Automotive Type, Part Eight

So the title is still Automotive Type, but my eighth post isn’t heavy on lettering. This is all about crests. Specifically, crests from pre World War II cars. In this period, they’re serving as brand logos prior to the simplification of the marks. As I pulled them from my archives, I was amazed by the range of styles from traditional “coat of arms” styles to more industrial representations of speed and strength. Bringing things back to type, check out the lettering on the Stutz and Studebaker badges! I love their character and they really hold up well over time.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1916 Simplex, 1917 Oldsmobile, 1922 REO Fire Truck. Middle row, left to right: 1925 Stutz, 1926 Elcar, 1927 Studebaker House Car. Bottom row, left to right: 1929 Dodge, 1936 Pierce Arrow, 1936 Cord.

Automotive Type, Part Six

For the sixth post in my series on automotive badges, it’s all about ’60s horsepower. In the musclecar era, the marketing strategy was all about bragging and “track cred.” Badges boasted of brawn, speed, and winning races. While numbers were a major element, proclaiming engine size, or equipment (4-4-2 referred to a four-barrel carburetor, four speed transmission, and dual exhaust), swagger was the other element. Checkered flags were common, but sometimes there were nicknames from the street, like in the case of the Plymouth ’Cuda, the high-performance version of the Barracuda. Personally, I love the font on that one.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.

Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.

Top row, left to right: 1964 Pontiac Catalina 2+2, 1964 Plymouth Belvedere. Second row, left to right: 1965 Mercury Comet, 1966 Ford Galaxie. Third row, left to right: 1967 Oldsmobile 4-4-2, 1968 Chevrolet Camaro (modified), 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Bottom row, left to right: 1969 Plymouth GTX, 1970 Plymouth Barracuda ’Cuda.

The Velvet Underground of automotive designs

In the history of Rock music, a few bands stand out not for their popularity, but for their influence. It’s been said that bands like The Velvet Underground, Big Star, and Uncle Tupelo didn’t sell many albums, but it’s said that the folks who bought them went on to start their own bands. 

I like to use that analogy to describe the Avanti’s place in automotive design history. As a consumer product, it was a flop. As an influence on designers, it cast a long shadow. I’m willing to bet that every design team working on every pony car from the sixties and early seventies had an image of the Avanti placed prominently on their conceptual “mood boards.” History talks about the European influence on the Mustang, Camaro, and others. I think the bridge between the two was the Avanti. It certainly got Detroit and Kenosha’s attention when it was introduced in 1962.

The influence didn’t stop with pony car designs. You can see hints of the Avanti in Acura, Mazda, Nissan, and other Nineties-era compact sport coupes. You can even sense its influence in the current BRZ and 86 coupes. The influence may be a step or two removed, but it’s there. I realize that Raymond Loewy, the Avanti’s “father,” is prominent in every industrial design history book, but ghosts of that one design seem to keep showing up more than 50 years after it was introduced.

Want an Avanti, or any other of my photos to hang on your wall? Visit my store and place an order.

Elements: 1955 Chrysler Imperial phantom

Another “car of note” from this year’s Goodguys PPG Nationals is this award winning “one of none” 1955 Chrysler Imperial convertible. It looks like a factory stock restoration, but Chrysler didn’t build an Imperial convertible in 1955. Because of that, this is actually a custom. Well, that and the hidden bits. Underneath the stunning stock sheetmetal is a bespoke frame, and a fuel injected 6.4 liter Hemi that’s disguised to look like an original 354 Hemi. 

I’m not just a huge MoPar fan, I’m a big fan of the Virgil Exner penned cars from 1955 to 1964. This is where it all started, when Chrysler Corporation broke out of the dowdy, upright look of the early ’50s, to the “Forward Look” of the late ’50s. The fins had yet to appear, but the long, low look began, and with the full wheel openings and egg-crate grille, it almost had a European look. This is no accident. Virgil Exner was a big fan of Italian coach builders, and the Chrysler concept cars of the early fifties were built by Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin, Italy.

Elements: Flame paint jobs

Presented without commentary. Enjoy!

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