The Transitional 1949 Dodge Wayfarer Line

The "Big Three" American automobile makers -- General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation -- held off introducing post- World War 2 redesigns until the 1949 model year.  (Exceptions were 1948 Cadillacs and Oldsmobile 98s.)

The prewar notion that streamlined-looking fastback styling was the wave of the future was largely abandoned, though every GM division did market some fastback models for 1949.  Chrysler did the same, but on a much smaller scale.  Plymouth built an entry-level fastback 2-door sedan, and Dodge had a semi-fastback similar in character to Mercury's '49 roofline.

And there was even more Chrysler experimentation in Dodge's Wayfarer line.  This experimentation required extra tooling expenses for what turned out to be fairly low-volume cars.  In those days, Chrysler Corporation ranked ahead of Ford in sales and was doing well financially, so its management must have thought that the risk of losing some money to gain market knowledge was worthwhile.

Let's take a look at Dodge's Wayfarer line.  Color images are of cars that were on Internet for-sale sites.

Gallery

Let's first view a 1949 mainstream Dodge Coronet 4-door sedan to provide context.  The sun visor above the windshield was a popular accessory in the late 1940s and early 50s.

This is a 1949 Wayfarer business coupe.  Business coupes had only one bench seat, but this allowed for larger trunk space for hauling business-related items.  That body style was dropped early in the 1950s.

And here is the Wayfarer Roadster, essentially a convertible version of the business coupe.  Only a small proportion were true roadsters with side curtains instead of roll-up windows -- most Dodge "Roadsters" were built with the latter.

Front three-quarter views of '49 Dodge Wayfarer sedans.

A 1950 Mercury showing its semi-fastback / semi- bustle-back styling.  The Dodge's bustle-back is smaller and gives the impression of being mostly a fastback.

Rear view of a '49 Wayfarer.  Compare this to the 1949 Plymouth P-17 fastback below.

This car and the Dodges shown above used the same roof tooling, the main difference is that the Dodge's B-pillar slants and the Plymouth's is vertical.  The Dodge bustle-back is due to a 4-inch longer wheelbase and 14 inches (35 cm) more overall length.  This added length would have required a different, more expensive fastback roof shape towards the rear, so the cheaper semi-fastback option was taken.

Finally, the Dodge Wayfarer sedan's fastback competition, a 1949 Pontiac Streamliner 2-door.  Much sleeker than the Dodge, but perhaps with a bit less trunk space -- a problem that led GM to dropping  fastbacks after the 1952 model year.

1940s Small-Backlight Convertible Tops

I've never liked the styling jargon term "backlight."  It refers to the rear window of an automobile, but taken more literally one would think of a light placed somewhere on a car's aft end.  Alas, I'll go along with the jargon, so be advised that this post deals with small rear windows (oops, backlights) found on American convertibles in the 1940s or thereabouts.

I am by no means knowledgeable regarding this detail, so what follows is speculation.

In the images below, you will notice that the convertible tops have rectangular, removable panels that house the small backlights.  Sometimes, convertibles would been driven with their tops up and the panels gone, perhaps to provide better ventilation on non-rainy days.  The reason for the small windows (and here I speculate) is that they were made of glass or a stiff piece of clear plastic for good vision to the rear.  Glass is heavy, and the canvas tops were not strong enough to support large windows.  So convertible backlights had to be small if they were glass or a heavy plasitc.  The downside to this is that small windows greatly restricted the driver's rear view.

Later convertibles tended to feature larger backlights made of thinner transparent plastics.

The following images are of cars offered for sale, usually at auctions.  Presumably, their convertible tops are of authentic design, even though they might be replacements for worn out originals.  I cannot  guarantee authenticity in all cases, however.  That said, what is striking is how similar the backlights are for so many brands over so many years.

Gallery

1940 LaSalle Series 50 Convertible - Auctions America

1940 Packard Super 8 Convertible - Barrett-Jackson

1941 Cadillac 62 Convertible - Barrett-Jackson

1948 Chrysler Town & Country - auction photo

1948 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet - Barrett-Jackson

1948 Cadillac 62 Convertible - Barrett-Jackson

1948 Packard Custom Eight Victoria Convertible - sales photo

1950 Hudson Commodore Six Convertible - Bonhams

1951 Mercury Convertible - Barrett-Jackson

Mondeo: Ford's 1990s International Car

Ford Motor Company is no stranger to the concept of the "international car," where the same basic automobile is built and sold in several countries.  The first instance was the Model T, a purely American vehicle that was assembled in a dozen countries in the 1920s.

In recent decades, automobile makers have tried to spread reimbursement of large development costs by designing and engineering car platforms for manufacture and sale on more than one continent.  This concept seems simple in the abstract, but often proves difficult in execution.  One source of problems is differing tastes of buyers in different countries.  For example, North American buyers tend to prefer larger vehicles than do European buyers.  Nevertheless, automotive firms continue to pursue the Holy Grail of the "world car."

A 1990s Ford effort in that direction was the Mondeo, intended for both Europe and North America.  Information on the first-generation Modeo (1993-1996 pre-facelift, 1997-2000 post-facelift), the subject of this post, can be found here.

The Mondeo sold well in Europe.  I drove one over much of Britain and Ireland around 15 years ago and thought it was a nice car, especially when cruising along motorways.

Unfortunately for Ford, the American version introduced for 1995 in the form of the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique never sold well -- usually less than 100,000 per year.  The above link mentions a habitability problem related to the firewall shape, but I think styling was a factor as well.

Gallery

First-Series Ford Mondeo
This Mondeo has German license plates and is a five-door or hatchback model.  This is evident due to the large backlight and small "bustleback" lip aft of the glass.

First-Series Ford Mondeo - 1995
A British Modeo, showing the front design.  It seems to be a four-door sedan.

First-Series Ford Mondeo
Rear view of a German Mondeo hatchback.  The large, convex backlight provides a substantial appearance lacking on four-door versions.

1995 Ford Contour
The Contour's hood and front differ from the Modeo.  The soft appearance was surely chosen to relate the Contour to Ford's second-generation Taurus.

1995 Mercury Mystique
The Mercury version of the Mondeo featured a crisper-looking front.

1995 Ford Contour - sales photo
My problem with Contour and Mystique styling centers on the C-pillar which is both thin and soft-looking.  Too feeble for a roof support from a visual standpoint.

1999 Mercury Mystique
The C-pillar from a different viewing angle.  The first time I saw an American Mondeo version, this feature bothered me.  It bothers me to this day.  A slight straightening of the sides of the backlight sheetmetal perimeter would have improved the design.  Alas, Ford seemed intent on rounded styling details in those days.

America's 1970s Opera Window Fad

I'm inclined to blame management rather than styling staff for the fad featured in this post.  That's because the feature in question was essentially a non-functional (aside from generating sales) frivolity.  It was what was called "opera windows," perhaps a reference to features of certain horse-drawn carriages.

For mid-1970s American cars, opera windows were small windows placed on C-pillars so that distinguished back-seat passengers on their way to cultural events presumably could discretely peek out at the unwashed masses along the way.  Actually, I doubt that was ever the intent; the real intent was to add a bit of retro-sophistication to certain car models.

One thing I find a little puzzling is that they appeared in classical form on 1973 Lincolns while in the same model year some General Motors cars introduced somethings fairly similar in spirit.  Those were small rear-quarter windows that could be interpreted as large opera windows.  I suspect the reason for this same-year introduction by two different firms had to do with the usual auto industry grapevine along with reports from stylists hired from competing companies.

By the late 1970s every American car maker was selling some models with some sort of opera window feature.  And opera windows rapidly disappeared on 1980s models.

Below is a gallery showing some of those opera windows.

Gallery

1973 Lincoln Continental Mk. IV - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
An early instance on Ford's luxury brand.  The small oval window can be seen on the C-pillar.

1978 Lincoln Town Car - auction photo
Five years later there is one on a Lincoln four-door sedan.  Most cars featuring opera windows or something similar were two-door models.

1974 Mercury Cougar XR-7 - sales photo
Here is a squared-off opera window.

1977 Ford Thunderbird Coupe
An unusual variation is the small window on this Thunderbird's B-pillar.

1977 Ford Granada Sports Coupe
And then there are the louvered slit windows on this small Ford.

1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The same year as the Lincoln in the top photo General Motors placed small quarter windows on this body used by several of its brands.

1978 Buick Riviera Coupe
Five years later we find a smallish quarter window surrounded by vinyl.

1975 Chrysler Cordoba
Chrysler did the same thing for its Cordoba.

1977 Chrysler New Yorker
An interesting variation on this New Yorker.  Note the unusual shape of the roof vinyl covering and the large C-pillar zone.

1975 Dodge Charger - auction photo
This Dodge has slotted opera windows.  Stylists seemed to be working overtime to come up with distinctive variations on the concept, as these images indicate.

1977 Plymouth Gran Fury Brougham
Chrysler's entry-level brand got a scaled-down version of opera window and vinyl shape as compared to the New Yorker shown earlier.

1978 AMC Concord D/L
Even American Motors, the smallest car maker, felt the need to join the opera window rush.

Bunkie Knudsen's Long-Nose Cars

Semon Emil "Bunkie" Knudsen (1912-1998) was the son of General Motors' President William S. Knudsen who didn't quite gain the GM presidency himself, and so in February 1968 was hired by Ford Motor Company to be its president.

Knudesen then hired Larry Shinoda of Corvette styling fame to stir up Ford's design efforts.  This and others of his initiatives, combined with resistance from Ford people resulted in his August 1969 firing by Henry Ford II and eventual replacement by Lee Iacocca.  Knudesen's Wikipedia entry is here, and here is an appreciation from Hemmings.

One curious legacy of Knudsen's short Ford tenure was the introduction of long "noses" on the grilles of some of Ford's models.  The generally accepted story is that they were inspired by Pontiac front ends of the second half of the 1960s.  Knudsen was general manager of Pontiac 1956-61 and is credited with drastically changing the division's reputation and improving sales.  So even though he went on to other duties at GM, it's highly likely that he kept a fatherly eye on Pontiac.

Pontiacs began to grow noticeable central grille noses by around 1965 and these became fairly large by the 1969-1970 model years.  Even though he had left General Motors before the 1969 Pontiacs were announced in the fall of 1968, there is little reason to doubt that he was aware of the direction Pontiac styling was taking.  He liked this theme, and so had it applied on some 1970 Ford company models whose styling was set while he was president.

Here is some visual evidence:

Gallery

1965 Pontiac Grand Prix - Mecum auction photo

1968 Pontiac Bonneville - Barrett-Jackson auction photo

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
Examples of Pontiac styling that might have inspired some 1970 Ford Motor Company designs.

1970 Mercury Cyclone

1970 Mercury Montego Brougham

1970 Ford Thunderbird

The Ford Motor Company cars shown above have more extreme noses than the Pontiacs.  All of them, especially the Thunderbird, seem poorly protected from frontal impacts.

Aesthetically, I think the Thunderbird comes off best thanks to its more logical prow shaping.  The Mercurys feature a flat center section on their noses whose slightly blunt effect strikes me was less "natural" than the possibly ship-inspired Thunderbird nose.  The "gunsight" motif on the Cyclone is an actual design distraction that probably was a concession to marketing a high-performance car.

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Footnote: Here is the 1970 Ford Thunderbird Tridon concept car.  It was probably intended to help legitimize the long-nose styling theme, but quickly disappeared not long after Knudsen's departure from Ford.  Lee Iacocca had other ideas to implement such as vinyl-covered roofs and small "opera windows" on C-pillars.