Art on Wheels

By the end of the 19th Century, after countless years of elaboration, the craft of the carriage maker had attained near-perfection. Then the automobile appeared on the vehicular horizon. In the early years of automobile manufacture the traditions of the ancient carriage craft were continued. The first automobile engine was mounted on a buggy chassis. The new vehicle was popularly associated with its predecessor and nicknamed the "horseless carriage" and "gasoline buggy." Ex-carriage makers became automobile body designers. Early cars were frequently entered from the rear (dog cart), equipped with horsewhip stands, often painted black and usually festooned with fringe, beautified with brass.

In the 40 years of its existence the automobile has had few revolutionary changes in appearance. The airplane put such terms as "wind-resistance" and "streamline" into auto manufacturers' mouths. The speed boat's influence may be observed in the stern of many modern racy roadsters. But most limousine designers still seem to think that their job is to produce a nostalgic reminder of the grand days of the landau and victoria.

Last week the 30th annual National Automobile Show (see p. 43) was held in Manhattan's gaudy Grand Central Palace where gleaming cars stood incongruously on rich carpets and glib salesmen explained their various attractions. Obviously the recent U. S. renascence in bathroom fixtures and furniture has smitten the automobile. Some of the artists responsible for the renascence are now working on auto bodies: Norman Bel Geddes, jack-of-all-design; Joseph Urban, Ziegfeld and Metropolitan Opera scenic artist; Helen Dryden, painter and fashion artist; the house of Cartier, jewelers.

Most startling 1930 innovations are the Cord and Ruxton front drive cars which stand barely five feet high. Some models of the Willys-Knight are painted partly to resemble Scotch plaid; radiator caps are lower, some being merely dummies. One dummy cap is fashioned like a gunsight, perhaps to perfect the driver's aim. Some cars (Franklin, Packard, Graham) have abandoned ventilating slits in the hood and substituted small doors. The Pierce-Arrow, tenaciously traditional, retains its headlights on the fenders.

Inside equipment has been altered and refined. Flower vases are now in the Greek manner; many-hued rayon-silk covers the seats; Egyptian sculpture motives have been adapted for dashboard instruments; vivid soda-fountain marble is used for gear shift handles. With the introduction of non-dulling, non-rusting chrome-nickels, there are more cars with shiny, metallic surfaces than ever before. The hood is sometimes of different texture from the rest of the body.

Altogether the trend seems to be toward ultra-refinement. The auto-body is safely out of the buggy chrysalis. Enterprising designers begin to regard it as an entity, having its own particular problem and solution, its own utilitarian beauty.

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