At the car wash

From the February 1940 issue of Mechanix Illustrated, reproduced at Modern Mechanix. The caption reads:

This new foreign limousine has a hot and cold water folding wash-basin of aluminum built into its right front fender. Beneath the hood is a 2-compartment tank holding two and a half gallons of water. The hot water section is heated by exhaust gases passing through a spiral pipe. The two faucets give water of any desired temperature. The basin is automatically emptied when it is folded into the fender.

They don’t make cars like they used to. The Auto Union AG exhibited this prototype Horch 930 S at the 1939 Berlin car show. You’d think the designer, manufacturer and model might have had other things on their mind at the time.

Monitor: Mike McLaughlin