.S.
- The "Dust Bowl" continued in the Midwest
- Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz were popular movies
- Hewitt Packard Corporation was formed
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| 1940 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Buick Estate, Super - (1940-1942)
- Cadillac Series 62 - (1940-1942)
- Dodge WC series - (1940-1945)
- Nash 600 - (1940-1942)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: Wilber Shaw - Average speed: 114.277 mph
- The "Great Depression" was about over and gasoline rose to 11 cents per gallon
- The average price for a new car was $850
- Time magazine person of the year: Winston Churchill
- The average cost of a new house was under $4,000 and rent was about $30 per month
- Oldsmobile introduced the automatic transmission
- The cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry debuted
- Billboard magazine published its first music popularity chart
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to a third term
- Baseball World Series was won by the Cincinnati Reds
- The XII Summer V Winter Olympics were cancelled because of WW II
- The U.S. started the draft in preparation for WW II
- The U.S. established the 40 hour work week
- The "Tacoma Narrows Bridge" collapsed in Washington state from high winds
- Race riots occurred in Chicago, Harlem, Los Angeles and Detroit due to treatment by the military
- Nylon stockings went on sale
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| 1941 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Chevrolet AK Series was won by the Deluxe, Fleetline, Styleline - (1941-1942)
- Chrysler Town & Country - (station wagon) (1941-1942)
- Ford Super Deluxe - (1941-1942)
- Hudson Commodore - (1941-1942)
- Walk-In Willys Van - (1941-1942)
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- The Willy's Jeep was adopted by the U.S. Army
- Gasoline rose to 12 cents per gallon
- Indianapolis 500 winner: Floyd Davis & Mauri Rose - Average speed: 115.117 mph
- Time magazine person of the year: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- NBC began television broadcasts
- The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
- Franklin D. Roosevelt started his third term as President
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
- The U.S. declared war against Japan for attacked Pearl Harbor and entered World War II
- Mt. Rushmore was completed in South Dakota
- The fourth Tuesday of November was established as Thanksgiving Day
- The G.I. Bill was established to help WW II veterans
- Citizen Kane and Dumbo were popular movies
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| 1942 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Vehicle manufacturers switched to making war materials
- Indianapolis 500 winner: No race due to WW II
- Gasoline rose to 15 cents per gallon
- Gasoline rationing limited people to three gallons per week
- Time magazine person of the year: Joseph Stalin
- Japanese American internment camps were established began
- Automobile production in the United States for private consumers was halted
- Popular movies: Casablanca and Bambi
- A fire at the Cocoanut Grove restruant killed 492 people
- The "K9 Corps" was established to train dogs for warfare
- The Alaskan Highway through Canada was completed
- Duck Tape was developed for military use
- The first nuclear reactor was built in Chicago
- The Manhattan Project was started to develop a nuclear bomb
- Instant coffee was introduced
- Napalm was created at Harvard University
- Baseball World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals
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| 1943 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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(No civilian vehicles were made)
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- Vehicle registration tax was introduced
- Indianapolis 500 winner: No race due to WW II
- The "Great Depression" officially ended
- Time magazine person of the year: George Marshall
- Race riots took place in Detroit, Michigan
- The Pentagon became the worlds largest office building
- General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Supreme Allied Commander
- The Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. was completed
- Montana Coal & Iron Company explosion killed 74
- The first Golden Globe Awards occurred
- For Whom the Bell Tolls was in theaters
- Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan developed the aqualung
- Richard James invented the Slinky
- Baseball World Series was won by the New York Yankees
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| 1944 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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(No civilian vehicles were made)
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- Indianapolis 500 winner: No race due to WW II
- The G.I. Bill was passed
- American forces landed in Normandy, France
- Time magazine person of the year: Dwight D. Eisenhower
- The Battle of the Bulge took place
- F.D. Roosevelt was elected to a fourth term
- 19,000 U.S. solders killed at The Battle of The Bulge
- The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was formed
- Benjamin Green invented Sunscreen, then founded the Coppertone Company
- Anne Frank was captured and sent to a German concentration camp
- Baseball World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals
- The XIII Summer and V Winter Olympics were cancelled because of WW II
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| 1945 Auto Industry New Vehicles World-Wide Events
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- Automobile production in the United States for private consumers resumed
- Indianapolis 500 winner: No race due to WW II
- Franklin D. Roosevelt began his fourth term as President
- Time magazine person of the year: Harry S. Truman
- Roosevelt died; Harry S. Truman became the 33rd President
- Germany surrendered ending World War II in Europe
- Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the was with Japan
- The United Nations was founded, replacing the League of Nations
- The Nuremberg Trials began
- Benjamin Spock's The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care was published
- U.S. bomber crashed into 79th floor of the Empire State Building
- Percy Spencer accidentally invented the microwave oven
- Only 5,000 homes had televisions
- Baseball World Series was won by the Detroit Tigers
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