Try to picture this. It's Fall, 1948 and you are in Seattle. You're on your way to an evening Cub Scout Den meeting. Of course it's raining. Maple leaves are scattered on the wet grass and pavement. The scene is lighted by glows from living room windows along the darkened street. The big, solid-looking car arrives. Doors open. You stretch your leg to reach that high running board. Then you are aboard, safe and secure in the large, warm, dry interior.
I can picture that because that's the way I remember it. To this day, I have an appreciation for mid-size American sedans of that vintage, even though they have become something of a footnote in automobile styling history. A footnote because they were facelifted prewar styles awaiting circa-1949 redesigns.
The example car I selected for this post is a 1947 Dodge. Dodges were slotted into Chrysler Corporation's brand hierarchy between entry-level Plymouth and the more upscale DeSotos and Chryslers.
Images are of a car listed for sale.
Gallery
Prewar Chrysler Corporation cars' front fenders extended only to the leading edge of the front doors. Postwar Plymouths retained that, while Dodges and the rest featured the extensions onto the doors as seen here.
The fastback profile is not a smooth curve downwards toward the rear bumper. Instead, it subtly flows.
Rear fenders have a cut-line attachment. This didn't improve appearance, but removability might have saved some money repairing fender damage.
That's a brake light in the assembly above the license plate. Chrysler abandoned this feature for 1949, but high brake lights were later regulated into use by the U.S. government.
This view also illustrates the fastback shaping.
Side chrome trim elements are all horizontal.
Note the contrast between the V-shape hood plan and the squared-off plan-view flat fender tops and catwalk zone.
Postwar Chrysler Corporation grilles were "busy" in terms of multiple grille bars. This worked due to the contrast with the otherwise fairly plain body.
1 comment:
Those were still around when I was a really little kid. I wondered how the front door could open with the front fender blending into it! Better than Packard which tried to make their prewar design into a postwar one by completely joining front and rear fenders and making it into a huge ponderous bathtub. (The parish priest had one of them.)
Getting into the back seat of my sadly finally sent to car heaven Pontiac TransSport plus the cloth upholstery, flat floor, high seat level and comfort always reminded me of pre/postwar cars. Didn't smell like them though.
I'd know the smell of a 1950 Studebaker interior anywhere.
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