Bert Pierce's automobile column was carried in the gardening section. Automobiles did not have a Sunday section of their own, perhaps because there were no automobile ads to sustain it. At this point in time, manufacturers were struggling to retool to meet the postwar demand for new cars and did not need to drum up buyers. They had long waiting lists.
The first of the 1947 models were scheduled to appear in showrooms in late May or early June and with their debut came the first changes in auto design since the war. Pierce wrote that Detroit was considering a shorter, more pointed hood with a downward slope and radiator grilles on either side. This offered better frontal vision to the driver but also was a way to accustom consumers to an even more abbreviated front in the future when the expectation was that engines would be placed in the rear.
Pierce also predicted that automatic fluid or mechanical transmissions would increasingly replace manual gearshifts. Automatic transmissions had proven their value in military vehicles, he wrote, and engineers now were simplifying the design and bringing down cost. Pierce also expected to see a reduction in the size of corner posts on the chassis and their placement further to the rear, which, along with curved windshields, would give drivers better side vision.
He described one hush-hush radical experimental prototype that had the engine behind the one and only seat, which could accommodate four to five people. The luggage compartment curved around the power plant to provide twice the capacity of current autos. The vehicle would be much wider than existing passenger cars. This was the Davis Divan. According to an article in the Sept. 27, 2009 New York Times entrepreneur Gary Davis, the man behind the car, was more of a salesman than an engineer or designer. He had drummed up a lot of excitement and publicity for his innovation, which hit auto salesrooms in 1949. The car was a success only as a head-turning and headline-making novelty. It looked like an overgrown bumper car. It handled poorly. It had performance issues. It didn't sell. So much for the car of tomorrow, which can be seen today only at a few automotive museums.
Other trends included the use of more plastic. Some manufacturers even wanted to replace safety glass with plastic. A shortage in supply of safety glass was a major automobile manufacturing problem in 1946. However, the automakers needed the approval of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Commissioners to move forward with plastic windows and windshields. Plastic seat covers were more of a sure thing to replace fabric in upcoming models. Aluminum bodies also were expected to show up later in 1947 or 1948. This significantly brought down vehicle weight which had been rising over the years due to the addition of options and gadgets. Overall, Pierce predicted more changes in auto design and manufacture over the next five years than in the last two decades.
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