First-Generation Kia Rio

Nowadays I respect Korean cars, especially the Kia brand.  That wasn't always so.  You see, I spent the better part of a year (1963-64) in Korea on Army duty.  Back then, Korea was economically backward, having barely recovered from 1950-53 war damage.  I didn't think much of the place, especially in comparison to Japan, which was doing quite well.  (I spent a few weeks in Japan attached to the Stars & Stripes newspaper and while on leave.)

As for Korean-made cars, very few were manufactured when I was there, and those were Datsun Bluebirds assembled by a firm later named Daewoo, now defunct.  That company was associated with General Motors and, as best I remember, some models were sold as Pontiacs in the USA -- I recall renting a disappointing one once, years ago.

Another Korean car I rented was the Kia Rio (first-generation, 1999-2005).  I had just bought a 2005 Chrysler 300, and the dealer needed to do some make-ready work, so they rented me a used Kia Rio for a couple of days.

Styling was satisfactory for a car with a 94.9-inch (2410 mm) wheelbase.  Its designer was the Italian I.DE.A Instutute (references here and here).

The problem was that Kia Rios of that generation were mechanically quite basic, almost primitive -- not nearly up to the standard of many contemporary Japanese and European cars of the same size class.  Truth is, I hated driving the thing.  I thought that for the same price, a good used car would have been better to live with.

The images below are of a for-sale car and otherwise perhaps factory-sponsored photos.

Gallery

1970-Vintage Concept Cars with Wedge-Shape Front Ends

Around 1970, several Italian-designed concept cars appeared featuring wedge-shaped front ends.  They also were low: a few extremely so.  Some will be featured in later posts here, but for now, a brief introduction.

In chronological order, the cars are: 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo by Bertone, Marcello Gandini designer; 1969 Ferrari 512 S Berlinetta Speciale by Pininfarina, Paolo Martin designer; 1970 Ferrari Modulo by Bertone; 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero by Bertone; 1970 Porsche Tapiro by Italdesign; and 1972 Maserati Boomerang by Italdesign, the famed Giogetto Giargio being Italidesign's founder and chief designer.  Gandini was responsible for all the Bertone designs shown here.

All of these cars were of the mid-engine configuration, where the motor was located behind the passenger compartment and ahead of the rear axle line.  An engine mounted at the front would be too tall to allow for the frontal wedge shape.

Images below are mostly publicity photos from the car companies or coachbuilders.

Gallery

1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo by Bertone
The first important design of this type.

1969 Ferrari 512 S Berlinetta Speciale by Pininfarina
Like the car above and the two shown below, rear wheels are larger than front wheels.

1970 Ferrari Modulo by Bertone
The colors were reversed not long after this photo was taken.

1970 Lancia Stratos Zero by Bertone - RM Sotheby's auction photo
Perhaps the least practical of the lot.

1972 Porsche Tapiro by Italdesign
Based on the production VW-Porsche 914/6.

1972 Maserati Boomerang by Italdesign - Bonhams auction photo
An evolution of the Tapiro.

Ford Thunderbird - First and Last

The first and last generations of the Ford Thunderbird (Wikipedia entry here) had seating for only the driver and one passenger.  Other Thunderbirds seated four or so.

Wikipedia's take on the 2002-2005 eleventh and last Thunderbird generation is here.  It does not discuss Ford's reason for making the car a two-passenger type, given that cars with that carrying capacity seldom sold in large numbers.  And as it happened, the new Thunderbird's sales were not up to expectation.

Today's post compares the styling of the eleventh-generation Thunderbird with that of the original, 1955, model.  A strong effort was made by Ford stylists to evoke the original, and that evocation is what I'll deal with here.

The 1955 car images below are via Mecum Auctions, and those of the 2002 Thunderbird are from the American Muscle Car Museum.

Gallery

Thunderbirds of both generations were convertibles.  A detachable solid top was available, so that feature is shown in all the images here.  The 1955 Thunderbird pictured above is clearly of its pre- wind tunnel testing era.  Its most time-dependent feature is its wraparound (panoramic) windshield, various versions of which were found on nearly all 1955 model year American cars.

The 2002 Thunderbird's overall shape reveals its wind tunnel test heritage.  Carryover featured from 1955 include the shape of the grille and its bars pattern, the two round items flanking the front license plate location, the air scoop on the hood, and the winged symbol placed between the grille and hood opening.

Mid-1950s American styling stressed length, and to enhance it visually, the tops of the fenderline at each end extend farther than the rest of the fender.

Frenched headlight assemblies are not aerodynamics-firendly, so the 2002 car has a rounded front.  Carryover items here are the front fender louvres (fake on the '55s) and the character line extending aft of the lower edges.  The round opera window was seen on some 1956 Thunderbird tops.

Rear end details mimic those of 1955 Ford sedans, especially the round tail lights and nearby fender detailing.

Round tail lights are retained here.  The license plate nest echoes the shape of the grille.  But the tail light shape is the only carryover feature at the rear.
Early Thunderbirds were attractive, though I prefer the looks of the 1957 cars with their modest, canted tail fins to the '55 and '56 models.  That said, I think the 2002 Thunderbird is better styled.  That's because it is more of a piece, not a shrunken version of a passenger car, as the '55 Thunderbird was.

The 1934 Buick Model 40 Crash Project

The fine 1980 book "The Buick: A Complete History" mentions on Page 158 regarding the origin of the lower-priced Buick:

"But the only number Harlow Curtice [Buick General Manager] was thinking about now was 40 -- the designation for the new smaller Buick.  A glance at the 1934 line indicated how desperately it was needed.  To get the car into production as quickly as possible required the cooperation of Chevrolet, then using the body which the new series would require, and Fisher Body, the division building it."

This is not completely so, I think.  The 40's body was indeed by Fisher, but it was based on Pontiac, rather than Chevrolet.  The wheel bases of the Chevrolet Master and Pontiac Eight respectively were 112 and 117.5 inches (2845 and 2985 mm) and the new Buick 40's was 117 inches (2972 mm), essentially the same as Pontiac's.

This similarity is illustrated in the photos below.  Unless noted, images are of cars listed for sale.

Gallery

1934 Chevrolet Master
Aft of the cowling, this body is the same as those shown below aside from integral versus detached trunks.

1934 Pontiac Eight - Mecum Auctions photo
The Pontiac, having an in-line eight cylinder motor instead of a six, had a longer hood, improving its appearance.

1935 Buick 40
I'm using this photo of a 1935 Buick because my '34 image includes a fender-mounted spare tire that obscures frontal features.  Compare door and hood cutlines with the cars shown above, as well as door hinge positions.  The hood is as long as Pontiac's, and the locations of the side air vents are nearly the same.  Clearly, the Buick 40's body is more Pontiac than Chevrolet, though the passenger compartment zones are essentially the same for all three brands.  Chevrolet may indeed have provide Buick with some body engineering help, however.  One distinct Buick feature is the profile of the aft end: note the smaller side window abaft of the C-pillar.

1934 Pontiac Eight
Front quarter view.

1934 Buick 40
Buick buyers got a more impressive grille that was narrower, but otherwise similar to those on larger 1934 Buicks.

Snazzy 1947-Vintage Chrysler Town & Country Convertible

My guess is that most post- World War 2 (1946 - early 1949) Chryslers never reached high auction prices.  The most notable exception is the Town & Country convertible: Wikipedia entry here (scroll down to its 1946-1950 section).

Production was 8,380 over the 1946 through first-series 1949 model years, 3,136 being 1947 models.  Today's subject car is likely to be a '47, though it might have been a '48 or early '49 (apparently the only yearly differences were serial numbers).

I say 1947 because it's possibly this car auctioned by RM Sotheby's at Hershey, Pennsylvania in 2017 for $93,500 or this one, also auctioned by RM Sotheby's, but in 2022 at Monterey, California for $140,000.

The images below are photos I took in January 2023 at a fancy hotel on the Hawaii Big Island's Kona Coast.  The occasion was a golf tournament, and the car was parked near the hotel entrance where all could view and admire it.

Town & Country convertibles were based on long-wheelbase basic convertibles and powered by inline-eight cylinder motors.  The difference was mostly in their fancy interiors and, especially, "woody" exterior trim pieces.  The wood parts were varnished, and were high-maintenance if owners wished to have a T&C continuing to look good.  For that reason and normal wastage, few examples remain.

In the images, the wood parts are blonde color.  There also are areas appearing to be darker wood, but are decals applied to steel body panels.

I have no commentary regarding styling, the photos being strictly for viewing enjoyment.

Gallery

Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto

One of the most successful (in sales terms) 1960s sports cars was the Alfa Romeo Spider, also called the Duetto (Wikipedia entry here).  Some 124,104 were built over model years 1966-1994.

Its Pininfarina design was more than a decade in the making, as noted by Motor Trend here.  An Alfa 6C 3000 chassis was given four "Superflow" bodies from 1953 to 1960.

1956 Alfa Romeo Superflow II by Pinin Farina
This is the second iteration, noted for its transparent front fenders.

1960 Alfa Romeo Superflow IV by Pininfarina
The final Superflow features major details found on the production Spider.
This post's featured design is that of the first series Spider that was produced 1966-1969.  Later versions featured a chopped-off, vertical rear end.

Images below are of various 1966 Alfa Romeo Spiders.

Gallery

Publicity photo.  The basic shape is simple, tapering to a point at each end.  The side character line sculpting echoes the car's profile abaft of the front wheel opening.

The tapering is made more clear in this side publicity shot.

Front quarter view via Hyman Ltd.  The transparent headlight assembly covers improve aerodynamic efficiency.  However, they began to be eliminated a few years later.

The pinched-down rear design yielded reduced potential trunk space.

Now for three images from Bring a Trailer auctions.  The pointed-in-planview front with those thin bumpers make the car likely to receive damage when parallel-parked.

The rear is essentially a smooth shape with little else to disturb it -- a brave thing for a stylist to bring off successfully.  Pininfarina did this, though to my mind that end of the car seems vulnerable and fragile.

Here is a photo of a Spider with its headlights turned on.