Jet Age Design: The Tappan Fabulous 400 and Frigidaire Flair Custom Imperial

by J Kraus

Tappan Fabulous 400, 1959

American appliance manufactures began upgrading and stylizing their wares in the 1950s to add Jet Age glamour to the heretofore humble workhorses of the household. The movement gained extra momentum in 1953 when Frigidaire introduced the first popular-priced appliances available in colour finishes. As an alternative to traditional white, buyers could now opt for Stratford Yellow or Sherwood Green. Other manufacturers responded with their own special palettes, and in short order all major kitchen appliances were being produced in a rainbow of colour from pastel pink to charcoal grey.

Master Purveyors of Jet Age Glamour: Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman

by J Kraus

Art Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman at Art Center College of Design, Los Angeles, California, 1965

During the 1960s, Pontiac brochures and advertising were dominated by dramatic illustrations created by the team of Art ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick and Van Kaufman. These lush images depicted scenes of glamour and sophistication populated by suave, cosmopolitan and well-attired individuals, always accompanied by a larger-than-life Pontiac with shimmering chrome and glistening paintwork.

These were images that the aspirational car buyer could fantasize inserting himself into, and they nourished the idea that maybe he himself could gain access to this beautiful and exotic world if he went out and bought a new Pontiac.

Back to the Future: Return of the Four-Door Coupé

by J Kraus

1967 Ford Thunderbird Four-Door Landau in Raven Black with Black Levant Grain vinyl roof

The new car market today is rife with the latest body body configuration; the Four-Door Coupé. The Mercedes-Benz CLS and Volkswagen CC have recently been joined by the BMW Gran Coupé and more examples are likely on the way.

The contemporary four-door coupé first appeared in the form of the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz CLS in 2004. Based on the E-Klasse platform, it was sheathed in more flamboyant sheet metal than the standard four-door models and featured coupé-style unframed door glass with an overall height reduced by about 6 cm (2.5”). This has been the general formula for its later progeny.

The four-door coupé concept is not really new; this body style enjoyed a brief reign of popularity several decades ago.

Image from the Past

Citroën DS19, Jean Guichet and de Bourbon-Parme, Rallye Monte-Carlo, January 1964

There is more to Austria than Schubert, Strauss and Strudel!

by J Kraus

Sobiesław Zasada and Kazimierz Oińsky on their way to a class win at the 1965 Rallye Monte-Carlo in a Steyr-Puch 650 TR II

I am not alluding to a certain well-known California actor and former politician, but a rather a more mechanical manifestation of Austrian muscle: The Steyr-Puch 650 TR II; a giant and gem among 1960s microcars. The TR II was a Fiat 500 injected with corticosteroids, human growth hormone and EPO; yet entirely legal.

The venerable firm of Steyr-Puch first began building their version of the Fiat Nuova 500 under license in 1957. Production began in the town of Graz, Austria, shortly after Fiat began their own production of their all-new rear-engine 500. While incorporating the Fiat’s monocoque structure and front suspension, the Steyr-Puch 500 utilized an in-house Steyr-developed powertrain and rear suspension.

While the Fiat 500 engine was designed to be as inexpensive as possible to manufacture, the Puch engine was incredibly lavish in design and execution, with a sophistication that put many larger and more expensive cars to shame.

Image from the Past

A ‘Sandfarben’ 1952 VW Deluxe Saloon carries home the ‘Tannenbaum’

The Cars of James Bond: Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward Drophead Coupé

by J Kraus

Bond is held captive in the back of a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow as it speeds toward the lair of Unione Corse kingpin Marc-Ange Draco

The 1960s were a time of change at the venerable firm of Rolls-Royce Limited. Although they only introduced a single new model, the Silver Shadow; the new car represented a huge break from RR traditions. Incorporating unitized monocoque construction, all disc brakes and independent rear suspension; the Silver Shadow also utilised self-levelling hydro-pneumatic suspension technology licensed from Citroën.

Milestones in Jet Age Air Travel

by J Kraus

Air France Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde

Paying homage to its Jet Age subtitle, today Auto Universum takes to the skies in celebration of three significant milestones in jet travel that occurred in the final year of the 1960s: the initial flights of the Boeing 747, Playboy DC-9 and Concorde. Before examining these, it is worth a glance back to the very birth of the Jet Age.

World War II was the first major battle whose outcome was largely determined by air superiority. Airplanes had come a long way since WWI in aeronautics, airframe design and propulsion. Aircraft designers soon realized that further speed increases were being held back by the limitations of engine-driven propellers, the efficiency of which falls sharply as blade tip rotational speed approaches Mach 1.0.

The Wankel Motor: 1960’s Engine of the Future

by J Kraus

World’s first Wankel-powered production car: the NSU Spider, 1964

Automobiles can trace their reciprocating-piston engines back to the early days of steam power. As internal combustion replaced steam as the preferred method of powering transport, the concept of using reciprocating pistons to convert energy into motion was carried over.

As the automobile matured, the efficiency and operating smoothness of the reciprocating piston engine gradually improved through the use of a multiplicity of smaller cylinders, shorter piston strokes, counterbalanced crankshafts and other refinements. By the dawn of the 1960s however; the automobile was seemingly falling behind aviation, which had switched to smooth continuous-combustion jet engines. A number of auto manufacturers experimented with gas turbine engines, but none entered mass production.

Image from the Past

Hans takes fräulein Uta and her Schnauzer Fritz for a beach outing in his new Mercedes-Benz 190 SL, July, 1958