Three-Segment "Aerodynamic" Hupmobile Windshields

This post is an attempt to partly correct an error in previous posts.  In "Return of the Three-Piece Windshield" (here), and "Raymond Loewy's Hupmobiles" (here) I stated that the three-piece Hupmobile windshield only appeared for model year 1934.

Actually, it was found on 1935 and even 1936 models as well.  But not on all 1934-36 Hupps.  I was confused earlier by Internet images of cars and advertising.  Part of that confusion was due to the multiplicity of Hupp models in those years.  For example, 1934 Hupmobiles came in five wheelbases, only two of which had "Aerodynamic" bodies (the 421 J 6-cylinder car and the 427 T eight-cylinder car).  Other Hupps had conventional early-1930s styling.  Model year 1935 Hupps came in four wheelbases, simplified to two for 1936.

The word "Aerodynamic," by the way, was used by Hupp to designate Loewy-designed bodies featuring "panoramic" three-segment windshields and headlights blended onto the car's body.  Some models combined those blended headlights with one-piece windshields, creating further confusion.

That said, I recently came across a nice photo of a 1934 Aerodynamic, plus two images in my copy of Volume 16, Number 1 of Automobile Quarterly that I scanned.  These are presented below for viewing pleasure.

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1934 Hupmobile Aerodynamic - model and images source are unknown
The long hood and the space between the front door cutline and front fender strongly suggest that this is a Model 427 T.

1934 Hupmobile 421 J Aerodynamic - photos via Automoble Quarterly
Like most 1934-vintage cars labeled "aerodynamic" or "Airline" (in England), front ends had little or no actual streamlining.  The blended headlights seen here are aerodynamically cleaner than the common free-standing headlights of those days.  The three-piece windshield also might have helped a tiny bit.  Rear-end  curved profiling also was a minor improvement.  So these Hupmobiles were aerodynamic largely in name only.

The two-piece backlight window has a curious, downcast profile.  On the positive side, unlike many backlights on "streamlined" 1930s cars, the window is large and placed low enough for decent rear viewing by the driver.

1936-1937 Studebaker Coupe and Its Unusual Backlight Window

I'm old enough that I remember seeing some 1936-1937 Studebaker coupes that sported an unusual backlight window design.  That was in the late 1940s when plenty of late-1930s cars were still on the road.  Of course, I was too young to really know much about automobile styling.  But I knew that those Studebaker backlights looked a lot different from what I was used to seeing.

As best I know, no other American carmaker used that design, or something similar.  One reason might have been that it was too strongly associated with Studebaker.  A more practical reason is that the wedge-shaped profile comparatively limited exterior visibility.  Competing car salesmen could have used that as a demerit.

That said, it was an interesting feature, as can be seen below.

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1937 Studebaker Dictator Three-Window Coupe - car-for sale photos
Studebaker advertised its 1936-37 coupes as being either three-passenger or five-passenger.  A business coupe necessarily was 3-passenger, being squeezed together on the only car seat.  A five-passenger model had a rumble seat to accommodate those two others.

Three-passenger or five-passenger, all Studebaker coupes had the same exterior shape.  The design is an attractive one at a time when many designs were awkward.

There's that backlight window.  The trunk is large -- useful on the business coupe variant.

1937 Studebaker President Coupe - Hyman, Ltd photos
A very 1930s American front end.

The lid is for a rumble seat on this car -- note the step above the right taillight.  Typically, '36-37 Studebaker coupes had trunk lids instead.

1936 Studebaker Dictator Coupe - car-for sale photo
This image of a '36 coupe shows the backlight when hinged open -- an unusual feature.  The windshield opened in a similar manner.

1967 Cadillac Eldorado Walkaround

Cadillac marketed models named Eldorado for half a century.  In my opinion, the most outstanding Eldorado design was introduced for the 1967 model year.  It is the subject of today's post.

Those hardtop coupes were based on the same platform as the 1966 Buick Riviera and '66 Oldsmobile Toronado.  What I find most interesting is how varied those three designs were, given their common roots.   I wrote about that here.

Although '67 Eldorados look good in photos, they can be even more impressive when viewed in person.  I still have fond memories of seeing one up close in Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood back in 1967.

Unless noted otherwise, photos below are of a car listed for sale on the Internet.

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1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado - photo via Automobile Magazine
A glamour photo. Walkaround follows below.

Long, with clean surfaces and angular touches.

Front-wheel drive, new to GeneraL Motors, is responsible for some of the front overhang.  The long hood is impressive.  Driver position is aft of the 120-inch (3048 mm) wheelbase's midpoint.

Note the repeated angles of the passenger compartment aft facet, trunk lid and tail light assemblies.

The centerline marks subtle faceting.

Double faceting on the after end of the trunk lid also adds subtle interest.  The entire rear design is very good, though impact resistance seems sketchy.

The rear fenderline is unusual -- note the opposing slopes at its front and aft.  The vertical front fender/bumper forward edge is a weak point seen from this perspective; it doesn't echo the strong angles farther aft.

On the other hand, front fender leading edges serve to frame the grille.

The simple, rectangular main grille frame relates to the rectangular shapes on the trunk lid.

1967 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado - BaT Auctions photo
Finally, an overhead view.  Another detail I like is the the faceted hood design that narrows towards the front.  That is a retro touch that provides the overall design with a 1930s-1940s classical feeling.  Yet another subtlety.

Chrysler Corporation Postwar Front Ends

Chrysler Corporation brands in the immediate post- World War 2 era (model year 1946 through the first part of 1949) were facelifted versions of a 1940 basic design.  Although there was substantial inter-brand sharing of most structural components, there was some variation.  That was discussed in my post "Postwar Chrysler Corporation 4-Door Sedans - Profile Comparisons" here.

The main structural variation was for the Plymouth brand, and it is difficult to detect.  In that post I stated:

"Plymouth's postwar facelift did not include the extended front fenders found on the other brands.  Aside from that, the body from the cowling aft is essentially that seen on the cars below.  But not exactly. Plymouth was Chrysler's best-selling brand, competing against Ford and Chevrolet.  So it needed to be more in line with those in terms of weight and price.  Furthermore, Chrysler could afford to invest in the needed tooling adjustments.  The result was that Plymouths were slightly modified abaft of the B-pillar: narrower rear passenger doors, shorter quarter window, slightly shorter trunk.  This seems to have been accomplished a minimal amount of totally new tooling."

Today's post deals with front end similarities for Chrysler brands.  Of course, grille themes differed because brand identity was mostly established by a car's "face" in those days.  Given those differences, I look for similarities in underlying components that served to minimize tooling costs.

Images below are of cars listed for sale, unless noted oherwise.

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1948 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Coupe
As mentioned, Plymouth was the Corporation's entry-level brand.  For that reason, its grille isn't very fancy.  What we need to note here are the opening (pretty much defined by the narrower horizontal bars) and the placement of the parking lights and other small details.

1947 Dodge Custom Coupe
Next up the Chrysler brand hierarchy was Dodge.  The hood cutlines on the sides are mostly the same as on the Plymouth.  The grille treatment covers more area, but the opening is probably the same.  Parking lights are larger, but are placed the same distance below the headlights.  Similar chrome strips flank the headlights.

1948 DeSoto Club Coupe
Again, hood cutlines seem to be about the same.  Headlights are moved slightly towards the car's centerline, and are higher.  (See the linked post for a side view comparison of front fenders.)  Parking lights are again below the headlights.  The grille's shape is more organic that architectural.  The opening remains between the headlights -- those vertical bars under the parking lights are applied to fender sheet metal.

1946 Chrysler Windsor - BaT Auctions
The top-of-the-line Chrysler.  High fender fronts like DeSoto's, but the headlights are closer to the sides of the car.  Parking lights are also moved toward the edges.  (The parking light housing at the left and related chrome trim are missing from this restored car -- so focus on right part of the image.)  The architectural grille is wider than the opening.  Note that the hood cutlines are different from those on the other brands.

1951 Porsche 356 Walkaround

For the past 75 year or so, most Porsche coupés have featured the same general appearance -- something otherwise unheard-of in the realm of automobile styling.

Matters have been somewhat complicated over that span with the addition of Porsche mid-engine sports cars and even some sport coupés powered by front-located fluid-cooled motors.  The traditional Porsche sports car has an air-cooled motor located abaft of the rear axle line.  The earliest, 1948 through 1965, model was the 356.  It was supplemented in 1964 and shortly replaced by the 911 series that continues until this day with the same general coupé styling theme.

The design of the 356 is credited to Ferry Porsche, who dealt mostly with engineering and business matters, and Erwin Komenda, who handled the appearance.

Today's post is a walkaround of an early production Porsche 356.  Some background on the 356 series from Wikipedia is here.  I posted on the evolution of 356 series design here.

This post's featured car is a Porsche 356 "Pre-A" coupé built by Reutter.  Photos below are via BaT Auctions.

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There not being a front-located motor, the trunk is at the front end.  And its lid was sloped downwards for aerodynamic reasons -- not a practical solution for luggage carrying capacity.  Fender fronts are higher than the nearby trunk lid.

Although modified somewhat in recent decades, the fenderline falls away from a peak above the front wheel hub.  The profile is fastback, though there also were a few exceptions over time.

Backlight windows are mounted rather high due to the engine compartment below.

The hood-mounted air intake seems rather small, but it wasn't significantly enlarged until the early 1960s -- so it must have functioned well enough.

Fenders, passenger greenhouse, and the engine compartment smoothly blend together.

Porsche coupés were never "hardtops," always having a functioning B-pillar.

The front bumper of this car sags at the edges -- not a standard feature.  The windshield is two-segment flat glass.  My linked post above mentions how 356 windshields changed over time.

Plain fronts are a problem for stylists.  Eventually 356 bumpers became more massive and were mounted a little higher.  These treatments made frontal appearance less stark.