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◊ 2011-06-02 13:32 |
How popular were Mercedes-Benz (and other German marques) in the United States during the 1930s? When the studios needed German cars for war films, would it have been difficult to find them? |
◊ 2011-06-02 15:58 |
The German industry was all the time very export-orientated, even in the 19th century. So the automobile-industry, too. Premium brands as Mercedes Benz had always a much higher export-percentage than the "bread-and-butter"-car-makers. Not to forget the economical situation in the 30ies. Due the world economic crisis back then, with the impoverishment of a large part of the population, expecially the middle- and upper middle class, there was no money left for buying expensive goods as cars (plus the fact, that the motorisation in Germany was much less than in America or Britain). The best selling-rates in the 30ies had small motorbikes (less than 250ccm, especially less than 100ccm) and cheap cars like DKW's, Opel P4 and Ford A. Any yes, after 1933 the Nazi-regime has forced the export-business, too. Foreign, "hard" currency was urgently needed, also to bring the millions of unemployed back to work. |