If
you were struggling to make a living, the 1930's were the most
difficult of all years, for the world was then in the depths of
a great depression. But if you were a transportation designer,
those were the best of times. The age of streamlining had arrived,
affecting the style of automobiles, aircraft, trains; even the
great ocean liners.
Each
of these influenced the other. Airplanes symbolised speed, thus
the shapes of wings and propellers and tail fins were echoed in
everything from automobiles to speedboats. Cars like the Chrysler
Airflow based their designs on aerodynamic theories. Boats featured
hulls with sides tapering to meet at the stern; automobile designers
followed with "boat-tail" rear ends.
Art
deco was another influence and indeed, styles crossed over so
that you could see hints of streamlining in ordinary household
objects, while deco design elements appeared on both the exteriors
and interiors of vehicles and passenger ships.
Into
this dramatic period came the first streamlined trains. (Note:
when I say "train" I mean the entire unit, from engine to the
observation car at the back, not just the engine itself.)
That
first streamliner, the Union Pacific's City of Salinas, was displayed
at Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition in 1934. A few months
later the Burlington Zephyr appeared, helping launch a diesel
revolution that would eventually eliminate the powerful steam
engines so dear to many hearts (including my own), and making
a record-breaking run from Denver to Chicago at an average speed
of 77.6 miles an hour.
While
all this was happening the luxury car makers were in trouble,
since the market for expensive automobiles had all but disappeared.
Most of the high-rollers who'd made their fortunes in the stock
market prior to 1929 were gone; the value of those stocks turned
out to be just so much paper. The solution for the manufacturers
of Packards and Cadillacs and Lincolns lay in developing smaller
models that maintained the cachet of the marque while selling
at an affordable price.
Packard
moved first, with its 120 model, which would eventually become
a best-seller. But the Packard 120 was, stylistically, rooted
in the past. Lincoln's answer was a radically-different car with
a streamlined body designed by John Tjaarda of the Briggs Body
Corporation.
Tjaarda's
ideas began with a rear-engine design based on the Czech Tatra.
Though this concept never got beyond drawing it was enough to
attract Edsel Ford, the artistic genius of the Ford family. Impressed
by Tjaarda's design, he ordered the development of two prototypes
with Ford V8 engines. (Those cars included integral body/chassis
construction, very much an advanced idea for the time.)
The
design progressed to become a Lincoln with V12 power; a 267.3
cubic-inch engine using many Ford V8 components to develop 110
hp. But before the Zephyr went into production Edsel had its front
end redesigned by Ford stylist Bob Gregorie, and it was at that
point that the car acquired some of the Burlington Zephyr's style
as well as its name.
The
Lincoln Zephyr was priced to compete with Cadillac's LaSalle,
a luxury downmarket move that was paying off handsomely for General
Motors. First launched as a 4-door sedan, the Zephyr range was
eventually expanded to include a coupe and 4-seater convertible.
A 1942 Lincoln Zephyr convertible became the featured vehicle
in a 1947 Thin Man movie, although the Zephyr's production life
ended with World War Two.
With
its perfect marriage of streamlining and art deco, the Lincoln
Zephyr was both racy and elegant. The kind of car that today's
struggling Lincoln brand should emulate. Including the name. All
aboard!
Philip
Powell
http://vintagecars.about.com/mbiopage.htm
