1935 Brewster Ford Town Car

Brewster & Company was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rolls-Royce of North America. To avoid the stigma of bankruptcy, it evolved into the Springfield Manufacturing Corp. President John Inskip's idea to avoid bankruptcy altogether was to build four custom-built Brewster bodies on a Ford V-8 chassis each carrying a $3,500 price tag; half the typical cost of a custom car at that time. Body styles included a town car, limousine, convertible coupe, and convertible sedan. The plebian Ford chassis appealed to those who had survived the crash financially yet considered it inappropriate to flash their good fortune in an era of soup kitchens, breadlines, and 25 percent unemployment. To the unsuspecting they could say, 'I'm driving a Ford.'

The Ford V-8 chassis was lengthened 15 inches to accept the Inskip-designed Brewster coachwork. Not to be confused with any other car, Brewsters featured a unique heart-shaped grille and cow catcher-style front bumpers on 1934 models; others referenced the quirky styling as having similarities to a fountain pen point. The unusual grille was less radical on later models such as this car. Production of cars began in 1934 and ended in 1936. Reported production totals vary ranging from 113, 135, and 300 of which 83 were Town Cars including this example from the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum's collection.