The records document Consumers' Research's testing, research, and projects concerning the performance of the annual crop of new automobiles. The records also document the marketing of automobiles in the United States (1932-1981). Included are evaluation reports for each car tested; car company literature including catalogs, brochures, packets, and owners manuals; correspondence; notes; magazine and newspaper clippings; dealer invoices; purchase forms; and photographs of cars. Included also are projects relating to models of domestic cars between 1932 and 1981, foreign cars (1957-1980), and station wagons. The project files consist of correspondence with consultants, manufacturers, and subscribers; charts; reports on performance, safety, and gas mileage; laboratory notebooks; and manufacturers' catalogs. While each yearly project folder contains some promotional literature, the projects between 1934-1950 contain several descriptive catalogs. The types of cars tested in between 1950 and 1981 include all major automobile companies including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, American Motors, Volkswagen and early attempts at selling English, French, and Japanese cars. The cars tested between 1932 and 1960 include but are not limited to: Auburn, Bantam, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Crosley, DeSoto, Dodge, Hudson, Hupmobile, Ford, Graham, Lincoln, Mercury, Nash, Oldsmobile, Packard, Plymouth, Pontiac, Studebaker, and Willys.
