1941 Chevrolet Coupe Styling Compared to 1940 and 1942

This magazine-format paperback book was published in 1976.  The author is Paul R. Woudenberg, Ph.D., a noted automobile historian who I once saw handling the microphone at the awards session at the annual Pebble Beach Concours.

On a photo caption on Page 131 Woudenberg stated "It is the general opinion of car enthuiasts today, be they Chevrolet buffs or not, that the 1941 Chevrolet was far and away the very best model of this GM Division."

I'm inclined to agree, even though I have a soft spot for '55 Chevys.  Today's post is intended to place '41 Chevy coupes in the context of 1940 and 1942 equivalents.

Sources of images below: 1940 - car-for-sale; 1941 - Mecum Auctions; 1942 - BaT Auctions.

Gallery

Brochure image of 1941 Special DeLuxe coupe
Chevrolets were given General Motors' new A-body platform for 1941.

1940 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Coupe
The previous A-body was less sleek.  Worse, although GM was the usual American styling leader in those days, its treatment of headlight assembly design was retrograde.  Brands where headlights were integrated into front fenders in 1940 were Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Hudson, Nash, Studebaker and Willys.  Only the dying Hupp and Graham brands along with conservative Packard retained non-integrated headlights along with GM.

1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Coupe
Continuity touches with minor variations from 1940 included the upper side chrome strip and the grille profile.  Headlights are nearly embedded in front fenders.  Overall body shaping is more integrated, more rounded.  Wheelbase was increased three inches (76 mm) to aid those changes.

Setting aside the shorter wheelbase, the passenger compartment greenhouse is rather short lengthwise, giving an upright, not-very-streamlined profile.

For some reason, this for-sale car rides higher than normal (and as seen in its previous image).  That aside, the body profile is smoother, more streamlined-looking.  Fenders are more integrated with the main body, a continuation of the main car design trend of the 1930s.  The better-integrated headlight assemblies assist in this.

The 1940 coupe seems tall from this perspective.  Even so, shaping is smoother than coupe designs of a few years earlier.

The rear design is not radically different from 1940.  Still, the major shapes are more similar to one another than before -- especially the after part of the greenhouse and the trunk lid.  Note the running board is narrower and covered by sheetmetal, yet another integrating touch.

1942 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Coupe
Showing how the 1941 design was facelifted for the war-shortened 1942 model year.  Same basic body as for '41, but important frontal changes.  The grille profile/framing is simplified.  Headlights are integral with the fender design.  And front fenders are extended across the doors -- a feature found in nearly all '42 GM cars.

Not much change at the rear.  Those extended front fenders are an evolutionary step towards flow-through fenders appearing in the late 1940s.  But their size makes them seem too heavy, unbalancing the 1941 design.  Which is why I consider 1941 Chevrolets better design that Chevys of adjacent (and beyond) model years.

1995 Chevrolet Lumina: Character Line Continuations

Stylists can tie a design together using interrupted lines.  That is, a chrome strip, sheetmetal crease, or other such detail continued following a space.   Another approach is to have the feature continued without interruptions other than gaps created by wheel openings.  That was the strategy used on the 1995 Chevrolet 4-door Limina and its related 2-door Monte Carlo.

I wrote about the 1995 Lumina here, but in reference to details in the area of its C-pillar.   The Wikipedia entry on that Lumina generation is here.

Images below are from Chevrolet.

Gallery

The Lumina's front is rounded in conformity with aerodynamic requirements related to fuel usage efficiency.  Those extensive character lines are mostly abaft of the front wheel opening, though a slightly curved start of one can be seen on the fender near the headlight.  Note that the upper edge of the bumper is aligned with the rub strip  partway up the car's side.

The rub strip line is continued by indentation created by the upper portion of the rear bumper cladding.  Rather subtle, not a true continuation feature, though it works visually.  The character line along the lower side is continued along the rear bumper impact panel.

The features noted for the previous image can be seen from this perspective.

They are seen better here, along with another subtlety.  That is a fold across the taillight glass that continues the high side character line around the rear end in the form of crease just below the upper edge of the dark segment on the trunk lid.
Although I find these details interesting from a technical styling perspective, my overall impression is that the design is too "busy."  Nowadays, many designs are even more busy and, worse yet, too lacking in continuations tying elements together visually.

More on Fiat 124 Sport Models

Both of today's featured cars are Fiat 124s of the same generation.  Both are sporty.  But they were designed by different men and their bodies were built by separate firms.  The convertible Sport Spider (pronounced "speeder" in Italy) was designed by Tom Tjaarda and built by Pininfarina.  The Sport Coupé was designed by Felice Mario Boano at Centro Stile Fiat, bodies were built by Fiat.  Both initial versions can be considered 1967 model year cars.

I previous wrote about these sporty Fiats here.  Background on the Spider is here, and for the Coupé here.  In my post I mentioned that I was (finally!!) in the market for a sports car in 1971 and test-drove a 124 Sport Coupé.  I liked the styling of the Sport Spider much better, but its price was a bit higher than I wanted to spend.  As for the Sport Coupé, I hated the driving position -- steering wheel too far from me and the floor pedals too near for comfort.  So I bought an entry-level Porsche 914 -- having a removable solid top more appropriate for Upstate New York driving than the Sport Coupé's ragtop's would have been.

The main non-styling structural difference between the two models was their wheelbases.  The Sport Spider's was 89.75 inches (2280 mm) and that of the Coupé was 95.3 inches (2420 mm) -- fairly significant.  The additional length was needed because the Coupé featured a small bench seat behind the driver's seat, something lacking in the Spider.  Of course, that and the fixed top affected the package Boano had to deal with.

In the Gallery below a Spider and a Coupé are compared.  The blue car is a 1971 Fiat 124 Sport Spider, the red car is a 1969 Fiat 124 Sport Coupé.  All photos are from Bring a Trailer Auctions.

Gallery

Headlight assemblies are slightly sunken, and the grille opening is sculpted to conform the that feature.  Overall, an appropriate composition.

An even simpler front end, though the turn indicator lights are somewhat arbitrarily wedged in.

This shows the headlight assembly area more clearly.  Subtly flowing fenderline.

The windshield appears to be carried over from the Fiat 124 sedan, though it is raked more steeply.

Wheel openings are similar.  The extra length of the Coupé is hard to establish given the two differently shaped bodies.  But note the Coupé's rear seatback lies above the car's axle line -- not a comfortable location when on bumpy roads.

Same Spider as in the other images, but auctioned again two years later.

Boano's  rear design is more spartan than Tjaarda's.  The aft panel here is similar to those found on Fiat 124 sedans (berlinas).

Interesting wedge effect on the fender interior sculpting.

Instrumentation is the same, but differently laid out.  Forward part of the central console seem the same.

1946, '47, '48 Pontiac Facelift Details

Over the three years following the end of World War 2, American carmakers experienced a "seller's market" where demand for new cars was so strong that there was little need to redesign or seriously facelift existing designs. 

There were exceptions such as the redesigned 1947 Studebakers and 1948 Hudsons.  And General Motors introduced a new C-body for Cadillacs and Oldsmobile 98s for the 1948 model year.  On the other hand, 1946-1948 Chrysler Corporation cars were essentially unchanged over that period.

Pontiacs for model years 1946, 1947 and 1948 retained the same basic bodies, but trim details changed enough that it's fairly easy for "car spotter" hobbyists to identify a Pontic's model year once those changes are understood.

What puzzles me is why Pontiac management even bothered to approve such changes when they didn't seem to be really necessary.  That said, Pontiac's market image in those days was of reliable cars priced between entry-level Chevrolets and technologically innovative Oldsmobiles and flashy Buick Specials.  So perhaps a bit more "spark" was thought to be needed.

Gallery

1946 Pontiac Streamliner Six Sedan Coupe - Mecum Auctions photo
From this postwar starting point the grille and front fender trim will be changed.

1947 Pontiac Torpedo 2-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
The grille profile is about the same, but horizontal bars are fewer and larger.  Vertical bars were eliminated.  Models with chrome strips on the fenders lacked the plaque at the forward end on the front fenders.

1948 Pontiac Streamliner Eight Sedan Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Fender sides are smoothed and trim is reduced to a chrome spear on the front fender.  Vertical grille bars return, but are placed differently.

1946 Pontiac Streamliner Six Sedan Coupe - Mecum
Note the carryover tail lights from 1941-42.

1947 Pontiac Torpedo 2-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
Other models had fender chromed strips on the sculpting.  Same tail lights as before.  Note that there are five Silver Streaks on the hood and trunk lid -- a feature since at least 1940.

1948 Pontiac Streamliner Eight Sedan Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Silver Streaks are reduced to three fore and aft for 1948 only.  Tail lights are now round, a feature carried over to the redesigned 1949 models.

Bentley "Blue Train" Coupé by J Gurney Nutting (and Others)

Famed English illustrator Terence Cuneo's 1970 painting "Bentley Versus Blue Train"
It seems it didn't actually happen that way, though the legend still persists.  The car in the painting was owned by Woolf Bernato who contolled Bentley Motors financially at that time.  And it was he who did famously race the French Cannes-to-Calais Train bleu, arriving in London before the train reached Calais.

But the pictured car, the 1930 Bentley 6 1/2 Litre Speed Six Special "Blue Train" by J Gurney Nutting, was not in that race.  As the Pebble Beach Concours d'Élégance web site explains:

"For many years now, it has been universally believed that Barnato drove his Gurney Nutting coupé, a fabulously flamboyant Grand Touring three-seater with rakish helmet wings, the third seat fitted sidesaddle beneath a sloping roof, the whole ensemble finished off by a pair of huge Zeiss headlamps to the front, a long, louvred panel along both sides of the chassis and a neat trunk to the rear of the body (chassis HM2855, registered GJ3811).

..."A whole sheaf of press cuttings for the Blue Train run give the date definitively as the 13th /14th of March 1930.  But the Bentley Motors Service Record for the coupe shows that it wasn’t passed off Final Test at Bentley Motors, and the Five-Year Guarantee issued, until the 21st of May 1930, ten weeks after the Blue Train run.  Further, the records show that on the 2nd of June, it had only covered 391 miles.

..."The fact remains that all the evidence points to Barnato carrying out the Blue Train run in a rather more down-to-earth (insofar as a Speed Six Bentley is ever down-to-earth) four-door Weymann fabric saloon by H J Mulliner (chassis BA2592 registered UU5999) delivered to Barnato in June 1929."

Today's post features the Bentley coupé that didn't race the train.  Rather, it features its Gurney Nutting design as manifested in the original car and a recreation built more than 20 years later.  As best I can tell, at least six recreations exist.  One was made by Racing Green Engineering in the early 1950s.  Others have been built by Bob Petersen Engineering, another English firm.  Its Web site states:

"We have built five of these stunning cars based on the famous Barnato car which reputedly raced the ‘Blue Train’ across France.  All five were built with very individual styling to the interior, with one a supercharged version to add even more ‘spice’ to the mix."

Exteriors essentially matched that of the original car.  Chassis and mechanical components are from the 1930s to the best of the builder's intentions and parts availability.  For instance, in at least one case, a Rolls-Royce engine was used rather than a 1930 Bentley motor.

The design, probably by A.F. McNeil, has a vaguely streamlined look due to its low passenger compartment greenhouse with its sloped profile.  However, actual automotive streamlining was in its infancy in 1929-30 when Gurney Nutting created it.  That said, the car certainly does look aggressively fast compared to others of 1930.

Gallery

This is the car Barnato actually raced agains the Blue Train.  Seen here at Pebble Beach, image via the Concours web site.

The "Blue Train" car when young.

Here it is in a more recent photo (source unknown to me).

Bentley 6 1/2 Litre Speed Six Blue Train built by  Racing Green Engineering in 1953.  Photos are car-for-sale images by Gallery Aaldering of the Netherlands.

Side view showing the greenhouse profile.  The length of the hood essentially equals that of the passenger compartment.

The backlight window seems virtually useless for driver visibility to the rear.   Note the lack of bumpers, typical of Bentleys of that era.

1935 Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth Sedans Compared

For part of the 1930s, America's "Big Three" carmakers happened to launch redesigns the same model years -- 1935 and 1937.  Not all brands were affected, but most were, including the highest-production ones: Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth.  Their four-door sedan designs are the subject of this post.  I previously compared those brands' 1940-41 redesigns here.

An interesting fact is that the '35 Ford and Plymouths designs were largely the work of the same man, as noted in my 1996 edition of the classic book A Century of Automotive Style by Michael Lamm and David Holls. They state:

"The 1935 Ford and the 1935 Chrysler/Desoto Airstreams were Phil Wright creations." (Page 80)

"Briggs again stepped in to help style the 1935 Ford and its 1936 facelift. The 1935 model was done by Phil Wright at Briggs; Holden (Bob) Koto did the 1936 grille, hood and fender changes, also at Briggs." (Page 125)

"Meanwhile, Ralph Roberts at Briggs asked Phil Wright to design what became the 1935 Airstream series." (Page 157)

Technically, 1935 Plymouths were not Airstreams, a model name given to non-Airflow Chryslers and DeSotos.  But the body design was essentially the same, as Chrysler Corporation was entering a long period (through the 1952 model year) where all its divisions marketed variations on common body platforms.

The mid-1930s was a time when car designs were in a period of rapid evolution in the direction of integrated elements and stylistic streamlining, a process that can be said to have been completed by the arrival of the 1949 Ford.  Body-making technology was moving in the direction of all-steel, and away from metal panels attached to wood framing.  One aspect of this was the appearance of roofs without fabric inserts.  

Automobile glass-forming technology was only beginning to reach practical availability of curved glass, so most car glass was still in the form of flat panels.

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1935 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe - car-for-sale photos
Only Master DeLuxe Chevys got new bodies for 1935; the Chevrolet Standard series carried over the previous body.  Note the all-steel top, unlike the old-type tops shown on the Ford and Plymouth below.  A good deal of large-radius metal rounding is present because that was the economical production stamping technology state of the art.  Those rounded window profiles were a styling feature intended to be in synch with the rounded body features.  The result was a heavy, bulbous appearance that was slowly eliminated in future General Motors 1930s redesigns.

1935 Ford DeLuxe Fordor - car-for-sale photos
Fords tended to look "leaner and meaner" than GM cars during the Thirties.  The windshield is flat, not V'd.  Front-end elements are not integrated compared to the Chevrolet -- especially the horns.  Fenders are S-curve (ogive) shape, a fading concept.

1935 Plymouth DeLuxe - Mecum Auctions photos
Also a flat windshield.  The general feeling is similar to Ford's.  This is not surprising given the Briggs bodies styled by the same designer.

1935 General Motors A-bodies featured B-pillar-hinged "suicide" front doors, corrected to A-pillar hinging for 1936.  Fenders are large, clamshell affairs.  Note the highly rounded window profiles.

This Ford lacks an attached trunk, though those were available on Fordor Touring Sedans.  Window profiles are less rounded than on the Chevrolet.

Plymouth's passenger greenhouse is less rounded than even the Ford's, though that would change on the 1937 redesign.  Fenders are similar to the Chevy's, but not so bulky.

The Chevrolet's aft end seems bulky, having prominent rounded surfaces and window framing.

"Slantback" rear has no trunk or any opening to the behind-the-seat storage area.  And the spare tire is mounted externally.  The raised "character" ribs are bold and extensive.  They add some visual interest and help tie the designed together.  But they verge on fussiness.

This Plymouth has an integral trunk that carries the spare tire along with some luggage.  Aside from the more rectangular windows, this car's design strikes me as being partway between the Ford and the Chevy.

405 - The Only Four-Door Bristol

With one exception, all Bristol cars were two-door models.  The exception was the Bristol 405, Wikipedia entry here.  It is the subject of today's post.

The 1954-1958 Bristol 405 (and the 2-door 404 of 1953-1955) marked the end of the classic 401-403 series design produced 1949-1955.  I wrote about the Bristol 401 here.

Apparently the 405's saloon (sedan) configuration was distant enough from Bristol's high-performance luxury market-target that its replacement 406 model reverted to 2-door status.

Images below are of a for-sale Bristol 405 located in Tasmania.

Gallery

Previous Bristols featured the prewar BMW grille theme.  The grille we see here is hard to explain.  The opening is nondescript, the grille mesh is recessed a couple inches.  I suppose this could be rated as "distinctive."  But not in a positive sense.

Frontal sheet metal sculpting features complex shapes that do not relate well to one another.  The grille opening was slightly widened on the redesigned Bristol 406, and minor brightwork added on the 407.  It wasn't until the entry of the Bristol 408 in 1963 that a more conventional Bristol grille appeared.

The passenger compartment greenhouse is a rounded fastback with large windows.  This contrasts somewhat uneasily with the long, rather flat hood line.  Note how narrow the front door is compared to the back-seat door.  A three-inch (73.5 mm) rearward adjustment to the B-pillar might have improved the appearance.

Those small, odd tail fins preview a somewhat similar touch found on Bristols 406 to 410 (1957-1969).  For some reason, I rather like the fastback zone (apart from those fins).  Especially that large, three-piece backlight window.