Car Culture History Quiz -- Olympian Cars of the 1930s

Hi folks -- try answering these questions, taken from my book the automobile and American Life, chapter 6. I regularly ask these kinds of "brain teasers" to my students. They often fall flat in trying to answer them!

HST 485

Quiz on Chapter 6

Dr. Heitmann Name_____________________________

1. Name the historian who argued that the downturn in automobile production and overcapacity was a central reason why the Great Depression took place. _____________________

2. Name the marque of car that during most of the 1930s was the best seller among high-priced brands in the U.S..

______________________________________

3. Without doubt, this was "the car of the stars" during the 1930s. It was vehicle that was of such quality and performance that it exceeded all European competitors of the day.

_____________________________________

4. The "Coffin Nose" Cord was designed by this man, perhaps the most talented auto designer in America before WWII. __________________________________________

5. The German Edmund Rumpler, designed this vehicle in 1921, recognized as the first streamlined personal car. It is now on display at the Technical Museum in Munich. ______________________

6. This Chrysler engineer is usually given credit for the Airflow and Airstream cars of the 1930s. ________________________________ .

7. Name the two union organizers who were beaten up by Ford Service thugs at the so-called "Battle of the Overpass." _____________________________ and __________________________.

8. Perhaps the most famous of all blues songs about cars, the "Terraplane Blues" pushed car-human being metaphors to the limit. The artist who performed this song was _____________________.

9. This 1932 film starred Jimmy Cagney and featured Legion Ascot race track. _______________________