Automobile makers during the 1930s often offered that choice. This post deals with General Motors' offerings in the late 1930s. Maintaining the "slantback" option might not worth the tooling cost -- the"trunkback" style persisted, the slantbacks disappearing after the 1938 model year. Yet the slantback reappeared in the form of "fastbacks" in GM's 1941 lines.
Apparently price was not a large consideration. Trunkbacks often sold for only two or three precent more than slantbacks.
All cars shown below are four-door sedans. Unless noted, images are of cars listed for sale.
Buick offered slant backs for model year 1937 and 1938 on their Special and Century lines.
Here is Buick's trunkback design for comparison with the slantback pictured below.
The styling is more graceful, so perhaps that accounted for some of the sales.
But storage space was woefully small, especially with the spare tire taking up much of the room.
Trunk space could be gained with two fender-mounted spares, but that was more expensive.
Showing the trunk lid.
Now for an abbreviated walkaround of the comparable Pontiac on the same basic body.
The Pontiac's trunk lid sports the brand's trademark Silver Streaks.
The previous GM body style having trunkback and slantback options.
Side view. Clearly, there is little potential storage room.
The rear profile is faintly ogive.
For some reason, trunkless Chevrolets using the same basic body had a different rear profile.
Unlike Pontiac and Oldsmobile, the spare tire is exposed and there is no exterior lid for accessing whatever storage space there might be.
When I was a kid there were still some prewar cars around. I always wondered about those like Buicks with that tumor on the back. Now I get it - it was the actual trunk that used to have a space for back there on some cars, only smoothed into the body but with enough separation indicated to make it a separate shape. 1937 Fords for example had something similar, but not differentiated from the rest of the body, and 1938 DeLuxe Fords had the body humped up in back for a smooth shape including reasonable trunk space. GM was often both leading styling trends and lagging at the same time.
ReplyDeleteNow do headlights - another example of GM lagging a bit.