Málaga's Fine Automobile Museum

The Museo Automovilistico y de la Moda in Málaga, Spain is surprisingly good, being based on the collection of the Portuguese João Manuel Magalhães.

I was in Málaga in November while on a Mediterranean cruise and running out of things to see within walking distance of the cruise port.  I knew there was a car museum in town, but it was located about two miles from city center, and getting there required taking a taxi or a bus.  Would seeing it be worth the transportation trouble?  Since the same collection of buildings (a former tobacco processing factory) also housed a branch of St. Petersburg's Russian Museum, I decided that being able to kill two museum birds with one travel stone would be worthwhile.

The car museum's web page is here.  Note that it features period women's fashions as well as cars.  I suppose one reason for combining the two subjects was for wives of visiting car guys to be entertained as well.  Another justification for this pairing is that, especially in 1930s France, there were automobile concours featuring cars along with very well-dressed society women.

Below are some of the photos I took of the large collection.  I hope they give you a sense of what was on view.

Gallery

Museum Entrance

1930 Nash 400
Setting the scene: This car has a custom body, something unusual for Nash.   Note the women's clothing displays featuring fashion from about the same period as the car.  The automobile in the background is a 1931 Studebaker FD Commander.

1952 Aston Martin DB2
Behind is a 1952 Jaguar XK120 Coupé.

1936 Auburn 851
The famous last-of-its-kind boat-tail Auburn.  The background car is a 1927 Belgian FN (Fabrique Nationale) 1300 S.

1928 Ballot Model 2LT
The collection includes examples of seldom-seen brands such as this.  Behind it is a Lancia limousene.

1934 DeSoto Airflow
Yet another rare automobile, though I doubt this car left the factory with that color.  In the background is a 1937 Cord 812 Cabriolet.

1934 Lancia Dilambda
Body by Pinin Farina.  Behind is a 1930 Pierce-Arrow 143 rumble seat convertible coupe.

1927 Paige
Another brand seldom seen in car museums.

1938 Panhard et Levassor X77 Dynamic
This coupé strikes me as being pretty rare.  I am not sure if its paint colors are original.

1937 Peugeot 402 Eclipse
Peugeot marketed retractable metal-top cars in the late '30s.

General Motors' Windshield Design Evolution,1929-1963

Nowadays automobile windshields are seldom distinctive enough to catch one's eye. Other design features such as frontal styling, the side-window profiles, fender shapes and rear-end detailing get more attention when casually looking at a vehicle.

But during the 35 or so years from the end of the 1920s to the early 1960s windshield designs were an important design component subject to fashion as well as evolving function.

General Motors dominated the American (and world) automobile industry during those 35-odd years.  GM didn't always innovate styles and design details, but it had the resources to quickly acquire those that it didn't develop first.  For that reason, I decided to use some GM cars to illustrate how windshields changed.  In the images below, I mostly used the corporation's mid-line Oldsmobile brand, but brought in some Chevrolet and Buick models where needed.  Unless otherwise noted, the photos below are of cars for sale, factory publicity photos, and images from sources I cannot identify.

Gallery

1929 Oldsmobile
A typical windshield arrangement at the end of the 1920s.  There was flat glass mounted vertically and topped by a fixed metal sun visor.

1932 Oldsmobile
Aerodynamic considerations that greatly influenced styling as the 1930s wore on were just beginning to appear by 1932.  The exterior sun visor is gone and the windshield appears to be sloped back a few degrees.

1933 Oldsmobile Eight
A little more slope was introduced for 1933 while the windshield itself remains a flat, one-piece affair.

1935 Oldsmobile Six
Oldsmobiles were redesigned for 1935, becoming much more rounded.  The windshield is sloped back even more.  Glass is still in the form of flat planes, but now in two pieces forming a shallow V.

1937 Oldsmobile Six
The next redesign featured yet more slope along with the two-piece glass.

1940 Oldsmobile 90
Windshields are little changed on this new GM C-body.  Here the glass areas is larger and A-pillars are thinner.

1948 Oldsmobile Futuramic 98
GM's first post- World War 2 redesigns appeared for the 1948 model year on Oldsmobiles and Cadillacs.  The windshield remains split, but the glass is now curved thanks to improved glass-forming technology.

1950 Oldsmobile 98
The new 1950 C-bodies received curved, one-piece windshields.  Other GM models retained the two-piece curved arrangement.

1951 Oldsmobile Super 88
For 1951, B-body cars got one-piece windshields with a slightly different curve profile than their C-body cousins.

1954 Buick Special
For 1954, GM's B- and C-bodies featured futuristic wraparound (panoramic) windshields, setting off a new industry-wide fashion.  The B-body Buick shown here has A-pillars leaning forwards.

1954 Buick Super - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
C-body GM cars also had wraparounds, but the A-pillars were vertical.

1955 Chevrolet One-Fifty - Mecum auction photo
The following model year saw redesigned A-body cars with vertical A-pillars.

1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 - Mecum photo
Oldsmobiles were re-bodied for 1957.  Panoramic windshields were retained, A-pillars leaned forwards, but were thinner.

1959 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88
All General Motors cars got a crash redesign for 1959.  A-pillars were now curved towards the top, giving the windshields a compound-curve feeling.  Actually, there was no strong compound curving here, but '59 Chryslers did have it.

1961 Oldsmobile
For 1960, Ford dropped panoramic windshields, reverting to the traditional aft-leaning A-pillars.  GM followed suit the next year.  Wraparounds were criticized for having distortion, and the dog-leg front door openings made ingress and egress more difficult.  Performing the Old Switcheroo routine, the 1959 A-pillar curve at the top became a curve at the pillar's bottom in 1961.

1963 Buick Wildcat
Now windshields have become conventional: one-piece, curved, with aft-leaning A-pillars.

Did Touring's 1939 Alfa 6C SS Influence 1941 Packard Clipper Styling?

The short answer to the question posed in this post's title is: Probably not, but the similarity is there.

That could be said regarding quite a few paired designs that had no direct influence on one another because some styling themes are "in the air" to be grabbed by more than one stylist at about the same time.  This was probably the case with the Alfa Romeo and Packard.

Background on the Alfa 6C 2500 series is here (scroll down), and the Packard Clipper here.

The Alfa Romero 6C 2500 SS Coupé design in question was by Carrozzeria Touring, first appearing in 1939 and continuing with post-war detail changes until 1951.

Design work on the Packard Clipper started in 1938, and was probably finalized in 1939 or early 1940.  It was announced in April 1941, well into the 1941 model year.  For that reason, some sources call it a 1942 model.  Packard model policies in those days complicated matters because its cars were not given model year designations, being referred to as Series XX or Series XX+1 (insert sequence numbers for the X's) and model type numbers (the first Clippers were model number 1951, not to be confused with the year 1951).

Design of the Clipper was, as usual, a committee effort complicated by the fact that outside consultants offered ideas as well as members of Packard's small styling staff.  A detailed account can be found in the classic book A Century of Automotive Style: 100 Years of American Car Design by Michal Lamm and David Holls.

Some of the stylists involved with the Clipper design must have kept current with both production and custom European designs, and therefore could have been aware of Touring's new Alfa styling.  On the other hand, the Alfa probably appeared around the time most Clipper features had been settled.  This is why, until more information appears, I think the similarities were a case of being "in the 1938-1939 air."

Here are images of both cars.

Gallery

Photo of perhaps the original Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupé by Touring.  Not very good image quality, as I scanned it from this book, page 209.  Items to note are the grille / front bumper theme, the fadeaway front fender and the separate rear fender.  This is the earliest example of front fenders fading away on doors that I am aware of.  If any reader knows of earlier cases, please let us know in a comment.

A 1941 publicity photo of the Clipper.  Compare its grille / front bumper theme, fadeaway front fender and separate rear fender to the Alfa in the previous photo.  Nothing is identical, but the differences are not large.

A 1948 Touring 6C 2500 SS offered for sale.  The grille, headlight positioning and front fender side sculpting are different from the 1939 version, but not greatly.  I'm including this and another photo of the car because they are better quality than the image at the top.

A 1941 Packard Clipper for sale.  This offers a better view of the frontal design.

Rear three-quarter view of the Alfa.

Rear three-quarter view of a for-sale 1942 Packard Clipper.

Chrysler'c C-200, Convertible Version of the K-310

Starting with the first publicity of General Motors' Le Sabre in late December of 1950 that I wrote about here, "dream cars" became a must-do item for American car makers.

The first Chrysler Corporation dream car that was given considerable attention was the 1951 K-310 designed by Virgil Exner and crafted by Ghia in Italy.  My post about it is here.  The following year a convertible version called the C-200 was created.  Some background information is here.

Since the C-200 was sort of an afterthought that had no new styling features, it is essentially an unknown concept car nowadays.  Even in 1952 it was little-publicized, so I could find few photos of it on the Internet.

Several of those images are presented below.

Gallery

To set the scene, a photo of the K-310.

The C-200 as seen in April 1952 at New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

General view of the C-200

Publicity shot.

Color image of the C-200.  Here it is painted two-tone blue, similar to one color scheme the K-310 sported.  When I was a lad I saw the C-200 at the Seattle auto show.  At that time the dark area was painted black and the lower part was a pale chartreuse.  Given that the C-200 was a year or possibly two years old when I saw it, I have to think that its main rôle was that of a show car to be sent around the country for displays at car shows and perhaps car dealers.

Austin A90 Atlantic Design Source Puzzle

Since I wasn't there to experience it, my knowledge of post- World War 2 English cars is not as good as it might be.  Which is why I hope some readers will pitch in regarding whether or not there was a "missing link" in the inspiration of the design of the Austin A90 Atlantic.

The Wikipedia entry cited above states (as of January 2019):

"The Atlantic was one of the first post-war cars engineered from scratch by Austin, and was said to be styled from a thumbnail sketch by Leonard Lord, then Chairman of Austin and later the British Motor Corporation (BMC) — though in truth the styling was more likely the work of resident Argentinian Austin stylist Dick Burzi. The car was almost certainly influenced by a 1946 Pininfarina-bodied Alfa Romeo cabriolet, which just happened to end up at the Longbridge factory in mid-1947, a few months before the light blue 16 hp sports prototype made its first appearance in the experimental department and on nearby roads around the factory."

As for that Pinin Farina design, this link states:

"Ordered new by a wealthy lady from Milan, Giuliana Tortolli-Cuccioli, this car was bodied by Pinin Farina in 1946, on the base of one of the 14 Alfa Romeo chassis delivered to the coachbuilder in 1942...

"It was sold during 1948 to Leonard Lord, the Chairman of Austin, and became an inspiration for the Austin A90 Atlantic, before being used personally by the Managing Director, George Harriman. And it was then that an exciting new chapter in the car's life began. Holden Koto was a young designer collaborating with Raymond Loewy, who had offices in Paris, New York and London. In the early 1950s, Loewy signed a contract with British Leyland to design the new Austin Seven, and Holden Koto was sent to work at Austin for four months. While there, he expressed his huge admiration for the Alfa Romeo, and George Harriman ended by selling it to him, well below its value, as a bonus. Koto used the car for the next 12 months before taking it back to America with him."

One link has the Alfa turning up at Longbridge in mid-1947, the other gives 1948 as the date it was acquired by Lord.  Wikipedia says the dates of the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show were 27 October – 6 November.  Given the time to develop a production car body in those days, the 1947 date seems more likely.  But if Lord bought the car in 1948, it's unlikely that it inspired A90 Atlantic styling -- despite claims from some Internet sources including the first Wikipedia link above.

Also introduced at the '48 Earls Court show was the Daimler DE-36 Drophead Coupe by Hooper called the "Green Godess" by some.  Bonhams auction house states:

"The building and subsequent sorting out of the Daimler Green Goddess is well documented in surviving Daimler and Hooper & Co. Ltd. records. They show that just after New Year's 1948, Hooper body no. 9352 was commissioned, to be built to the coachbuilder's design no. 8183. Daimler DE36 chassis no. 51233, onto which the body for “the Chairman's car” would be mounted, was received by Hooper's on June 7, 1948. Osmund F. Rivers, Hooper's chief designer, was responsible for completing the car for Earls Court. During the final weeks of assembly, 24-hour departmental commitments were required to complete the car for the October 27 opening."

A related design, first appearing on a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith chassis, as mentioned here:

"This beautiful Hooper bodied Saloon is a one off car with a very interesting history. In 1948, the chief designer for Hooper, Osmond Rivers, was commissioned by Hooper to design a "new look" to get away from the classic designs which had continued after World War II. He produced seven bodies. Once [sic] of which was shown at Earl's Court Motorshow in 1948. Fearing the car would not be well received because it was as he called it "rotund" Hooper asked for a more "razor edged" design. The result was design number 8234 on job number 9568 on chassis number WGC16. No other body was made just like it. It received great acclaim as a Motorshow One Off Prototype that influenced many designs to come. "

That is all the background I could find.  Now for some images to continue the tale.

Gallery

1950 Austin Atlantic Drophead Coupe - auction photo.  The design includes a centrally-mounted auxiliary light similar to that of the 1948 Tucker.  Borrowed from contemporary Pontiacs are "silver streaks on the bonnet and boot (hood and trunk).

Same car seen from rear quarter.  The true subject of this post is the feature of the front fender fading downwards to nearly the car's rear, combined with the lack of a distinct rear fender.  This style theme was in place at Austin months before the A90 Atlantic debuted in October 1948.

1952 Austin A90 Atlantic Sports Saloon - auction photo showing a coupé version.

1946 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet Speziale by Pinin Farina - auction photo.  This was supposedly the inspiration for A90 Atlantic styling.  A case might be made that the extreme aft designs are similar, but the swept front fender feature is absent here.  Clearly this Pinin Farina design had minimal influence on the Austin.

1948 Daimler DE-36 "Green Godess" Drophead Coupé Earls Court show car, body by Hooper, photo via Bonhams.  On the other hand, this first example of Hooper's "Empress" fender style was first shown at the same time as the A90 Atlantic.  The fender theme is essentially identical.  Were the two designs one of those interesting cases of simultaneous inspiration?  Or was there another similar design from around 1946-47 that inspired them both?  Let us know in comments if there was one.

1949 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith saloon by Hooper, for sale.  This was the "Empress" saloon that appeared at the 1949 Earls Court show.  Hooper built many variations on this theme over the following decade on Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Daimler chassis.

General Motors' 1961 "Compact" Cars

General Motors introduced "compact" (by American standards of the time) Buicks, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs for the 1961 model year.  I compared their styling to that of standard-size cars for each brand  here.  In this post, I consider how GM stylists differentiated those models by brand, given that they shared the same body platform.

GM introduced another compact line that year, the Chevrolet Corvair. It was based on a different platform, so a comparison is not worthwhile. I wrote about the first-generation Corvair here.

Images of four-door sedans are shown below.  They are either factory photos or pictures of cars listed for sale on the Internet.  For each viewpoint they are shown in ascending price order: Pontiac Tempest, Oldsmobile F-85, and Buick Special.  Since all versions were given different grille / front end designs for reasons of brand identity, I'll mostly focus on other details.

Gallery

This is a rare entry-level Tempest survivor.  Upscale versions had chrome trim on the sculpted sides abaft of the front wheel opening suggestive of a hot air outlet.

All of these cars had a similar fold below the top fender line -- For F-85s, it was identical to the Tempest's.  Both cars also had a character line starting the the rear of the aft wheel opening and curving upwards as it extended forward.  The F-85 has a chrome strip to emphasize this.  However the cars differ on the panel forward of the front door, where the F-85's line extends to the front of the car while the Tempest's forms a downward J-curve.

Buicks were the most up-scale of the three and perhaps for that reason received greater differentiation.  Here the Special's upper fender fold forms a sort of spearhead shape at its front, unlike the Tempest and F-85.  That shape also was used on full-size Buicks, as noted in the first link above.

Now side views.  This entry-level Tempest shows the basic body without any brand identification frills aside from the J-curve noted above.

The F-85 has a dab of a character line abaft of the rear wheel well, blending with the rear bumper.  Otherwise, apart from the extreme front, things are the same as on the Tempest -- even the wheel cutout profiles.

As mentioned, the Buick has more differentiation.  The lower character line does not curve around the rear wheel well opening, but extends all the way to the rear of the car.  And the rear wheel opening is shaped differently than on the Tempest and F-85 (be aware that this photo probably incorporates some CinemaScope-style horizontal distortion, something fairly often seen on promotion images).  Finally, there is a noticeable sculpted wedge under the upper fold starting about the aft point of the greenhouse and extending to the rear.

As might be expected, the rear end treatment of the Tempest is simple.

Again, the F-85 is quite similar to the Tempest in this part of the car.  Even the rear bumper seems to be the same, though it is blended into the side sculpting mentioned above.

The Buick Special's rear has more elaborate sculpting than on the other makes.  But note that the bumper is the same as on the others, and that the detailing below it is a variation on the F-85's theme.
From the 1940s through the 1970s, General Motors stylists were well practiced at creating brand identities from the same basic body shell.  We have seen it here, where most major design elements are the same, yet the three models have distinct appearances.  The Pontiac Tempest gets my vote as being the most successful design, whereas the Buick has too many seemingly arbitrary tack-ons.

Sunbeam Rapier with Loewy Styling

Back in the days when American carmakers owned European brands, there were occasions when models of one brand or another would feature Americanized styling instead of the sort of design expected from the country in question.  (Nowadays, styling has become internationalized, so German cars seem less German. Italian cars less Italian, etc. than was the case back in 1955, say.)  In the late 1930s, certain German Fords and French Matfords looked a lot like their USA counterparts.  Some, but not all Opel and Vauxhall models featured styling themes similar to General Motors' American models.

But the Rootes Group was still British-owned in 1955 when its new Sunbeam Rapier line featuring an American look was introduced.  Perhaps they thought Americans were style-leaders where passenger (not sports) cars were concerned, and they wanted Sunbeams to look "progressive" and not English-dowdy.  Whatever the motivation, Rootes contracted with Raymond Loewy's industrial design firm to do the Rapier's styling, as mentioned here.  At that time, Loewy's sensational 1953 Studebaker Starliner/Starlight coupé had appeared, perhaps influencing his selection by Rootes.

What I don't know is whether Rootes requested a Studebaker-like theme or if that type of style was what Loewy's group decided to do on their own.  Regardless, the design was accepted by Rootes management.  The result was an attractive hardtop convertible -- an American body type -- featuring American styling that in turn was probably influenced by the Italians.

Initial-series Rapiers were produced 1955-58, and facelifted versions continued through 1967, according to the Wikipedia link above.  That source reports 68,809 Rapiers built on the Loewy design, or about 4,600 per year on average.  Those production numbers are not large, but apparently were enough to keep the design in production while undergoing four facelifts.  Admittedly, only the first facelift was significant.

Images of first-generation Rapiers along with 1953 Studebaker Starliner coupés are shown below.   Photos are of cars publicized for sale.

Gallery

Sunbeam Rapier brochure cover featuring a Frank Wootton- style illustration.

1957 Sunbeam Rapier.

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner.  Similarities to the Rapier include the passenger compartment greenhouse, the "frenched" headlight assemblies, the front wheel openings, and the fenderline.

Rear quarter view of the Rapier pictured above.

Side view of another 1957 Rapier.

Side view of a 1953 Studebaker Champion Starliner.  Details differ from the Rapier, but the theme is clearly quite similar.