By the beginning of the 1940s, America was a fully-fledged automobile nation. In 1941, 88 percent or more of US households owned a car for their family. This number was on the rise. A new 1942 Ford Super Deluxe 2-door sedan costs around $920, or roughly one-third of the average annual income. On September 12, 1941, the fast, heavy, and new Ford was launched, just three months before it attacked Pearl Harbor. The Ford would be the last new vehicle that the majority of the public would ever see.
Ford produced 691,455 cars in 1941. Ford only had around 160,000 civilian vehicles in 1942 before ceasing operations of its non-military vehicle and truck lines on February 10, 1942. The government rationed the remaining unsold cars to people who were deemed vital to public safety and war efforts, such as doctors, firefighters, police officers, farmers, and a small group of war workers. A person could only qualify for a brand new car if they owned an older vehicle with over 40,000 miles.
In June of 1942, a worker at the Vega Aircraft Corporation plant inspects his already balding tires. He lives 10 miles from the factory. Courtesy Library of Congress.
The auto industry continued to produce cars and trucks for the government while expanding their production to include military weapons like tanks, engines, cannons, and trucks. The American auto industry has been living a dual life for the past two years. The auto industry had been producing civilian cars for America’s growing automobile culture while also increasing its weapons production capacity in order to support a massive Allied buildup. In some ways, the US auto industry was relieved by the full entry into World War II on December 11, 1941, as it no longer had to serve both civilian and military requirements simultaneously.
The average American was left with a vehicle that they had when the war began or whatever they could scrape together through legal means or “more creative methods.”
Tires were the biggest problem during the war. Fuel and spare parts would be scarce, but tires were the most important issue. Japan took control of the Dutch East Indies and British Malaya shortly after Pearl Harbor. This cut off 90-95 percent of America’s natural Rubber supply. Was left? It was consumed quickly by the US war effort. Goodyear reminded people that the building of a battleship required not only unimaginable quantities of steel but also more than 75 tonnes of rubber, not to mention all the life rafts and gas masks that are used in battle, as well as jeep tires, pontoons, and tank tracks.
An Office of Emergency Management poster encourages people to give their extra tires to authorities. Courtesy National Archives.
Tires for automobiles were extremely scarce. Five tires were allowed to be kept by a civilian. All other tires had to be handed over to the authorities. The Office of Price Administration, as well as the local Tire Rationing Board, were required to be involved in any transaction that involved trading, buying, or even reselling tires. Each car-owning worker adopted five more children. It was important to check tires at least twice a week, to monitor air pressure, and to look for any small cuts or bruises.
Under normal conditions, tires of that era lasted about two years. Maybe more, but only under the right conditions. Rubber would be eaten up quickly by excessive speed, misalignment, or abrupt stops and beginnings. Incorrect inflation was a major problem. According to major rubber companies, tires rated at 30 pounds of pressure wear out 21 percent more rubber if they are run at 27 pounds. Tires that were driven at 21 pounds of air pressure lasted only half as long as tires correctly inflated. To extend tire life, plants installed air hoses in parking lots so that employees could top up.
In April 1942, many companies surveyed their employees’ tires and found that, much to their surprise, most of them would not last a year in wartime conditions. In a tongue-in-cheek photo shoot outside Lockheed’s Plant 1, aircraft workers arrived in a horse-drawn buggy that required no rubber.
The same surveys revealed that the majority of people drive their cars to work. About 77 percent of all aircraft workers drive their vehicles. The West Coast plants had the highest averages. Douglas Aircraft employs around 200,000 people, and 80 percent are forced to work. Lockheed Vega reports that 91.6 percent of people use private cars. They average 21.6 miles a week and consume 4,000 tires a year.
Guards patrolled the parking lots at the factories to protect the cars and rubber of the workers. A guard from Cessna spent a lot of time on patrol, dragging a powerful magnetic behind him. He proudly showed off his collection of nails to the company’s newspaper. Cessna’s pressmen estimated that he could have saved 700 flats for the Kansas employees.
These patrols weren’t just for security. The company security team checked the windshields to see if they had the latest Motor Vehicle Use Tax stamps. They also checked suspicious tires using their trusted pressure gauge. Even those who were a few pounds overweight received stern reminders.
Rubber preservation was the root cause of gasoline rationing and speed restrictions. In May 1942, the 35-mile-per-hour “Victory Speed” was introduced nationwide. This reduced speed allowed for fuel savings and a doubled life span of tires when compared with rates of 60 miles an hour. Victory Speed affected nearly everyone. However, it was especially difficult for some factory workers from states such as Kansas and Ohio who had to travel 80 miles or longer between their Beech, Cessna, or Goodyear jobs.
A road sign near Manheim, Pennsylvania, posted the new “Victory Speed”—35 miles per hour in November of 1942. Courtesy Library of Congress.
The government of wartime made owning and operating a car much more expensive and difficult, despite the fact that many Americans complained about these restrictions. The government demanded that car owners use them sparingly and with care.
As you walk along the rows of cars parked in a parking lot, you will notice a number of stickers on the windows of the parked vehicles. Gas ration stickers were the largest, with large block letters. Around wartime plants, the X stickers that allowed for as much gasoline as was needed were almost nonexistent. Traveling salespeople, VIPs, and politicians mainly used these stickers.
A driver could receive a C sticker if they worked in one of 17 “war-critical” jobs. However, most of these jobs were not located at war plants, or at least not in large numbers. The C sticker, which also included unlimited gas, was given to people who worked in the government, schools, and medical facilities, as well as those employed by the military, the press, clergy, mail delivery services, and farmers. The C sticker was also awarded for tasks such as embalmer, scrap agent, and telegram delivery.
The most common stickers in factories are A and B. Black A stickers are much more common in factories than green B stickers. B allows eight gallons per week. Black A stickers permitted a driver to get four gallons of fuel per week (in most areas). A driver would be expected to pay for gas at a station by presenting the correct number of ration stamps as well as money.
A collection of mileage ration stamps and stickers for L.H. Williams’ 1938 Chevrolet. The National WWII Museum, Gift of Paula Ussery, 2000.047.
It was not much. Even less is the case when you compare it with the average mileage of automobiles from the late 1930s. A six-cylinder Chevrolet Master from 1939 weighed under 3,000 pounds and got an average of 18 miles per gallon. It could cover 72 miles in a week with an A sticker. The schedule of a worker would determine how far they could travel. If they lived more than seven miles from the plant, they were required to make alternative arrangements. It was impossible to drive to Grandma’s house or cross half of a state to go to a National Park. Even a slight diversion could cause trouble.
Grumman sent a warning out to its workers. The photo showed a Nassau Police lieutenant questioning an employee who had wandered five blocks off his route from work to home. Grumman was told by the Nassau and Suffolk Police that there would be “no second chances” for drivers. Five Grummanites were caught “joyriding,” and their gas coupons were permanently lost. The police were known to patrol the parking lots at taverns and bowling centers as well as “other places of entertainment” in search of cars that weren’t in place.
