Front Wheel Skirts; 1950 Nash Ambassador

[Rokeby]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I've also noticed that some people call them fender skirts (as opposed to
wheel skirts). But I've never heard "fender pants"

MetroMPG,

Strangly, your statement sent me spinning off into recollections of my
grandmother. She was a product of the Victorian and Edwardian ages, and
was one of the few women of her generation that went to college, Smith or
Wellesley -- your memory is the second thing to go.

In response to a complaint that you were dripping with sweat, she would
say, "Horses sweat. Gentlemen and young gentlemen perspire. Ladies and
young ladies "mist."

She insistited to her dying day, at the age of 102, that "men wear trousers,
women wear pants." She at least would say that I got the gender switch all
wrong. As "pants" there was a female connotation, and that continued and
was made stronger, or was clarified, as "skirts."

Anyone want to try to promote the idea of "fender/wheel kilts?"

Elderly female tourist: "Sir, can you tell me what is worn under your kilt?"
Scotsman: "Nothing madam, everything is in perfect working order."

[Rokeby]

I have read a Nash history that claimed that the 1950 models were designed
simply to look different than the offerings from "The Other Three," major car
makers.

This extract from another source strongly suggests otherwise:

Wahlberg was fascinated with aerodynamics, streamlining, and the effects
of wind resistance on automobiles. He felt that the cars of the future would
take into account air drag when they were being designed, using the
advantages of aerodynamic styling to ensure a quieter cabin, more stable
ride and handling, and improved fuel economy...

Following wind-tunnel tests at the University of Wichita, Nash could boast in
its 1950 brochure that "The Nash Airflyte moves through the air with 20.7%
less air-drag than the average of all other leading makes of cars tested.
Other cars used as much as 51% more power . . . at speeds ranging from
30 M.P.H. upwards. The new Nash Airflyte for 1950 requires 11 horsepower
less at 80 miles per hour for air drag alone than the average of other
modern automobiles."

Full article here:

HowStuffWorks "Introduction to the 1949, 1950, 1951 Nash Airflyte"

[Frank Lee]

Zombie thread post!

I'll just put this nice fully skirted Nash pic here:

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Though that general shape of rear end was common in late '40s - early '50s cars. Copied from the Dymaxion, or just a cultural thing like tailfins?

These tails were of interest as early as 1911 (Henninger PATENT Drawing) due to the Zeppelin airship influence.
World War-II killed off 'styling' until late war,when the automakers saw the end of the war coming and they anticipated post-war demand.
Hudson did them.The Ford Lincoln Cosmopolitan fastback sedan (which bombed in the market) had it.Mercury Division had their 'bathtubs'.General Motors had Chevrolet,Pontiac,Oldsmobile,and Cadillac 'Sedanette' fast backs (which did not sell well).Volvo did them.Preston Tucker's 'Torpedo' had it.Tatra.Adler.Burney.M-B.BMW.Auto-Union.HANOMAG.Ford-Werke of Cologne.Chrysler.Adam Opel.Pierce-Arrow.Bugatti.Maybach.
Consumers didn't care for them,just as today,unless they're billionaires.

[freebeard]

Frank Lee -- there's no cut-lines, even if it's air-bagged there's no way you could lift it enough to change a tire. "I can tell by some of the pixels..."

VWLarry's Auto Blab: Nils Wahlberg and Nash - Salute To A Great Engineer And Unsung Automobiles

Nash automobiles, under the engineering and technical guidance of Wahlberg, became probably the automobile industry's most technically sophisticated cars, in the overall sense of the word, available anywhere during the 1940s and early 1950s.
...
This is a list of the major, and some not-so major, yet still significant, achievements of Wahlberg's Nash company:
1. Modern fully-unitized/monocoque body construction, as still in use today (1940 Nash 600)
2. "Weather-Eye", the very first fully integrated automotive heating and ventilation system (1940 Nash)
3. Scientifically developed aerodynamic design for a mass-produced passenger sedan (1949 Nash Airflyte)
4. Scientifically designed, ergonomic driver-oriented instrument panel ("Uniscope", 1949 Nash Airflyte)
5. Fully reclining seats that converted passenger compartment into a serviceable bed (1949 Airflyte)
6. Serious refinement of powertrain and vehicle airflow characteristics toward goal of top fuel-efficiency in a large passenger car (1949 Airflyte)
7. One of first manufacturers to offer factory-installed safety belts and safety-padded instrument panel (1949 Airflyte)

[Frank Lee]

Yes, I'm sure it's equipped with permatires.

[freebeard]

[Frank Lee]

Another with extra skirting:

[freebeard]

"Hey buddy, how do you get this car..out of...2nd...geeeaaar?"