Hood Ornaments Part 1

I have always been obsessed with hood ornaments, and always daydream about them making a comeback. However, intricate designs like the ones below will most likely stay a thing of the past due to pedestrian safety standards. Here's a small collection of intriguing designs:

1928 Pierce-Arrow Series 81 Runabout in Alaska

 This dynamic archer appears on the hood of a 1928 Pierce-Arrow Series 81 Runabout. The connection to Pierce-Arrow's name is obvious, but what really makes this ornament stand out is the kneeling stance taken by the bowman, which adds a sense of movement and power to the car. The pointy tip of the arrow, however, means a design like this could never pass pedestrian safety test nowadays.

1936 Packard Dual-Cowl Convertible Touring in Alaska

 This graceful swan rests atop a 1936 Packard Dual-Cowl Convertible Touring 1408-973. Swans often adorned the hoods of Packards, and with its flat, upswept wings and curved neck, this bird is absolutely majestic.

1932 Chrysler Custom Imperial Series CL in Alaska

 While this leaping gazelle wouldn't look out of place on a 1950's Chevy Impala, it actually hails from a 1932 Chrysler Custom Imperial Series CL Convertible Sedan. The antelope's stretched body creates a streamlined look, as do the swept back antlers. But what really sticks out about this hood decoration is the set of wings extending upwards from the top of the grille. This is almost like a double-hood ornament, making the luxurious Imperial even more unique and exclusive.

1936 Hudson 65 Custom 8 Convertible at NYIAS

This hood ornament, from a 1936 Hudson 65 Custom 8 Convertible, is one of my all time favorites. While the majority of hood ornaments are made entirely of chrome, the Hudson mixes it up with the bullet-shaped, red, glass pod. Wings were a common sight in early cars, often thought to symbolize speed, like in the Aston Martin and Bentley logos. Little wings sprout out of the top of the pod, and, along with the way the grille continues onto the hood, exemplifies the obsession with streamlined design, started with the 1934 Chrysler Airflow, that was rampant throughout the 1930's.

Austin A30 in Rome

The Austin A30 is the only non-luxury vehicle in this post (it was a response to the Morris Minor compact car), and therefore its hood ornament is significantly simpler. However, the forward-leaning "A" and extremely straight lines of the wing create a visually pleasing ornament nonetheless.

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II in Brooklyn

Rolls-Royce Ghost In Florida

1914 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost in Florida

Perhaps the most famous car mascot, Rolls-Royce's "Spirit of Ecstasy" (pictured above on a 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II) is the epitome of elegance. This woman still rests atop Rolls-Royce grilles, although on the Phantom she can retract into the hood.

Nissan Altima 2.5 S

      The Nissan Altima 2.5 S is a boring car to look at.  Sure, it takes you where you want to go-- last year, on my family's vacation to Alaska this popular midsize sedan proved to be a very capable sedan for our 1,500 mile driving trip-- but there was nothing impressive visually on either the inside or the outside.
      It starts with the disappointing front fascia. The headlights have a very smooth and elegant outline, but the actual headlamps themselves appear as a jumbled mess of contrasting straight and curved lines. The grille's shiny chrome surround and three horizontal bars are fine but it feels a little small, creating a slightly cheaper look.  The Altima also looks quite cheap on the lower front fascia. The fog lamp housings have no fog lamps (the housing is there for more upscale Altima models), and instead have a flimsy looking plastic cover. This is a common problem when car companies get into cost-cutting measures--it always shows and it always looks awkward.

    The lower grille and intakes look fairly lackluster because of the plastic body colored cross-bars. One detail that works is the character line from the headlights which dips down and curves underneath the lower grille, creating a U-shape. Also the power bulge and creases on the hood  add an athletic vibe to the sedan. Still, these few small positives can't outweigh the cheap look that pervades the front.
     Around back, the taillights are actually quite nice--they are very detailed and it almost feels as if you're looking at a cross section of the taillight. The only complaint could be that they look a little robotic, and that look could be considered a little juvenile, but I don't mind it. The rest of the rear has nothing remarkable about it, although the dual exhaust pipes add a slightly sporty appearance. The short rear deck makes this car feel a little smaller than a midsize sedan (Actually, when I was little I thought the Altima competed in the compact segment).
      Inside is more of the same: a boring and slightly lackluster design that isn't particularly appalling or enthralling. Our car had a grey and black interior, and these drab colors might have contributed to how unexciting the interior appeared. I like the three circular air conditioner vents at the top of the center stack, but the rest seems over-cluttered by buttons, and I found the orange color of the radio screen especially gross. While not very pretty, the storage bins, beneath the center console and behind the gearshift), were useful. The steering wheel was ugly and bland, while the gauges and gearshift weren't bad. In the backseat I had a few complaints. While the seats were comfortable, I felt a little cramped for headroom. I also thought the fold-down bit of the middle seat could've also held a storage bin, instead of all the unused space.

 Grade
Front: C
Back: B
Overall: C+

    

Avanti II

     When I first saw this blue Avanti shining in the Alaskan sun, I had absolutely no clue what it was, but its design really struck me, so I snapped a few photos. I then went and did some research on this intriguing vehicle, and found it had a very interesting history. Initially, the Avanti was made by Studebaker, who introduced it in 1962. But the factory in South Bend, Indiana where they were produced was shut down in 1963, ending the Avanti's time as a Studebaker, which closed down for good just a few years later. But three Studebaker dealers, Nate and Arnold Altman and Leo Newman, bought up the Avanti name, tooling, and plant space. Just a few years later, the Altman brothers introduced the Avanti II, a slightly modified version of the original. They produced the Avanti II until 1982, and the model I saw is most likely from this era. After that the car bounced around from owner to owner, until 2006 when the final Avanti rolled off the line.
     But enough history, lets get to the design. The front end looks somewhat awkward to me, as it seems to be a strange mix of sharp and smooth lines. The headlights are rectangular, and are set back a few inches, with the base and sides of this portion making sharp, almost ninety degree angles with the forward fins. I think it is a little strange for the fins to stick out that much in front of the headlight section, but it is even stranger when those fins stretch back into very smooth and curvy lines. The Studebaker Avanti, with its circular headlamps, looks more natural with the swooping bodywork. Another thing that looks strange at first is the lack of a grille, but over time I have come to like this uniqueness and it makes the car look sleeker. The hood features a bulge only on the driver's side, and gives off a powerful impression.
    The car's cabin is supported by very thin A and B pillars, but a thick upside down V-shaped C pillar. The side windows sweep upwards right in front of the aggressive rear haunches, creating a elegant curved parallelogram out of the three piece window. The continuous silver trim piece running around the car makes the car look like its almost two separate pieces, and this makes the swooping upper half appear to have a strong and stable foundation in the hard edges of the bottom section
    The cockpit is finished off with an expansive, curved rear window, which runs in to the short rear deck. While the rear fenders and trunk feature very graceful lines, again the problems I had with the contrasting design from the front appears in the taillights. Each taillight consists of two separate rectangular pieces, which are honestly very boring and also don't fit with the fluid lines running down the side of the Avanti. But, while the taillights may be dull, the simplicity of the rear is quite beautiful.
     The font used on the front and rear of the vehicle makes the letters look futuristic while also appearing to be very animated and cartoon-like. And the horizontal line that runs through the whole word also makes the word seem to be in motion.
      I'm glad I stumbled upon this interesting car, and it was great to learn its history and see such an interesting, though awkward design.

Grade
Front: C+
Rear: B+
Overall: B