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52 Starlight FS in Brunswick Ga.
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What I like about the car is how "clean" the lines look without a ton of chrome slathered across the front. I was in the second grade in 1952. We didn't own a car, but I loved them. I was always drawing cars, planes, & animals. I practiced sketching cars & making them sleeker than they actually were. One of my favorites to sketch was the bullet nosed Studebaker. When the 52 came out, with what I thought was a bulky, toothy, heavy looking chrome grille. I was disappointed. I skipped a year sketching Studebakers, & picked them back up with the '53.
If the grille had been painted, instead of chromed, I might have kept the '52 in my drawings. Sometimes, the best view of the designing artist's true concept (vision) of his artwork, is to remove added components like bumpers, ornaments, and other bolted on bling. Another car of the era that was fun to sketch was the early '50's Buicks. They had this wonderful stylized side view. But, the grill looked like a steel city storm-drain was chromed and bolted across the front.
It wasn't until I was grown, that I realized Buick's marketing reason for the huge bumper/grille combo, was so that it could push-start somebody's car without overriding their bumper. They advertised it as a "safety bumper." It had a practical purpose. But to a child artist's eye, it was a garish eyesore. Sometimes, I think design artists, should submit their ideas to a room full of kids for an honest appraisal of what is appealing in terms of marketing. Today, the 1952 Studebaker seems to be gaining an "appreciation redemption" for its design. So are those Buicks, if you can find one.John Clary
Greer, SC
SDC member since 1975
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