Chrysler Corporation Grille Designs 1940-1942

I have written posts touching on early-1940s Chrysler Corporation styling.  These often included mention of grille designs.  Today's post focuses on those designs, noting that 1942 grilles were quite different from those of the previous two model years.

One possible factor was that styling director Ray Dietrich was eased out of his job in 1940 following the death of Walter P. Chrysler.  He was replaced by Bob Cadwallader, more an administrator than a stylist.  Cadwallader's influence became strongly manifested in those 1942 grille designs.   However, both men were subservient to Chrysler's engineering leaders, unlike, say, Harley Earl's dominant position at General Motors.  So assigning credit or blame regarding Chrysler styling in those days is more difficult than at, say, GM or Ford.

Another factor regarding those 1942 grilles is that the basic car body design appeared for the 1940 model year.  By 1942, it was time for a stronger facelift.  Yet another consideration is grille design fashions.  The late 1930s and early 1940s saw American grille orientation moving from vertical to horizontal for most car brands.  As shown below, Chrysler followed that trend to the point where especially DeSoto and Chrysler grilles were even more horizontal than the norm for those days.

Post- World War 2 Chrysler brands were given redesigned grilles.  Those designs remained essentially untouched through the early part of the 1949 model year, thanks to the postwar seller's market for automobiles.

Gallery

1940 Plymouth DeLuxe 4-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
A simple design featuring horizontal chrome strips punctuated by a vertical "prow" divider.

1941 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Coupe - BaT Auctions photo
The 1941 facelift featured curved framing.

1942 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Considerable front-end reshaping for '42 including moving the headlights slightly inbound.  Stronger grille bars extending over a wider area while upper framing covers part of the previous prow.

1940 Dodge 4-door sedaan - car-for-sale photo
Curved framing for thin bars overlapping the prow area.  There's a mid-level band of painted sheetmetal.

1941 Dodge Custom 4-door sedan - Mecum Auctions photo
The prow returns while the framing assumes a different shape.  Clearly more horizontal than the centralized '40 design.

1942 Dodge Custom Convertible - Mecum
Headlights move towards the center while the grille becomes bolder, more geometrically framed.  Thin vertical bars are set behind the horizontal bar creating a subtle "egg crate" effect.  Bars flow over the prow.

1940 DeSoto Touring Sedan car-for-sale photo
Curved framing similar in spirit to the '40 Dodge and '41 Plymouth.  Extremely thin horizontal bars.  The grille encroaches on the prow, but not quite -- there being a bold, vertical, chromed separator bar.

1941 DeSoto - Auctions America photo
New front fenders.  Grille bars much wider and now vertical (a DeSoto recognition feature that continued through the 1955 model year).

1942 DeSoto DeLuxe 4-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
The Famous 1942 DeSoto front end.  Headlights towards the middle, but covered by doors.  Bold, vertical grille bars topped by a horizontal framing strip that extends across the length of the front fenders.  There's a prow, but it's almost completely obscured.

1940 Chrysler Windsor Convertible VanDerBrink Auctions photo
Somewhat similar to the '40 Plymouth except that the bars flow over the prow.

1941 Chrysler Windsor Highlander Convertible - BaT Auctions
Fewer, thicker bars that extend a short way beyond the sides of the radiator opening.  The prow is now emphasized by a vertical chromed bar.

1942 Chrysler Windsor Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Another famous grille design.  Again, headlights more centered, the prow de-emphasized.  Here the grille bars wrap all the way around the fender to the wheel opening while the upper frame continues the length of the fender.

Short-Wheelbase Post-War Plymouths and Dodges

This post adds some information to supplement previous posts "Plymouth's 1949 Fastback" here, and "The Transitional 1949 Dodge Wayfarer Line" here.

Post- World War 2, Chrysler Corporation was in second place in terms of sales behind General Motors and ahead of the then-struggling Ford Motor Company.  It was prosperous enough to spend more money than was perhaps necessary on its redesigned 1949 model line that I wrote about here.

Besides a set of what can be considered standard-size bodies used for all brands (Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler), shorter-wheelbase bodies were produced as entry-level models for Plymouth and Dodge.  They never sold well, but were mostly kept in production during the basic 1949-1952 lifetime of that body range.  For example, model-years 1951 and 1952 saw entry-level Dodge Wayfarers' share of Dodge production at 19.2 percent.  For those years, Plymouth's Concords were only 12.6 percent of total Plymouth production.

Total production of these smaller Plymouths and Dodges over 1949-52 was 465,139 - perhaps enough that Chrysler didn't lose money on them.  An average annual sales total of around 115,000 in those days would have been profitable for a maker of mid- or higher-price cars.  For example, Nash production for 1949 was 135,328 while Hudson built 159,100 cars.  More-upscale Packard produced 116,248.  But aside from Plymouth's new, all-metal station wagons, the rest of the model line cars had entry-level prices and lower break-even points.  So I can't rule out that Chrysler lost some money there.

Moreover, Plymouth and Dodge versions differed in wheelbase and, as will be shown below in the Gallery, differed in some structural areas.

Regarding wheelbases, Plymouth DeLuxes and (later) Concords had 111-inch (2819 mm) wheelbases, compared to 118.5-inch (3010 mm) wheelbases for standard size Plymouths.  Dodge Wayfarer wheelbases were 115 inches (2921 mm) compared to 123.5 inches (3137 mm) for regular Dodges.  So the smaller Plymouth and Dodge wheelbases differed by 4 inches (102 mm), resulting in additional tooling expenses for chassis' and bodies.  Why couldn't they have shared the same, say, 113-inch (2870 mm) wheelbase?

Featured below are fastback 2-door sedans and business coupes.  Not shown are roadsters and station wagons.

Gallery

1950 Plymouth P19 DeLuxe 2-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
Fastback styles were still in production around 1950, though rapidly losing popularity to the more practical (in terms of trunk carrying capacity) bustle-back designs.  Perhaps playing it safe in case trends changed, Chrysler Corporation added the Plymouth and Dodge fastbacks discussed here.

1952 Dodge D-42 Wayfarer 2-door sedan - Barnfinds photo
The Dodge version was partly a fastback, but did feature a small aft bustle.

1950 Plymouth P19 DeLuxe 2-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
At least the fastback Plymouth looked less boxy than standard Chrysler Corporation sedans.

1952 Dodge D-42 Wayfarer 2-door sedan - Barnfinds photo
Rear sheet metal is considerably different than shown on the Plymouth above.  Was the additional tooling expense worth it?

1949 Plymouth P17 DeLuxe Business Coupe - Vicari Auctions photo
Plymouth dropped its Business Coupe line after 1951.

1952 Dodge D-41 Wayfarer Business Coupe - car-for-sale photo
But Dodge built coupes 1949-1952 even though sales were less than half those of Plymouth's.

1949 Plymouth P17 DeLuxe Business Coupe - Vicari Auctions photo
Unlike the 2-door sedans, rear end sheetmetal was shared by Plymouth and Dodge business coupes.

1952 Dodge D-41 Wayfarer Business Coupe - car-for-sale photo
The different aft curve of the rear fenders of both Plymouth and Dodge business coupes was introduced for 1951.

1949 Plymouth P17 DeLuxe 2-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
Side views often tell the tooling tale best.  Note especially the shape of the Plymouth's door, including the vertical B-pillar.

1949 Dodge D-29 Wayfarer 2-door sedan - BaT Auctions photo
The Dodge has added length between the front wheel opening and the forward door cutline.  The door seems to be the same width as the Plymouth's, but the B-pillar leans forward above the beltline.  As mentioned above, aft shaping is different.

1949 Plymouth P17 DeLuxe Business Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Business coupe styling was almost the same for both brands.

1952 Dodge D-41 Wayfarer Business Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Again, the longer wheelbase is accommodated by the added length forward of the cowling and door.  The forward slant of the above-the-beltline B-pillar is carried over from the Dodge 2-door sedan to this coupe.  Rear overhang is longer than shown in the previous photo, but shared with the slightly facelifted 1951 Plymouth Business Coupe.

American Shovel Nose Grilles

A brief early-1930s styling fad in the United States was the so-called "shovel nose" grille.   I wrote about it here regarding the 1932 Packard Light Eight and elsewhere touched on it when discussing other marques. 

What shovel nose means will become obvious when viewing the images in the Gallery below.  It can be described as grille bars curving forward somewhere near the grille's lower edge.

Before shovel noses, most American grilles were either vertical and flat, vertical and V'd. or slightly raked back and V'd.  By 1936 shovel nose was passé and the new fashion was convex "fencer's mask" grilles.

Unless noted, the chronological images below are factory sourced or are of for-sale cars.

Gallery

1931 Auburn Model C Roadster - Hyman Ltd photo
Not really a shovel nose, but strongly hinting at it.  The grille itself is not curved at the bottom, but it blends with a grooved plate that serves as a forward extension creating a shovel nose effect.

1932 Packard Light Eight Roadster - RM Sotheby's photo
The following model year Packard's Light Eight model carried what I consider the bold, classic shovel nose design.  Light Eights were discontinued for 1933, and shovel noses disappeared with them.

1932 Hudson Terraplane Coupe
Another shovel nose launched for 1932 was found on Terraplanes.  The curvature was much less extreme than that of the Light Eight.

1933 Dodge Rumble Seat Coupe
Chrysler's Dodge brand introduced a strong shovel nose for 1933.

1933 Studebaker President Roadster
The '33 Studebaker shovel nose was more subtle.

1933 Hupmobile
Hupp also went shovel nose for 1933.

1934 Lincoln KA 3-Window Rumble Seat Coupe
1933 Lincolns had a similar shovel nose grille, though the bolder bars are horizontal, not vertical.

1934 Plymouth
Chrysler Corporation's Plymouth didn't get around to adapting a shovel nose grille (a mild one at that) until the 1934 model year.

1953 Plymouth and Dodge Hardtop Coupes

Chrysler Corporation's Plymouth and Dodge brands were redesigned for model year 1953, whereas DeSoto and Chrysler were given massive facelifts.  Chrysler line sales were good in 1953, but dropped drastically the following year.

Today's post presents 1953 Plymouth and Dodge hardtop coupes, high-end models and a popular body type in those years and beyond.  Previous Plymouth and Dodge bodies dating from 1949 were boxy-looking, and the redesign included softening the lines.

According to some observers, a factor in the 1954 sales decline was the reduced lengths of '53 Plymouths and Dodges compared to 1952 counterparts and competing 1953-54 brands.  But wheelbases for 1953 Plymouth and Dodge hardtops were almost the same as competing Ford and Chevrolet models, though Pontiacs were considerably longer.

Unless noted, images below are of cars listed for sale.

Gallery

1953 Plymouth Cranbrook Belvedere
The Plymouth hardtop was a tidy design.  The rounded-down hood prow gave it a stumpier-than-needed appearance.  Also, the grille design was odd, but distinctive.

1952 Plymouth Cranbrook Belvedere - factory photo
The previous Plymouth hardtop coupe.

Side view, showing that the hood and trunk are short, the passenger compartment greenhouse is long -- dominating the car's profile.

The car seems to look best from the rear, where the short front end is hard to see.

Two high-perspective views of the same car.

1953 Chevrolet Bel Air
A competing hardtop coupe with a longer, more purposeful seeming hood.

1953 Dodge Cranbrook Diplomat
I found almost no images of 1953 Dodge hardtops on Internet searches.  This front quarter view is not very revealing.

1952 Dodge Cranbrook Diplomat
The Previous year's version.

Another low-quality image.  Perhaps few '53 Dodge hardtops have survived.

1953 Dodge Cranbrook Diplomat - brochure illustration
The people in this illustration are too small, but the car seems little-distorted.

1953 Pontiac Catalina
A major Dodge competitor.  It looks like a lot more car for the money.

"Top Three" Redesigns for 1949

This is the third in a series comparing redesigns of Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth sedans.  Pervious posts dealt with model year 1937 here and model years 1940-41 here.  These brands were the best-selling American brands in those years and their sales volumes were vital to the economic health of General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation.  Therefore, a good deal of thought on the part of sales and styling staffs went into the new body designs.  Model year 1949 saw many brands getting redesigned bodies for the first time since before the USA entered World War 2.

Nowadays, basic body shapes are strongly influenced by wind tunnel testing.  Back then, there was much more shape freedom, the main constraints being packaging dimensions and metal and glass shaping technologies.

To make comparisons fair, the cars pictured below are four-door sedans with notchback bodies.   Images are factory-sourced or are of cars for sale.

Gallery

1949 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe
Although Chevys of the kind pictured here were built in large numbers (191,000), few apparently remain if images in Web search engine results are any indication.  Interestingly, Fleetline fastback four-door sedans survived much better.  The photo above shows the 1949 grille design.  It's fairly simple, but features the fat chrome elements that were fashionable in the USA around 1950.

1949 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe
Publicity photo showing the rest of the design.  General Motors' styling honcho Harley Earl liked large-radius curves, and they are evident here.

1949 Ford Custom
In my book on styling evolution I cite the 1949 Ford as the end of that process that began in the early 1930s.  Since then, there has been little in the way of long-term design trends.  Ford's body is more of a pure "envelope" type than Chevrolet's -- most details tightly incorporated into the basic body.  A nice touch is the "spinner" at the center of the grille.  Absent that and the conforming chrome border, the frontal design would have been visually dull.

1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe
The Ford did not share its body with other Ford Motor Company brands, and the A-body Chevy shared only with Pontiac and entry-level Oldsmobiles.  But 1949 Chrysler Corporation brands all used variations on the same basic body.  Differences were largely in hood length and ornamentation.  Plymouth's 1949 grille featured many chrome bars: much more elaborate than Chevy's and Ford's.

1950 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe
I could not find a decent side view of a '49 car, but the 1950 models were identical when viewed in profile.  The flow-through fenderline is dropped slightly below the beltline, reducing visual bulk that would have resulted from a high fenderline, slab-sided design.  The tacked-on rear fender (it's actually removable) adds further lightless to the sides.

1949 Ford Custom
Simple, functional, uncluttered.

1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe
Not a good photo ... sorry!  Chrysler Corporation cars were quite boxy for 1949.  Unlike Chevrolet and Ford, the front fender is not flow-through.  Instead, it fades into the front door sheetmetal.  Like Chevy, the rear fender is tacked-on, distinct, thereby helping reduce the effect of what might have been slab sides.

1949 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe
The rear quarter view shows a composition of rounded curves on the car's top, trunk and rear fenders.  The result is pleasing, but not as "modern" as Ford's styling.

1949 Ford Custom
Sides are potentially slabby, but the effect is relieved by the sheet metal being bowed outwards.  Further relief is via the sculpted extensions of the tail light housings.

1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe
The Plymouth is less-boxy from this perspective where trunk and fender curves provide some softening.  Nevertheless, the overall effect is ponderous, unlike Chevy and Ford.