Cokebottle (pronounced koke-bott-el)
A descriptor for a design where objects either resemble or
are inspired by the shape of the classic Coca-Cola bottle.
1965: From an unsuccessful trademark application file in the US by the Chevrolet division of General Motors (GM), cokebottle thus word that never
was. The Coca-Cola name was a
deliberately alliterative creation which referred to two of the original
ingredients (leaves of the coca plant and kola nuts (source of the caffeine). Coca is from the Erythroxylaceae family of cultivated
plants native to western South America and renowned as the source of the psychoactive
alkaloid. Used since the drink’s debut
in 1886, the cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola in 1903, the remainder of the
recipe remaining famously secret. Coke
dates from 1908 in US English and was a clipping of clipping of cocaine
although it’s not known when the word was first used to refer to the drink but
given the rapidity with which slang forms emerge to describe popular products,
it’s at least possible it pre-dated the drug reference although the company did
not lodge a trade-mark application for Coke until 1944 although in internal company documents it appears at least as early as 1941. While the drink produced a number of derived forms (Diet Coke, Coke-Bottle, frozen Coke, Coke-float, Coke Zero and the most unfortunate New Coke), those attached to the
narcotic are more evocative and include coke dick, cokehead, coke whore and
coke-fucked. Bottle was from the Middle
English botel (bottle, flask,
wineskin), from the Old French boteille
(from which Modern French gained bouteille),
from the Medieval Latin butticula,
ultimately of uncertain origin but thought by most etymologists to be a diminutive
of the Late Latin buttis (cask,
barrel). Buttis was probably from a Greek form related to the Ancient Greek
πυτίνη (putínē) (flask) and βοῦττις (boûttis), from the imitative primitive Indo-European bhehw (to swell, puff).
Between its unpromising origin in 1926 as a lower-cost
alternative to the anyway non-premium Oakland brand and its demise (with a whimper)
in 2010, Pontiac in the 1960s did enjoy a brief shining moment of innovation
and style. Pontiac had been one of a
number of companion brands introduced by GM as part of a
marketing plan to cover every price segment with a distinct nameplate, Cadillac
gaining LaSalle, Oldsmobile gaining Viking, Oakland gaining Pontiac and Buick
gaining Marquette; only the high-volume Chevrolet stood alone. The effects of the Great Depression meant the
experiment didn’t last and GM would soon revert five divisions the newcomers Viking
and Marquette axed while Pontiac, which had proved both more successful and
profitable than the shuttered Oakland, survived, joined LaSalle which lingered until
1940. Pontiac also returned to the line-up
when car production resume late in 1945 and benefiting from the buoyant
post-war economy, enjoyed success although much of the engineering was based on
the Chevrolet and the side-valve engines were obsolescent. Things began to change in 1955 when a new
overhead-valve (OHV) V8 was introduced, a power-plant which faithfully would
serve the line for a quarter century in displacements between 265 cubic inches (4.3
litres) and 455 (7.5L) and unusually for US manufacturers during the era,
Pontiac used the one basic block for all iterations. By 1955, all Pontiacs sold in the US were V8
powered (some sixes were still made for overseas markets) and the division
began to become more adventurous, joining the power race, fielding cars in
competition and moving up-market. However,
the first real master-stroke which would be one of several innovations which
would contribute to such stellar growth in both sales and reputation in the
decade to come was the introduction in 1959 of the wide-track advertising
campaign.
1959 Pontiac convertibles: A Canadian Parisienne (left) built on the Chevrolet X-Frame and a US Catalina (right) on Pontiac’s wide-track frame; note the gaping wheel-wells on the Canadian car.
There were not a few visual exaggerations in the wide-track advertising
campaign but the underlying engineering was real, the track (the distance
between the centre of the tyre-tracks across each axle-line) increased by 5
inches (125 mm). This improved the
handling, giving the Pontiacs a more sure-footed stance than most of the competition
and an attractive low-slung look and if anyone had any doubts about the
veracity of the “wide track” claim, the Canadian Pontiacs were there for
comparison. Because of internal
corporate agreements, the bodies of the Canadian Pontiacs were mounted on the
Chevrolet X-frame with its narrow track and the difference is obvious, the wheels
looking lost inside the cavernous space created by the overhanging
bodywork. In the US, sales soared
although the comparison with the recession-hit 1958 is probably misleading but
the success of the wide-track programme did propel the division from sixth to
fourth place in the industry and for much of the 1960s Pontiac Motor Division (PMD) was one of the industry's most dynamic name-plates.
1960s Pontiac Wide-Track advertising graphic art by Art Fitzpatrick (1919–2015) & Van Kaufman (1918-1995).
Memorable as the 1960s Pontiacs were, of note too was the graphic art produced by Art Fitzpatrick & Van Kaufman whose renderings were ground-breaking in the industry in that rather than focusing on the machine, they were an evocation of an life-style, albeit one which often bore little relationship to those enjoyed by typical American consumers. Still, that was and remains the essence of aspirational advertising and Fitzpatrick & Kaufman influenced their industry with techniques still seen today. Truth-in-advertising rules in the 1960s were not as demanding as they would become, and although the big Pontiacs after 1959 were genuinely wide-tracked, they weren’t quite as wide as Fitzpatrick & Kaufman made them appear. Never had longer, lower & wider been so wide.
Envious of what Pontiac had achieved in trade-marking wide-track for the wide track advertising campaigns, GM’s Chevrolet division attempted to claim both cokebottle and coke-bottle for similar purposes, wishing to run a campaign to tie in with their new styling idea for its big cars, using similar curves to those seen on the classic coke bottle. The authorities in Detroit declined the application and legal advice to Chevrolet suggested there was little chance of success against likely opposition from the Coca-Cola Corporation.
Chevrolet Impala two-door hardtops: 1965 (left), 1966 (centre) & 1967 (right).
However, along with much of the industry, Chevrolet did produce cars inspired by the shape which came to be known as coke bottle styling and on the big cars, the cokebottle motif was expressed mostly in the curves applied to the rear-coachwork. Chevrolet toned-down the look in 1968-1969 but by then it had spread to other manufacturers, including those across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and although by the early 1970s it was dated, the realities of production-line economics meant the look in some places lingered, even into the 1980s, the odd revival (usually in the rear-fender shape) still seen from time-to-time though modern interpretations do tend to be more subtle than the exuberant lines of the 1960s. Essentially bodies with outward curving fenders with a narrow centre, the technique had also been adopted by the aeroplane designers as a necessary means of dealing with the aerodynamic challenges created by supersonic speeds and although the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labelled the design principle area rule, most engineers referred to it as coke bottle or, among themselves, the Marilyn Monroe.
Lindsay Lohan seems to tend to prefer her Coca-Cola in cans but occasionally is seen drinking from the bottle.
1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 convertible. The classic example of cokebottle styling is the third generation (S3) Chevrolet Corvette (1968-1982) where the idea is executed at both the front and rear. In the design of twenty-first century sports cars, the motif is still used.
Coca-Cola bottles and a replica of the 1914 A.L.F.A. Aerodinamica Prototipo which used the shape of the bottle introduced in 1900 (in reverese).
In the narrow technical sense, cokebottle styling had been done (admittedly in reverse) as early as 1914 although there’s nothing to suggest Coca Cola's bottle design of 1900-1914 provided any inspiration. The A.L.F.A. 40/60 HP Aerodinamica Prototipo was built by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Castagna in 1914 on a commission from Milanese Count Marco Ricotti. Although relatively large & heavy, the aerodynamic properties of the teardrop-shaped body permitted an impressive top speed of 86 mph (138 km/h).
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