So I’m gonna be in a roleplaying game set in the 1920s, and I’ll be playing an ex-magician’s-assistant-turned bootlegger. I want her to have a cool car for bootlegging that’s tricked out on the inside with hidden cabinets and the like.
Does anyone know what would be a good car for this purpose?
Daniel
From this site: http://yourpage.blazenet.net/keimpjad/pageAD.html
This 1920 Chalmers looks like it would fit the bill. http://yourpage.blazenet.net/keimpjad/chalmers.htm
This 1924 Dagmar looks pretty cool, too. http://yourpage.blazenet.net/keimpjad/dagmar.htm
Here’s a 1922 Lincoln. http://yourpage.blazenet.net/keimpjad/lincoln.htm
It looks to me as if the long, comfortable, shapely cars didn’t really start until the late '20s, so your timeline kind of limits your choices to tall, boxy looking cars.
Actually, when I posted that first reply, I thought you were looking for a car made prior to 1925. :smack:
From this site, http://www.1motormart.com/galleryc.htm , which is a photo gallery of cars segregated by decade, check out these.
1929 Cadillac: http://www.1motormart.com/gallery/29cad01.jpg
1929 Hupmobile!: http://www.1motormart.com/gallery/29hup02.jpg
1929 Stutz: http://www.1motormart.com/gallery/29stut01.jpg
I guess it all depends on whether you want a large car that can hold a lot of booze, or a fast car than can outrun tea-totalers, or something that does both.
I vote for the Stutz Bearcat. Besides having a cool-sounding name, the Bearcat was the high-performance sportscar of choice for its era (and you need a performance vehicle in case you have to outrun the law). You’re a few years too early for Henry Ford’s V-8 engine, which made the Ford the vehicle of choice for such notables as John Dillinger and Clyde Barrow.
Of course, the Bearcat doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a lot of cabinetry, unless you trick it out like the Beverly Hillbillies did, --which might cost you some performance.
Very cool, 2x4! I think I’ll go for the 1922 Lincoln: it’s big and fast, so that I can store lots of booze and still get away from the cops.
Thanks!
Daniel
How successful of a bootlegger are we talking about? The vehicle of choice, I believe, having listened to my father talk about bootleggers of his youth was a Model T pick-up. He said that if the police were being paid off, the booze would be just stacked in the back and covered with a tarp; and if they weren’t, they would use such ploys as putting hooch in boxes marked farm supplies, putting them in hollowed-out bales of hay or even put them in milk cans.
According to my father, generally speaking bootleggers tried not to stand out in a crowd unlike a mobster might, ala Capone, Moran or O’Banion who tended to be more distributers than bootleggers.
Still from your OP I get the feeling you want flash. May I second the Stuz (especially the Bearcat), or even suggest a Duzenberg. They were about as flash as you could get and both could get up and move better than most.
You should also remember, however, that the majority of really successful men did not drive their own cars at that time. You’ve got to remember that the automobile was not that old in 1927, little over a generation and most of the established types such as mobsters Al Capone, Denny O’Banion and Bugs Moran or even bootlegger/distributer Joe Kennedy did not drive at all, but instead had an “associate” drive for them. Those that drove tended to be relatively low-level functionaries. If you are being chauffeured as the gentlemen mentioned above, the Duzenburg is still a possibility as are the Lincoln, Packard, Chrysler and Caddy.
Oh – Spoke, the Bearcat does look good, but it sadly seems impractical for smuggling purposes. Thanks, though!
Daniel
Here are the 1925 Stutz Roadster, and the 1925 Stutz Speedster for your consideration as well.
Al Capone drove a 1925 Packard Phaeton. And here’s the 1925 Packard LeBaron Phaeton Speedster.
If it’s luxury you seek, and not performance, try the Pierce Arrow. Here’s a sportier 1925 Pierce Arrow Runabout.
Daniel you would not be running hooch with a Lincoln. Cars weren’t as plentiful as they now are and roads that a bootlegger would use did not lend themselves to Lincolns. It would be worse than today running grass from Mexico in a Rolls Royce. It is just not practical.
Also, your average bootlegger would not be able to afford one and definitely not your average magician’s assistant, and if somehow he could, he would not use it to run booze. He couldn’t carry enough to make it profitable. To be successful as a bootlegger in the 1920s you had to deal in quanity.
And don’t worry about outrunning the law (that came later in the 40s and 50s). That was not a problem during prohibition. In the 1920s the law would just hit the distribution point. To be a successful bootlegger you had to have one. Your bigger worry was somebody not affiliated with the law wanting to take your shipment. Hijacking was a regular problem for independent bootleggers and even ones affiliated with specific gangs and you don’t want your Lincoln hijacked.
Daniel you would not be running hooch with a Lincoln. Cars weren’t as plentiful as they now are and roads that a bootlegger would use did not lend themselves to Lincolns. It would be worse than today running grass from Mexico in a Rolls Royce. It is just not practical.
Also, your average bootlegger would not be able to afford one and definitely not your average magician’s assistant, and if somehow he could, he would not use it to run booze. He couldn’t carry enough to make it profitable. To be successful as a bootlegger in the 1920s you had to deal in quanity.
And don’t worry about outrunning the law (that came later in the 40s and 50s). That was not a problem during prohibition. In the 1920s the law would just hit the distribution point. To be a successful bootlegger you had to have one. Your bigger worry was somebody not affiliated with the law wanting to take your shipment. Hijacking was a regular problem for independent bootleggers and even ones affiliated with specific gangs and you don’t want your Lincoln hijacked.
Model A Fords were first made in 1928, so it would have been a new car. They were V8 engines IIRC, and Clyde Barrow preferred them due to their power.
Gotta catch up with posts.
TVTime, yeah, I’m looking for a mix between flash and utility. This will be, after all, a car that’s been modified by a master magician’s cabinetmaker :). She’ll definitely be a driver, probably running a route from Canada down to Manhattan and specializing in fine European wines and liquors for posher speakeasies. I’m not figuring on her being terribly rich; most of her money will go into the car. Although a pickup truck might be most accurate, I’d rather her have something a little sexy, so that we can have fun car chase scenes.
I can’t figure out which Dusenberg you’re talking about – is there a specific model you’d recommend?
That’s a good point about the Lincoln being a Rolls Royce kind of car: I’m looking for something that can manage some back roads. I guess I want something fast, with decent trunk space (it’s a mage game, so that trunk space will be magically augmented), able to handle back roads, and a little bit sexy.
On this page, there are a couple of cars that look like they’d have potential: the Lancia Lambda, the 1922 Vauxhall, and 1924 Bentley. Do you see any problems with any of these? For story reasons, I kinda like the Lambda: it’s Italian and might come recommended by her cabinetmaker friend.
Thanks for y’all’s advice!
Daniel
Naaaah, stay away from the furrin’ stuff.
This is 1925, remember. You want something that can be fixed if it breaks down in East Nowhere, New York on the way to Manhattan with a couple of cases of wine in the rear compartment.
Lincolns actually aren’t that bad of a choice. The Lincoln of the early-to-mid 1920s was a fast car that handled decently for the time, with enough power to carry a heavy load and relatively anonymous looks. In Chicago, Lincolns were the favorites of both law enforcement and those who plied their trade in the criminal business.
You also might think about a Buick. Perhaps a nice Buick sedan or coupe? A three-window coupe might be just the thing, as you could have the rear deck modified to hold your cargo in the golf bag compartment or under the rumble seat. And Buicks are middle-class cars; they won’t raise the notice that a Packard or Lincoln might.
Just my $.02.
Zap!
I’ll bite. So what’s the deal with this game? Sounds like a pretty big deal if you’re looking for car.
ElwoodCuse, I’m not sure if I understand your question; forgive me if I don’t answer what you’re asking. I’m not really looking for a car; I’m just looking for a car that my character might drive. It’s a roleplaying game called Mage: The Ascension; we’re playing a game set in New York City in the Roaring Twenties, and I like to get fun little details accurate, even as the rest of my character may be wildly inaccurate.
I dunno about the no foreign cars warning: she may know mechanics that can get it fixed. It’s an interesting point, though. And I’ll try to find some pictures of Buicks from around that time period.
Daniel
The early Model A had four cylinders. The V-8 didn’t come along until, mmmm, 1932, I think.
Zappo’s right. Stay away from the foreign cars. The problem’s not finding a mechanic. The problem is getting the parts. You gonna wait while a part gets shipped (literally) from Europe?
1920’s vehicles of all makes were prone to breakdowns, and especially prone to flat tires. According to my kinfolk who remember the era, it was a remarkable event if you completed a 30-mile trip without a flat tire. You need American-made so you can be assured of getting parts as needed.
Say, how ‘bout a good ol’ middle-class American-made 1925 Studebaker ER Standard Six, or a 1924 Studebaker Special Six?
By the way…Lincoln? Buick?
Boring. 
You want a car that is no longer made. One who’s very name is evocative of a bygone era. (Hence my suggestions of Stutz, Packard, Studebaker, Pierce Arrow…)
More…
1925 Hupmobile
Another '25 Hupmobile
(Hupmobile had some power. Introduced 6- and 8-cylinder models in 1925.)
(“whose” I meant)
Spoke, that Hupmobile is a thing of beauty. Powerful, sexy, and with plenty of room, it might be just what I need. Plus, it’s name is fun to say, especially if you hoot on the first syllable.
Thanks!
Daniel
Historically, many hoods used the Packard. It was powerful, fast, strong, and reliable. Those last two are important in an era where garages are relatively few and far-between, and where the heat would come to the garage looking for information about strangers and strange cars in town. Flashy cars drew attention, because they were rare, and attention is something a hood doesn’t want. Further, as already mentioned, cars were a young technology, and parts availability was a some-time thing. Good reason for going domestic.
As nice as owning a Bearcat or Duzy might be, the rarity of the car, the attention it drew, and the expense of owning one (especially one thaat might get shot to hell and have to be replaced) mitigate against them. The Packard was comfy, had loads of room for hiding stuff (go see Road to Perdition for a good example of hoods & Packards), and were sufficiently common to not attract much attention, whist still having a certain amount of class.
