1941 Pontiac: Three Body Platforms, One Styling Theme

By 1940, General Motors had rationalized its system of car body platforms down to three: the A-body, the B-body, and the C-body, in roughly increasing order of size and prestige.  By the early 1950s, most GM brands used only one or perhaps two or those platforms.  But for the 1941 model year, for example, some brands used all three platforms.  That included Pontiac, the subject of this post.

GM's C-body was redesigned for the 1940 model year.  A- and B-bodies were redesigned for 1941.  That meant that they were essentially of the same design generation: none seemed old-fashioned or out-of-place.

So what did Pontiac's managers and stylists do to retain brand identification across those three body platforms?

Let's turn to the Gallery below.  Unless noted, images below are of for-sale cars.

Gallery

1941 Pontiac Custom Torpedo Coupe
Top-of-the-line coupe.  Pontiac brand identification cues include the Silver Streaks on the hood and the echoing ridges on the sides of the fenders.  Also, all Pontiacs shared the same grille design.  Below, four-door sedans from each body type are compared in side-view.

1941 Pontiac De Luxe Torpedo Four-Door Sedan
Here is the new A-body.  Four-door sedans had six-window passenger compartment greenhouses and notch-back trunks.

1941 Pontiac Streamliner Torpedo Four-Door Sedan - photo via Hemings
The new for 'GM 41 B-body sedans were all fastbacks.  Four-door sedans were six-window.  The carryover identification features are the fenders with those ridges/grooves.  The front fender appears to be the same as that of the A-body, above.  But the rear fender is slightly longer.  The hood cutline differs.

1941 Pontiac Custom Torpedo Four-Door Sedan
The C-body Pontiac sedan's front fender and hood cutline seem to be the same as those on the A-body.  Ditto the rear fender.  GM's C-body four-door sedans were four-window types and the trunk areas were bustlebacks, like A-body cars.