Hood Mascots: The Demise (Part III)

Continuing in our history of the hood mascot, we have now reached the end of our story. Hood mascots had a brief resurgence after WWII, appearing on many cars in the 1950's. With the start of the Jet Age, the theme of hood ornaments (and car design at large) shift from Art Deco themes to aviation themes. Aircraft-like ornaments, bomb sights, rockets, and winged-things were the order of the day. Some cars, such as the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air had two hood ornaments.

Hood ornaments began to fall out of vogue in the 1960's after Ralph Nader's 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed lionized hood mascots for the injuries they inflicted in pedestrian/vehicle collisions. After the uproar from the book and changes in regulations by NHTSA, hood mascots shrunk in size and became easily detachable, a hollow shell of their former glory. The new flimsy plastic or thin metal hood ornaments really sounded the death knell for the artfully designed, heavy, metal hood mascot.

Today, the precious few hood ornaments that still exist are smaller and less graceful than those of the past. In fact, only three ornaments have really stood the test of time. Rolls Royce's Spirit of Ecstasy has adorned the hood's of Rollers since 1911. Mercedes-Benz's Three-Pointed Star has been used in various capacities since 1910. Finally, the Jaguar 'Leaper' has been bouncing off the British luxury cars since 1935.

For more information on hood mascots, be sure to check out Mascot-Mania. Also, for more shots of great mascots, see the Northstar Gallery's "Flying Ladies." Finally, if you are ever in the Los Angeles, CA area, be sure to see the collection of hood ornaments (and other great cars) at the Nethercutt Collection.

Hood ornaments, clockwise from lower left, are from a1934 Packard Twelve Victoria Cabriolet, a 1928 Mercedes-Benz 630K Murphy Town Car, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Sedan, a 1954 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, a 1953 Buick Skylark, a 2006 Maybach 57S, and a 1953 Pontiac Star Chief Convertible.

Also, in the coming days, look forward to coverage from this past weekend's Geneva Concours d'Elegance and the Rockford AACA Blackhawk Region Meet.

Hood Mascots: The Golden Era (Part II)

When the temperature gauge moved to the dashboard, the utilitarian aspect of the ornament changed, but the ornament itself remained. With the elimination of a gauge, however, the designers were less restricted in what could be placed on top of the grill. Everything from glass to bronze to silver was used to fashion the mini sculptures. Famous artists such as Rene Lalique and Rembrandt Bugatti designed hood mascots. Mascots were built to represent grace, beauty, power, modernity, sexuality, and a host of other thoughts and ideals that have become inseparably bound to the automobile.

Manufacturers placed hood mascots on virtually every one of their cars. Some companies even put different mascots on each model, or changed them on an annual basis. Mascots transcended the automobile and displayed the tastes and interests of the era. The discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1923 helped create the Art Deco movement which set the tone for most hood ornaments up to WWII. Some mascots became legends, such as the 'Duesy-bird' that graced the hood of Duesenberg Model J's, the Cadillac Goddess that stood atop Cadillac V8, V12, and V16 cars, and the Stutz Ra head.

But even these unqiue and artistic mascots were not enough for some. As with today, some motorists desired individuality and uniquness. An entire cottage industry grew up around creating new and interest mascots for cars. One of the most prolific aftermarket mascot makers was the aforementioned glass artist Rene Lalique. Lalique fabricated the finest crystal mascots on earth, lasting works of art that are still popular today as paperweights. Some of Laliques creations were made even more impressive with the use of underlighting from a light bulb mounted under the mascot, in the grill frame.
Today, the most complete collections of Lalique mascots belongs to Ele Chesney of Toms River, New Jersey, who purchased her set of all 28 mascots for $550,000 a few years ago.

Mascots, clockwise from bottom left, are from a 1938 Horch 853 Phaeton, 1930 Stutz Model MB Cabriolet bodied by LeBaron, 1932 Duesenebrg LeBaron Dual Cowl Phaeton, 1912 Gordon-Brillie Skiff Body, 1932 Diamler Double Six Sport Saloon, 1936 Hispano Suiza Convertible Victoria, 1929 duPont Model G Speedster, 1931 DuPont Model "H" Sport Phaeton, 1934 Cadillac V16 Town Car.

The final part of the story of hood mascots will be the focus of the next post.

Hood Mascots: Motometers (Part I)

One element of the car that has fallen to the wayside lately is the hood mascot (or ornament). Few car companies still use them (the major exceptions being Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Lincoln, and Maybach) and the ones that do often don't put them on all of their cars. There was a time when virtually every car, from the cheapest to the most expensive had a little hood jewelry.

The hood mascot really grew out of a desire to beautify the required hardware that attached to the car. Early cars did not have a dashboard mounted temperature gauge, as cars today have. Instead, a radiator pressure gauge was mounted directly above the radiator filler cap. This was, of course, on the top of the grill, at the front of the hood. The most popular gauge was a Boyce Motometer. At first unadorned, Motometers soon became launching points for everything from wings to animals to figures. This marked the beginning of the hood mascot.

Mascots, clockwise from the lower left-hand corner, are from a 1916 Scripps-Booth Roadster, a 1915 Stutz Bearcat, and a 1919 Paige Daytona Speedster Pototype.

For the next edition, I'll explore the golden age of mascots...

Futuristic Style: 1935 Stout Scarab (Part III)

For the last part of this series, I want to examine a car that didn't just break the styling mold, it shattered the very concept of an automobile. The 1935 Stout Scarab was the brainchild of William B. Stout, an aircraft and automobile engineer and writer. Stout, who had risen to fame as the chief engineer and designer of the Ford Tri Motor airplane, decided to go into the automobile business after a tiff with Ford's aviation department in 1932. His company, Stout Engineering Laboratories of Detroit, MI, was charged with the task of designing a building a van-like vehicle very much like the three-wheeled Dymaxion car created by noted inventor Buckminster Fuller.

The first prototype was completed in 1932, featuring a body styled by John Tjaarda (who you might remember from the Lincoln Continental), a rear mounted Ford V8, four-wheels (unlike the Dymaxion), and a steel space frame wrapped with an aluminum body, similar to how aircraft were (and still are) designed. Later models were wrapped in steel body work. The rear mounted engine afforded the vehicle a completely flat floor and made for a very roomy interior. Clothed in leather, chrome, painted steel, and wicker, the spacious interior could seat 6-8 people, depending on the configuration and even had room for a card table.

Fancy engineering features also included independent suspension at all four corners and springs wrapped around gas filled struts similar to the struts that would later be proliferated by Earle MacPherson.

All this fancy technology came at a cost, however. The Stout Scarab retailed for $5000, a princely sum in 1935, and subsequently only 9 were built. Each one was slightly different. Today, about 5 survive.

The Stout's history is certainly fascinating, as is William Stout's own history. Despite the failure of his Scarab, Stout tried his hand at a few other futuristic inventions, but few seemed to get very far off the ground. Stout died in 1956.

Futuristic Style: 1939-41 Lincoln Continental (Part II)

Automotive style really began to evolve into what is seen as 'modern' automobile design (incorporation of front fenders into the hood, the inclusion of headlights as part of the body, graded windshield, more flowing lines all around) in the late 1930's and early 1940's. The new style went through a sort of gestation period between then end of automobile production for the public in 1942 and the resumption of production in 1945 and '46. By the end of the war, the transition was complete and post war cars looked very different from their pre-war companions.

While a few eccentric (mostly French) coachbuilders plopped modern looking bodies onto cars, the style didn't really become mainstream until the big American automakers, mostly Lincoln, Cadillac, and Chrysler began building modern looking cars. For this post, I'm going to focus on the 1939-41 Lincoln Continental.

Introduced in mid-1939, the Continental was a continuation on the theme started by the Lincoln Zephyr. The Zephyr, designed by John Tjaarda, helped bring Lincoln into the mainstream by increasing sales and prestige against Lincoln's main competitor, Cadillac. In updating the Zephyr, stylist Bob Gregorie squared off some of the bumps and gave the car a more French look to it. The design was approved without any changes by Edsel Ford. The car was produced until the beginning of WWII and powered by a V12 engine that would carry over into the early post-WWII cars. Frank Lloyd Wright was also an admirer of the car, but his modified versions didn't carry the same artist beauty as his architecture.

Futuristic Style: 1925 Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe (Part I)

In my last post, I elucidated on the unoriginality of hybrid automobiles. Now I think I'll demonstrate the unoriginality of 'contemporary style.' The common theme you might notice forming is that I have a high regard for history and vintage automobiles and I feel that too often, people forget the importance that these 'old cars' had on the stuff we drive today. In any case, it is worth examining the various vehicles that, stylistically, broke the mold and even today still look shockingly modern.

One thing to note before continuing is the manner in which cars were constructed before WWII. Most cars, Fords, Chevrolets, Dodge, etc, were built on a standard production line, but luxury cars often were not built in that manner. Rather, luxury car makers, including Rolls Royce, Bentley, Duesenberg, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, and others only built chassis and mechanicals, bodies were often not provided. Some companies had in-house coachbuilders (Duesenberg had Walker-LeGrand, Cadillac had Fleetwood, for example), but more often than not, an owner would purchase a standard chassis, then have it shipped to a coachbuilder to be furnished with a body.

This freedom to choose a body, unlike today, gave owners a chance to express their own unique style...limited only by the size of their wallet. Most cars were bodied in conservative bodywork that was not austentacious or far reaching, but a select few cars were clothed in what can only be described as wild, futuristic, exciting, or just plain strange.

One of these cars was the 1925 Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe. Originally bodied as a staid sedan, the car was rebodied in the early 1930's by Belgian coachbuilder Jonckheere (which still exists today as a bus builder). The eccentric coupe featured a cantelivered and enlarged Rolls Royce grille, bullet-like headlights, massive front fenders, sweeping rear haunches, a sloping rear end crowned by a fin, and circular doors. Originally painted gold, the car later progressed through a series of colors eventually being painted black following its restoration by the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, CA.

The car has been featured at a number of shows including last year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (where it debuted) and this year's Meadw Brook Hall Concours d'Elegance (where these photos were taken). For comparison's sake, I have also included a picture a picture of a 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom I whose chassis was built the same year and body built six years before the Jonckheere Coupe. Additionally, I have included a photo of a 1911 Rolls Royce 40/50 'Silver Ghost' with a conservative, carriage body. The only major difference between the 40/50 and the Phantom I was the engine, the chassis was almost identical.