By 1931, Oldsmobile’s new 85-acre complex in Lansing, Michigan, could send a new car off the line every 41 seconds, shipping 800 cars a day. When the Depression put the brakes on car sales in the early 1930s, many car makers went under. GM, though, not only survived –it continued making progress in design and manufacturing, giving buyers sleeker-looking, better running, more convenient cars.

With the slump in car sales, GM turned its attention to other ventures, including radio and aircraft. In 1935, GM created its Electro-Motive division, which converted North America’s railroads from steam to diesel power. The most popular exhibit of the Chicago World’s Fair was GM’s Science and Technology display: it gave Depression-weary audiences a bright look into the future. After the fair GM’s Parade of Progress took the show on the road. People in hundreds of small towns in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba experienced “marvels” including a Ping-Pong game in stereophonic sound and a microwave oven that could fry an egg but did not burn a newspaper. Eventually, in 1956, the parade was replaced by the future it foretold –as television brought shows right into people’s living rooms.

All through the 1930s, GM engineers and designers made continual improvements in car frames, bodies, engines, and transmissions. In 1933, GM added no-draft ventilation to all its cars and developed independent front-wheel suspension. In 1936, Knee-Action suspension made Chevrolets an even smoother ride. All 1937 GM makes featured an all-steel body and optional windshield defrosters. In 1938, a car radio was introduced as an option onBuicks, and GM’s Harley Earl designed a historic one-off: the Buick Y-Job. The world’s first “concept car” prefaced a generation of dream cars and anticipated the styling of the 1940s. Featuring a revolutionary flowing look, it had power windows, a power convertible top, power door locks, and power steering. In the late 1930s GM changed the economy of trucks and trains by perfecting the 2-cycle diesel engine, and in 1939 the first standard turn signals blinked on GM cars.