The Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon, has on display more than 100 antique automobiles. Shown below are some of the small automobiles which are on display.
1950 Crosley Model CD Sedan
Powel Crosley, Jr. had a simple idea: make a small, basic car which would be cheap to operate. In 1939, he incorporated Crosley Motors and began assembling mini-cars in Richmond Indiana. In the beginning, his idea was for these small cars to be sold in department stores that also sold his radios and refrigerators: since the car was only 48 inches wide, it could be moved through a standard commercial store door. While there were some stores, such as Macy’s in New York, that displayed Crosley automobiles next to the Crosley refrigerators, the idea of selling cars in department stores did not really catch on.
Crosley’s best year was 1948 when 24,871 cars were sold. Sales began to slip in 1949. By 1951 production was down to 300 cars per month and in 1952 only 1,522 Crosley’s were sold at which time production stopped.
1959 Mini Coupe 30 Year Edition
1964 Volkswagen Beetle
1971 Volkswagen Super Beetle
1971 Citroen DS
1972 Honda N600 2-Door Sedan
1974 Volkswagen Thing
1981 HMV Freeway
More automobile photo tours
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Car Show: Cars from the 1950s (Photo Diary)
WAAAM: Automobiles of the 1910s (Photo Diary)
World of Speed: The Porsche 911 (Photo Diary)
WAAAM: Automobiles of the 1920s (Photo Diary)
LeMay Family Collection: Cars before 1920 (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Extinct Automobiles of the 1930s (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: British Automobiles (Photo Diary)
History 101: The Crosley Automobile