Grille "Whiskers" on 1937-1938 Hoods

While there is no doubt that automobile styling has a considerable fad/fashion component, often styling fashions are influenced by what is technically available at the time.

Consider the late 1930s American situation.  The Great Depression of the '30s stimulated visual innovation as a means of attracting buyers.  Then there was the concept of "streamlining" -- actual or simulated improved aerodynamic efficiency of body shapes.  This interacted with improvements in sheet metal stamping technology so that rounded body surfaces could be mass-produced.  So American cars of that era tended to have rounded, sometimes lumpy appearances.

Once a production body shape was established, stylists then had to come up with largely decorative items such as grille shapes and details.  Often, such details were similar for competing brands (as is true today).

Today's post deals with what I consider a curious trim similarity found on cars from five different companies for the 1937 model year.  Then for 1938, two more companies' cars used the same idea.

Especially interesting, there was no 1936 American car with that feature.  A quick look at '36 French designs revealed the same thing, though I can't rule out an example from another country or a custom body that might have inspired it.  

From what I've read about the American car industry, a source of that similarity might have been stylists changing jobs and passing along information.  Or it might have been information leaked by parts suppliers.

And it's quite possible that the idea occurred because the 1936 fad for "fencer's mask grilles" led some stylists to the idea that such grilles could be closely linked to the nearby hood sides.

Let's take a look.

Gallery

1937 Studebaker President - Hyman, Ltd photo
Here the chrome strips along the side of the hood overlap the top of the grille itself.  Visually, this is the sort of thing I was discussing above, even though the streaks are not strictly grille bar extensions.

1937 Chrysler Royal - car-for-sale photo
Again, the grille itself isn't quite involved, though the visual concept is there.

1937 DeSoto - car-for-sale photo
DeSoto's hood streaks do seem to be grille bar extensions.  However, the top of the actual grille opening is probably around the "O" of the "DESOTO" on the vertical grille divider.

1938 DeSoto - Barrett-Jackson Auctions photo
DeSoto the following model year.

1937 Pontiac DeLuxe - Barrett-Jackson
A bit hard to see in this photo, but streaks extend from the grille bar zone.

1937 Willys - publicity photo
A small car with small grille-hood streaks.

1937 Nash Ambassador Eight - car-for-sale photo
A borderline case.  The upper grille framing is extended along the hood, but not as chrome strips.

1938 Graham 96 - Shannon's Melbourne Auctions photo
For 1938, we see those streaks on the redesigned Graham.

1938 Ford Standard Tudor - Mecum Auctions photo
Also on the entry-level Fords.  Though no chrome here for that low-priced car.

1941 American Grilles and Front Ends

In my book "Automobile Styling: From Evolution to Fashion" and elsewhere, I state that the period roughly 1930 (or thereabouts) to 1949 saw car design changing from boxy bodies with discrete elements such as fenders, headlights, etc. to bodies where such elements merged into what some call "envelope" bodies.  I usually cite the 1949 Ford as exemplifying the end of that evolution.

By the 1941 model year, most of the evolution had taken place.  Fenders were still distinct, though largely blended to the main body.  Moreover, car designs were no longer awkward, as they were earlier in the transition period.  An important factor was advances in technology -- sheet metal stamping, curved glass formation, especially -- that allowed stylists' speculative sketches to become implemented in production.

Today's post presents grille designs of the major 1941 model year automobile brands.  Until the late 1930s, grilles had vertical formats that coincided with the radiators paced behind them.  But by 1941, nearly all grilles had horizontal formats, a matter of fashion, nearly as much as technology.

Gallery

1941 Cadillac 62 - BaT Auctions photo
This is a classic grille design that influenced Cadillac styling for many years.  Part-architectural (the rectangular grille elements) and part Egyptian (those wings above the Cadillac crest), the overall composition is excellent.  Well, those round things (horn covers?) below the headlights would have looked better if they had been smaller.

1941 Buick Special - car for sale photo
Next down the General Motors hierarchy are Buicks.  Plenty of bold grille bars.  Note the frame shape -- Chevrolet's (see below) is similar.  And even Plymouth's has a hint of this.

1941 Oldsmobile 98 - Broad Arrow Auctions photo
Headlights are closer to the centerline.  Plenty of grill bars, many at right-angles to the others.  A very busy frontal design replaced by something even more odd for 1942.

1941 Pontiac DeLuxe - car for sale photo
An awkward photo, but included because it shows the red paint in the central details (most other Internet images show grilles where the paint has been worn away).  Pontiac's Silver Streaks on the hood are echoed below the headlights.  The overall effect is more coherent than Oldsmobile's.

1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe - car for sale photo
GM's entry-level brand's front mimics Buick's, as noted above.  Like Pontiac, there is red detailing in the central, vertical bar.  And there's more in pinstripe mode on the horizontal bars.

1941 Chrysler Royal - Mecum Auctions photo
Chrysler's grille is simple, though this photo does not show that, in plan view, the bars curve forward to meet at the lower extension of the hood prow.

1941 DeSoto DeLuxe - car for sale photo
This grille set the DeSoto vertical-bars grille theme that was continued through the 1955 model year.

1941 Dodge Custom - car for sale photo
A rather contrived frontal design.  Two segments divided by a painted central element.  Upward frame curves that blend with the headlight assemblies.

1941 Plymouth DeLuxe - car for sale photo
Very rounded frame aside from the painted central element that blends into the hood design.  Horizontal chromed prow strips as on DeSoto.

1941 Lincoln-Zephyr - Mecum
Another example of hood-prow blending.  This makes more sense when view at an angle -- not head-on as seen here.

1941 Mercury - car for sale photo
Central prow plus side openings.  Similar to the Chrysler Corporation brands shown above.  However, this composition is relatively simple while the framing relates to surrounding body sculpting.  Basically, a nice solution.

1941 Ford Super DeLuxe - car for sale photo
Three openings here.  Unlike many of the designs pictured above, there's no solid central element.  Instead, the central part is a vertical opening with a hole for a starter crank.  I suppose the shapes of the flanking openings are rounded to reflect the rounded shape of the main car body.

1941 Packard Clipper - Mecum
Another vertical central grille opening with flank openings.  But the composition is better than Ford's.  Plus, the top of the vertical framing carries on Packard traditional grille frame theme, an important marketing consideration.

1941 Hudson DeLuxe - car for sale photo
Similar in sprit to the Chrysler grille.  Hudson's body dates from 1936, but was heavily facelifted to keep it fairly up-to-date.

1941 Graham Hollywood - car for sale photo
Hupmobiles shared the same body and grille, though the upper zone lacked the chrome seen here.  This grille was applied to the1936-37 Cord body design, not in line with cars seen here that have recent body designs.

1941 Nash 600 - Mecum
Lots of grille bars along with a bold, chrome bow strip.  Very architectural, but pleasant.

1941 Studebaker Commander - car for sale photo
Yet another two-element grille.  Long before BMW grilles became famous.  Simple, something Raymond Loewy usually favored.

1941 Willys Americar - car for sale photo
Smaller than most '41 American cars.  Simple grille design with no central separation.

1937 Ford Headlight Assembly Details

Who designed the front end of 1937 Ford cars?

The overall styling was sub-par.  So far as I've been able to find, no claims have been made regarding any aspect of the design.  Ford's styling chief Bob Gregorie said that he was busy getting the styling department organized at the time the '37 was designed, so he could not be blamed.  Credit is usually given to the styling staff of Briggs Manufacturing, a supplier of car bodies to Ford in those days.  The studio dealing with production car design was headed by Ralph Roberts, formerly of LeBaron coachbuilders.  Under him were Phillip O. Wright, Holden "Bob" Koto, Al Prance, and a few others.  These were very good designers.  Yet none seems to have claimed credit for the '37's front ends.

That said, I really like the design of the front end of 1937 Ford passenger cars.  But not the awkward-looking part aft of the firewall/cowling on the sedans.

What impresses me is the sculpting of the fenders and catwalks that are contrasted by the sharp frontal part of the hood and grille.  The especially nice feature is the design of the headlight assemblies and their blending into the catwalk zone.

Gallery

1937 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe - car-for-sale photo
Ford's main competition.  General Motors headlights were not blended into fenders until the 1940-41 model years.

1936 Pierce-Arrow - Mecum Auctions photo
Pierce-Arrow's design signature for decades was headlights placed atop fenders.  The car shown here represents the firm's final design.

1937 Willys - factory photo
The redesigned 1937 Willys featured fender-mounted headlights.  All other American cars save Lincoln-Zephyr and Cord had headlights mounted in the general mode of the Chevy pictured above.

1936 Lincoln-Zephyr - cropped factory image
The "streamlined style" 1936 Lincoln-Zephyr's frontal styling was borrowed to some degree by the 1937 Ford.  Gregorie was responsible for the Zephyr grille design.  And likely for the rest of the front, though I have no evidence.

1937 Ford DeLuxe Fordor Sedan - car-for-sale photo
Compare the front of this car to that of the Lincoln-Zephyr.  Hoods, grilles and front fenders are quite similar.  The main difference is in the Ford's catwalk placement of headlight assemblies, though the lens and chrome surround designs are essentially the same.

1937 Ford Standard - car-for-sale photo
Close-up view showing the sheet metal sculpting of the fenders/catwalk/headlight zone.

1937 Ford Standard - Vanguard Motor photo
Frontal view.  Note the crease atop the fender's form.  This crisp feature is echoed by the grille and the pointed bottoms of the headlight assemblies (that also echo the grille's plan-view shape).

1937 Ford Standard - Barnfinds photo
High frontal view showing the blending of the headlight assemblies into the catwalks.  Very nice sculpting.

1937 Ford Standard - Barnfinds photo
Another view of the same car.

1937 Ford Standard - BaT Auctions photo
The catwalk zone viewed from the rear.
Given all the similarities of the front ends of the Ford and Lincoln-Zephyr, I suspect Gregorie was responsible for the styling -- directly or indirectly.

Why the 1938 Graham's "Shark Nose"?

A late 1930s design that always interested me -- I saw a few around Seattle when I was elementary school age -- was that of the 1938-39 model 96 and 97 Graham.  Officially, the style was called Spirit of Motion, but popularly it was referred to as the Shark Nose or words to that effect.

I wrote a whimsical take on its similarity to an Army Air Corps bomber here.

Its principal designer was Amos Northup (1889-1937), who was in charge of the Murray body company's stying section: more information here.  As mentioned there, Northup slipped on Ice, fell, and died of head injury a few days later.  Consequently, the Graham design was finalized by others, though Northup's theme was retained.

In the Gallery below, I suggest that his theme was gestating in the form of his redesigned 1937 Willys cars.  Further, I speculate that a side (or intentional?) effect was creating a longer hoodline on what otherwise might have been a stubby-looking design similar to those of other, similar size, cars on the market.

Unless noted, images are of for-sale cars.

Gallery

A Graham and Similar Size 1938 Sedans

1938 Chrysler Royal
Its wheelbase is 119 inches (3023 mm).

1938 Buick Special
The wheelbase for this Buick and the following two examples is 122 inches (3099 mm). Its hood is comparatively long because it had to house an in-line eight cylinder motor, rather than a shorter six-cylinder engine.

1938 Packard Six - Mecum auction photo
This entry-level Packard's hood seems shorter than those on the other similar-size cars.

1938 Pontiac Eight

1938 Graham
Wheelbase is 120 inches (3048 mm), 25 mm longer than the Chrysler and 50 mm shorter than the other cars.  Note the longer hood, both actual and as a proportion of the car's length.

Some Grahams Plus a Willys

1937 Willys - advertising image
Willys was redesigned for 1937.  Northup's hood/grille ensemble thrusts forwards, though not as dramatically as on the 1938 Graham.  Headlight assemblies are atop the fenders, another feature used on the Graham.

1937 Willys
Willys' hood would have been extremely short had Northup not thrust it forwards.

1938 Graham
Front quarter view emphasizing the hood and headlights.  One might estimate how much shorter the hood would have been had it truncated near the radiator.

1938 Graham walkaround
The front end is dramatic in a Moderne, sort of streamlined way.  I rather like it.

The front is stretched in what might be called an artificial manner.  But that makes the car less stubby looking.

The Graham's rear is conventional late-1930s.

Amos Northup Designs

In February 1937 Amos Northup, a leading stylist from the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, slipped on ice, fell, and died two days later.  He was 47 years old.  Had that accident not happened, he might easily have been designing automobiles as late as the mid-1950s, probably at a major carmaker rather than for a bodymaker, as those firms were extinct by that time.  Some background is here.

Michael Lamm and Dave Holls on page 77 of their classic book "A Century of Automotive Style" note of Northup: "Designers called him a designer's designer, and he had more impact on the [automobile] industry than he's ever been given credit for." 

Given the time of his career -- the years when professional styling was taking hold and the beginnings of the transition from boxy cars with distinctly separate features to more integrated shapes -- it today can be difficult to appreciate what Northup wrought.  In this post, "Styling Transition: Amos Northup's 1931 REO Line" I compare his 1931 design to the firm's 1930 models.  Differences might not seem great to us, but at the time they were significant.

Below are some, not all, of Northup's designs.  Unless noted, color photos are of cars listed for sale.

Gallery

Mid-1920s Wills Sainte Claire, body by Leon Rubay, Amos Northup stylist

1929 Hupmobile
Northup styled the 1928 Hupp: this 1929 model is essentially the same.  He also had a hand in the Raymond Loewy 1932 and 1934 Hupp designs due to his work at Murray.  Although the general appearance is 1920s, Northup's design is tidier than most.

1930 Willys Knight 66B, photo via Willys Overland Knight Registry
Northup's touch is mostly seen forward of the cowling.

1931 Reo Royale
One of his noteworthy designs.  The rounded body edges, slanted windshield and V'd grille were coming into play with the 1929 Cord, but Northup used them elegantly here, helping to set the trend to streamlining.

1932 Graham Blue Streak (1933 model shown here)
This car is posed in front of the home of Amos Northup (photo via Historic Vehicle Association).  The front fender valances were innovative.

1933 Willys 77
A short car, Northup having to make its front end as trendy as he could.  The curved hoodline and partly integrated headlights were advanced features.

1938 Willys 37
This is Northup's 1937 Willys redesign.  Note the thrusting hood-grille prow.

1938 Graham "Sharknose"
Northup died before the design was finalized, though his concept is largely intact, especially the thrusting hood-grille prow carryover from the '37 Willys.