"Dutch" Darrin's 1940 Packard Convertible Sedan

Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897-1992), as described here, is best known for his custom car body designs, although he also consulted for Kaiser-Frazer post- World War 2.

For the 1940 model year he provided sporty designs for Packard sedans.  This was in addition to his better-known 1937-1942 Packard Darrin convertible coupes.  Today's post presents some images of his 1940 Packard Custom Super Eight One-Eighty Convertible Sedan.  As best I can tell, these are from RM Sotheby's.

Gallery

For context, a 1940 Packard Super Eight One-Sixty Convertible Sedan, Mecum Auctions photo.  This was Packard's factory-sourced convertible sedan that was available on the company's 120 and 160 models, but not the line-topping 180s that were reserved for custom and semi-custom bodies.

Side view a Darrin Convertible Sedan that seems to be based on the long 138-inch (3505 mm) wheelbase -- the car in the previous photo had a 127-inch (3226 mm) wheelbase.  Fenders are stock '40 Packard.  The front door is hinged on the B-pillar, unlike the regular convertible sedan.  No running board on the Darrin.

The top when raised seems lumpy, awkward.

This photo (source unknown) of the same car, shows the top down.

The very front is stock Packard.

The rear had special sheet metal.  The trunk lid might be the same used for Packard coupes.

A nice rear-quarter view.  My reference material has this model's 1940 price as $6,332, and that of the model in the top image as $2,075.

Redesigned 1968 Pontiac GTO

Several decades ago, American automobile makers gave their various models aspirational names related to affluence or lifestyle.  For example, some Chrysler model names were New Yorker and Saratoga, the latter (Saratoga Springs) being a posh horse racing and spa town in upstate New York.  Chevrolet, a mass-market brand, used California names such as Malibu and Bel Air, both upscale, yet casual.

But in the 1960s General Motors' Pontiac brand's image had been transformed from being a solid, reliable, tensportation tool to perfomance-oriented.  Hence model names such as LeMans and Grand Prix.  Also in that mix was the GTO (Wikipedia entry here), the letters standing for Gran Turismo Omologato, an Italian term referring to road racing cars built in more than trivial numbers (that is, being "production" machines, sort of).

The GTO model name first appeared in model year 1964 on performance-enhanced Tempests, Pontiac's mid-size or semi-compact line as a subset of the its already-sporty LeMans type.  That body was redesigned for model year 1968.  This was during the golden years of Bill Mitchell's reign as GM's styling leader.

The 1968 Pontiac GTO coupe is the subject of today's post.  Featured are cars listed for sale on the Internet.

Gallery

First, a walkaround.  Styling is in the mode where the body appears to be puffed out, constrained and shaped by wire forming -- a popular visual device at the time.  The effect was a shape both structured and rounded.  Something of a meeting of opposites that made things interesting when done well.

Graceful in side-view, though via considerable overhang, both front and rear.

The backlight window is concave, a carryover from the classic 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Nice, simple design.  The trunk keyhole becomes a design element.

Because, in part, of the concave backlight, its framing and rear fender extensions are sail panel style, but modestly so.

Virtually no chrome trim and sheet metal sculpting.  The result is very clean, with the window profile providing much of the "ornamentation."

Highlights suggest a touch of "Coke bottle" side shaping.  More on this below.

The grille is the now-traditional Pontiac two-segment feature.  Separation is via a small (to be more emphasized in later years) "nose" that's an extension of hood top shaping.  Those air intakes are functional, not faux.

So-called Coke-bottle or "wasp-waist" plan-view shaping was a brief fashion then.  It seems to have been inspired by the aeronautical "area rule" for shaping of trans-sonic aircraft.  Of course, the reason for its application to airplanes was meaningless in the context of passenger cars.  In this photo (I could not find a true overhead view), there appear to be slight bulges associated with front and rear wheel openings.

The same seems evident in this view as well.

2023 Ferrari Purosangue Sedan

The 2023 Purosangue 4-door sedan is the first Ferrari of that body type (Wikipedia entry here).  Apparently the name is that of the Purosangue Orientale, an Italian horse breed, a kind of gesture to Ferrari's prancing horse symbolism..  The term "purosangue" can be translated as "pure blood" or even "purebred."   Not to mention the ancient Bugatti marketing slogan Le pur-sang des automobiles and the recent use of Pur Sang as the name of a Bugatti Veyron model.

I see from the link that it was styled in-house under the direction of Flavio Manzoni, a man of considerable experience.  And I controversially assert that this design from the Centro Stile Ferrari is better than much of the Ferrari work by Pininfarina, formerly its major design source.

Below are some publicity photos of the Purosangue.

Gallery

The face is fairly clean by today's Rococo standards.  However, the curve linking the headlight housings falls into cliché territory.

The car has an aggressive stance, but that is reasonable, considering its motor cranks out 715 horsepower.  Note the continuation of the above-the-grille sweep onto the body side -- justification for the cliché.

The hot-air outlets by the after edges of the hood are functional, without ornamentation, and blend with body sculpting.  The bold rear fender bulge implies the power focused there.  Rear end shaping is suggestive of SUVs by Maserati, Jaguar, and Alfa Romeo, though the Purosangue is essentially a sedan.

Note the hood, long by today's standards.  I like long hoods, and this one is justified because the motor is a V-12.

An interesting feature is the door hinging, the after door attached to the C-pillar.  That arrangement was common in America for many years, but phased out at the end of the 1940s.  Given the "suicide door" label applied to aft-hinged car doors, I wonder if there was a strong engineering reason for that feature here.

There is one late American example of such door hinging -- on the classic 1961 Lincoln Continental.  It probably didn't diminish it sales potential much, given how attractive the design was.

Changing Bodies in Mid-Usage: 1951-1952 Oldsmobile 98

For decades, Oldsmobile's top-of-the-line model was the 98 (also, Ninety-Eight or Ninety Eight, depending what Marketing was thinking: see Wikipedia entry here).

In the early 1950s, there was an interesting switch when 98s previously based on General Motors C-body platform were then based on B-bodies, this while B- and C-bodies were still in their current production run.  This is best explained with reference to the images in Gallery, below.

In this post, I referenced an article in Special-Interest Autos magazine issue #39 titled "Body Politics" by Richard Howard Stout.  It was fascinating to me because it showed the various length and basic style permutations General Motors was able to attain for its most expensive car models.  But there was one potential problem.  Stout seems to have been dealing with C-body variations, yet he calls them B and C bodies.  His B-body is a shorter one than what he calls the C-body, but they have the same basic structural elements, including the cowling/firewall -- the key item.

That lesser C-body was in production for sedans for only two model years, 1950 and 1951.  Nearly all lesser C-bodies were 1950 models -- 542,000 or so versus around 92,000 (probably not counting hard-to-identify hardtop coups).  After 1951, no sedans were made, even though other C-bodies continued through 1953 before being replaced by the 1954 redesign.

This created a problem for Oldsmobile management some time in 1950 when it became known that GM would phase out smaller C-body production: what to do with the 98 line that was based on the lesser C-body.

One solution would be to use the  main C-body.  But perhaps Buick and Cadillac management strongly preferred to maintain the prestige of Cadillacs and Buick Supers and Roadmasters by being exclusive C-body users.

The alternative chosen by Oldsmobile management was to move 98s to the B-body used by the brand's 88 models.  That required making the 98s distinctive, more prestigious looking than those lesser models.  How this was done is shown below.

Four-door sedans are featured for comparison purposes.  Unless noted, images are of for-sale cars.

Gallery

1950 Oldsmobile 98
This is an Oldsmobile 98 based on the smaller C-body.  That body's passenger compartment greenhouse is different from that used on the larger C-bodies.  Its most useful identification item is the wide C-pillar abaft of the rear door.

1950 Buick Special
Buick Specials used the B-body for model year 1950 only, then moved to the redesigned GM B-body for 1951-53.

1950 Buick Super Tourback Sedan - Mecum auction photo
Here is a Buick using the larger C-body.  It differs in the greenhouse and abaft of the front door.

1951 Oldsmobile 98
Olds' final use of the lesser C-body.  The C-pillar is plated over with a chrome faux- third side window and the backlight window is slightly trimmed in anticipation of the 1952 B-body 98.

1952 Oldsmobile 98 - factory photo
The 98 built on the B-body.  Its wheelbase is 4 inches (10.16 mm) longer than that on Oldsmobile 88s.

1952 Oldsmonbile Super 88 - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
Compared to this Super 88, the 98's added length as entirely abaft of the rear side door, giving it the desired upscale appearance.

1941: Packard's Transition Year From Traditional Styling

Once upon a time, Packard was America's leading luxury brand.  But the Great Depression of the 1930s was cruel to that market segment.  Famous names such as Pierce-Arrow, Duesenberg, Peerless and Marmon disappeared.  Cadillac and Lincoln held on mostly because they were parts of General Motors and Ford Motor Company, respectively.

Packard was an independent carmaker, choosing to weather the storm by introducing mid-price cars beginning in 1935.  This was good because it preserved the brand for another 23 years, but bad because it cheapened the marque's luxury image.  Controversy over this move continues amongst Packard fans to this day.

So far as styling is concerned, Packard began to experience strain in the late '30s due to grille design fashions changing from vertical orientation to horizontal.  Packards had vertical grilles with distinctive trim and sculpting that carried over onto hoods.  That was an important recognition and selling point, yet defying fashion can lead to the buying public to regard the brand as being out-of-date.

Today's post deals with the 1941 model year where Packard made serious (within a limited budget) changes to the car's front ends as well as window and trunk profiles.

Context is added by showing comparable General Motors cars.  GM was the market and styling leader in those days, having a substantially larger production tooling and metal stamping budget than Packard.  That was what Packard was up against and somehow had to deal with.

Unless noted, photos are of for-sale cars.

Gallery

1941 Packard 120
An example of 1941 Packard styling.  The general impression is that it's old-fashioned.  Yet Packard made a serious effort to modernize its details while at the same time readying a new body design.

1939 Buick Special
Buick's passenger compartment greenhouse has a flatter roof and airy windows, a crisper appearance than Packard, whose body was more rounded, more 1936 or 1937.  Note the Buick's detached headlight housings.  This was old-fashioned in 1939 compared to Ford and Chrysler Corporation designs that had headlights integrated into the front fenders.  (That probably helped Packard: see the '39 Packard below.)  But the grille here is more horizontal than vertical, in keeping with the industry trend.

1940 LaSalle
LaSalle, like Packard, had a vertical grille theme that GM elected to retain.  Air intakes on with side to the vertical element provided a horizontal touch.  GM cars' headlights are now mostly faired into the fenders.

1941 Buick Century
Headlights are now part of an integrated fender ensemble.  General Motors' 1941 stying was outstanding for its time. 

1939 Packard Eight - Mecum Auctions photo
Now for Packard, 1939 through 1941.  Packards got new bodies for 1938.  Unfortunately, the rounded greenhouse style was about to be abandoned by GM and Chrysler, giving Packard a dated feeling in 1939.  Note the traditional Packard grille-hood theme.  At least the headlight assemblies are similar to what was found on 1939 GM cars.

1940 Packard 160
Very little change for 1940, making Packards old-fashioned compared to competing brands.  Dedicated Packard buyers still liked the Packard appearance, fortunately.

1941 Packard 120 - Auctions America photo
For 1941, Packard created a facelift that partly modernized the design.  Front fenders were restyled so as to blend into the hood.  Headlights were buried in the fenders, in line with 1941 fashion.

1940 Packard 160
Other changes had to do with window and trunk profiles.  Compare to the car in the following image.

1941 Packard 110
The front fender profile was also changed to the GM "suitcase" style.  The trunk is less bulged, better integrated, but likely having less carrying capacity.  Window profiles have tighter-radius curves, giving the greenhouse a crisper, more modern appearance.  1941 Hudsons looked similar.

1941 Packard Clipper
The most important event for Packard was the mid- model year introduction of a completely new design: the classic Packard Clipper.  Packards were no longer old-fashioned.

Three Generations of C-body Buick Fastbacks

Today's post is a slightly expanded treatment of this post that dealt with Buick fastbacks.

The three generations mentioned in the title above were model years 1941-1948, 1949 only, and 1950-1951, when classic GM fastback production ended for Buick.  I wrote about General Motors' 1942 C-bodies here.

The images below are left-side views of some C-body Buick fastbacks (called "Sedanets" if they were 2-door models) from each of those generations.  The first two generations were Sedanets only, but final-generation fastbacks included four-door models.

GM's fastback designs were generally quite attractive, and sold well at first because there was a fashion for "streamlining" (often more in appearance than aerodynamically), and fastback cars looked more streamlined than their bustle-back kin.  However, fastback designs in those days had the roof curve dropping down to rear bumper level, not leaving as much space for luggage as bustle-backs had.  So the latter, more practical, body style won out, and fastback sales faded away.

Gallery

1942 Buick Roadmaster Sedanet - Mecum auction photo
The Roadmaster was the top Buick line.  Besides the fastback, this car's front fenderline extended back to touch the rear fender, a futuristic feature in those days.

1949 Buick Roadmaster Sedanet - Mecum
C-body Buicks for 1949 were attractive cars, the fastback curve being particularly well-sculpted.  (GM design boss Harley Earl is credited with having an excellent "eye" for such things, and it shows here.)

1949 Buick Super Sedanet - unknown photo source
The Super was the next line down from Roadmaster.  Its wheelbase was 121 inches (3073 mm), the Roadmaster's was 126 inches (3200 mm).  The difference in length is forward of the cowling, as can be noted by the amount of sheet metal between the front wheel opening and the leading cutline of the door.

1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedan - for sale photo
For model year 1950 only, Buick's entry-level Special line was built on the C platform (they were awaiting the redesigned 1951 B-body, and the previous B-body design was passé).  Shown here is a four-door version.

1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet - Mecum
Side view of the two-door design.

1951 Buick Super Sedanet - for sale
Senior level Buick Supers and Roadmasters did not have the four-door "Jetback" -- only Sedanets.  The Super Jetback had the same wheelbase as Specials.

1950 Buick Roadmaster Jetback Sedanet - for sale
Only around 2,70 Roadmaster Sedanets were made for the 1950 model year, so the car pictured here is a very rare survivor (which is why I could find only this opposite-direction side view).  Its wheelbase was 125.3 inches (3183 mm) compared to the Special/Super wheelbase of 121.5 inches (3038 mm).  Again, the difference is forward of the cowling.

Bernd Reuters' 1931 Streamliner Design

Bernd Reuters (1901-1958) was one of the best-known automobile illustrators of his day.  Today he's probably most remembered for his catalog images for Volkswagen that I wrote about here.

Reuters also wrote and illustrated articles for German magazines.  One such article dealt with streamlining, an automobile design matter that was gaining increasing attention by the early 1930s.  A recent book devoted to him ("Bernd Reuters - Wegbereiter der modernen Automobil-Werbegrafik" by Werner Schollenberger, Karren Publishing, 2021) cited that article and included two illustration he made for it.

One of those illuatrations was a profile view of his design.  It struck me as being similar to the 1935 C28 Aérosport design by Voisin.  The comparison is in the Gallery, below.

Gallery

Bernd Reuters' streamliner design dated 1931 that appeared in Sport im Bild (Sport in Pictures) magazine.  In the background is a shadow image of a conventional contemporary car.  The images are scaled so as to have the same wheelbase.

The closest comparison to Reuters' design is this 1935 Voisin C28 Aérosport - RM Sotheby's photo.  Was Gabriel Voisin aware of Reuters' design?

Also somewhat similar in feeling is the 1934-35 Voisin C28 Aérodyne -- unknown image source.

Another 1934-35 Voisin C28 Aérodyne -- seen at Pebble Beach, unknown image source.  These are four-door cars, as is Reuters' concept.