What the F-Type Is That?

Automotive design is an ever-changing industry these days, with new designs coming out almost every week from various car manufacturers. It hasn't always been that way though. Back in 1924, American automotive design took a turn, when the automobile market became saturated and a new tack was needed to boost sales. Head of General Motors, Alfred P Sloan Jr, came up with the idea of making annual model-year design changes in order to persuade owners to upgrade their car each year to ensure they had the newest model. This was not however a unique idea, as it had already been used within the bicycle industry.

In 1934, the first car to have a radical new design was the Chrysler Airflow. The basis of the design of the airflow was the streamlining that made for a sleeker automobile, less susceptible to air resistance. It was, however, not popular with consumers and the design was adjusted in line with customer tastes.

There have been some fantastic aesthetic launches in the world of the automobile, and Tyres On The Drive have brought you a few crucial ones:

Hubcap

Cars were originally made with wooden spokes much like a wagon, which connected the wheel rim to the centre hub where the greasy wheel bearing could be found. Something was needed to cover the centre hub to protect it from dust and so the hubcap was born. The first car to use steel hubcaps was the Cadillac in 1934. The disc covered all the spokes and gave the car a luxurious streamlined appearance.

Wrap Around Windshield

In the 1950s, cars became much lower and wider, and many more were made using chrome. Designers took to experimenting with different styles and so, in 1955, the Ford Thunderbird was born with a fantastic wrap around windshield. This styling craze was initially introduced by General Motors and forced a reshaping of all the 1953-1955 cab and doors, which were then boasted about as being "almost a yard wide".

Bubble Roof

Elvis Presley owned a Cadillac and they were quite the status symbol. The wildest of all came in 1959 when the Cadillac Cyclone was born. The Cyclone was the last car designed by Harley Earl, General Motors design chief. The car was a rocket style fantasy with a plastic bubble shaped top and doors that opened automatically. The design of the Cyclone was heavily inspired by the aviation and rocket designs of the 1950s.

Tail Fins

Harley Earl also designed the tailfins and was inspired by the look of the WW2 fighter aircraft, in particular the twin-tailed P-38 Lightning. The tailfins were small at first on the 1948 Cadillac, but in 1959 they made their greatest appearance on the Cadillac Eldorado, complete with two fake jet engine reverse lights. These were a step too far for the average consumer and so the tailfins shrunk back down - by the 1960s they had completely vanished off many models.

Racing Stripes

Also knows as "Le Mans" stripes, these were used on racing cars in order to make them more identifiable when they were racing in fields. Interestingly, they also helped a driver to realign their car on the track if it had spun off. In 1951, two parallel blue stripes running from the front of the car to the back across the entire white body were applied to the Cunningham's team race cars to help spectators see them from further away.

Cab Forward

In the mid-1950s, the markedly different "cab forward" style was pioneered by Chrysler designer Virgil Exner. It was adopted by the rest of the automobile industry including American Motors in 1975 with its Pacer model. Its layout included wheels that were pushed into the corners, a wide body and the windshield placed over the engine compartment. In commercial vehicles such as trucks and vans, the "cab forward" design is styled so that the vehicle has a flat face allowing for better visibility and manoeuvrability.

Bullet Nose

The bullet nose was first used on a 1948 Tucker as a third headlight and Ford also had a form of bullet nose on its 1949 Club Coupe. The bullet nose design is usually credited to Bob Burke who had been drawing it up since 1941. The bullet nose models were offered in three different sized cars: the Champion, the Commander and the Land Cruiser. Studebaker was the first company to put an entirely new design on the market and they promoted it with the slogan "First by far with a postwar car".

Interchangeable Body Panels

In 1965, the AMC Cavalier started a new style trend with interchangeable body parts. The concept car was built by American Motors and included a completely symmetrical design, which made it unique. The AMC Cavalier was innovative and easily demonstrated the brilliant use of the numerous interchangeable body parts - the fenders were identical, the doors, hood and deck lid were interchangeable and so were the panels.

Spoilers

The spoiler was first introduced in the 1960s when they wanted to make NASCAR automobiles look different to the average car you would find on the street. In 1966 NASCAR were given permission to add a piece of two inch high metal to the rear deck lid of their Dodge Charger to trap air and create down force to stabilise the car. "Whale tail" spoilers were first used by the Porsche 911 and quickly caught on as a fashion statement and the term "whale tail" has stuck to describe all wider than average spoilers.

As you can see, there have been lots of cars that have redefined the style of car designs over the years - some were successes and some were just not to public taste. Who knows what will be next in the world of automobile design, but we will be waiting excitedly to see what the F-Type they do next!

Guest Post - 28 Jul 2013