And you thought drivers today were all over the road....

[1935Packard]

Interesting video from the 1930s shot from the back of a car driving on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. No clear lanes, cars weaving in and out, cutting off other cars. (Some beautiful cars, though, it being Beverly Hills.)

[Matt Harwood]

It would appear that the camera car is the problem, although it's kind of spooky to think about the lack of lanes, not even a divider stripe between oncoming traffic.

[dan at larescorp]

Man it would be sweet to jump in a time machine and cruise the 30's. Thanks for posting the video. Very cool!

[Dave@Moon]

That video has been posted here before, I think in a longer version. The cross-traffic vehicles and dealership showrooms passed are to die for!:cool:

Can anyone identify the badly wrecked car (phaeton?) being towed @ 1'41" in the video?

Edited September 10, 2014 by Dave@Moon
added question (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

I don't think it's a phaeton, Dave. I see an upper door frame. Might even be a panel truck of some kind?

I liked how that Rolls Royce Silver Ghost sedan just kind of came steaming through the middle of traffic and whisked on by.

[JACK M]

How many times did that guy shift? The sound must have been added.

[keiser31]

Definitely a panel truck being towed. There are some really great cars on this video!

[oldford]

What I find interesting is that this video appears to be around 1936-37, just by some of the cars that are there. There is a surprising lack of Model T's and A's on the streets, that I can see. And this is around 5 years after the A and 9-10 years after the T. Does this seem odd, or is it the neighborhood....

Frank

[Guest]

Today's drivers are all over the road. Been to Paris lately?

[h=3]Driving in Paris - YouTube[/h]

<cite class="_Rm" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 33); font-style: normal; font-size: 13px;">www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA6RN-bVIbM</cite>

[1935Packard]

What I find interesting is that this video appears to be around 1936-37, just by some of the cars that are there. There is a surprising lack of Model T's and A's on the streets, that I can see. And this is around 5 years after the A and 9-10 years after the T. Does this seem odd, or is it the neighborhood....

Frank

A partial explanation may be that the average age of a car on the road back then was very different from what it is today. Today the average age of a car on the road is 11 years, but that's much higher than it was in the past. As recently as the mid-1990s, it was 8 years old, and I would guess that in back in the 1930s it was probably more like 3 years. You can see this in the value of used cars back in those days. I have some used car price guides from the period, and cars devalued incredibly quickly. A five years old used car was worth something like 10% of its original sales price.

I gather that devaluation reflects the fact that cars just weren't expected to last for very long back in those days. They didn't last long, so you didn't see many older cars on the road. I've noticed this with dated photos of street scenes from the past: Before around 1970 or so, a very high percentage of cars on the road are under 3 years old. For example, you'll see a street scene with cars from 1935-37, and you'll assume the picture was taken in the 1940s. But actually the picture was taken in 1937.

My guess, at least. On the other hand, it might just be the neighborhood.

Edited September 11, 2014 by 1935Packard (see edit history)

[ply33]

A partial explanation may be that the average age of a car on the road back then was very different from what it is today. Today the average age of a car on the road is 11 years, but that's much higher than it was in the past. As recently as the mid-1990s, it was 8 years old, and I would guess that in back in the 1930s it was probably more like 3 years. You can see this in the value of used cars back in those days. I have some used car price guides from the period, and cars devalued incredibly quickly. A five years old used car was worth something like 10% of its original sales price.

I gather that devaluation reflects the fact that cars just weren't expected to last for very long back in those days. They didn't last long, so you didn't see many older cars on the road. I've noticed this with dated photos of street scenes from the past: Before around 1970 or so, a very high percentage of cars on the road are under 3 years old. For example, you'll see a street scene with cars from 1935-37, and you'll assume the picture was taken in the 1940s. But actually the picture was taken in 1937.

My guess, at least. On the other hand, it might just be the neighborhood.

I think that the auto industry in the early days up until WW2 was like the electronics industry today: How many people do you see with 5 or 10 year old cell phones?

A two or three year old car was far inferior to a new car in terms of comfort and performance even if it was in like new condition. And with something like 90% of the road mileage being unpaved very few cars stayed in like new condition very long.