We don’t know anything about this fascinating car of the future from circa 1946. But we wish we did.
We know only this little bit: The sleek and striking dream car above was featured in a print advertisement for Goodall Fabrics, a supplier of upholstery materials to the furniture, rail car, and automotive industries. The ad was reportedly published in 1946, but we don’t even know that for sure as we were unable to track down the original source, presumably a trade magazine. The style looks familiar and is reminiscent of a few artists and stylists of the period, but we are far from experts in the field and we aren’t qualified to identify a particular designer. The art is the work of a talented illustrator, we can see that, and it made us want to know more. The car captured us, you could say.
Since Goodall was in the fabric trade, the ad includes a sumptious view of the interior, naturally. There we see a streamlined coupe-sedan greenhouse with bright metal glass surrounds and a well-dressed lady lounging on an elegantly upholstered rear seat. There’s a mobile telephone nested in the center armrest cavity, a pair of Streamline Moderne ashtrays in the end armrests, and what appears to be a set of radio controls built into the left side panel. “You’ll ride in the lap of luxury in today’s and tomorrow’s automobiles,” the ad declares. “Today . . . the world’s greatest designers are developing cars that will make ‘motoring enjoyment’ take on a new meaning for you.”
Upon making some inquiries on various web forums and coming up dry, we were excited to receive the black-and-white photo above from Steve Tremulis, which shows a scale model with a striking resemblance to the mystery car. Steve’s uncle was the famed Cord, Tucker, and Ford designer Alex Tremulis, and Steve is quite a scholar of design history himself.
The photo, he tells us, is from the Life magazine archive circa 1948 for a feature on the Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild but that unfortunately, the stylist is uncredited. What is the possible connection between the artist’s renderings and the Guild model? Once again, we don’t know. While there are some differences in the two designs, particularly in the hood and greenhouse, there are remarkable similarities too: especially in the distinctive front grille and bumper assembly and its twin wraparound rub strips that extend through the front fender skirts. .
The full ad is included below. By now, you have probably guessed why are running an item about a car when we know pretty close to nothing about it. We are hoping, of course, that someone knows the story behind this car of tomorrow and can fill us in. We’re looking for any facts at all. If you know anything about the car or the aritist or even have some interesting guesses, please drop a comment in our reply section below.
Maybe one man’s vision of the Studebaker bullet nose?
A close look at the interior drawing suggests to me this is a much earlier concept car, the occupant’s clothing style and hair are not typical post-war examples. It’s probably from the immediate pre-war era [1939-42].
I suspect this piece of advertising may have been an inside creation, especially if it was in a trade publication. If the vehicle design was from one of the auto manufacturer’s design studios, I would have expected the source to be listed. As there is no mention of the designer or even the artist, I would think this was created by Goodall Fabric Co., and/or their advertising agency.
The interior shot suggests the lady is seated in a limousine, not a sedan as shown in the exterior drawing. It has a radio in the left armrest, and a bulky telephone handset in the center armrest. As mobile phones didn’t come out until the mid 1950s, I would think that handset was for communicating with a driver, something that was only required in a division window equipped vehicle. Rear seat radios used in limousines were 99.9% housed in the right rear armrest, and that includes US, European and UK vehicles. I can’t see a designer of vehicles, working for a car company, who would place the radio in that left armrest location. At first I thought the upright handle on the side panel might be a door opening handle, but I now believe it’s an assist handle, for rear seat passengers to use when arising from the back seat.
Additionally, the outside of the vehicle is clearly a sedan. I can’t tell if it’s a 2 or 4 door, but on closer examination it begins to look like a 2-door car. I wouldn’t be surprised if the fabric company used an existing exterior shot it purchased from an artist, and then they had another artist create the interior shot seen here, to tie it all together.
My own thoughts on this ad was it’s taken from a trade publication, and the vehicle design was deliberately NOT connected to a specific vehicle manufacturer, because they were trying to attract the attention of every car builder who sees the ad.
No question there is no production intent here.
The car looks like the Cadillac concepts Frank Hershey and Harley Earl were playing with. Perhaps this was the work of a moonlighting GM designer?
Definitely the work of someone in auto design, or based on the work of someone with that background, it appears to me.
Arthur Radebaugh
Yes, Radebaugh was certainly one of our top candidates. However, his illustration style has a somewhat different feel. Here is our feature on Radebaugh for comparison. https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/the-fantastic-futures-of-arthur-radebaugh/
Cort, I had forgotten Radebaugh, and I think you may be right. He did a lot of similar images for Bohn Aluminum about the same time. All unsigned.