During the 1930s manufacturing techniques were improving and manufacturers started to experiment with design. 

The Museum defines the Post-Vintage category as those motor cars built between 1931 and 1939. This is based on the definition provided by the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA).

During the 1930s improved manufacturing techniques were developed alongside an increasing knowledge of materials’ capabilities. This resulted in a change from wooden framed cars with a steel, fabric or aluminium skin to pressed steel car bodies over a steel frame – a technique perfected by the Budd Corporation. By 1936 the island roof featuring a canvas central panel was no longer in use as the development of deep draw steel for solid roofs served to make production more efficient.

The styling and design of car bodies became more aerodynamic and echoed the Art Deco style typical of this period. The Chrysler Airflow is considered one of the first production cars designed in this streamlined style. An increased range of pigmentation also allowed for a greater variety of paint colours available to the consumer. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 most vehicle production until 1945 was for military purposes and was far more utilitarian.

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˟ This Rolls Royce was originally manufactured in 1925 and was later rebodied by French company Carrosserie Vanvooren. It has the luxury of a Rolls Royce influenced by Art Deco style.

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˟ The 1934 Ford Coupe Utility. It is reputed that a letter received by Ford Australia in 1933 from a farmer's wife in Gippsland, Victoria asking: 'Why don't you build people like us a vehicle to go to church in on Sunday, and which can carry our pigs to market on Monday?' It is believed this letter prompted the design of the coupe utility - the first Australian designed ute.

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˟ Research suggests that initially this 1938 Morris Sedan may have been part of Morris Motors Limited's promotional fleet and was used during the 1939 visit to the Adelaide dealership by Viscount Nuffield on 11 February. Later that year on the 16th of June, the vehicle was purchased by Miss F J Newitt of Norwood and then sold to her friend Daisy Langston who drove it until 1992 when, at the age of 94, she stopped driving and generously donated it to the Museum.

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˟ Willys-Overland Motors was an American automobile company best known for its design and production of military Jeeps during the Second World War as well as civilian versions in the post-war era. This is a 1939 Willys Overland Model 77 Sedan.