By the late 1930s and early 1940s it was widely assumed that future automobiles would have highly streamlined, rather teardrop-shaped bodies where wheel openings were essentially eliminated to provide smooth sides.
An example is this 1941 rendering by Gil Spear for Chrysler.
As it happened, by the end of World War 2 when American car production resumed, the consensus had shifted. Most carmaker's postwar redesigns were lower, longer versions of 1942 forms with bustle backs and flow-though fenderlines.
Only the redesigned 1949 Nashes followed the pre-war thinking. It was a marketing mistake that was corrected when the boxy 1952 Nash line appeared.
An important problem with the 1949 Nash design was that the cars looked heavy, not lithe. And their rounded shape led many observers, including the young me, to refer to them as "upside-down bathtubs."
Nashes came in two model lines, the 112-inch (2856 mm) 600 / Statesman, and the 121-inch (3073 mm) Ambassador. There were 4-door sedans and 2-door cars that were given a variety of names (Brougham, Coupe, Club Coupe) even though they looked the same.
1949 and 1950 standard Nashes were essentially identical in appearance. One detail difference was found on front bumper guards. Therefore, the images below are an assortment from both model years.
General view of the design.
Side view of an Ambassadot 4-door.
The Statesman version is the same abaft of the cowling, the Ambassador having a longer front end forward of the A-pillar door cut line.
Two-door models had the same roof profile. Front doors were wider and the B-pillar leans forward. Aft side windows could be rolled down at least partially on sedans (and possibly on coupes as well).
The 600 (1949) / Statesman (1950) model seems closer to the 1940-vintage streamlined concept than the Ambassadors due to the shorter hood.
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