General Motors' C Body Cars for 1940

General Motors is usually considered the American styling leader through the 1930s and for many years beyond (due in part to its market dominance).  But that doesn't mean that GM designs were attractive.  My view is that most American car designs for closed cars from around 1934 to about 1940 were awkward.  That was because of the shift from boxy-yet-functional pre-1934 styling to streamlining-cum-component-integrating designs during that period.  This change required changes in body engineering and production technology that took time to be mastered.  Hence, awkwardness.

But GM's new C body introduced for the 1940 model year shed most of the kind of awkwardness just mentioned, though it wasn't until 1941 everything fell into place.  That is, the basic body design was attractive, but brand-identification details carried over from previous years along with passé headlight assembly forms held back the styling promise of the new body until those elements were better integrated.

Below are examples of 1940 C body cars from Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, LaSalle and Cadillac (no Chevrolets got the new C bodies that year).

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Here is a 1940 Pontiac Torpedo Coupe (Pontiac marketers labeled C body Pontiacs "Torpedo").  Ignore everything from the front axle line forward and you'll see the attractive, not-awkward styling.  The only archaic detail in this zone is the exposed running board that got covered in 1941.  The partly integrated head lights and Buick-like grille detract from the overall appearance.

GM marketers made heavy use of retouch artists in part because newsprint reproduction quality was comparatively poor in those days.  This worked-over photo shows the aft end of a 4-door C body Pontiac.

Side view of a 1940 Oldsmobile 90 sedan via Barrett-Jackson.  Styling is basically rounded, but not nearly as heavy-looking as before.  This is due to the thinner top and well-integrated trunk.  Front fenders are more blended into the rest of the body than on the other brands with C bodies.

And here is a side view of the Buick Roadmaster.  Note the longer trunk.

Buick Super, the next level down from the Roadmaster also got C bodies.  Note how the windshield divider line carries into a slight crease on the roof panel.  Again, the front end styling strikes me as being slightly at odds with the rest of the car.  Grille orientation is neither horizontal nor vertical, and the headlights are not quite integrated or separate.  Call all this "hesitant" or "ambiguous" or to put it most kindly, "transitional."

I find the LaSalle in this "for sale" photo the most attractive 1940 C body car even though it shares the same headlight problem as the others.

Side view of a 1940 Cadillac 62 Coupe from RM Sotheby's.  Cadillac's headlight housings remained discrete entities perched on the catwalk between the front fenders and the hood/grille assembly.  This was drastically improved the next year.

Barrett-Jackson photo showing rear 3/4 of a 62 four-door sedan.  The rear elements are nicely composed, whereas the front fenders are of the more squared-off "suitcase" variety.  The separate headlight assembly can be glimpsed here.

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Chrysler's First Art & Colour Team's Results

By the 1920s when basic engineering requirements were largely in place, major American car makers began to shift attention to appearance as a sales tool.  At first they relied on designers in custom body firms and production body suppliers along with some of their own engineering staff who had an artistic bent.

In 1927 General Motors became the first large car manufacturer to establish an in-house styling section.  This was led by the now-legendary Harley Earl.  Chrysler Corporation soon followed suit.  In each case a few years lapsed before the work of these teams appeared on streets and roads.  This was because of lead-times from new concept to the market via the large amount of work required to engineer and productionize a new design.  Initial items effected by stylists usually were trim and detail changes.

This post treats the first results from Chrysler Corporation's styling group.  But first some background from the indispensable Lamm & Holls book, A Century of Automotive Style.

The authors point out (pages 153-54) that Chrysler set up a small styling section in July of 1928, calling it Art & Colour -- following General Motors' lead of the year before.  But this new unit was not nearly as independent as Harley Earl's, being under the control of Chrysler's mighty engineering staff.

"Among Art & Colour's staff members were Thomas (Tom) Martin, Herb Weissinger, A.B. (Buzz) Grisinger, Henry King, Rhys Miller, Max Wasserman, Bill Flajole, Ed Sheard, Gus Sompe and a handful of others; all young but highly enthusiastic and capable....

"For 1929-31, the Chrysler Imperial, along with Chrysler's four other lines, used what were called "ribbon" radiator grille shells. These looked like narrow chrome ribbons taped to the leading edge of the hood.  The idea was to make the hood look longer by making the grille shallower, but in actuality ribbon grilles made the entire front ensemble look weaker, cheaper and less substantial.  The public didn't like ribbon grilles, and yet they became something of a corporate identity symbol during those two to three years."

They go on to mention that 1931 Chryslers and Chrysler Imperials dropped the ribbon grille for a Weissinger design strongly inspired by Al Leamy's 1929 Cord design.

Here are examples of Chrysler Corporation cars from those days.  Dodge is not included because it was a long-established brand acquired by Chrysler in 1928 and not fully integrated with the rest of the Chrysler line until a few years later.

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1929 Chrysler Imperial with ribbon grille and Vauxhall-inspired hood scallops.  The 1930 models were little changed.

1931 Chrysler CG Imperial Close-Coupled Sedan,  RM Sotheby's photo.  Side window framing, the cowl shape and other details are carried over from previous model years.  What's new is the Cord-inspired grille design and revised hood.  The flat, split windshield was an Imperial oddity that detracted from the car's appearance.

1929 Chrysler 75 Tonneau Phaeton via RM Sotheby's.  Regular Chryslers lacked the Imperial's hood sculpting, but otherwise their front ends were similar for that model year.

1930 Chrysler 77 Dual-Cowl Phaeton by Locke, also actioned by RM Sotheby's.  This has Chrysler wings on the radiator cap ornament, but is essentially the same front as in 1929.

1931 Chrysler CM Roadster,  Hyman auction photo.  Now the grille is somewhat Cord-like.

1929 DeSoto Roadster with ribbon grille.

1930 DeSoto 4-door sedan.  Most '30 DeSotos lacked ribbon grilles, though Model K DeSotos retained them.

And then ribbon grilles returned across the board, as seen on this 1931 DeSoto 4-door sedan.

1932 DeSotos received grilles inspired by Miller racing cars.

1929 Plymouth Model U 4-door sedan,  Owls Head auction photo.  Chrysler's entry-level brand also got a variation on the ribbon grille where the framing was rounded.

1930 Plymouth 30-U 4-door sedan for sale.  The grille face is flatter than in '29, but the ribbon effect has been replaced by a conventional frame.

1931 Plymouth PA 4-door sedan, auction photo.  Again, no ribbon grille, and some rounding has returned.

From the images presented here, it seems that the ribbon grille situation by model year was more complex than how Lamm and Holls presented it.  Nevertheless, their thesis broadly holds in that the ribbon style was tried and then rejected.  Other design elements by the new Chrysler Corporation Art & Colour group are hard to detect besides the grille design borrowings from Cord and Miller.  This would begin to change for 1933 and 1934.

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When Plymouth Lost Its Tail Fins

This post is a continuation of the theme of how Chrysler Corporation cars lost their 1950s tail fins.  I wrote about Dodge here, and now deal with Plymouth, Chrysler's entry-level brand.

One of the justifications for adding tail fins to cars was that for style and marketing reasons, their shapes could be fairly easily changed from model year to model year to keep designs seeming fresh and appealing.

Tail fins on passenger cars turned about to be yet another of those 1950s styling fads whose welcome soon wore out (others include three-tone paint schemes and panoramic windshields).

Here is the Plymouth tail fin story using the top-of-the line Fury 2-door hardtop as the example:

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1957 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, Barrett-Jackson photo.  Plymouths were given tail fins for 1956, but these were tacked on to a fin-less 1955 design.  The new '57 Chrysler line designs incorporated tail fins from the start.

Same car, rear view.

1958 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop.  Plymouths were given a very light facelifting for '58.  Note the wide door cut lines on the car in this publicity photo.  Quality control was not a major priority in those days.

1959 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, Mecum photo.  The final year of the '57 body received a stronger facelift, including larger tail fins.

1959 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, rear.  The faux- spare tire cover on the trunk lid was borrowed from the 1951 Chrysler K-310 concept car.

1960 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, Hyman Ltd. photo.  All Chrysler Corporation brands save Imperial were given new unitized bodies for 1960.  Plymouth's tail fin reverts back to the 1957 design theme.  The trunk lid of this car retains that faux- spare tire cover affectation.

1961 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, cropped publicity image.  Tail fins were "plucked" as Chrysler styling chief Virgil Exner commented with respect to forthcoming 1962 designs.  Front end styling is awkward, fussy here, and the same can be said for 1960 Plymouths.

1961 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, Mecum photo, rear.  More attractive than the frontal design, but the bumper needed to be set farther back to better protect the attractive overhanging trunk ensemble.  The rocket-ship tail lights are another example of 1950s styling theme overkill.

1961 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, Barrett-Jackson photo.

1957 Plymouth Fury 2-door hardtop, Mecum photo.  These images illustrate how the 1957 and 1960 restylings differ.  For these 2-door hardtops, the most noticeable fundamental difference has to do with the passenger compartment greenhouse.

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Some Castagna Isotta Fraschinis

In every automotive era except during and shortly after world wars, super-luxury / super-prestige cars were produced.  Around 1930 those marques included, among others, Duesenberg in the United States, Rolls-Royce and Daimler in Britain, Maybach in Germany, Hispano-Suiza in France, and Minerva in Belgium.

And for Italy there was Isotta Fraschini.  Its English language Wikipedia entry was not very useful at the time this post was drafted, so I suggest the Italian entry here or perhaps the French version, and have your computer translate.  Isottas from around 1930 were all equipped with custom-made bodies, and a leading supplier was carrozzeria Castagna conveniently based near Isotta Fraschini in Milan.  Its Italian Wikipedia entry is here.

Below are images of Castagna-built Isottas from that time.  The cars had in-line eight cylinder motors and their hoods were extremely long. With the exception of a 1933 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Dual Cowl Sports Tourer (not shown, but link here), Castagna bodies for Isotta I found on the Internet were basically conventional, but attractively styled.

An interesting Isotta Fraschini feature was the various (usually) Art Deco type chromed designs laid atop the grilles.  Some appeared on more than one car, others might have been unique.  Perhaps a knowledgeable reader can provide some background information in a comment.

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1928 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A "Commodore" Roadster Cabriolet by Castagna, RM Sotheby's photo.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A 7.4 Litre Sport Landaulette by Castagna, Bonhams photo.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1929 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Roadster by Castagna, for sale photo.

Same car, side view.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8AS Boattail Cabriolet by Castagna, RM Sotheby's photo.

1930 Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Torpedo Sport by Castagna.

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Cabriolet by Castagna, Bonhams photo.  This might be the same car as in the previous photo.

Same car, side view.

Same car, rear 3/4 view.

1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A "Commodore" Cabriolet by Castagna, Barrett-Jackson photo.

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Le Sabre: First Public View, 1950

General Motors' first post- World War 2 dream car (as they were called then) was the LeSabre (brief Wikipedia entry here).

It was astonishingly futuristic.  And that astonishment took place for the first time for many people when Life, a leading American general-interest magazine, published photos of the car.  This happened in late December of 1950 when the 1 January 1951 issue appeared in mail boxes and on news stands.  The LeSabre public announcement, for that's what it amounted to, appeared in an article about General Motors, king of corporate America at that time.

Below is my scan of that landmark image along with some publicity photos of what appears to be a LeSabre mockup.

Some puzzling items: Only one functional LeSabre was built, yet the Life image shows two cars, neither painted its normal silvery blue.  My guess is that the upper car is a detailed mockup.  Note the lack of chrome on the rear bumper: the real LaSabre had chromed bumpers and trim.  The nearer car has a chromed front bumper and grille, so it must be the real thing, but painted like the mockup and not yet in silvery blue.

Knowledgeable readers are urged to correct me in comments if my speculations are wrong.

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Image as it appeared in Life magazine's 1 January 1951 issue that was on news stands in late December of 1950.

GM styling boss Harley Earl posing with what looks like a LeSabre mockup -- note the dull finish on what are chromed areas on the actual car..

Publicity photo of the same likely LeSabre mockup.

Publicity photo of the apparent LeSabre mockup with model at the wheel.

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Cunningham C-3 Coupe

Briggs Swift Cunningham II (1907–2003) made the cover of Time magazine's 26 April 1954 issue because of his effort to build American racing cars capable of winning the Le Mans 24 hour race.   As his Wikipedia entry mentions, he did not succeed in winning there, but came close.

In addition to the racing cars, he had to build a number of passenger cars to qualify as a manufacturer in order to compete at Le Mans.  Hence the C-3, subject of this post.  It seems that 18 coupes and 9 convertibles were built.  The Revs Instutute web page dealing with the C-3 in its collection states: "Giovanni Michelotti styled the body; Vignale built it in Turin".

The Cunningham C-3 Coupe was indeed a handsome car whose design was in the mainstream of what I consider the apex of post- World War 2 Italian styling.  Because it was powered by a large Chrysler "hemi" V-8 motor, the C-3 was more massive than many coachbuilt Italian cars of the early 1950s.  However, Michelotti and Vignale saw to it that it was graceful and not bloated.

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Here is Briggs Cunningham's personal 1952 C-3.  It sold at auction for $1,100,000, as this RM Sotheby's web page mentions.  These first three images are from that site.

Side view.  Note the long hood and that the driver's position is well abaft of the center of the car.  Windshields in those days were far less sloped than today's wind tunnel tested versions.  Perhaps the need for driver visibility is the reason for the highpoint of the roof being immediately behind the top of the windshield.  Regardless, a slightly shorter windshield and a smoother transition curve on the roofline would look more attractive.  This is my only styling complaint about an otherwise excellent design.

Well, one more small complaint.  The C-3 has identical front and rear bumpers.  That dished upper edge was needed to harmonize with the oval grille.  A purely horizontal rear bumper is called for, but C-3s were hellishly expensive and a little cost-saving was called for, hence the shared bumpers.

Now for three photos I took of the 1953 C-3 at the Revs Institute in May 2017.  Lighting conditions were bad due to the window in the background.  This car lacks the bumper guards seen in Briggs Cunningham's 1952 C-3.

Another frontal view.  As best I can tell, most C-3s had two-tone paint jobs.

Interior view.  Passenger car seat belts were rare in 1953, so I wonder if the ones seen here were added years after this car was built.

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