For the 1932 model year, Chevrolet replaced the Series AE Independence model with the new Series BA Confederate. Under the skin they had a great deal in common but there were noticeable external changes.
While the older car had a vertical windshield and an external sun visor, the Confederate's windscreen lost the visor and gained a slight rearward rake. Also, the fine louvers on either side of the hood were replaced with four pivoting vent panels, which were chromed on the Deluxe model to add a bit of bling and distinguish it from the cheaper Standard trim level.
Under the hood, the '32 Confederate had Chevy's 194 cubic inch "Stovebolt" inline six. In an era when most cars still had flathead motors, the Chevy six was quite modern. The 1932 iteration saw the introduction of a balanced crankshaft, a new downdraft carburetor, and the compression ratio bumped from 5.0:1 to 5.2:1. These changes nudged the output from 50 to 60 SAE gross; a twenty percent boost in power on tap. The only transmission was a three-speed manual.
Sales were still in a slump from the Great Depression, with Chevy only moving 323,000 units for the year, barely more than half of 1931's total. Still, that was enough to leave Chevrolet as the highest-volume automaker in the USA.
The '32 Chevy in the photos it local to me. The top picture was snapped with a Pentax Q7 and 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 02 Standard Zoom lens in June of 2018, while the lower two pics were taken with a Sony Cybershot W650 in May of 2014.
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