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Hollywood's Influence on America's Automobile Designs by Joseph Kidd
Hollywood and Detroit grew together as automobiles and movies shared cultural origins as their popularity developed. Americans demonstrated a passion for the motion and speed that automobiles and motion pictures both exhibit. Each industry quickly discovered a use for each otherâs products. âNot only did the automobile supply film-makers with a natural subject for romance, comedy and adventure, but the narrative convictions that soon sprang up around movie automobiles helped intensify popular interest in the automobile itselfâ America fell in love with both movies and cars, while Hollywood and Detroit fell in love with each other. The star-in-the-car soon became the staple of publicity within both industriesââ (Pettifer, Turner, 1984, p.246)
Since the early days of motion pictures, cars were often used as props, particularly in comedies. The Keystone cops were famous for falling off and dragging behind their paddy wagon while others like laurel and Hardy destroyed nearly every car they operated. Ford was directly involved with Hollywood from the early days of film by providing automobiles for movies. This is evident, as Ford Motor Company has sent me automotive art for display at the Ford Training Center where I am employed. One piece of artwork is a signed reproduction of a painting that depicts Laurel and Hardy sitting in a demolished Ford Model T. Unfortunately the motion picture industry has typically destroyed many of the cars in film. The humble Model T was Henry Fordâs benchmark and became the top selling car in the world because it was so practical and affordable. Henry wanted to leave the Model T unchanged and not give into Hollywoodâs desire of style and flamboyancy. These were values that Henry resented.
The origin of Hollywoodâs influence of auto design can be traced back to a man named Harley Earl. He and his father operated a business located in South Main St. of Hollywood that built props for motion pictures and customized automobiles for movie stars. Some of his early creations were the chariots used in the movie Ben Hur and a giant sized car for the comedian Fatty Arbuckle. Most automobiles of the 1920s were high, boxy and awkward. They had lost their brass ornaments and style they once had as they became cheaper and mass produced. Henry Ford insisted on making the automobile affordable to everyone. Harley Earl specialized in making automobiles lower, wider and longer. Many of his early innovations were eventually adopted by Detroit. Some examples are the landau roof, slanted windshield, and cameo window. A customized vehicle from Harley Earl would cost approximately $28,000 and Earl could not keep up with the demand.
The president of General Motors Alfred Sloan realized that Americans liked flair and consumers would pay a little more for style. Mr. Sloan developed a new department at G.M. known as the Art and Colour Studio and hired Harley Earl as its head. In effect, G.M. had hired Detroitâs first automotive stylist.
Harley Earl worked as the head of general Motors styling section for over 30 years. During this time, G.M. designed cars with appearance as the principle design goal. The cars that General Motors produced began to have flowing lines, low profiles and vibrant colors while the boxy Ford model T was offered in only black. In the early 1920s Ford had produced over half of the cars in America and G.M. one quarter. A decade later their positions had been reversed, and Ford was never to regain its prominence. Americans were becoming stylish by adding color and style to their bathrooms and kitchens. Advertisers learned that consumers were attracted to color and G.M. capitalized with automobiles. An automotive pecking order had become established. The Ford was at the bottom, next was the Chevy, then the Oldsmobile, the Buick and finally the Cadillac or Lincoln. Each level cost more than the lesser and was equipped accordingly while G.M. produced an automobile for every rung on the social ladder Ford did not.
Henry Ford could no longer resist the Americaâs desire for flair. Ford sales began to drop after competitors introduced larger and more luxurious cars. In 1927, with 15 million Model Ts sold, the company ceased production of the car and closed its plants for six months to retool for a new model, the Model A. The Model A was a substantial improvement over the Model T, with features such as hydraulic shock absorbers, automatic windshield wipers, a gas gauge, and a speedometer. Most important, the Model A has stylish features. It was available in many vibrant colors and styles. The car was decorated with chrome and featured a fashionable interior. Many advertisements for the model A depicted the vehicle being operated by chauffeurs which suggested that the Model A was suitable for upper class citizens. This was the end of the first era in which Hollywood affected the design of the automobile.
The stock market crash, the great depression and WWII consumed the nation for the next generation. The automobile took a backseat to these major events in American history. The next phase of Hollywoodâs major influences wasnât until the birth of the television.
Television became popular in the 1950s and the automobile became the star in a genre of low-budget movies that combined fast cars, racy women and good-guy versus bad-guy conflicts. The plots were generally simple. Several conflicts that lead to a showdown, the good guy wins and gets the girl. Instead of a gunfight at sundown, the conclusion often came down to a car race on a deserted road. âConsidering that both the film industry and hot rodding were both born in southern California, itâs no surprise that Hollywood and its surrounding communities served as a backdrop for so many of these films.â(Stone, Matt 1998 p.80) These hot rod, outcast films continued into the 1970s with âSmokey and the Banditâ being the most notable.
In 1977 Universal Pictures released the movie âSmokey and the Banditâ Starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field with the co-star of the film was the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. The all-new Trans Am featured removable roof panels and special black and gold trim. In this film, the car is able to elude police by performing remarkable feats such as jumping over bridges and hedges. The Hollywood impact resulted both positive and negative ways according to Krause. âAll of the big screen antics helped make the Trans Am into one of the most popular cars in the United States. Sales of the cars jumped from 46,000 units in 1976 to 68,000 units in 1977 and 93,000 in 1978.
The downside to all of this success was that a handful of overly exuberant but intellectually clouded souls tried to mimic what they had seen Burt Reynolds do with the car on the big screen. In the end Pontiac settled a number of lawsuits out of court for undisclosed sums.â (Krause, William, 2001,p.53) The influence of television was affecting the way in which some individuals were operating their automobiles.
Mr. George Barris became the next Hollywood inspiration for Detroit. When Adam west wore tights and a cape for the series Batman in 1966, no one would know that this prime time drama would produce the rolling icon known as the Batmobile. The first Hollywood automobile that I can remember was the Batmobile. This creation by George Barris came equipped with crime fighting tools including a rocket launcher, batphones, antitheft devices, laser gun, TV camera and screen. In my youth, I pretended to drive the gadget-filled Batmobile as I donned my cape. I also marveled at the James Bond Aston Martin that agent 007 drove in many of the early James Bond movies. This car was also equipped with special features such as a secret compartment for a Colt .45, a homing device, machine guns, revolving numbered license plates, and the famous ejection seat. As incredible as many of these gadgets appeared in the 1960s, many of these devices have found their way into todayâs automobiles. I recently performed a new model training session for the 2003 Lincoln Navigator. This is a $45,000 sport utility offered by Ford Motor Company. Although this vehicle is not equipped with an ejection seat, James Bond would be pleased with its many amenities. When one opens the door to the Navigator a running board smoothly glides into place that was previously hidden underneath the vehicle. When in the driverâs seat, one can simply type their destination into the satellite navigational system and the vehicle will guide you to the destination by instructing you when and where to turn. If your driving skills are not adequate, the vehicle will help avoid accidents with the use of stability control. If your passengers desire, they can watch the James Bond classics on the DVD player as they sit comfortably in their refrigerated seats. This vehicle is the result of gadget demanding consumers that I believe Hollywood has helped to develop.
George Barris customized a Pontiac firebird for the television series Night Rider in 1982. This action/adventure series starred David Hasselhoff and his incredible super-car named Knight Industries Two-Thousand or KITT. This vehicle contained all of the standard crime fighting gadgetry and more. The vehicle could attain 300 mile per hour speeds and leap through the air. It was equipped with flamethrowers and smoke bombs. The most notable device was an overly talkative computer with its own attitudes and personality. The vehicle would regularly give advice to its driver and even read minds.
The whole idea of a talking car seems quite silly to me now, but America was caught up in the Hollywood hype at that time. The TV show Night Rider became a major hit in the U.S. and the world over. It was broadcast in almost every television market on earth. Young boys bought plastic models and toy replicas of KITT the talking car. In this case NBC Television enhanced Pontiac and Pontiac enhanced NBC.
Detroit also was affected by the TV super-cars as explained be Jurgen. âThere was a time in the early 1980s when carmakers, heady with success with microcomputers in other areas went through a period of electronic overkill. Notable in this regard were voice commands and warnings that tended to wear out their welcome quickly with car drivers and elaborate and flashy information displays that also turned off many car buyers.â (Jurgon, Ronald, 1999, p.1.40)
Auto manufacturers were doing things with electronics because they could be done rather than producing them from necessity. I remember servicing a Toyota that repeatedly reminded me with a female voice that âthe key is in the ignition.â I worked on the vehicle for approximately an hour and the novelty of the talking car wore off before I was finished. Today voice commands are all but totally abandoned there has even been a return to analog speedometer display. Carmakers have returned to using electronics in functional ways rather than become outrageous.
Automobiles have done almost everything imaginable in motion pictures. They have flown (in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang); have traveled under water (in For your Eyes Only). They have traveled in time (in Back to the Future). They have even showed signs of life (in The love Bug). Hollywood and television has certainly created a star out of the automobile. During the last century the automobile as portrayed in motion pictures has impacted the way that Americans develop, own, operate and enjoy automobiles. Cars often perform the starring roles of our lives.
When I turn on the television and sit alone in the dark. I donât want to see a film about romance or love. I want to see the sort of thing that you canât get in novels or operas. I want to pretend that Iâm the driver of a fast sports car in a chase scene who drives along the sidewalk and knocks the fruit stand flying!
Works Cited:
An Open Road and a Silver Screen. French, Sean. May 22, 1998 New Stateman.
Automania, pettifer, Turner. 1984, Little Brown and Company, Boston, Toronto.
Automotive electronics handbook. Jurgen, Ronald. 1999, McGraw-Hill Inc. New York.
Barris TV and movie Cars. Barris, Featherston.1996, MBI Publishing Co. Osceola.
Detroit Meets Hollywood , Computer Graphics World. Rowell, Amy, August 1997,v20 n8 p53.
Driving Passion Part II. Videocassette, 1995, Turner Home Entertainment, Atlanta.
Hollywood TV and Movie Cars. Krause, William. 2001, MBI Publishing Co. Osceola.
Hot-Rod Hoodlums: Motor Trend. Stone, Matt. January 1998 v49 n1 p80.
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Hollywood-s-Influence-on-America-s-Automobile-Designs/419622
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