I agree with @sgtrock21. A friend used to talk about his father mowing the lawn with a dress shirt and tie on. It was like he was going to the office. This was in the 50s, btw.
The flathead, also caller L hear was cheaper to build, took up less space and was much quieter. Until he gasoline developed to allow compression ratios that the L head could not match, the slight power advantage of the OHV did not overcome it;s drawbacks. In the early days there were other way to get more power. Mercer used a T head with the intake and exhaust valves on opposite sides of the block allowing larger valves and ports. Hudson in the early 29s Had an F head engine with an over head intake valve and the exhaust valve in the block. This allowed valves to be much bigger and both worked great until you needed a smaller combustion chamber to boost compression.
Without all the modern sound deadening techniques, a quiet engine was considered more important than it is now. The 6 cylinder Ply moths were so quiet unless the valves were out of adjustment that you could not tell if the engine was running unless you revved the engine. When my wife picked me up and slid over to let me drive, I sometimes hit the starter with the car running.
Watched a bit more of the series.
Interesting how there is a 4 barrel Rochester carburetor sitting on the workbench in front of the Dodge Brothers. 
I guess they did the best they could for props. Figured most wouldn’t notice.
And what about Delorean revving his new hot car in the garage, that happened to be a Buick?
Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! 
I’ll watch watch for that now!
Oops! Sorry about that.
No problem… I think we all know how it ends!
OK, Please cite your reference for the fatalities data.
I guess I didn’t see it. Sounds interesting anyway but don’t click through the History Channel much anymore and find program schedules for cable nearly non-existent now.
As far as the deaths on the road, precision is sometimes important but I saw that show and it really doesn’t matter if it was two deaths an hour or a day. The point is there are a lot of deaths and it is a road I wouldn’t be on if I could help it.
You’re right…if you’re into “fake news.”
;-]
My experience is also from the 1950s. When my Mother took me shopping in the city she would be dressed up to the max and I would be in my Sunday best. She did not drive so we rode the bus. Back then we did not stand out like we would today. She also wore a dress and apron when cooking or doing housework. She only wore slacks when gardening or painting the house.
Yup!
When I was very young, we did not own a car, so we rode a bus to go shopping, or to go to a restaurant, and–naturally–we were always dressed-up in a fairly formal fashion. In addition, back in those days, “nice” women did not smoke cigarettes on the street.
While smoking was fine for women to engage in, it was confined to the home, or to restaurants or other indoor locations–but it was NOT considered to be proper on the street.
In my neighborhood no one wore a suit and tie except on Sunday but when my Grandmother and I would walk or take the bus downtown, she was always dressed well.
And it was a BIG Buick, not even the Skylark! What? They couldn’t find a '64 GTO?
The story started to go off message a bit ignoring little things like Chevy and Pontiac’s involvement in early drag racing with 409/425 HP Chevys and the dual-quad 421 Pontiacs with the special lightweight packages nor the same from Ford and Chrysler. Nor the ultra-lightweight Corvette Grand Sports and Ford Cobras.
Lots of car stories here but this was really a story about the people who made the car industry in the US.
It appears to me that these programs were produced by the same production company that provides dramatizations for Mysteries At The Museum for the Travel Channel. The info in the MATM segments is usually very good, but it is frequently accompanied by dramatization footage that includes such things as…
Policemen in the '20s, '30s, or '40s wearing baseball caps as part of their uniform
Telephones–in segments about the '40s or '50s–that are modular phones of the '70s or '80s.
and…my unfortunate favorite…
Leopold & Loeb abducting the victim of their kidnapping/murder plan in a car from the '40s.
However, I have to point out that even big-budget Hollywood movies suffer from similar inaccuracies in regard to cars and other forms of transportation. In Bridge of Spies–which I think is–overall–a very good flick–despite the fact that the opening sequences are set in 1957, the street scenes include '58 Chevys and '59 Plymouths. I will grant that–depending on the exact date in 1957–there might have been a few '58 Chevys around, but I refuse to believe that there were any '59 Plymouths on the streets in 1957.
Additionally, in that same movie, a NYC subway is portrayed as having been clad in stainless steel, having sealed windows and fluorescent lighting, and being equipped with a P.A. system–despite the fact that this type of equipment did not arrive on the scene for another couple of decades.
I think that, in most cases, the folks who are supposed to provide cars and other props for TV shows and movies have an attitude of…this equipment is “old”. Close enough…
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Then there was “Hidden Figures” taking place about 1961 but several times showing a police car prominently that was a 1964 Ford, just like the one I had for drivers training. I understand the computer printer was also a later model but know nothing about that.
As I stated earlier, it appears that the folks who obtain prop items for both TV and movie productions are not really concerned with accuracy. If something is… old…that is enough for them.
And, if most of their viewers are younger folks, most of those viewers probably wouldn’t notice the inaccuracies anyway. That does not justify taking a cavalier attitude toward accuracy, but it may help to explain it.