I love looking at vintage cars. Don’t you?
Researching for the Ginger Gold Mysteries series has allowed me to learn about the different types of automobiles available in the 1920s. Here are a few cars that make an appearance in the series.
Ginger Gold's first automobile was a gift from her father for her and her late husband Daniel to use while they were in London. It was a blue 1913 Daimler TE 30 Cranmore Landaulet.
In Murder at Haritgan House, Ginger prefers to drive herself rather than have her chauffeur drive her around. One perk of driving herself is that she can stick her nose into Chief Inspector Basil Reed's investigations without others knowing. If only she can remember which side of the road to drive on!
Ginger's second automobile in London is a 1924 Crossley 19.6HP Sports Tourer. This beauty had a white and red interior similar to the car pictured below.
In Murder at Bray Manor Ambrosia owns a 1904 Coventry Humber. Only a few of these automobiles are still available around the globe.
Unlike Ginger, Ambrosia's chauffeur drives her around.
Chief Inspector Basil Reed drives a snappy forest green Austin 7.
As automobiles became more reliable they gave individuals more freedom to travel about freely and quickly. These new developments also changed the nature of police-work, fire-fighting, and medical services. Continue reading for more fun facts!
Police cars were beginning to be outfitted with radios in the later 1920s. Before radios were installed in patrol cars, officers had to wait at the station for emergency calls to come in. Police became increasingly mobile as radios became more reliable. These early motor radios had limited reception and needed to be charged every few minutes.
The invention of trucks revolutionized fire fighting. Previously large amounts of water were stored in wagons that were pulled by horses. The new motorized system allowed fire-fighters to get to the scene faster while carrying more personnel.
Early ambulances had many different designs, including trikes, carriages and more traditional 'truck' designs. By the 1920s truck-like ambulances were beginning to be mass produced in America.
There was also a growing interest in the 1920s in the idea of developing a flying car. A French inventor created a flying ambulance that was featured in the 1927 issue of Science and Invention magazine (read more about it here).
Did you learn something new? Write me a note and tell me about it!
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