First-Generation American Panoramic Windshields

General Motors usually set the styling theme pace for American carmakers from the late 1920s through the 1960s.  Of course there were exceptions.  Other firms sometimes introduced features before GM -- an example is placing headlights in front fenders.  And GM sometimes designed cars that didn't sell well -- the late 1950s, for example.

One styling feature that briefly dominated American design was the panoramic (or "wraparound" as we usually termed it in those days) windshield.  It was a pet project of GM's design supremo Harley Earl.  They first appeared 1950-51 on the LeSabre and XP-300 "dream cars."  Model year 1953 saw them on Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Fiesta convertibles.  And for 1954, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs were redesigned with panoramic windshields.

Model year 1955 saw most models from the other carmakers sporting such windshields, although it took until 1956 for a few other brands to catch up.  Some models such as Studebaker coupes and Nash Metropolitans never went panoramic.

Not all brands from each manufacturer are shown below.  Only examples of each new windshield design are presented in the interest of keeping this post from becoming too long.  The only major omission is the 1956 Lincoln whose windshield was similar to other vertical A-pillar designs.

Gallery

1954 Cadillac Coupe de Ville - BaT Auctions photos
Here is GM's C-body version.

Windshield is tall and framed by A-pillars that are essentially vertical.

1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 - RM Sotheby's photos
GM B-body windshield.

Also tall, but the A-pillar slants forward.

1955 Chevrolet Bel Air - car-for-sale photos
C-body cars were redesigned for 1955.

A-pillars are essentially vertical, a common solution.

1955 Ford Customline - car-for-sale photos
Fords were massively facelifted for 1955.  Roofs were flatter and windshields became panoramic, but not as high as the GM versions.

Again, a vertical A-pillar.

1957 Continental Mark II - car-for-sale photos
The Mark II appeared for model year 1956.  Its panoramic windshield is unlike the others shown here.  It does not intrude into the roofline.

A-pillars slant to the rear.

1955 DeSoto Firedome - Barrett-Jackson photos
Windshields used for Chryslers and DeSotos.  Not as tall as General Motor's versions.

The main difference was the aft-slanting A-pillar.  Same sort of pillar as before, but anchored farther aft.  This gave Chrysler cars a more conventional appearance and seems to have reduced or eliminated the distortion found on GM cars.  In 1956 my father test-drove Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets, experiencing annoying distortion.  So he bought a DeSoto instead.

1955 Dodge Coronet - GAA Auction photos
The panoramic on CHhysler Corporation's entry brands.  Its upper frame is aligned with the upper side window framing.

Another aft-slanting A-pillar.

1955 Packard 400 - Daniel Schmitt photos
Packard's strong '55 facelift included a panoramic windshield.

It's pretty much like the GM vertical A-pillar designs.

1955 Studebaker Champion - car-for-sale photos
Studebaker added panoramics partway in to the 1955 model year.

Similar to Chrysler's solution.

1955 Nash Ambassador - photo via Hemmings
Another facelift, but not as strong as Ford's or Packard's -- changes were at the front end, plus the windshield.

1955 Nash Ambassador - car-for-sale photo
Again, a largely vertical A-pillar

1956 Nash Rambler - car-for-sale photos
Rambler was redesigned for 1956, so its panoramic windshield was probably intrinsic to the styling.

From this photo, the pillar is vertical.  But back in the day, I always felt that the A-pillar tilted slightly aft.

"Breezeway" Mercurys of the 1950s and 1960s

A late-1950s - mid-1960s concept that reached production, yet did not become an American car industry fad such a tail fins and panoramic windshields, was the retractible backlight window.  This yielded what folks nowadays call "Breezeway" passenger compartments.  The idea being that air admitted from windshield area intake vents or "ventipane" windows would exit through a backlight zone at the rear.  The result would be a breeze from front to rear of the compartment.

Wikipedia's Breezeway entry is here.

I wonder how this worked when a breezeway car was at highway speed and the backlight window was rolled down.  Perhaps air turbulence aft of the top edge of the roof might be overwhelm the breeze flow and impact back seat passengers.  Let me know in a Comment whether that was the case.

The first Mercury Breezeways (model years 1957-58) were called Turnpike Cruisers, retaining some features from a concept car of the same name.   I wrote about the 1956 XM Turnpike Cruiser concept car here.  More Turnpike Cruiser background is here.

As noted in the Gallery, there were Breezeway Lincolns in the late 1950s.  Mercury reintroduced Breezeways on some models 1963-66, and some '63 versions are pictured.

Gallery

1953 Packard Balboa concept car - Packard photo
An early American breezeway design was this Packard concept car.  Note the slanted backlight window.  It was designed to roll down, but the mechanisms were never installed.

1956 Mercury XM Turnpike Cruiser concept car - Mercury photo
The concept Turnpike Cruiser.  The center section of the backlight was flat glass that was not retractible, alhough in theory a production version might have included that feature.  The XM's passenger compartment greenhouse extended over the trunk, and the spare tire was positioned centered below the aft edge of the greenhouse.  Since it certainly looks like the center window pane could have been retractible by reconfiguring the trunk, I'll call this an "honorary" Breezeway design.

1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III - car-for-sale photo
A rolled-down Breezeway window on a 1958 Lincoln.  Only Continental Marks III-IV (1958-60) had breezeways.  Total production was around 34,000, much less than Mercury versions.

1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser hardtop sedan - Mecum Auctions photos
Most production Breezeways were Mercurys.  Intake vents are atop the windshield.  Side window ventipanes also admitted air streams.

Again, the Breezeway window is retracted.

1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser hardtop coupe - car-for-sale photo
Mercury also made two-door Breezeway cars.

1963 Mercury Monterey Custom hardtop coupe - car-for-sale photos
Breezeways were reintroduced on some 1963 Mercurys.  This is a top-of-the-line version.

Rear quarter view showing the window arrangement.

1963 Mercury Monterey Custom hardtop sedan - Mercury publicity photo
The sedan hardtop's rear doors had small triangular upward extensions on the aft beltline.

1963 Mercury Monterey Custom 4-door sedan - car-for-sale photo
All Breezeway Mercury's and Lincolns had wide, V'd C-pillars.

Impressive 1937 Packard Super 8 Convertible Coupe

I live next to an arty town located around 60 miles (100 km) north of Seattle.  It attracts many visitors, some arriving in interesting automobiles.  Recently, while on my morning walk, a 1930s convertible passed us, but all I glimpsed was its rear end.  Fortunately, it pulled into a parking lot a few blocks ahead, and I was able to photograph it using my trusty iPhone.

A bit of research revealed that it was a Packard Super Eight convertible coupe from 1937.   In those days,  Super Eights had inline eight cylinder motors, and ranked right below V-12s in the Packard model hierarchy.  Its model designation was 1018, wheelbase 134 inches (3404 mm), and list price $2680.

The price was about four times as much as that of a '37 Ford DeLuxe convertible coupe.  Moreover, there was no 1937 convertible coupe with a comparable price aside from the non-supercharged Cord 812, listed at $2595 (a 1936 version's pictured below).  The Cadillac 70 convertible coupe for 1937 listed for $3005, while the 1936 version was $2695.  So that seems to have been the Packard's nearest competition.

Production of 1937 Super Eights totaled 1,828.  Given that there were 14 Super Eight models, including sedans that probably were the most popular, I doubt that convertible coupe production exceeded 200 cars.  (1937 Buick Century and Roadmaster convertible coupes amounted to less than ten percent of those series' cars, so there might have been only 125-150 Super Eight convertibles made.)

Gallery

1937 Packard Super Eight Convertible Coupe - D.B. Pittenger photos

The grille design is classic Packard.  The red hexagons on the bumper guards indicate that it's a 1937 model.

Atop the grille is what seems to be a radiator cap.  Atop it would normally be a "mascot" decorative sculpture.  I suppose the owner wisely keeps his locked up unless the car is on display at a show.

This car has a rumble seat  - "dickey" seat in the UK.  Note the two steps leading to it.

The car is impressively large and solid.  Note the door to a golf club compartment between the side door and rear fender.

The other side.  That's my wife taking in the grand scene.

1936 Cadillac 70 Fleetwood Convertible Coupe - Mecum Auctions photos
I couldn't find a photo of a 1937 Cadillac 70 convertible, so this '36 model with the same basic body will have to do.  Wheelbase is 131 inches (3327 mm).

More rounded than the Packard, so I assume it seemed a little more "modern" to car buyers at the time.

1937 Cadillac 60 Convertible Coupe - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo
A lesser, shorter Cadillac, showing '37 styling touches.

1936 Cord 810 Cabriolet - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo
Having front-wheel-drive, rare in the USA in those days, the sportier Cord was not really in competition with the aristocratic Packard.  Wheelbase is 125 inches (3175 mm), 9 inches (229 mm) shorter that the Packard.  But, as noted, the price was nearly the same.

Packard Caribbean Convertible Evolution

For model years 1953-1956 Packard marketed an upscale line of convertible coupes named Caribbean.  I wrote about the 1953 Caribbean here.

Caribbeans did not sell in large numbers because Packard limited production: 750 cars for 1953, 400 for 1954, 500 for 1955, and 276 convertibles for 1956 (that year there was a hardtop coupe version, 263 built).

Surviving Caribbeans can yield decent prices when auctioned.

Examples from each model year are compared below.

Gallery

1953 Packard Caribbean - Mecum Auctions photos
Aside from the hood airscoop, frontal styling is the same as upscale Packard Cavaliers and Patricians, as well as Convertibles.

1954 Packard Caribbean - Mecum
The two most important styling changes for 1954 were the reshaping to the rear wheel opening and the addition of the chrome strip above it that serves as a two-tone paint boundary (see examples below).

1955 Packard Caribbean - Mecum
Packards were heavily facelifted for 1955 (note the wraparound windshield) and received mechanical upgrades (the inline 8-cylinder motors were replaced by V8s).  Again, the main frontal difference from standard Packards is the hood air intakes. 

1956 Packard Caribbean - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo
Chrome décor added to the hood air intakes and mesh screen added to the grille opening.

1953 Packard Caribbean - Mecum
I agree with many other observers that the '53 Caribbean is the most attractive of the lot.  A nice, useful touch is the chrome strip on the beltline that widens to accent the transition to the rear fender.  Also, it reverse-echoes the traditions pen-nib feature found on hoods and fender sides at various times.  On the other hand, I see no aesthetic gain on the part of the exposed spare tire at the rear  That was a 1950s American styling/marketing fad.

1954 Packard Caribbean - Bat Auctions photo
That two-tone paint scheme was not an improvement over the 1953 design.

1955 Packard Caribbean - Mecum
Front and rear ends lean outwards to enhance visual length.  An impressive design from a marketing point of view.

1956 Packard Caribbean - Bonhams Auctions
The two- or three-tone paint scheme transforms the Caribbean from a sporty look to the appearance of a luxury convertible.  Which it is.

1953 Packard Caribbean - BaT Auctions photo
I suppose the spare tire adds interest to the rear end.  And I wonder what else might have been used to that effect.

1954 Packard Caribbean - BaT Auctions
More of that unfortunate two-tone scheme.  Even on the spare tire cover, in this instance.

1955 Packard Caribbean - Barrett-Jackson Auctions photo
The spare tire is now located in the trunk.  Rear end styling is the same as on other Packards.

1956 Packard Caribbean - Driehaus Collection photo
That large V on the trunk lid is a visual cliché not needed on a luxury car.