Samuel A. Miles, the father of the modern automobile show, managed the Chicago Auto Show from 1901 until his resignation, three weeks prior to his death on April 25, 1932. On the right is a decal/sticker for both the New York and Chicago National Auto Shows. Sam Miles was responsible for the presentation of the two events for three decades.
Workers unload a Hupmobile outside of the Coliseum for the 1932 Chicago Auto Show. The Coliseum was located on Wabash Ave. and held the show from 1901-1935. The Hupp Motor Co. manufactured Hupmobiles from 1909 to 1940 with both six and eight cylinder models being popular.
During the 1920s and ‘30s, automobile salons were held at the Drake Hotel in conjunction with the Chicago Auto Show. In 1932, the presentation was billed as the “Aristocracy of Motordom,” and featured elite marques including Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, Packard, Duesenberg and Mercedes. These were the highest-grade cars and custom coachwork in the world at the time, presented in an elegant setting for discriminating and distinguished clientele.
In 1932, the number of nameplates was diminishing, but show goers still had plenty of cars to choose from. Posed in the foreground are new Pontiacs, which replaced the discontinued Oakland models. This was the year that Pontiac fielded both the Series 302 V-8 and Series 402 inline six-cylinder engines.
Two lovely females pose with a vehicle chassis, powertrain and dashboard equipped with many automotive parts supplied by the Stewart-Warner Corp. Over the decades, Stewart Warner supplied a majority of the instruments used by the automotive industry, as well as heavy-truck and off-highway vehicles
Some special auto show exhibits were held in ballrooms at local hotels. These were in conjuction to the space at the Coliseum. The milling crowds in this scene were admiring the new 1932 product from General Motors.
Pen and ink art work pictured the 1932 Hupmobile five-passenger Victoria, advertised as “A new car for a new age.” Hupmobile boasted the luxury of a beautiful room, the streamlines of a speed plane, the speed of a cross-country racing car, and the strength of a long steel bridge. Twenty-six models were available, powered by six-and eight-cylinders, priced $795 and up.
At $415, the Willys-Overland Six and Eight models were advertised as the “Lowest priced cars in the World.” The pictured front view of the 1932 model best illustrate the new V-type radiator with grille, the trimly designed headlights and full-crowned fenders. Wire wheels were standard equipment.