Coke bottle styling

1963 Buick Riviera
Convair YF-102A with pinched fuselage, an inspiration for car designers
1978 Chevrolet Corvette

Coke bottle styling is any automotive body styling that bears an overall body shape resembling the classic glass Coca-Cola soft drink's contour bottle design when viewed in profile.[1] It is a style of automobile bodies with outward curving fenders with a narrow center.[2] In contrast to "straight-edge" designs, automobiles such as the sixth generation AMC Ambassador featured "swoopy lines ... in the 'Coke bottle' mode."[3]

The design was used in airplanes as a way of greatly reducing the sharp drag rise that occurs at transonic speeds; its utilization often results in a pinch-waisted fuselage shape that National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labeled the design principle 'area rule,' and variously identified as coke bottle, wasp waist, or Marilyn Monroe shape.[4][5]

Development

1967 AMC Ambassador in the 'Coke bottle' style
1971 Ford Torino with arcs over the wheelwells

As tailfins were influenced by jet aircraft of the 1950s, stylists were inspired by supersonic planes. Automotive designers incorporated the "wasp waist" body shape among numerous passenger cars, as they found that the previous "ponton" appearance seemed dated. Cars with this style treatment earned this term "by having more rounded body panels with arcs over the wheelwells, making them resemble bottles of Coca-Cola laid on their sides."[6] Aircraft such as the F-102 were designed with narrow waists and bulging forward and rear fuselages to conform to the area rule to achieve supersonic speeds.[7]

United States

Studebaker introduced the Raymond Loewy-designed Avanti with pronounced Coke-bottle look in 1962.[8] The 1962 Pontiac full-size models also "had a subtle horizontal crease about half way down [the bodyside] and a slight wasp-waist constriction at the doors which swelled out again in the rear quarters"[9] One of the cleanest examples of the “Coke bottle” styling was the 1963 Buick Riviera.[10] Chevrolet first tried the coke bottle look on Bill Mitchell's 1963 Corvette Sting Ray as a styling theme since the area rule does not apply at road speeds.[11]

By 1966, the General Motors A-body sedans received a mid-riff pinch and "hop up" fenders. Intermediates such as the Pontiac Tempest, Dodge Charger, and Ford Torino soon followed suit, as well as compacts such as the Ford Maverick and Plymouth Duster. General Motors also styled their "B" body full-size cars from 1965-68 with this style, which is most prominent on the "fastback" 2-door hardtop models. Chrysler's "interpretation of the Coke-bottle styling treatment to its struggling B-body cars ... [resulted in] ... smooth lines, subtly rounded curves, and near perfect proportions."[12] Notable automobiles with this style include many of the muscle cars during this era, such as the Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Camaro, and Dodge Charger.[1]

Design "themes" such the "hop up" fenders became so pervasive across the industry that American Motors' all-new 1967 Rebel was criticized because "viewed from any angle, anyone other than an out-and-out car buff would have trouble distinguishing the Rebel from its GM, Ford, and Chrysler Corp. competition."[13] Moreover, AMC discovered that compared to slab styling with deeply sculpted ridges, "the rounded "Coke-bottle" panels would be easier to make and the dies would last longer — an important cost consideration."[14]

Author Clinton Walker described the archetypal product of Australian suburbia, the muscle car, with its "Coke bottle hip bump but the bare midriff of a go-go dancer?"[15] According to automotive historian Darwin Holmstrom, Chevrolet "took it to its illogical extreme with the 1968 Corvette, though that car more closely resembled a prosthetic phallus than a Coke bottle."[16]

By the late-1970s and early-1980s, cars like the Ford Fairmont and Chrysler K-cars moved towards straight lines. The Audi 5000 and Ford Taurus led towards functional aerodynamic styling.

International markets

1967 Suzuki Fronte 360
1971 Chrysler Valiant Charger

This styling "was to be seen right across the marketplace and, before long, around the world."[10] Japanese, European, and Australian automobiles also adopted this style during the 1970s. Japanese automaker Nissan offered this appearance on 1970s era Nissan Cedrics, Nissan Glorias, Nissan Laurels, Nissan Bluebirds, and Nissan Violets. Toyota also offered this appearance on the 1972-1976 Toyota Corona Mark II, and their limited production sportscar called the Toyota 2000GT. Mitsubishi also adopted this appearance on the 1973-1980 Galant, and the 1973-1979 Lancer. The smallest car with this style is usually considered to be the 1967 Suzuki Fronte 360, which was less than 3 m (10 ft) long,[17] while the Subaru 360 also used similar styling elements, notably the curvaceous "belt line". The appearance was even used in popular culture in the Japanese anime Speed Racer's Mach 5.

Not all cars displayed the full "plan-view" Coke bottle styling, with the waist narrowing. Some of them, like the British Ford Cortina Mark III achieved a similar look in their profile with the front wing curving up over the front wheel area and a much more pronounced curve over the rear wheel arch.

Contemporary examples

There have been modern examples showing a return to this appearance, such as the 1998-2004 Oldsmobile Alero, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro and 2008 Dodge Challenger, as well as the Nissan Fuga, Nissan Juke, and the Infiniti QX60. The revived Dodge Charger and similar Dodge Avenger does not have a complete Coke bottle body, but they have a rear fender line evocative of the second generation Dodge Charger. Other examples include the 2006-2010 Hyundai Elantra, and the 1996-2001 Hyundai Tiburon.

Partial list of cars with Coke bottle styling

Opel Commodore A
Opel Rekord C
Chevrolet Opala
Nissan Gloria
Ford Cortina Mark III
Ford Mustang (1970 Boss 302)
Ford Falcon XB
1970 Chrysler New Yorker
Vauxhall Victor FD
AMC Javelin
1970 Toyota Celica
Plymouth Barracuda

References

  1. 1 2 Breitenstein, Jeff; Paiva, Troy (2004). Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary: A-Bombs to Zoomies. MBI Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7603-1823-2. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Plymouth Belvedere and Plymouth Satellite: 1968 coke-bottle restyling". allpar.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (17 July 2007). "1967-1969 AMC Ambassador DPL & SST 2-doors". auto.howstuffworks. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Algeo, John, ed. (1993). Fifty Years Among the New Words: A Dictionary of Neologisms, 1941-1991. Cambridge University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-521-44971-7. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Heversi, Dennis (25 October 2009). "Richard T. Whitcomb Is Dead at 88; Revolutionized the Design of Jet Aircraft". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  6. ↑ Holmstrom, Darwin (2016). American Muscle Cars: A Full-Throttle History. Motorbooks. p. 130. ISBN 9780760350133. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Shenk, Bill (May–June 1995). "The Birth of the 1970 Ford Fairlane/Torino". The Fairlaner News. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Jedlicka, Dan. "1963-64 Studebaker Avanti". Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Paul Carroll (1976). Chrome dreams: automobile styling since 1893. Chilton. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-8019-6352-0. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  10. 1 2 Car: The Definitive Visual History of the Automobile. DK Publishing. 2011. p. 186. ISBN 9780756689384. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  11. ↑ Mueller, Mike (2002). Chevelle. MotorBooks. p. 59. ISBN 9780760314845. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  12. ↑ Leffingwell, Randy; Holmstrom, Darwin (2006). Muscle: America's Legendary Performance Cars. MBI Publishing. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-7603-2284-0. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Kilpatrick, Bill (October 1966). "1967: The Showdown Year". Popular Mechanics. 126 (4): 101. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  14. ↑ Mitchell, Larry (2000). AMC Muscle Cars. Motorbooks. pp. 31–32. ISBN 9780760307618. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  15. ↑ Walker, Clinton (2009). Golden Miles: Sex, Speed and the Australian Muscle Car (Revised ed.). Wakefield Press. p. 42. ISBN 9781862548541. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  16. ↑ Holmstrom, p. 130.
  17. ↑ Ozeki, Kazuo (2007). Suzuki Story: Small Cars, Big Ambitions (in Japanese). Miki Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-4-89522-503-8.
  18. 1 2 3 Quella, Chad. "The Spirit Is Still Alive: American Motors Corporation 1954-1987: 1967". allpar.com. Retrieved 30 March 2016. Rebel, Marlin and the new, larger Ambassador wore sleek "Coke bottle" styling that was the fad at the time.
  19. ↑ Strohl, Daniel (July 2005). "Attack of the Welterweight". Hemmings Muscle Machines. Retrieved 30 March 2016. ... in profile, it had a real Coke-bottle effect.
  20. ↑ Flammang, James M. (1994). Chronicle of the American automobile: over 100 years of auto history. Publications International. p. 424. ISBN 9780785307785. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  21. ↑ Cranswick, Marc (2012). The cars of American Motors: an illustrated history. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 9780786446728. Retrieved 30 March 2016. Coke-bottle styling was being used on cars everywhere; AMC was staying abreast of fashion and came up with their first family car with style that rivaled function.
  22. ↑ Cheetham, Craig (2006). Ultimate American Cars. MotorBooks/MBI. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7603-2570-4. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  23. ↑ "1967 Chevrolet Impala". oldride.com. Retrieved 3 May 2016. The Impala was redesigned and had a "coke bottle" shape that similar to the 1963 Buick Riviera.
  24. ↑ Auto Editors of Consumer Guide (17 December 2007). "1963-1964 Studebaker Avanti". auto.howstuffworks. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
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