Art Deco and the Automobile, Deco in the Rest of the World

Most industrialized countries produced automobiles at some time. Even countries not usually associated with auto production built home-grown cars, especially in the early part of the 20th century. Latvia, Finland, Hungary and Norway are examples of one-time auto producing countries. Most of their cars were typical of the early years—very upright and spare vehicles reminiscent of the Model T, but only manufacturers that survived through the 1920s and into the 1930s produced cars with streamlined designs or some elements of streamlining.

France comes to mind first when discussing Art Deco vehicles, followed by the United States, Italy, Germany and Great Britain. Deco design can, however, be found in automobiles from a number of other countries. As mentioned in “Axis Deco” (Vintage Roadcar, March 2013), Japan’s streamlined automobiles were essentially knock-offs of American cars. Of the rest of the world, Czechoslovakia was the most significant, but Spain may have produced the most Art Deco automobile of all time. These two are the best of the rest of the world.