Watch the Fords Go By (1934 Slogan)

In 1932, Henry Ford introduced his last great personal engineering triumph: his "en block", or one piece, V-8 engine. Offered as an option to an improved 4-cylinder Model "B" engine in this low priced car, this compact V-8 power plant, with its down draft carburetor, enabled 1932 Ford to outperform all other popular competitors and was 20 years ahead of its time. The improved proportions and styling of this car reflected Edsel Ford's genius for design. The 1932 Ford automobile combines the attractive facelift of the 1931 Model A with the world's first low-priced, cast-in-one-piece V-8 engine. When the V-8 first made its appearance in the 1932 Ford, it heralded the era of the American dream car: large, powerful, and soft-sprung. Basic mechanical configuration changed little from the late 1930s until the advent of the downsized front-wheel-drive cars of the 1980s. The final element in the equation, the automatic transmission, first appeared in the 1940 Oldsmobile. About our Car: 1932 Ford V-8 Cabriolet: 65 horsepower, 221 cu.in. displacement, 2,398 lbs., $610 original price. Gift of the parents of Michael A. Young