Sodomka's Streamlined Czech Cars

Czechoslovakia was the land of streamlined cars in the middle of the 1930s.  The best-known were built by Tatra (some information here).  But Škoda also dabbled in aerodynamics, an example being the 1935 Škoda 935 prototype.

Another Czech aerodynamic actor was the important coachbuilder firm Sodomka.  Its circa-1934-1935 Regent Airspeed type built for Walter is featured below along with a 1937 Škoda 913 Superb with a more conventional version of the same design.

Some other mid-1930s streamliners are included below for added context.

Gallery

1933 Tatra 77 prototype
Streamlined Tatras had their motor in the rear.  This seems to be the earliest of the general shapes shown below.

1935 Škoda 935 prototype
Another rear-engine streamliner from Czechoslovakia.

c.1934-1935 Walter Regent Airspeed sedan by Sodomka: photo set
Walter Regents had conventional engine-forward layouts.  Note that the B-pillar extends only up to the beltline.  It's hard to see, but the rear door's window is in two segments, the forward one can be rolled down, the after element is fixed in place.  Wheelbase is a long 141.7 inches (3600 mm).

The rear taper is in the same spirit as the Tatra and Škoda prototypes shown above.

The front retains a sloped, yet mostly conventional radiator grille.  Headlight housings are blended into the fenders.

c.1934-1935 Walter Regent Airspeed cabriolet by Sodomka
I'm not sure if Sodomka's cabriolet was called an Airspeed, but its lower body essentially matches the sedan's shown above.

Side view.  Compare the fender design to those seen in the following images.

1935 Renault Vivastella Grand Sport

Scan segment of page 78 from Toutes les Voitures Françaises 1935: Le Salon 1934. These six-cylinder Renaults and the eight-cylinder Nervastella Grand Sport with its longer hood were announced at the 1934 Paris automobile show that opened 14 October.  Fenders and frontal styling are similar to Sodomka's contemporaneous Airspeeds.  If the Airspeed was designed and built in 1934, then we seem to have a case of what's called "simultaneous invention" such as the calculus by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz.  But if the Airspeed was truly a 1935 production, then it's possible that the folks at Sodomka were aware of the new Renault design and borrowed some of its features. 

1937 Škoda Superb 913 sedan by Sodomka
This later Sodomka streamliner has the same general fenderline character as the Airspeeds and Renaults, though the rear fender is almost entirely blended into the side of the car.  The rear door's window is also split into two segments, the forward one retractable.  Again, the design is "pillarless."

Studebaker Avanti Walkaround

I took the above photos in May of 1963.  The setting was North Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland.  I was in the Army, stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland and would come to Baltimore on weekends to visit a nursing-student girlfriend.

I first learned of Studebaker's Avanti on 26 April 1962 or maybe a day later when the New York Times had a photo of it.  (At that time I was at the Army Information School, Fort Slocum, New York.)  I was captivated.  And remain so.

My previous Avanti post is here, and the Wikipedia entry is here.  It notes: "Designed by Raymond Loewy's team of Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein on a 40-day crash program, the Avanti featured a radical fiberglass body mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark 109-inch [2769 mm] convertible chassis and powered by a modified 289 Hawk engine.  A Paxton supercharger was offered as an option."

The Avanti design is classic, and any criticism I might make would be nit-picking.

Gallery

1962 Studebaker Avanti - publicity photo (cropped)
Studebaker sent an Avanti to Palm Springs, California for a photo shoot.  Raymond Loewy had a house in Palm Springs, and the Avanti was designed there.

1963 Studebaker Avanti R1 - car-for-sale photos
The walkaround photos below do not include side views, so here are two nice ones I found on the Internet.

Avantis had flowing, sculpted lines aside from a few functional details such as the B-pillar.  Note that the beltline and fenderline are the same.

1963 Studebaker Avanti R1 - Hyman Ltd. photo set
The grille opening position below the bumper was innovative for American cars in those days.  The only previous example that comes to mind was the 1949 Crosley Hotshot sports car.

Styling was unlike anything seen on previous Studebakers.  The only visual brand continuity was its boldness in the spirit of Studebaker's 1947 Starlight Coupes and 1953 Starliner Coupes.

I selected this Hyman image set because, unlike most other sets on the Internet, wide-angle camera lenses were not used.  Wide-angle lenses distort shapes too much, so these Hyman photos present the design more realistically, especially in quarter-views such as this.

The least-attractive Avanti aspect, what with the clutter below the bumper.  Rear lights were simple, probably to save development and production costs.

The vertical nose crease is echoed by the side character line.  Very subtle, very nice.

1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 - BaT Auctions photo
This reveals the grille more clearly.  Due to its sunken position, it is essentially invisible to casual viewers.

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.

Austin-Healey's Limited Styling Evolution 1953-1967

Although I really liked the styling of the early XK-type Jaguars, the 1950 British sports cars with the styling the young me liked best were Austin-Healeys.  Their Wikipedia entry is here with links to more detailed entries on Austin-Healy 100s, 100-6s and 3000s.  And in 2015 I wrote "Austin-Healey 100: 1950s British Sports Car Styling at Its Best"

As mentioned, there were three main Austin-Healy generation types: the 1953-1956 A-H 100, the 1956-1959 A-H 100-Six, and the 1959-1967 A-H 3000.  Austin-Healey 100 wheelbase was 90 inches (2286 mm), whereas for the A-H 100/6 and 3000 it was 92 inches (2337 mm).  This increase was probably related to the replacement of the inline-four cylinder motor of the A-H 100 by an inline-six.

Over time, some other changes impacting design included replacement of side-curtains with roll-up windows and the addition of tiny back seats to some models.  But those impacts along with facelift details were minor, because the final Austin-Healeys looked largely the same as the first ones.

Gallery

1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 Roadster - BaT Auctions photo
Earliest Austin-Healey's had windshields that would fold down, as seen in this photo.  The character line on the side is shorter than those of later models.  The profile is very nice, though note that the peak of the rear fender is slightly aft of the rear axle line (as denoted by the wheel hub).  The profile of the wheel opening is distorted away from the roundedness of the tire so as to better conform to the fender shape.  Very subtle, and probably not noticeable to casual viewers.

1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six - Gooding Auctions photo
The longer character line is seen here.  The added wheelbase probably resulted in lengthening forward of the cowling/firewall.  Note that the front fender seems to curve downward more forward of the aft edge of the wheel opening than that of the A-H 100 in the previous image.  Very subtle.

1967 Austin-Healey Mk. III BJ8 Cabriolet - Gallery Aaldering photo
This shows the extended character line as the division between paint colors on two-tone Austin-Healeys.  This late example car features a bulkier folding top and a raised, chromed belt above the fenderline for roll-up windows.

1954 Austin-Healey 100 Roadster - car-for-sale photo
The grille is a widened version of those found on earlier Healey cars.  Note the knob and track for the fold-down windshield.  The hood strap and louvres are not found on the most basic A-H 100s.

1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six - Gooding Auctions photo
The grille profile is different, as are grille bars.  The raised hood scoop was required due to the added height of the inline six cylinder engine.  The windshield does not fold down.

1967 Austin-Healey Mk. III BJ8 Cabriolet - Gallery Aaldering photo
The 3000 featured a windshield that was wider and more greatly curved than on previous Austin-Healeys.  This required a revised cowling-firewall structure.  Note the different grille bars.

1954 Austin-Healey 100 Roadster - car-for-sale photo
This was a true roadster with side curtains for rain protection (not seen here).

1957 Austin-Healey 100-Six - Gooding Auctions photo
The character line ends at the rear bumper, a professional styling touch.  Turn-signal lights are added to the rear.

1967 Austin-Healey Mk. III BJ8 Cabriolet - Gallery Aaldering photo
Turn-signal lights are enlarged.  One of my college fraternity brothers had a A-H such as this, and I recall that it struck me as looking a bit more massive than earlier Austin-Healeys.  However, all A-Hs had the same width: 60 inches (1924 mm), so that impression was probably due to the styling changes cited above.

1937 Ford Headlight Assembly Details

Who designed the front end of 1937 Ford cars?

The overall styling was sub-par.  So far as I've been able to find, no claims have been made regarding any aspect of the design.  Ford's styling chief Bob Gregorie said that he was busy getting the styling department organized at the time the '37 was designed, so he could not be blamed.  Credit is usually given to the styling staff of Briggs Manufacturing, a supplier of car bodies to Ford in those days.  The studio dealing with production car design was headed by Ralph Roberts, formerly of LeBaron coachbuilders.  Under him were Phillip O. Wright, Holden "Bob" Koto, Al Prance, and a few others.  These were very good designers.  Yet none seems to have claimed credit for the '37's front ends.

That said, I really like the design of the front end of 1937 Ford passenger cars.  But not the awkward-looking part aft of the firewall/cowling on the sedans.

What impresses me is the sculpting of the fenders and catwalks that are contrasted by the sharp frontal part of the hood and grille.  The especially nice feature is the design of the headlight assemblies and their blending into the catwalk zone.

Gallery

1937 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe - car-for-sale photo
Ford's main competition.  General Motors headlights were not blended into fenders until the 1940-41 model years.

1936 Pierce-Arrow - Mecum Auctions photo
Pierce-Arrow's design signature for decades was headlights placed atop fenders.  The car shown here represents the firm's final design.

1937 Willys - factory photo
The redesigned 1937 Willys featured fender-mounted headlights.  All other American cars save Lincoln-Zephyr and Cord had headlights mounted in the general mode of the Chevy pictured above.

1936 Lincoln-Zephyr - cropped factory image
The "streamlined style" 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr's frontal styling was borrowed to some degree by the 1937 Ford.  Gregorie was responsible for the Zephyr grille design.  And likely for the rest of the front, though I have no evidence.

1937 Ford DeLuxe Fordor Sedan - car-for-sale photo
Compare the front of this car to that of the Lincoln-Zephyr.  Hoods, grilles and front fenders are quite similar.  The main difference is in the Ford's catwalk placement of headlight assemblies, though the lens and chrome surround designs are essentially the same.

1937 Ford Standard - car-for-sale photo
Close-up view showing the sheet metal sculpting of the fenders/catwalk/headlight zone.

1937 Ford Standard - Vanguard Motor photo
Frontal view.  Note the crease atop the fender's form.  This crisp feature is echoed by the grille and the pointed bottoms of the headlight assemblies (that also echo the grille's plan-view shape).

1937 Ford Standard - Barnfinds photo
High frontal view showing the blending of the headlight assemblies into the catwalks.  Very nice sculpting.

1937 Ford Standard - Barnfinds photo
Another view of the same car.

1937 Ford Standard - BaT Auctions photo
The catwalk zone viewed from the rear.
Given all the similarities of the front ends of the Ford and Lincoln-Zephyr, I suspect Gregorie was responsible for the styling -- directly or indirectly.