Pre - WWII Era

He pre-war part of the classic era began with the Great Depression in 1930, and ended with the recovery after World War II, commonly placed at 1948. It was in this period that integrated fenders and fully-closed bodies began to dominate sales, with the new saloon/sedan body style even incorporating a trunk or boot at the rear for storage. The old open-top runabouts, phaetons, and touring cars were phased out by the end of the classic era as wings, running boards, and headlights were gradually integrated with the body of the car.

By the 1930s, most of the mechanical technology used in today's automobiles had been invented, although some things were later "re-invented", and credited to someone else. For example, front-wheel drive was re-introduced by André Citroën with the launch of the Traction Avant in 1934, though it had appeared several years earlier in road cars made by Alvis and Cord, and in racing cars by Miller (and may have appeared as early as 1897). In the same vein, independent suspension was originally conceived by Amédée Bollée in 1873, but not put in production until appearing on the low-volume Mercedes-Benz 380 in 1933, which prodded American makers to use it more widely. In 1930, the number of auto manufacturers declined sharply as the industry consolidated and matured, thanks in part to the effects of the Great Depression.

Exemplary pre-war automobiles:

• 1932–1939 Alvis Speed 20 and Speed 25 — the first cars with all-synchromesh gearbox.
• 1932–1948 Ford V-8 — introduction of the powerful flathead V8 in mainstream vehicles, setting new performance and efficiency standards.
• 1934–1940 Bugatti Type 57 — a singular refined automobile for the wealthy.
• 1934–1956 Citroën Traction Avant — the first mass-produced front-wheel drive car, built with monocoque chassis.
• 1936–1955 MG T series — sports cars with youth appeal at an affordable price.
• 1938–2003 Volkswagen Beetle — a design for efficiency and low price, which progressed over 60 years with minimal basic change.
• 1936–1939 Rolls-Royce Phantom III — V12 engined pinnacle of pre-war engineering, with technological advances not seen in most other manufacturers until the 1960s. Superior performance and quality.