Morris' 1948 Postwar Line - Updated with Side-Views

In 2019 I posted "Morris 1948 Badge Engineering -- And More!" but did not include my preferred use of profile views to illustrate my points.  Today's post attempts to correct that deficiency.

The October 1948 Earl's Court automobile show's exhibits included a new set of cars from Morris Motors.  These were the entry-level Morris Minor, the larger Morris Oxford, the six-cylinder Morris Six, along with two cars from Morris' Wolseley brand, the Four-Fifty (4/50) and Six-Eighty (6/80).

Although these models differed in size and engineering details, the latter four just mentioned shared much bodywork, and even the Morris Minor shared some of it.  More on this in the captions below.

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1949c. Morris Minor 2-door saloon - photo via Classic and Sports Car
The Morris Minor was a two-door model until 1950, when a four-door version (shown next) was offered.  Its wheelbase was 86 inches (2184 mm).

1952 Morris Minor Series II 4-door saloon - car-for sale photo
The front fender design seen here was also on Morris Minors starting during 1950 due to American regulations regarding headlight height.  The body profile is the same as the 2-door's, as is the window profile.  The main structural difference besides the additional door is that the front door is narrower here.

1953 Morris Oxford - photo via Simon cars
Wheelbase was 97 inches (2464 mm).  Longer wheelbase, longer car, but the body and window profiles are quite similar to that of the Oxford.  So are the rear fenders and trunk (boot) lid shapes, though these too are not exactly the same.  The front fender is different.  The body structures in the area of the cowling seems the same.  The similarities mentioned here make me wonder if some sheet metal and other structural stampings were either used outright or were adjusted.  Otherwise, what was the point of having such similarity in the designs other than the important consideration of manufacturing economy?

1951 Wolseley 4/50 - car-for sale photo
The wheelbase here was 102 inches (2591 mm).  Added length seems to be forward of the A-pillar and for wider doors.  The front fender design differs from the Oxford.  So does the hood (bonnet).  Otherwise, the cars are similar.

1950 Morris Six - Anglia Car Auctions photo
Wheelbase is 110 inches (2591 mm).  Added length is forwards of the cowling.  The rear window detailing on the car pictured here is not standard -- the vent window should be the same as that shown in the previous image.

1948 Wolseley 6/80 - unknown photo source
Wheelbase and basic body are the same as for the Morris Six.  The main difference is the grille.

Bugatti Type 57 "Galibier" Berline, 1934-1939

Thanks to World War 2, Bugatti's efforts to replace 1934+ Type 57 models were put on hold.  Patron Ettore Bugatti died in 1947.  Post-war efforts to productionize Type 57 replacements failed.   Even if they had been partly successful, government efforts to restructure the French automoble industry helped the demise of firms making upscale cars.

Type 57 Bugattis came in four body types: (1) conduite intèrieur or Berline -- 4-door sedans; (2) "coach" -- 2-door sedans; (3) cabriolet -- convertible coupe; and (4) coupé.  These were marketed under the respective names "Galibier," "Ventoux," "Stelvio," and "Atalante."  Some background on Galibiers is here.

Galibiers and Ventouxs were made by Bugatti, some custom body examples excepted.  Bugatti-designed Stelvio bodies were sub-contracted to nearby coachbuilding firm Gangloff Frères.  Atalantes appeared in 1936 and apparently were Bugatti-built, aside from the usual buyer option for ordering a custom body.

In the Gallery below are examples of Type 57 Galibiers for each year of their main production run that lasted from late 1933 to perhaps early 1940.

Unless identified, images below are from photo sources unknown to me.

Gallery

1934 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier - via RM Sotheby's Auctions
The Type 57 was introduced in October, 1933 at the annual Salon de l'Automobile de Paris.  Earliest versions had exterior door handles for both front and rear doors, but that detail was soon changed, as this photo indicates.

1935 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier - via Tous les voitures Françaises 1935
Included in this scan is the the Ventoux, or "coach" Type 57 variant.

1936 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier - via Artcurial Auctions

1937 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier - via Gooding Auctions
This sorry looking car is the only true 1937 Galibier I could locate.

1937 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier
This is an interesting design, but I am having serious trouble dealing with it.  In the authoritative Tous les voitures françaises 1937 by René Bellu, page 16, this photo is captioned La berline Galibier sortie au cours de l'anée 1937.  On the other hand, it is illustrated as the Galibier in Bugatti's 1938 Type 57 brochure.  But note that it shares the hood-side air vent design as the 1937 car in the previous image.  Moreover, it's the only photo of this car that I could find.

1938 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier
This 1938 Galibier has a slightly different body than the supposed 1938 Galibier in the brochure just noted.  For example, rear window profiles differ, and include segmented glass (the previous image suggests no or partial window glass).  That car was most likely a prototype, the one shown here, a production car.

1938 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier - via Tous les voitures françaises 1938
Another production 1938 Galibier.

1939 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier
Basic 1939 Galibiers had headlights blended into the catwalks, as seen here.  However, customers could and did order conventional, freestanding headlights.

1954 Chrysler-Ghia GS-1 Low-Production Car

Chrysler Corporation sponsored several Italian-style concept cars designed by Vigil Exner in the early 1950s.  They were built by Carrozzeria Ghia.  A few of these designs became low-production models built by Ghia.  Among them was today's subject, the 1954-vintage GS-1 coupe.

The GS-1s ancestry began with the Exner-designed 1952 Chrysler SS (Styling Special), pictured in the factory image below.

It was built on a shortened chassis.   Chrysler Export Division president C.B. Thomas was so taken by the design that he ordered a version based on a '53 Chrysler New Yorker chassis with a notchback, rather than a fastback design.

The car pictured above is not Thomas' but one of about a dozen other Chrysler Specials by Ghia intended for sale in Europe.  I have no information as to the designer.  Given its Eurocentric origins, I'm inclined to think that Ghia was responsible, as they were obviously capable, and probably got Chrysler Corporation's approval.

The design was modified for Ghia's 1954 Chrysler New Yorker based GS-1 (probably fewer than a dozen made).  RM Sotheby's auctioned one of the early ones.  Its web page writeup here included the following:

"Chrysler’s Export Division had two 1954 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe chassis, each with a 125.5-inch wheelbase frame, a 235-horsepower Hemi V-8, and a PowerFlite automatic transmission, and they were delivered to Ghia to be bodied with variants of the Special design.  These two cars were distinguished from other Ghia Specials by their four-passenger interiors and flat exhaust tips, and they borrowed numerous Chrysler parts throughout, including the bumpers, taillights, steering wheel, dashboard gauges, and even the sexy wire wheels, which were a dealer accessory on Grandma’s Chrysler.  These two GS-1 Specials are believed to have been used by Chrysler for its own promotional purposes on the European continent, including the Turin show of 1954."

Below are an image of the GS-1 in preparation for the 1953 Paris automobile show, along with three images of the GS-1 auctioned by RM Sotheby's.

Again, I could find no solid information as to the designer.  Note that Export Diviion provided New Yorkers to Ghia for customization. That can explain why GS-1s included stock bumpers, taillight assenblies and such.  Easy Chrysler touches without any special effort from Exner's staff in Detroit.  So once more, I'm included to favor Ghia as the design source.

Below are photos from Hyman, Ltd. of a 1953 Chrysler Special and a 1954 GS-1 that they had for sale.

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The 1953 Chrysler Special.

The 1954 GS-1.  Differences visible here include the stock bumper, the rocker panel chrome strips and the  altered fender design.  The fender sculpting is an echo of that on the 1952 Chrysler Parade Phaetons as well as that found on the 1953 Chrysler d'elegance show car built by Ghia.

Rear quarter views.

Production 1954 Chrysler items include the bumper, tail light assemblies, and a variation on the symbol on the trunk.  Note that the rear end is basically like the 1953 version, unlike the rear end picured for RM Sotherby's auction.

Finally, a semi-walkaround of a GS-1 auctioned by Bonhams.  The grille is similar to that on the RM Sotheby's car, though lacking the golden horizontal bars.  These are placed over the vertical bars as seen on the blue Hyman car above.

This shows the revised fenderline better.  As often the case, details get busy around C-pillar's location.

Borrowed 1954 Chrysler details can be found here.

Rear view of a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker (via Mecum Auctions).  The Chrysler name in script on the panel below the trunk lid seems to be the same as seen on get trunk lid of the GS-1 in the previous photo.  Other carryovers are the bumper, taillight assemblies and the V on the trunk lid.

2004 Pontiac Grand Prix Walkaround

Back in 2005 I briefly considered buying a Pontiac Grand Prix, but thought it was too similar to the Oldsmobile Intrigue I was driving.  So I bought a Chrysler 300 instead.

Still, the 2004-generation Grand Prix was attractive, as I noted in my post "The Rise and Long Decline of Pontiac's Grand Prix."

In particular, I liked its front end sculpting.   I wrote "Subtle Sculpting on the 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix," and followed up that post with "More on 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix Hood Sculpting" here.

That latter post featured a car with an orange-gold matte finish that I assumed was a post-production custom paint job.  I was wrong.  It seems that it was Sunburst Orange Metallic paint provided by the factory.   The featured car below has that paint scheme.

The photo at the top of this post is of a car listed for sale.  Images below are via BaT Auctions.

Gallery

Note how the hood sculpting blends into the two-segment grille.  Headlight assemblies' upper curves (plus some sculpting on their indentations) echo the theme.  But the fog (?)  lights at the lower corners are totally different.  That works aesthetically because they are remote from the sculpting just noted.   Very nice designing.

Front quarter view: also very nice.

Side character sculpting is aligned with the bumper zone cut line: professional.  Also good is that those folds are distant from the front end, so not interference.

Front fender ends at the A-pillar, while the rear fender emerges slightly forward of the B-pillar: subtle.

Rear bumper cut line does not align with anything on the car's side -- a minor defect, but structurally probably necessary.

Sculpted metal extensions of the tail light sculpting is interesting, but add a touch of clutter.

This is probably the least-attractive view of the design.

Lower body is wedge-like.  This is counteracted by the long downward curve of the roofline towards the rear.

The round fog light and its nesting seen from another perspective.

All told, one of General Motors' best designs of the 2000-2010 period.

Dashboard/instrument panel is fussy.

More About 1939 Chrysler Front End Styling

For many years, cars' motors have usually been placed well forward, over the front axle line.  But in the years leading up to the mid-1930s, it was the radiator that sat close to the axle.  By 1940, American practice was for the radiator to be mounted slightly in front of the axle line and the motor placed slightly over it or just behind it.

I happen to have a soft spot for post-1933 "streamlined" designs where the fender fronts are forward of the front of the hood.  That's probably because in my teens I became enamored of the 1936-37 Cord design.

Which is why I posted "Chrysler's Intriguing 1939 Front End Styling."  I wrote:

"What interests me regarding 1939 Chrysler front ends is that the hood is set back a short distance from the very front of the car.  Far enough aft so that the hood and remainder of the car becomes one element and the front fenders and a connecting surface containing the main grille opening comprise a separate element."

That was in 2015.  Thanks to ever-expanding Internet content, I recently came across a set of photos that better illustrate those '39 Chrysler front ends.  Some of those images are presented below.

The subject car is a 1939 Chrysler Royal two-door listed for sale.  I characterize it as a Brougham, the most-produced 2-door sedan-like Royals for that year.  However, some Chrysler promotion material mentions such a car as a sedan.  The 2002 "Encyclopedia of American Cars" lists a Victoria Coupe (4-passenger, very low production) and a 5-passenger Brougham, 4,838 produced.  No mention of a 2-door sedan.

Those are incidental, "housekeeping" matters.  let's turn to the images.

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1939 Chrysler Imperial - car-for-sale photo
Establishment photo.  I used it in the linked post.

1936 Cord 810 Westchester - Hyman, Ltd. photo
The classic Cord design.  Unusual in those days, Cord had a front-wheel drive train forward of the V-8 engine, with the radiator placed on the axle line.  Some mechanical bits are forward of the axle, covered by the sculpted sheetmetal seen behind the bumper.  Those bulbous fenders help project the car forward of the axle line which is located slightly aft of the front of the hood in this photo.

1939 DeSoto 4-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
This DeSoto has the same wheelbase as the Chrysler Royal, the brands sharing the same body sets.  Here the frontal placement of fenders, hood front and grille are conventional for that model year.  Clearly, frontal Chrysler styling was intentionally different.  Model year 1940 saw redesigned bodies for Chrysler Corporation cars, and Chrysler front ends became conventional.

1939 Chrysler Royal Brogham - car-for-sale photo set
This overhead view shows the relationship of the hood, fenders, catwalks and bumper -- the key elements.   The grille opening is mostly in front of the prow of the hood.

From this angle, we see that the grille/catwalk zone does not actually extend very far forwards of the prow.  And all of this is well ahead of the axle line.

This "all-open" photo shows where the motor is located -- abaft of the axle line.

Side view, somewhat distorted thanks to a wide-angle lens.

Close-up view of the frontal design.