What were they meant to be? I always assumed they were 'cheap' kind of akin to the 'business coupes' from Studebaker and Mopar. But it looks like they were priced higher and are referred to as "DeLuxe Coupes." Were they supposed to be cheap transportation or were they a serious attempt to inject some style into the Ford lineup? thanks-
Quite funny : Ford had the girls in mind when decided to make a 3W. Better vision ( No b-pillar ) , More stylish and easier to enter with womens clothing ( Suicide doors ) . Most Ford ads from `32-`34 show girls behind the steeringwheel of a 3W Klaz
One of my favorite dealer showroom posters has a dolled up young lady stepping up to her 34 3W Coupe...the tagline "STYLE". The 32-34 3Ws had suicide doors but the 35-36, of course, did not. Ford still promoted them to the fairer sex.
It was considered more "ladylike" To place one's bottom on the seat and then swivel your legs into the cockpit..... rather than the vulgar step in with one foot.... dare I say, spread your legs to enter/exit a non-suicide door car.
Hmmm...seems like there's a Ford publicity shot of a '32 3w in the deAngelis book showing one with its celebrity owner...a gigantic boxer who looked mean enough to open that door from whichever end he wanted to without noticeable effort...
Bruce .. the original idea was that the stylish 3W would generate sales by appealing to Wimms ( With money (!)in those years of depression )... In retrospect we know he was right !! Without the 3W offering ( IMHO ), he would have been in serious trouble ! .. Nice lookin`cars that left the entire wordl in awe ,.. Even today , 75 yrs later ! Klaz
Have you ever tried counting the number of different body styles available on 1930's Fords? '32 was probably the champion year...obviously, the idea must have been to market a car for every taste, and it would be extremely interesting to know the exact thinking behind each offering. Let's see...the roadster was obviously targeted to sell to manly men of impeccable taste...
You got it !! Klaz [/quote] Let's see...the roadster was obviously targeted to sell to manly men of impeccable taste...[/quote]
Nawww real men wear this one.... http://www.utilikilts.com/index.php?page_id=30 Note: standard modesty clusure
You can tell that site is from communist poseurs and not actual Scots...note he forgot to remove his Bolshevik army belt buckle. A Scot wears a normal kilt, and puts tools not integral to his body in a Sporran. Like the side pockets in your roadster. Scots, kilts, cheapness, lack of protection, roadsters...you can see the correlations if you look at the missives above!
Utilikilts start lookin real good to me around July when I'm siting outside with dress slacks on at work.
so what would a 32 sport coupe have been marketed too?? and what would it be now that it's a cabriolet??
I've thought about this a lot, and tried to figure out Ford's thinking in adding this style to their range of bodies. It's pretty clear that they weren't intended to be "cheapies", as they were sold in DeLuxe form only and at a higher price. I think a 3W has a more private, discreet feeling than a 5W: you can hide out better in a 3 because the blind quarter of the top restricts vision both in and out, and the windows are a little lower. This greater sense of privacy may imply greater sophistocation and style. I think there's a further clue in the suicide doors unique to the 3W in '32: these were obviously done for the sake of style, because the rear hinge allowed a more sweeping line to the front door cut. This difference was obviously erased in the '33-34 cars, which all had suicide doors, and the '35-36 line where they disappeared altogether. I had never considered the superiority of the suicide door for gracefully getting in and out while dressed in a skirt, but I think it makes a lot of sense. Finally, the less-is-more simplicity of line on a 3W has always appealed to me personally. I can't explain it, but to me their profiles have always seemed "classier". Of course, your original observation that the late-'40s Mopar and Studebaker business coupes were just done for economy seems entirely sound, as it took fewer parts and mechanisms to build them. I think this connection is purely coincidental, though, much like Chevrolet's shift in emphasis between their 2-door station wagons in '55-57 (Nomads, with top-of-the-line style) and '64-65, where the Chevelle 2-doors were clearly the econo model. Unfortunately, since everybody who had anything to do with Ford styling in the early '30s is long dead, we'll never really know.
I have a '35 3-window Deluxe business coupe, and the Deluxe was the top of the line trim that year. I also have a '51 Deluxe business coupe (no back seat, just a tray), and it was the bottom of the line that year. In any event, call them "girlie" or whatever, I still like that look the most. Jack.
Just because Ford had a DeLuxe model, doesn't mean that it was an upscale car of the day.......they were still cheap compared to the "nice" cars.
Sport coupe was for people who wanted their friends to think they had a cabriolet...cabriolet was an entirely modern convertible, a roadster without inconvenience but markedly less sporty in appearance.
yeah bout what I figured. except for the "markedly less sporty in appearance" jab this is the inspiration for my cabriolet. been together for about 30 years
I think top styling says "Dignified"rather than "Sporty and Rakish"and "Dripping wet and one ear has already dropped off due to frostbite" like a roadster...kind of a top-hat appearance. I think also that this is part of Fords approach...each model differed not only in obvious ways like number of seats but in image...A Ford for every personality as well as practical need. How many body types were there in the Ford USA passenger line?? I don't have any ref books here, but from memory... Roadster--like some other styles, standard and deluxe trim... Phaeton--s,d 5W coupe Sport coupe 3 window coupe cabriolet convertible sedan tudor--s,d fordor--s,d victoria station wagon (in passenger car list in this year, I think) Any I forgot?? That's 11, and Ford would have counted more, with standard and deluxe seen as different styles.
Ford did little formal advertising in 1932, I think because they got so much free publicity from the V8 announcement, but look at the Model A ads collected here: http://www.mafca.com/ click on ëra ads" over on right. Howinhell did that ë"get an umlaut??? Note the pictures of different types...Men, women, elegant suits, country horsy scenes, cities, etc...LOTS of image comes through in the ads, and there are clearly carefully thought out images presented for different bodies. Elegance and coolness were important, and women were becoming important consumers AND more independent due to the car... I think the reason for all those body difference comes through. A fordoor could either be the cheapest possible box for hauling 6 people, or nearly a limousine with same tin but radically different trim.
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