Historical Context

This letter, dated September 21, 1932, is from Evan's father, Thomas, to Evan.

Thomas mentions his reluctance to part with his "Oakland" car because it drives beautifully but is too heavy and expensive on gas. The Oakland Motor Car Company was a highly respected brand founded in 1907 that later became an original cornerstone of General Motors (GM). Ironically, by the exact time Thomas was writing this letter in late 1932, the Oakland brand had just been discontinued. GM noticed that Oakland's cheaper "companion line"—introduced in 1926 under the name Pontiac—had massively outsold its parent company. GM killed the Oakland brand to focus entirely on Pontiac, which explains why Thomas's resale value had cratered to "nothing."

Thomas congratulates his son on looking into a "1931 Ford Tudor." The "Tudor" (Ford's phonetic branding for a two-door sedan) was part of the iconic Ford Model A lineup, which replaced the legendary Model T. The 1931 Model A Tudor was historically significant because it was one of the final production runs before Ford completely revolutionized the auto industry again in 1932 by introducing the low-cost V8 engine. The 1931 Model A remains one of the most highly sought-after vintage cars today due to its reliability and classic styling.