"I motored down..."

According to the car industry, the interwar period was a golden age for vehicle production. Yet during the early 1920s, owning a car was still quite rare. Driving in general was regarded as a "luxury hobby". The price of cars was quite high after WWI because many of the vehicle factories had been converted to produce weapons and other military necessities. Owning a car was a great symbol of wealth and societal standing. Len Holden suggests in his article "More than a Marque. The Car as Symbol: Aspect of Culture and Ideology", that the car has often been used "as a metaphor for freedom, of 'moving on' and starting over; is reflective of individualism and the need for control over one's destiny." The characters of Hay Fever are experiencing and embracing a new society. One which focuses on living in the now and striving to forget about the past. The Bliss family especially strives for individualism and freedom.

Interesting car facts:

• "The legal speed limit at that time was only 20mph."
• "The number of private cars rose from just over 100,000 in 1918 to slightly over two million in 1939."
• In 1930 the speed limit was done away with, until 1935 when the speed limit was reinstated in "built up areas, following a spate of accidents."

O'Connell, Sean. The car and British Society:Class, gender and motoring, 1896-1939. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998. Print.

Thomas, David, Len Holden and Tim Claydon. The Motor Car and Popular Culture in the 20th Century. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 1998. Print.