The car was parked in the center rotunda of the Air and Space Museum. Overhead were suspended huge aircraft. This car was parked off to the left and surrounded by a fence which prevented getting close to view details.

The sign describing the car read:

Ford V8 Phaeton
1932

Henry Ford said "I shall build a car for the masses", and by 1927 he had produced over fifteen million Model T Fords to back up his pledge. Then, a totally new car came out of the Ford plant in 1927, the Model A, and Ford produced another three and one-half million of these cars by 1932.

The masses were indeed being served when in March 1932 Ford introduced his newest motoring dream --the Ford V-8. For the next twenty-two years, the basic power plant of the Ford motor car would be relatively unchanged.

On display is Ford's V-8 Phaeton. A total of 1380 of these cars were produced in 1932. There were thirteen other body styles to choose from that year, and their prices ranged from $460.00 to $650.00. The Phaeton was priced at $495.00. Today, it worth about eighty times that amount. This particular Phaeton was donated to the Museum in January 1984 by Mike Dingman of La Jolla, California.