Lincoln Grilles : Dipping Into the Parts Bin

For a couple of decades, we in North America have become used to seeing Lincoln automobile grilles that looked like those shown below.

These are Lincoln Town Cars, a model recently dropped after many years in production. The upper photo is of a 2002 model, the lower shows a Town Car from around 2011. Their shield-like grille shape dates from the 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII, though rectangular grilles with wide chrome frames and thin, vertical bars continued on some models until the 2002 model year.

Changes in grille design rapidly accelerated by 2007 as Lincoln sales continued to dwindle from the 1989-90 peak. 2013 models have faces such as on the new MKZ model shown here.

I don't like this latest grille design. But I do find it interesting how Lincolns stylists raided the marque's historical parts bin, so to speak, in a search for a different theme from of 1993-2007 and the 20-odd years before that.

Consider the Lincoln Navigator SUV (sport-utility vehicle). The upper photo is of a 2003 model, the lower one shows the 2007 Navigator with a different grille theme. Where might that theme have come from?

Probably from the design Lincolns sported for the 1946-1948 model years. Shown here is a Lincoln Continental Cabriolet.

Then there is the grille on the 2013 Lincoln MKX crossover SUV. It has been around for a few model years and is similar in spirit to the MKZ shown above except that the grille bars are heavy and are aligned vertically rather than horizontally. And where might this have come from?

Once source was probably this 1995 concept car called the Sentinel. But we can push the idea even farther back to...

...the 1939-1941 model Lincoln Zephyrs and Continentals (above is a 1941 model Continental).

In the midst of this stylistic thrashing about, he find the...

...2007 Lincoln MKX (upper) whose grille reminds one of the of the 1964 Lincoln Continental (lower photo).

Where else might Lincoln stylist care to dig for traditionally based grille themes? I suggest these as starters:

The upper image is of a 1942 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, the lower shows the grille used on 1949 Lincolns.

A version of this was previously posted at Art Contrarian .

Lincoln Grilles: Dip Into the Parts Bin

For a couple of decades, we in North America have become used to seeing Lincoln automobile grilles that looked like these shown below.

These are Lincoln Town Cars, a model recently dropped after many years in production. The upper photo is of a 2002 model, the lower shows a Town Car from around 2011. Their shield-like grille shape dates from the 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII, though rectangular grilles with wide chrome frames and thin, vertical bars continued on some models until the 2002 model year.

Changes in grille design rapidly accelerated by 2007 as Lincoln sales continued to dwindle from the 1989-90 peak. 2013 models have faces such as on the new MKZ model shown here. I don't like this latest grille design. But I do find it interesting how Lincolns stylists raided the marque's historical parts bin, so to speak, in a search for a different theme from of 1993-2007 and the 20-odd years before that.

Consider the Lincoln Navigator SUV (sport-utility vehicle). The upper photo is of a 2003 model, the lower one shows the 2007 Navigator with a different grille theme. Where might that theme have come from?

Probably from the design Lincolns sported for the 1946-1948 model years. Shown here is a Lincoln Continental Cabriolet.

Then there is the grille on the 2013 Lincoln MKX crossover SUV. It has been around for a few model years and is similar in spirit to the MKZ shown above except that the grille bars are heavy and are aligned vertically rather than horizontally. And where might this have come from?

Once source was probably this 1995 concept car called the Sentinel. But we can push the idea even farther back to...

...the 1939-1941 model Lincoln Zephyrs and Continentals (above is a 1941 model Continental). In the midst of this stylistic thrashing about, he find the...

...2007 Lincoln MKX (upper) whose grille reminds one of the of the 1964 Lincoln Continental (lower photo). Where else might Lincoln stylist care to dig for traditionally based grille themes? I suggest these as starters:

The upper image is of a 1942 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, the lower shows the grille used on 1949 Lincolns.
Originally posted at Art Contrarian

Oldsmobile's 1948 Transition

Before around 1960, most American car makers' product lines were centered on a basic four-door sedan from which variations such two-doors sedans, convertibles, coupés, station wagons and such were derived.  By the early 1960s, Fords, Chevrolets, Plymouths and other brands could be had in the form of compact cars such as the Ford Falcon, Plymouth Valiant and Chevrolet Corvair along with "intermediates" such as the Chevy II; this altered the situation dealt with below.

The pre-1960 norm was that a restyling for a given model year would be applied to the entire line for the brand in question.  But sometimes it didn't work out that neatly.  An interesting case is General Motors' Oldsmobile brand for the 1948 model year.  That was when GM began to introduce its first post-World War 2 major restyling.  Its 1946 and 1947 models were simply facelifted 1942 models which, in turn, were facelifted versions of the 1940 vintage major restyle (production was curtailed during the war by government order).

At that time, GM had three basic bodies (nowadays they'd be called "platforms').  The smallest, "A-body," was used for its lower price brands Chevrolet and Pontiac.  The largest, "C-body," was for Cadillacs and higher priced Buicks and Oldsmobiles; lower priced Buicks and Oldsmobiles, along with top-of-the-line Pontiacs used the intermediate "B-body."  General Motors restyled the C-body for the 1948 model year and the restyling of the others was set for 1949.  This presented no problem for Cadillac, as all its models aside from its low-production limousine used the new body.  Buick chose not to use the new body for 1948; it retained its 1947 bodies, opting for the new C-body for its 1949 line.  Oldsmobile took yet a different route.  Its top-level "98" line used the new large body while its lesser lines persisted with the old B-body.

 In theory, this should have been a risky move for Oldsmobile. The new C-body cars were a lot more modern looking than the B-body models, so this might have discouraged potential buyers of B-body cars; why buy something old-fashioned?  Actually, the risk was low for two reasons.  First, the late 1940s were a seller's market with manufacturers struggling to meet the post-war demand for cars of almost any kind.  Secondly, most brands competing with B-body Oldsmobiles weren't offering modern designs either.

Here are examples of Oldsmobiles for the 1948 model year.

Gallery

1948 Oldsmobile - probably a "70" series

1948 Oldsmobile "98" fastback

1948 Oldsmobile "98" "bustle-back" 4-door sedan
During the 1940s General Motors styling vice president Harley Earl saw to it that each of the corporation's brands had strong visual identity, the idea being that a Buick, Pontiac or Oldsmobile could be identified as such when seen from a city block away. In the late 1940s, Oldsmobiles had a cleaner, less-decorated look than their GM stablemates. The cars illustrated above have one or two simple horizontal chrome strips along their sides along with a chrome stone shield on the rear fender. Grilles shared a sort of "fish mouth" shaped opening with fat chromed bars echoing the opening's upper curve. The main difference was that the cars with the older body sported more such bars along with a vertical central bar. Thus the distinctive Oldsmobile appearance persisted even though the new body featured flow-through front fenders, curved windshield glass and other new styling details.

Dodge's Molded Grenada

They were popularly called "dream cars" back in the 1950s, though the term used now is "concept cars."  Then or now, the expectation was that such show cars would probably look flashy, exciting, provocative and so forth.  "Dumpy" was not expected.  But Dodge managed to pull that off with its 1954 Granada.

At that time, Chrysler Corporation had been showing Italian-influenced concept cars styled by corporate styling director Virgil Exner himself, by stylists under his supervision or by Italian coachbuilding firms under contract to Chrysler.  The Granada was one of the few exceptions, probably having been styled by personnel at Briggs Manufacturing, a contract body maker being absorbed by Chrysler about that time.

The Granada's body was built of glass fiber, a subject of great interest in Detroit in the early 1950s.  General Motors' new Chevrolet Corvette sports car had a glass fiber body assembled from many sub-sections with great difficulty.  The main problem was that, due to shrinkage, there was enough variation in the size of the parts that fitting them together often resulted in unacceptably wide gaps.  In contrast, the Granada outer body had only seven parts -- the doors, hood and trunk lid counting for four of these.  This theoretically would reduce the number of fit problems if something like a Granada entered production.

The major part of the body was one piece of fiberglass that was probably formed over a small number of "female" molds that would be removed once the body shell had "cured."  The result was a shape that looked somewhat like molded Jello.

Gallery

As I mentioned, the Granada was dumpy looking.  Though this dumpiness was actually comparative; Exner-instigated designs at the time were classy-looking, and the Granada did not look classy.  On the other hand, the Granada's design wasn't really bad: just inadequate.  Given the task of having its body built with a minimal number of parts, whoever designed it did a reasonably good job in the context of 1953 when it was built (it was first shown to the public at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January, 1954).

Specific criticisms might include the high cowl and hoodline, though the cowling was probably dictated by engineering considerations.  The "frenching" (a 1950s term) around the headlights has a high peak; I would have dropped the fenderline an inch (2 cm) or so right over the headlights and extended the frenched lip slightly farther forward.  This would be aerodynamically unacceptable today, but was perfectly fine in the 1950s.  Those odd, fin-like appendages back of the passenger compartment were probably added to firm up what otherwise would have been a too-soft rear design.  But they are not attractive.  One solution would be to eliminate them and firm up the rear.  Another would be to add a rear-fender curve over the rear wheels even though this was already something of a sports car styling cliché.  The grille opening ensemble is okay for 1950s design.

Aztek Rendezvous

The consensus (until a spasm of revisionism takes hold) is that the 2001-05 Pontiac Aztek was one of the worst designs ever.  In a way, that seems strange because in these wonderfully postmodern times, the whole aesthetic is edgy, ugly, transgressive, in-your-face bourgeoisie-shock, isn't it?  Perhaps those are the seeds of future revisionist rehabilitation.

Regardless, the small crossover SUV was derided and as the Wikipedia link above states, sales never came close to expectations, so both critics and the car-buying public seem to have been in agreement.

What isn't generally realized is that the Aztec shared its platform with another compact crossover that had more conventional looks and sold a lot better.  That car was the 2002-07 Buick Rendezvous.  Let's compare them.

Gallery

Aztek

Rendezvous
Following a period in the 1980s when certain Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick models were badge-engineered to the point that their similarity became an embarrassment to General Motors, the corporation worked much harder to make sure that models shared by different brands were visually distinct.  That is the case with the Aztek and Rendezvous.  If you compare the windshield shapes, wheel housing positions and door cut-lines, you can see that the underlying structure is the same.  But all the exterior sheet metal is different, and the cars even have differing rooflines abaft of the rear side doors.

In terms of general appearance, the Aztek has a flatter look whereas the Rendezvous is more rounded. These differences are physically slight, yet sufficient to affect the way highlights play on the surfaces.  The Aztek has an odd, double-deck version of the (since 1959) Pontiac split-grille.  The Rendezvous' grille is also a bit "off" in that the ensemble features an oval shape sliced horizontally near the top edge by the hood cut line.  Above the cut is a chrome panel with word "Buick" on it.  This geometric composition is at odds with more flowing lines of the rest of the car.

Here is a 2001 Aztek with with cladding slathered over the lower third of the car.  This touch was altered the next model year because it was so unpopular with potential buyers.  The horizontal ridges on the front door cladding are probably intended as a nod to Pontiac's "Silver Streak" chromed stripes, its key identification feature from the mid-1930s until the late 50s.

A side view of the Aztek without the heavy cladding.  Actually, the cladding panels (without those ridges) are still there, but now they have smooth rather than matte surfaces.  What we see here isn't seriously awful, though the rear quarter window glass seems somewhat too large.  The downward roofline break is okay from a styling standpoint, but probably was yet another sales deterrent because it drastically reduced trunk area carrying capacity compared to the Rendezvous and other competing small SUVs.

Comparing rear ends, we get a better look at the odd, dark shape applied to the Rendezvous.  It conceals a small rear quarter window while creating visual camouflage and confusion as to whether it's a sedan with a bustle back or (as it really is) a small station wagon.  The Aztek's rear styling is clean, yet awkward in terms of its back window placement, making the car seem taller than perhaps it should be.

Fiat 8V Berlinetta: Postwar Streamlining

For me, the high point of Italian sports car styling was reached during the early 1950s.  Most famous are the automobiles designed and built by famous coachbuilding firms such as Zagato, Ghia, Pinin Farina and such.  But even Italy's largest automobile mass-producer Fiat got into the act in the form of its 8V version produced 1952-54.  Before World War 2 and for a while after, Fiat was active in racing, especially in events such as the famed Mille Miglia where racing versions of sports cars sped through ordinary streets and roads from Brescia to Brescia over routes that varied over the years that the Mille was run.

The 8V, called by some Web sources a Berlinetta, was an in-house affair, designed and built by Fiat rather than the coachbuilders. Its shape was wind tunnel tested, so to some degree styling considerations had to take second place to aerodynamic efficiency. Nevertheless, I find the design attractive, particularly the original version pictured below.

Gallery

A factory image showing the initial front end design. Later versions had the grille-mounted headlamps repositioned to the fenders in an early version of "quad" headlights. I suspect this was done because the original configuration might have reduced airflow to the radiator, though it's equally possible that the move improved illumination coverage.

Another factory photo, this showing the profile. Rear fender skirts have been removed.

This is the only photo I could find on the Web showing the rear as well as the wheel housing cover (the bulge was probabaly to provide clearance for the knock-off wheel hub).

The weakest part of the design is the rear quarter panel area.  It strikes me as being a little too bulky looking.  Cures might include a crisper fast-back roof profile, a larger back window, side windows extending a little farther towards the rear (though use of flat glass panes probably prevented that) and perhaps making the rear fender line a trifle higher and more rounded.  But such changes would have added a little weight and might have affected aerodynamic efficiency for a car intended to be raced.  So I really can't complain about the design.

Styling Plymouth to Death

The term "badge engineering" is used in automobile circles to refer to car models that are marketed under different brand names, yet are identical save for small details including differing nameplates.  This practice is often found when a manufacturer is running low on money, yet wishes to keep its various brands of cars on the market.

An example is the Plymouth, Chrysler's entry-level brand that saw production for more than 80 years until it was discontinued in 2011.  For many of those years, Plymouth ranked third in sales in the American market.  Unfortunately, beginning in the early 1950s, Chrysler Corporation entered a seemingly never-ending period of boom and bust sales levels.  The long, complicated story is summarized here.

From around the middle of the 1930s through the 1952 model year, all four Chrysler brands (in ascending price class order: Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler) shared the same basic body, differing mostly in grille design, trim and length of hood.  However, the differences were strong enough to make each brand visually distinctive.  For 1953 and continuing into the early 1960s, Chrysler fielded two bodies for its standard size car lines.  DeSoto and Chrysler shared one, while Plymouth and Dodge shared the other.

Chrysler was profitable enough during most of the 1960s that its various brands could share bodies while maintaining distinctive looks, in part due to economies resulting from the elimination of DeSoto in 1961.  But the 1970s were increasingly difficult for Chrysler, and Plymouths and Dodges soon became almost indistinguishable.  Below are some examples of how this played out.  Plymouths are shown in the upper image of each pairing, Dodges below.

Gallery

1953
Even though the basic body was the same, stylists were allowed to create a number of fairly expensive differences.  Examples include the profiles of the rear side windows, trim on the body sides, a rear fender micro-tail fin on the Dodge, and different grille details (though the grille openings seem identical).

1978
Shown here are two compact-car models, the Plymouth Horizon and the Dodge Omni.  Price differences were small, the Dodge's interior trim might have been very slightly ritzier and the exteriors featured different grille bar patterns and placement of side chrome trim.

2000
We are now a model year away from Plymouth's demise.  Above are Neons, Chrysler's compact-car line at the time.  Differences between Plymouth and Dodge are insignificant.  Badge engineering at its finest.

Chrysler 300C: An Unexpected Preview

Some concept cars are intended to test public reaction to various styling ideas.  Others are thinly-disguised versions of cars scheduled for production within the next year or two.  The latter are often easily identifiable and commented upon in car buff magazines.  Readers are left to wonder which features are production-bound and which are camouflage.

It turns out that the show car conceptualizing Chrysler's iconic 2005 300C didn't have a speck of teasing to it.  People at Chrysler probably were mostly interested in exposing the public to a design that would take some getting used to, due the fact that it was a strong break from current Chrysler designs as well as from most other designs on the road.  I certainly thought the 300C was odd-looking when I saw the first photos of it.  Actually, it wasn't until I began seeing 300s on streets and highways that the design began to appeal to me; about a year later, I bought an entry-level 300.

What is odd is that the real disguised "teaser" concept car for the 300C came from Ford, not Chrysler.  Let's take a look.

Gallery

2003 Chrysler 300C Concept Car
The concept 300C is virtually identical to the 2005 production version introduced in 2004.

2001 Dodge Super 8 Hemi Concept Car
This concept car from Dodge contains some hints regarding the future Chrysler 300C design.  Those hints include the general brick-shape of the lower body, the fender shape (forget the grooves on the doors) and the wheel housing treatment.  Inclusion of a 1954-vintange General Motors style wraparound windshield is a cute diversion.

2003 Ford 427 Concept Car
This makes one wonder if Ford and Chrysler stylists were hanging out at the same bar in the early 2000s.  In reality, probably not.  That's because Joseph Baker, the 427's designer, was working at Ford's Irvine California studio, whereas I'm pretty sure that the 300C was styled in Detroit.  But aside from the front and rear ends, the two cars closely resemble one another.  Could the Irvine facility staff have included one or two recently hired stylists from Chrysler?