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Here is an image from our family files that requires some knowledgeable sleuthing to interpret. I can tell you it was taken in Point Pleasant, New Jersey and that the driver is almost certainly not my great-grandfather who died in 1932, as I believe the car is of more recent vintage. Aside from that, I have a few ideas of my own but even fewer hard facts.
What can you deduce from this photograph? Let us know in the comments, and feel free to click to enlarge.
Update (1/17/2007) More here!
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I agree, this is definitely a 1942 Dodge Custom Series, Town Sedan with a special order two tone paint job. I got a 42 Dodge myself. Dodge promotional films advertised how with the fluid drive option, the 42 Dodge could easily manage its way through sand. I think this was one of those things you shouldn't try at home. I hope he didn't try to climb a stair next. Appears as though he smacked something with the front fender next to the headlight and maybe scratched the door too. No license of the front bumper could indicate this car is new. Not a blackout model. No stickers on the windshield for inspections or rationing so probably pre war. I'm guessing November of 1941 somewhere on the East coast. The new 42's were out by then.
Posted by: RonG | November 12, 2008 at 12:23 AM
The car is, indeed, a 1942 Dodge. It's quite a rare piece, as Dodge did a major revamp for '42 and they were, of course, only produced for a short time prior to Pearl Harbor. The only other thing I deduce is that the picture was taken while trying to extricate the car; note the shovel near the rear fender. I assume the effort was not going well, judging by the driver's expression.
Posted by: DSmith | January 17, 2008 at 08:46 PM
Call me crazy, but could all of those little marks be bullet holes?
Posted by: Apple | January 12, 2008 at 08:49 PM
The year will be even more significant than the model, though I am interested in that detail as well. I believe the car did not drive into the sand at all. Clues are there. Look well.
Posted by: Tim Abbott | January 12, 2008 at 04:48 PM
He drove into a sand trap?
Posted by: Tour Marm | January 12, 2008 at 04:28 PM
Looks more like an Oldsmobile to me than a Dodge. It is more the body style of GM then rather than Chrysler Corp. The year looks about right - either 1941 or 1942 although with the year 1942 is not that likely.
Posted by: dick | January 12, 2008 at 04:26 PM
Mr. Tony Turner writes via e-mail:
"I wrote you a few months ago about your great-uncle Archie Ogden who was my friend in the 1950s.
The driver of the car stuck in the sand in Point Pleasant was definitely not your great-grandfather, or anyone else who died in 1932, as the car was, I believe, a 1942 Dodge.
The gentleman also looks much too old to have been Archie or anyone else of his generation in the mid to late 1940s when the photo was probably taken.
How, I wonder, did the car get into that predicament?"
That, indeed, is my question to you. The make and model of the car help to establish the time period, which I believe is significant to understanding what is going on in the picture. I have filled Mr. Turner in on my hypothesis. What is yours?
Posted by: Tim Abbott | January 12, 2008 at 08:32 AM