The Model 18 was the first low-priced, mass-marketed car to have a V8 engine -- an important milestone in the American automotive industry.

The 221 cu in (3.6 L) V8 was rated at 65 horsepower (48 kW; 66 PS), but power increased significantly with improvements to the carburetor and ignition in succeeding years.

It was virtually indistinguishable from the V-8, aside from the engine and the badging on the hub caps and headlamp support bar (later: grille).

While the Model A had a simple frame with two straight longitudinal members, the new car received a longer wheelbase, along with an outward curved, double-dropped chassis.

While the V8 was developed from scratch, the B had an improved four-cylinder Model A engine of 201 cu in (3.3 L) displacement producing 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS).

When Ford introduced the Model A in late 1927, there were several competitors also offering four-cylinder cars, among them Chevrolet, Dodge, Durant, and Willys.

That changed within a few years, soon leaving the new Plymouth the sole major make in the Ford's price class with a four.

[2] The B was discontinued because buyers disliked four-cylinder models in general, and because of the huge success of the V8, not for being an inferior car.

In fact, it persisted a little longer in Europe, where in many countries the tax system heavily favored smaller-displacement engines.

Customers could get a Deluxe 1932 Model B as a roadster, phaeton, Tudor, or Fordor, as well as the Deluxe-only three-window coupé.

The grille was revised, gaining a pointed forward slope at the bottom which resembled either a spade, a Medieval shield, or possibly the 1932 Packard Light Eight in general outline anyway.

Closed Deluxe models received heavy DI-NOC (PVC) woodgraining[a] on dash and window frames, and there were deeper seat cushions.

The 1934 Ford V-8 is well-known for having been the vehicle in which the notorious Depression-era bandits Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were ambushed and killed.

[8] Barrow preferred to steal the powerful Ford V-8, and was driving a 1934 sedan on May 23, 1934, when a heavily armed law enforcement posse opened fire and riddled the pair with bullets and buckshot in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Since the 1970s, 1932 bodies and frames have been reproduced either in fiberglass or lately in steel, which has increased the number of cars being created or restored, typically as hot rods.

In the 1940s, the Model 18 was plentiful and cheap enough for young men to buy, becoming the basis for an ideal hot rod.

The iconic stature of the 1932-vintage Ford in hot rodding inspired The Beach Boys to write their hit 1963 song "Little Deuce Coupe", which also was the name of the album it appeared on.

The car is also famously referenced in the 1973 Bruce Springsteen song, Blinded by the Light, made popular by Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1977.

[10] Immediately postwar, most hot rods changed from mechanical to hydraulic ("juice") brakes and from bulb to sealed-beam headlights.

[12] The mid-1950s and early 1960s custom deuce was typically fenderless and steeply chopped, and almost all Ford (or Mercury, with the 239 cu in (3,920 cc) flathead, introduced in 1939).

[13] A Halibrand quick-change rearend was also typical, and an Edelbrock intake manifold or Harman and Collins ignition magneto would not be uncommon.

[15] Aftermarket "flatty" (flathead) cylinder heads were available from Barney Navarro,[16] Vic Edelbrock, and Offenhauser.

[19] The picture featured on the front cover of the Beach Boys' 1963 album Little Deuce Coupe was supplied by Hot Rod magazine, and features the body (with his head cropped in the photo) of the car's owner Clarence 'Chili' Catallo and his own customized three-window 1932 Ford coupe.

He chopped and channelled[citation needed] the car to lower the top by 6 in (150 mm),[21] then replaced the stock Ford flathead V8 (as in the song) with a newer, more powerful OHV Oldsmobile Rocket V8.

Much of the original customizing work, including the stacked headlights (from a later 1960 Chrysler 300H), side trim, and grille, was done by Mike and Larry Alexander in the Detroit suburb of Southfield.

[citation needed] After Catallo moved to Southern California, additional work, including the chopped top, was done in 1960–61 at Kustom City, George Barris' North Hollywood auto customizing shop.

[20] Catallo sold the coupe a few years later but, urged by his son Curt, was able to buy it back in the late 1990s for $40,000.

Although distinctly different in appearance, 1933 and '34 Fords are also popular starting points for hot rod construction, and are also available as reproductions.

In 1932, Ford Motor Company had 32 plants in the US, one in Canada, seven in Europe (one for Fordson tractor production only), four in Central and South America, and one each in Turkey, Japan and Australia.

In Germany a four-cylinder variation of the Model B with a somewhat more streamlined back end was produced called the Rheinland.