Automobiles have changed considerably since the 1920s due to the new cars developed. The car industry was thriving in the 1920s. There were many new types of cars. In the beginning of the 1920s, many of the soldiers returning from World War I bought automobiles. People started to see that having a car would make traveling much easier. Soon almost every American family had a car. Ford was the big car maker but other companies were also big at the time. Ford cars, such as the Ford Model T, were popular because they were cheap and reliable.
The automobiles industry in Europe and the United States expanded greatly during the 1920s. There were many changes in the industry and new types of cars. Having a car allowed families and individuals to travel more easily. Here, we collected 28 interesting vintage photos of midget cars from the 1920s and 1930s:
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| 1920. “Custer” the smallest car in the US. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) |
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| 1925. J B Carver driving his MG Midget racer at Grinders Glade during the Inter-Varsity Motor Trial. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images) |
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| Circa. A bus and a midget car in a London street. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 1928. A German Hanomag Kommissbrot motor car costs ?100 and gives good mileage per gallon of petrol because of its size. It is named because of its similarity to a loaf of army bread. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| Pupils at Eton College watch two of their peers driving midget Rytecraft Scootercars, 1934. The cars, designed by J W Shillan, are one horsepower strong, fully licensed and taxed for the road. (Photo by Reg Speller/Getty Images) |
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| 31st October 1934. A young Etonian test drives the world's smallest car during a demonstration at Eton College. The one horsepower midget, which is fully licensed and road taxed was designed by Mr J W Shillan. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 1934. The Whitwood two-wheel, two-seater “monocar” in Ealing, London. The 7 foot 8 inch long vehicle reaches speeds of 94 mph. (Photo by William Vanderson/Getty Images) |
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| 17th November 1934. A tiny one-horsepower car being used by a florist for delivering blooms to customers attracts some attention on the London roads. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 1934. A motorist leaving the Houses of Parliament in London with an angel for which he has paid ten guineas. (Photo by Fred Morley/Getty Images) |
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| December 1934. Shillan's miniature Rytecraft car being loaded onto a plane at Croydon Airport, London, for transport to Paris. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| June 1934. Mr Shillan driving his Rytecraft scoota-car. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 10th December 1934. The “Whitwood”, a two wheeled motor car built to meet the demands of modern traffic. 7ft 8ins long and 2ft 3ins high, it has reached a speed of 94mph during trials. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 4th August 1934. Two drivers in one horsepower cars at a filling station near Barnet, one having her tank filled and the other talking to an RAC motorcyclist. The cars, designed by J W Shillam, are fully licensed for the road and retail at £70. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 18th November 1934. A young boy trying out a toy MG Midget car at the famous toy shop Hamleys, on Regent Street, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| A midget Hanomag Kommisbrot car outside the manufacturer's headquarters, 1935. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) |
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| 11th February 1935. Instead of using a car jack to carry out repairs on a one horsepower midget car, a mechanic in Cardiff simply gets a couple of helping hands to lift up the front of the vehicle. Midget cars are on sale for around £70 and achieve a top speed of about 50 miles per hour. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 27th May 1935. Dwarfed by a full-size car, Mr C W Cooper of Surbiton drives the miniature racing car which he built for his son John. The tiny vehicle is fitted with a 1.25 horsepower two-stroke engine, and can travel up to 52 miles per hour. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| February 1935. A lorry driver talking to the driver of a midget car in Cardiff. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 16th April 1935. The length of an adult male, Jean Reville's midget car, “the gnat” (claimed to be the world's smallest racing car) being given an overhaul by a mechanic in preparation for a Jubilee meeting being held at White City, London. (Photo by R. Wesley/Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 10th April 1935. Midget car speedway champion of Great Britain Jean Reville breaks the four lap record at Lea Bridge speedway in his midget car “Palmer's Special”. The tiny car is 5 feet long and 3 ft 6 inches wide and it runs on a 9 horsepower engine. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 22nd February 1935. A three-wheeled car passes a sign where the London North Orbital road will be constructed at West Hyde Lodge near Rickmansworth. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 2nd April 1936. Two women sit in a newly-designed 2 1/2 hp Scoota car, made by the British Motor-Boat Manufacturing Company, at demonstrations at Britannia House. The little car, which can carry two people at speeds up to 45mph, is dwarfed by an ordinary-sized vehicle. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 17th February 1937. A tiny Rytecraft van, Britain's smallest, travelling along Deansgate in Manchester. The vehicle is powered by a 2 1/2 hp engine, travels 80 miles on a gallon of petrol, carries nearly 600 pounds and has a top speed of 50 mph. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 22nd June 1937. Sir K.S. Digvijaysinhji (1895–1966), the Maharajah of Nawanagar, with his daughter Princess Harshad Kunverba in a Rytecraft Special midget car on the Maharajah's estate near Dorking, Surrey. The Maharajah has bought the car for his daughter for use on the estate when she is out with her nurse. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) |
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| 1939. A tiny “Velocar” with “double-pedal” movement is showing its paces in Hyde Park, London, solving the problem of wartime petrol rationing. (Photo by Harry Todd/Getty Images) |
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| 1939. An air raid warden arrives at a shelter in a Rytecraft midget car. (Photo by Reg Speller/Getty Images) |
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| 5th November 1939. A tiny Velocar makes its way down the road in Hyde Park, London, dwarfed by the parked cars alongside. This pedal-powered “one manpower” vehicle is one small answer to the problem of petrol rationing. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images) |
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| 26th October 1939. A woman driving the new solution to the problem of wartime petrol rationing, the midget car. This tiny vehicle can cover eighty miles on a gallon of petrol and achieves speeds of up to 45 miles per hour. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images) |