Motor Car Bodies of 1916 

 Good and Bad 



By John Jay Ide 



THE average American automobile 

 mamifacturer has finally grasped 

 some of the essentials of stream- 

 line form as far as open bodies are con- 

 cerned. There are now only a few mak- 

 ers who cling to such features as the 

 wide radiator, straight-sided hood and 

 bulging cowl, low body sides affording 

 little protection to the occupants, and 

 upholstery protuding above the top rail. 

 Of the cars oft"ending in the respects 

 mentioned several are splendid produc- 

 tions mechanically. One would think 

 that the makers would be ashamed to 

 mount coach work of such antiquated de- 

 sign on their chassis. 



Fortunately, these are extreme cases; 

 the average body is a credit to the Amer- 

 ican industry. Strange to say, some of 

 the cheaper cars are better looking than 

 their higher priced competitors, although 



the palm for beauty must be awarded to 

 a fairly expensive machine produced in 

 Ohio. The builders of this car intro- 

 duced the double cowl into stock body 

 design last year and its effect may be 

 seen in the number of double cowl bod- 

 ies offered to the public for 1916. In 

 fact, this type bids fair to become more 

 popular than the body with an aisle be- 

 tween the front seats. In this connec- 

 tion it may be remarked that in Decem- 

 ber, 1912, the writer designed what is 

 believed to be the first double cowl body 

 mounted on an American chassis. A 

 photograph of the car is shown on this 

 page. 



Among the features adopted on some 

 1916 cars is the "concealed" door, having 

 no mouldings around it. As the hinges 

 are not exposed, the streamline effect is 

 heightened, but, unless the workmanship 

 is very good, the joint between the door 

 and body widens so that in time the door 

 is concealed only in name. 



For years the windshield of the aver- 



A sporting type body designed by the author. Notice the high sides, pointed wind- 

 shield, concealed top and disk wheels. In insert, above, a double cowl body designed 

 by the writer in December, 1912. The two rear seats are divided by an arm 



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