Pre-WAR CAR, LINCOLN CUSTOM SERIES

In July 1941 you could still buy a car, but not for long. Soon the metal and rubber of this beauty was being used to build planes, tanks, jeeps, and ships. If you needed a new car during the war, good luck with that.

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This is a really nice drawing. From the looks of it I'd say scratchboard.

I can easily imagine a driver at the wheel with a fussy matron in the back. I can also imagine some pompous politician in the backseat puffing on a cigar.

Once upon a time cars were very distinctive. Now, they're all silver and look the same. Oh well. At least once upon a time a car could be a piece of art when it drove by. Now, not so much. Pure function, no form.

1953 BUICK SKYLARK

I don't think I've ever seen one of these cars, but considering there were only 1,690 made that's not surprising. I'd love to see the interior up close, sit behind the wheel. Though I love my small car I do sometimes miss some of these land yachts.

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This ad is from the March 1953 National Geographic. There's something about this car that I find very interesting. It's very attractive and yet it sort of looks like two different cars stuck together. I wonder how successful this simple ad was? According to Wikipedia:

Introduced to mark Buick's 50th anniversary, the Skylark (a name previously used by short-lived Hupp for its sporty 1939 Cord 810-based Skylark) was one of three specialty convertibles produced in 1953 by General Motors; the other two were the Oldsmobile Fiesta and the Cadillac Eldorado. All three were limited-production vehicles promoting General Motors' design leadership. Of the three, the Skylark had the most successful production run with 1,690 units. This was considered an amazing sales feat, since the car had a list price in 1953 of slightly in excess of US$5,000. However, many of these vehicles languished in dealer showrooms and were eventually sold at discount.

All 1,690 regular-production Skylarks built in 1953 (and all in 1954) were convertibles. The 1953s were based on the two-door Roadmaster convertible, having identical dimensions (except height), almost identical convenience and appearance equipment, and a Roadmaster drive train. In 1953, the model designation for the Skylark was 76X, while the model designation for the Roadmaster convertible was 76R. The few options available on the Roadmaster convertible were standard equipment on the Skylark, albeit the base price for the well-equipped Roadmaster convertible was only about US$3,200.

The 1953 Skylark featured V8 power and a 12 volt electrical system, both a first for Buick, as well as full-cutout wheel openings, a styling cue that would make its way to the main 1954 Buick line. Also making its way into the 1954 Buick line was the cut-down door at the base of the side window line that bounced back up to trace around the rear window (or convertible top). This styling stayed with Buick for many years and can be found on any number of automobile brands to this day.

The 1953 Buick Skylark was a handmade car in many respects. The stampings for the hood, trunk lid and a portion of the convertible tub were the same as the 1953 Roadmaster convertible (and Super convertible, model 56R). The stampings for the front fenders, rear fenders, outer doors, and a portion of the convertible tub were unique to the Skylark. All Skylark convertible tubs were finished with various amounts of lead filler, so it is not unusual to find a substantial amount of the substance just behind the doors near the bottom of the window line. The inner doors of the Skylark were made from the inner doors of the 2-door Roadmaster and Super by cutting the stamping in half approximately parallel with the ground and then welding the two pieces back together in a jig at an angle that produced the necessary door dip.

Although there were many unique design features of the 1953 Skylark, one that goes almost unnoticed today is that the top and seating of the car were lowered a few inches below the Roadmaster and Super convertibles. This was achieved not by changing the frame, body or suspension, but by cutting the windshield almost three inches shorter and lowering the side windows and convertible top frame. To accommodate people without bumping their heads with the top up, the seat frames and steering column were lowered.

The wheels of the 1953 Skylark were true wire wheels, produced by Kelsey-Hayes, with everything chromed except the plated and painted "Skylark" center emblem. Although this was high style in 1953, the wheels were heavier than the regular steel wheels, would require periodic truing to keep them straight and, and required tubes within the tires just when tubeless tires were becoming the norm, as they were throughout the rest of the Buick line. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

And though it has nothing to do with it, I can't help but think of the Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer song when I hear the word skylark. I can imagine riding in this car along Highway 1 in California, top down, with this playing on the radio. Good times.

LAST CHANCE for tires

This ad dates from the July 1941 National Geographic. Within months tires were being rationed due to World War II. No more cowgirls and cowboys dressed up in dude ranch duds selling tires. Ads became focused on the war effort. Carefree was gone. The country was in it together, unlike today where the war is merely an afterthought for most people. I doubt today we could get our country to accept rationing. We're too self-absorbed and foolish to think of ourselves as a nation. Everybody has their own angle.

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At the beginning of World War II, a rationing system was established in the United States. The United States had an abundance of petroleum at the time nationally, but lacked enough infrastructure to transport petroleum overland to all parts of the country. Gasoline shortages were especially acute in the Eastern states because most petroleum was carried by sea by tanker, which became dangerous with U-Boats operating off the USA coast. Until the Big Inch and Little Big Inch pipelines started pumping petroleum from East Texas to the northeast states, gas supplies in the East were tight. Of equal concern for all parts of the country was a shortage of rubber for tires since the Japanese quickly conquered the rubber-producing regions of Southeast Asia. Although synthetic rubber had been invented in the years preceding the war, it had been unable to compete with natural rubber commercially, so the USA did not have enough manufacturing capacity at the start of the war to make synthetic rubber. Throughout the war, rationing of gasoline was motivated by a desire to conserve rubber as much as by a desire to conserve gasoline.

A national speed limit of 35 miles per hour was imposed to save fuel and rubber for tires. Depending on need, civilians were issued one of a number of classifications of gasoline cards, entitling them to a quantity of gasoline each week. When purchasing gasoline, one had to present a gas card and a vehicle sticker in addition to payment. Books of ration stamps were issued for other commodities and were valid only for a set period, to forestall hoarding.

To get a classification and rationing stamps, one had to appear before a local War Price and Rationing Board which reported to the U.S. Office of Price Administration. Each person in a household received a ration book, including babies and small children who qualified for canned milk not available to others. To receive a gasoline ration card, a person had to certify a need for gasoline and ownership of no more than five tires. All tires in excess of five per driver were confiscated by the government, because of rubber shortages. An A sticker on a car was the lowest priority of gasoline rationing and entitled the car owner to 3 to 4 gallons of gasoline per week. B stickers were issued to workers in the military industry, entitling their holder up to 8 gallons of gasoline per week. C stickers were granted to persons deemed very essential to the war effort, such as doctors. T rations were made available for truckers. Lastly, X stickers on cars entitled the holder to unlimited supplies and were the highest priority in the system. Ministers of Religion, police, firemen, and civil defense workers were in this category. A scandal erupted when 200 Congressmen received these X stickers.

Tires were the first item to be rationed in January 1942 after supplies of natural rubber were interrupted. Soon afterward, passenger automobiles, typewriters, sugar, gasoline, bicycles, footwear, fuel oil, coffee, stoves, meat, lard, shortening and oils, cheese, butter, margarine, processed foods (canned, bottled, and frozen), dried fruits, canned milk, firewood and coal, jams, jellies, and fruit butter were rationed by November 1943. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

No matter the age of the consumer, cowgirls and cowboys were hot sellers. I guess now it's phony superheros from comic books or celebrities with bad attitudes. I'm just not sure.