1949 Mercury Coupe Walkaround

For me and others, the 1949 Mecury was the most memorable pure design by Ford's head stylist E.T."Bob" Gregorie (1908-2002), Wikipedia entry here.  Gregorie was also responsible for the design of the classic 1939 Lincoln Continental, but that was a modification of the '39 Lincoln-Zephyr design and not a design from scratch.

I discussd the 1949-1951 Mercury series in terms of its final facelift here.

The 1949 Mercury Coupe was not squared-off like the 1949 Chrysler Corporation line.  Nor was it bulbous like contemporary Kaisers or 1949 Nashes.  Instead, it had a somewhat nautical appearance thanks to its stepped-down fenderline.  This might be understood given that Gregorie had a background in naval architecture.

Nineteen forty-nine Mercurys are rare in their original guise because many were given customized modifications ranging from backyard jobs to work by well-known body shops in California and elsewhere.  And coupes were probably more subjected to that treatment than were four-foor sedans.  For that reason, I was pleased to discover the Worldwide Auctioneers images presented below for your study and enjoyment.

Gallery

This frontal view reveals the high, rounded roof, a feature less obvious when the car is seen from other perspectives.  It was all that Ford sheetmetal shaping technology was capable of in those days.

The roof rounding is also fairly obvious in this photo.  In comparison, the front of the car seems somewhat pinched in part because of the 'floating" grille.

The side view is nice, given the context of what production metal-shaping was capable of in those days.  That is, we might prefer a thinner roof and a slightly larger rear quarter window.  The hood is fairly long even though it houses a somewhat stubby V8 motor.  And that Gregory fenderline!  Absent that, the car would have been rather slab-sided like contemporaries such as Kaiser-Frazer, Nash and Packard.

Production automobile glass forming in the late 1940s forced Gregorie to use a segmented backlight window design.  Brightwork is placed low, presumably in an effort to draw eyes downward and have the car seem lower.

This rear quarter view shows how the roofline, trunk lid and stepped fenderline all fall off towards the car's rear -- consistent theme.

That falling-off is emphasized in part by its contrast to the horizontal hood line and the aggressive prow profile.  For once, the covered rear wheel opening is an asset to the design theme.

Like the previous front quarter view, the front seems a bit pinched compared to the bulk of the rest of the design.
All that said, the 1949 Mercury Coupe is a fine example of automobile styling.