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Queen Elizabeth The Mechanic And 11 Other Historic Car Photos

Tegan Jones Avatar
Tegan Jones
Queen Elizabeth The Mechanic And 11 Other Historic Car Photos

Something punches me right in the feels when I see these snapshots of the past that are preserved on the internet forever. Which is why I follow some many historic themed accounts on Instagram.

Some of my favourites are of the auto industry. Getting to see how far it has come (and the beautiful retro cars of course) is a heart-warming experience. As is how cars have been important to the course of 20th century history. Here are my favourite photos.

Racing cars on the roof of the Fiat Factory in Turin, Italy (1923)

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On #ThisDayinHistory 1933, motorists park on the grounds of Park-In Theaters, the first-ever drive-in movie theater, located on Crescent Boulevard in Camden, New Jersey. Park-In Theaters–the term “drive-in” came to be widely used only later–was the brainchild of Richard Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager at his father’s company, Whiz Auto Products, in Camden. Reportedly inspired by his mother’s struggle to sit comfortably in traditional movie theater seats, Hollingshead came up with the idea of an open-air theater where patrons watched movies in the comfort of their own automobiles. He then experimented in the driveway of his own. The young entrepreneur received a patent for the concept in May of 1933 and opened Park-In Theaters, Inc. less than a month later. Advertising it as entertainment for the whole family, Hollingshead charged 25₵ per car and 25₵ per person, with no group paying more than one dollar. The idea caught on, and after Hollingshead’s patent was overturned in 1949, drive-in theaters began popping up all over the country. #MovieNight #Drivein #FilmHistory #History #USHistory

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On #ThisDayinHistory 1927, Henry Ford and his son Edsel drive the 15 millionth Model T Ford out of their factory, marking the famous automobile’s official last day of production. The Model T was responsible for accelerating the automobile’s introduction into American society during the first quarter of the 20th century. Introduced in October 1908, the Model T—also known as the “Tin Lizzie”—weighed some 1,200 pounds, with a 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine. It got about 13 to 21 miles per gallon of gasoline and could travel up to 45 mph. Initially selling for around $850 (around $20,000 in today’s dollars), the Model T would later sell for as little as $260 (around $6,000 today) for the basic no-extras model. Largely due to the Model T’s incredible popularity, the U.S. government made construction of new roads one of its top priorities by 1920. By 1926, however, the Lizzie had become outdated in a rapidly expanding market for cheaper cars. After production officially ended the following day, Ford factories shut down in early June, and some 60,000 workers were laid off. No car in history, however, had the impact—both actual and mythological—of the Model T: Authors like Ernest Hemingway, E.B. White and John Steinbeck featured the Tin Lizzie in their prose, while the great filmmaker Charlie Chaplin immortalized it in satire in his 1928 film “The Circus.” #ModelT #Ford #HenryFord #TinLizzie #CarHistory #USHistory #history

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On exhibit! Our annual Cars at the Capital exhibition launches today in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall. The first car on display is the iconic “Ferrari” from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Although it might be the most famous Ferrari in America, it isn’t a Ferrari at all. Built by Neil Glassmoyer and Mark Goyette in 1985, the Modena Spyder California, was a replica car that featured a custom tube frame, 302 Ford V8 and fiberglass body. Follow along for more and check the link in the bio for info on the exhibit! #CATC2018 #DRIVEHISTORY #poweredbypennzoil #Pennzoil @Pennzoil @Shell @HagertyClassicCars @shell_ontheroad #QuakerState #Driversclub #Classiccar #Ferris #FerrisBueller #Ferrisbuellersdayoff #Ferrari #CalSpider #FerrariCalifornia #Ferrari250 #Leisurerules #WashingtonDC #NationalMall #NationalHistoricVehicleRegister #carsatthecapital

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On #ThisDayinHistory 1929, the economic excess of the Roaring Twenties came to an abrupt end. Wall Street stock prices collapsed and 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. As a result, billions of dollars were lost and in the aftermath, the U.S. and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the decade-long Great Depression. The Great Depression was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world up to that time. By 1933, nearly half of U.S. banks had failed, and unemployment was approaching 15 million people, roughly 30% of the workforce. Relief and reform measures enacted by the FDR administration helped lessen the worst effects of the Great Depression and organizations like the Works Progress Administration and National Recovery Administration helped create jobs and social programs. But, the U.S. economy would not fully turn around until after 1939, when World War revitalized U.S. industry. #GreatDepression #USHistory #stockmarket

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Coca Cola delivery truck, 1909.

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Cooper:On #ThisDayinHistory 1959, the Mini Cooper is launched. It was at a price tag of less than $800 and the diminutive Mini went on to become one of the best-selling British cars in history. The story behind the Mini began in August 1956, when President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in response to the American and British decision to withdraw funding for a new dam’s construction due to Egypt’s Communist ties. The international crisis that followed led to fuel shortages and gasoline rationing across Europe. Sir Leonard Lord, head of BMC wanted to produce a British alternative to the tiny, fuel-efficient German cars that were cornering the market after the Suez Crisis. Mini development began in 1957 and took place under a veil of secrecy, and after about two and a half years–a relatively short design period–the new car was ready for the approval of Lord, who immediately signed off on its production. By the time production was halted in 2000, 5.3 million Minis had been produced. A high-performance version of the Mini engineered by the race car builder John Cooper had first been released in 1961; known as the Mini Cooper, it became one of the favorites of Mini enthusiasts worldwide. This picture shows what might be one of the oldest models. #Mini #minicooper #carhistory

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The first Royce car in Cooke Street 1904. Photo courtesy Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust.

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[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/05/sexy-bill-gates-and-11-other-historic-tech-photos/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/bill-gates-410×231.jpg” title=”Sexy Bill Gates And 11 Other Historic Tech Photos” excerpt=”As a lover of history, I’m enamoured by photos of the past. Important moments that have been preserved through light and lenses. Some are joyous. Some mournful.

I often trawl historic images on Instagram, because my nerdom knows no bounds. So I thought I would share some incredible photographs that have captured moments in tech history, from some of my favourite accounts.”]

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