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Old 08-23-2009, 10:13 PM   #1 (permalink)
Rokeby
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Front Wheel Skirts; 1950 Nash Ambassador

Front wheel skirts are a recurring theme, The 1947 SAAB has seen
considerable exposure here. As a review, these pictures:

http://photo.netcarshow.com/Saab-UrS...7_photo_07.jpg

http://photo.netcarshow.com/Saab-UrS...7_photo_06.jpg

http://photo.netcarshow.com/Saab-UrS...7_photo_02.jpg

Not getting any exposure is a parallel American effort, the 1950 Nash
Ambassador. The Nash company made both cars and refrigerators, the
Kelvinator. Some pictures:

http://www.plan59.com/images/JPGs/nash_1951_red_00.jpg

http://www.nashnut.com/archives/1950nashambsuper2.jpg

Whoa! On the one hand a sleek, svelte, sexy iconic car that justifiably
deserves a place in automotive history. On the other, a... well, a ...
an over-sized recumbent refrigerator.

As ungainly as the Ambassador appears, I see faint allusions to my favorite-
most commercially unsuccessful car of all times, Buckminster Fuller's
"Dymaxion Car," in its rear end treatment:

http://www.washedashore.com/projects...dworld/e50.jpg

At least in contemporary use, "wheel skirts" denote wheel coverings
separate from, but attaching to, the body work. In the cases above, the
wheel coverings front and rear appear to be an integral part of the
bodywork itself and cannot be removed. Perhaps it would be better to call
this arrangement "wheel enclosing bodywork."

Interestingly, wheel skirts were originally called "wheel pants." I wonder
why/when the male/female association about-face occurred. IIRC, in
Australia and New Zealand wheel skirts are called "spats," retaining to this
day a male association.


Last edited by Rokeby; 08-24-2009 at 12:00 AM..
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