Chevrolet Dealer Film “It Could Be You” Post-War Auto Shortage General Motors 88654 (1949)

Synopsis

Made by Jam Handy, "It Could Be You" dates to 1949. This film was made during a time of unusual crisis -- when a shift from wartime to peacetime production led to a unique shortage of new cars despite heavy demand. As the film explains during WW2, the USA's auto industry was geared towards manufacturing war materials, leading to a complete halt of production of new makes and models. The film opens with a man receiving a phone call about a delivery of his brand-new vehicle (1:05). The narrator explains that Chevy is making more new cars than any other manufacturer (1:13). Two men are watching the film in a theater and one asks “When do I get my new Chevrolet?” (1:45). The pair continues to watch (2:08) and it carries on with how in the early 1940’s when someone wanted a new car they could have one within a day or two (2:16). Many American’s had become accustomed to the ease and availability of being able to get replacement vehicles until WWII hit (2:44). Automobile plants were cleared out for the manufacture of war materials (2:47) which meant that production of new cars completely stopped. Within the US, citizens were encouraged to carpool and conserve gas for the war effort (3:02) and people turned from buying new products to having their old worn out products fixed which included their vehicles. A magazine follows showing post war cars (3:12) that many citizens anxiously waited for. Banners and building signs read “Japanese surrender” as V-J Day arrived on August 15th,…

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Details

Running time

10 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage