I wrote:
"Nowadays, the term "hardtop convertible" might refer to convertibles with retractable metal tops. But from the late 1940s until the mid-1970s, the reference in the USA was to a car body with a fixed, metal roof where there was no B-pillar. When windows were rolled down, there was nothing but open space between the the A and C pillars. The style was very popular, and [nearly] every American automobile firm had them in their lineup at one time or another during those years.
"Cars with that configuration appeared long before General Motors' 1949 model year introduction of the style. But it was GM's market dominance that made hardtop convertibles common. The term was coined because convertible coupes lacked center posts, and the new design basically was a coupe lacking center posts, thereby evoking the look of convertibles with their cloth tops raised. 'Four-door hardtops' appeared on some GM brands in 1955, and by the following year they were available for all GM and Chrysler marques.
"One reason for the sudden popularity of hardtop convertible coupes was that those initial GM designs were very attractive, as we shall see below. They first appeared on 1949 Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs, but those lines were restyled for 1950 and the original top design was abandoned. Chevrolet and Pontiac got the redesigned GM A-body in 1949, but didn't have hardtop convertible versions until 1950. However, the hardtop design they finally got was that used by GM's senior brands for 1949: they continued its use through the 1952 model year."
Today's post treats those 1949 hardtops from Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac in more detail. They were a one-model-year-only affair because the 1948 vintage C-body was replaced for the 1950 model year and hardtops were also redesigned.
Influential that those first-generation hardtops were, not many were built. Production totals were: Oldsmobile, 3,006; Buick, 4,343; and Cadillac, 2,150. One factor might have been price, for hardtops then and later were generally more expensive than other models. For example, the 1949 Oldsmobile 98 Holiday hardtop was listed at $2, 973 -- the same as the Convertible, whereas the most expensive 98 4-door sedan's listed price was $2,594.
First, a few "establishment" photos. These and the others follow ascending GM brand status: Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac. Above is a publicity image of the Olds hardtop. 1949 Oldsmobiles had very little chrome trim, including this top-of-the-line model.
Buicks received their traditional chrome "Sweepspear" side trim early in the '49 model year.
An example retained by GM for display purposes. Note the tail fins, introduced on 1948 Caddies.
Front quarter views. Automotive glass technology was rapidly improving, but the curved windshield is still a two-piece affair.
Buicks were powered by inline-8 cylinder motors, so the hood had to be long. Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs had shorter V-8 engines.
C-body hardtop roofs were fairly rounded.
These early hardtops shared the same passenger compartment greenhouse structure.
Here the windows are rolled up, showing the narrow chrome window framing where a B-pillar would have been.
That greenhouse design was excellent -- maybe a bit unusual for a first attempt at a concept.
The backlight window is fairly narrow and low, perhaps restricting rear vision for drivers a little.
That might have been partly due to the 1949 glass forming technology. Note that the backlight was in three segments.
The Cadillac's trunk lid is higher than on those of the other cars, but the bottom edge of the backlight window is the same on all three.
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