Staff cars are essentially civilian passenger cars used by the military for carrying high ranking officers, messengers and performing administrative functions. During World War II, civilian automobiles were taken from the production line and painted to suit the particular service. The Army typically painted the vehicle olive drab and stenciled on white identification numbers and a white star. Some vehicles were used with the original paint such as Cadillac sedans (black) and two tone gray for some Buick Specials used by the Navy. Early in World War II, expensive vehicles such as Buicks, Cadillacs and Packards were used since they were readily available at the time. Toward the middle of the war, Chevrolets, Fords and Plymouths were used with the addition of blackout lights. Overall, very little modification was performed to these vehicles when entering the military.
